Welcome to my little shrine of all things dark being said about The Deading . . .
“. . . dystopian eco-horror that perfectly balances social critique, lyricism and ghastliness. It’s a claustrophobic mosaic of a novel, and an outstanding debut.”
—New York Times
“. . . fantastical, and unnerving, exploring the strained relationship humans have with the natural world. A slow-burn with loads of payoff.”
—Electric Literature
“. . . effectively disorients the reader by offering a heightened you-are-there sense of urgency to the story, and Belardes’ thought-provoking exploration of societal collapse feels completely of the moment.”
—Booklist
“. . . an uncannily realized dystopian horror story.”
—Shelf Awareness
“Snailmageddon[!]”
—Washington Independent Review of Books
“Do not eat fish from these waters. Or oysters. Really, just stay inland. Except that, in The Deading, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe, either.”
—Stephen Graham Jones, bestselling author of The Angel of Indian Lake Trilogy, I Was A Teenage Slasher
“A lyrical meditation on nature and mortality.”
—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse
“The Deading is a stellar novel: superb prose and a compelling mix of horror, ecology, and social commentary. Darkly beautiful and chilling, The Deading will linger long after the read ends.”
—Lucy A. Snyder, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Sister, Maiden, Monster
“Belardes is a fine writer. The Deading hits hard out of the gate and keeps escalating. A delightfully gruesome combination of science fiction and eco-horror.”
—Shirley Jackson Award winner Laird Barron, author of Not a Speck of Light (Stories)
“The Deading is a gorgeous and grotesque nightmare-vision of the inescapable connections between human beings and the natural world they so often exploit: a must-read for fans of eco-weird, cosmic horror, and dystopia.”
—Kay Chronister, author of Desert Creatures
“I love horror, especially when it’s smart, disturbing, and very it-can-so-happen-here. And something unsettling IS absolutely happening in Nicholas Belardes’ gripping The Deading about ecological terror and sci fi, cults, paranoia, and what happens when things change so much the choice is to change with it or flee. With prose as precise and dazzling as a diamond, The Deading is a masterwork.”
—Caroline Leavitt, NYT bestselling author of Pictures of You and Days of Wonder
“With his stand out novel The Deading Nicholas Belardes delivers his own unique blend of smart, stylish, dark and deadly, ecological fiction. Belardes delivers thought-provoking horrors steeped in reverence for the natural world. A masterful debut, The Deading is the herald of a powerful new voice in genre fiction. Read it now and rejoice in the mind-bending and dark places it will bring to your summer reading and beyond!”
—Daniel Braum, author of Serpent’s Shadow
“This is the Nicholas Belardes book we’ve all been waiting for . . . The Deading marks a major shift in his career, and in many ways is an all out visionary tale that is necessary in these strange and uncertain days, post-pandemic . . . The Deading will leave you in this cold, dark world, hunched and hungry for more!”
—Tim Z. Hernandez, Award-winning author of All They Will Call You
“With The Deading, Belardes holds the mirror up to the reader, emphasizing the anthropogenic and post-pandemic similarities between the horrifying world of the novel and our own.”
—Broken Antler Mag
“. . . offers some fun scares.”
—Publisher’s Weekly