Simple yet unyielding prose creates a foreboding experience as Piper leads the reader on a merry monster chase through the tunnels of Manhattan and deeper underground in this short novel. Cultists in the darker subterranean aspect of the city streets are extolling the return coming of the Worm—who promises that the "wounds of this world" will be undone and those who wait for him will be remade. What truly awaits in the empty place is an indifferent expanse of space and time.

Protagonist Monique couldn't be a better example of the prevalent Lovecraftian theme of the outsider; a character who by circumstances out of their control finds themselves standing on the outskirts of society. Her marginalized identity and life experience make her a singular narrator for traversing this cosmic culture. The world has not been compassionate to Monique; For her, life has been gritty, arduous, and unkind. Her journey is heartbreaking and authentic as she continues uncovering and examining her path. Piper coaxes and molds it as it concludes in an emotional crescendo of an illogical and impossible landscape. Lyrical and lasting, this one leaves its mark.


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