​I can't honestly tell if Chapman started off a better writer, or if I first read him as a less demanding reader. Either way, his recent work continues to steadily disappoint ... and yet it entertains enough to merit reading. So I read it, yeah, but ... it's an acquired taste.
The frustrating thing with Chapman is that he's actually a good writer who seems to have deliberately devolved his writing to better suit the low-hanging-fruit kind of an audience. It's a smart move strategically - the man has never been more popular that he is now, churning out the chopped up for immediacy, pre-chewed body horror tales. But it is somewhat disheartening to see someone who can turn out a sentence, deliberately crop sentences into short, almost stream-of-thought, gotcha bits for easy consumption.
Chapman is a natural born entertainer, as anyone who's ever interacted with him or saw him do alive reading can attest to. He's very animated, very fun - according to his social media, he likely doesn't sleep and appears to be everywhere all at once doing various promotional events. So yes, this style of writing likely suits him - not to mention it maximizes the page count for a lesser word count. 
But is it good?
Well, it isn't literary horror. It's the other kind -what do you call it ... pedestrian? If you're into gore and guts and wham-bam pacing, this will delight you. For fans of slower, more thoughtful horror, Chapman's work will leave something to be desired.
I think I have to stop expecting more of him. The man writes what sells. It's understandable. Practical. Not great. 
I don't read horror to be grossed out or disgusted, and that seems to be what most of these stories aim to do. So I've rated and reviewed it accordingly. User mileage may vary. Thanks Netgalley.

So, first off, is this even science fiction? The setting is so near-future, it's practically here already. And the plausibility of the plot makes it all the more exciting. 
AI is a popular subject of books lately. Feinstein has put his own twist on it. I liked it. This is very much my kind of sci-fi, which is to say Black Mirror-eque.
The concept is an innovative technology that produces ads uniquely customized to the viewer. Very clever. But how safe is it to make such clever technology?
The novel is told through dialogue/messages/etc. and observation - effective once you get used to it. 
I'm not sure if it's me or the book, but I was much more engaged with and interested in the AI characters than I was in the flesh bags around them.
The idea behind the novel was great. The ending punched it up, though I kind of wanted more for the AI.
Sure, the novel's structure is a bit gimmicky, and the moral is somewhat heavy-handed, but it was fun all the same and quite impressive for a debut.
Note to Netgalley readers: the formatting of this ARC isn't great, which is especially annoying considering how much this novel relies on specific format to work.
But it was read and enjoyed. Thanks Netgalley.

The basic plot involves a mother/daughter story, both of whom come to brush up against an unspeakable evil. The evil is male and oppressive, but its representations vary, from institutionalized to criminal, it’s ubiquitous and pervasive and it preys on the female of the species.

That's an excerpt from my review of DeMeester's last novel, which I rather liked. But I don't like how the exact same thing can be said to describe her latest. At the very least, it demonstrates limited range.
Or maybe the author is simply writing what the market demands. Because this is what it has to be these days to sell: wronged women fighting back evil men. That's basically it. No nuance, no dimensionality, none of that.
Only a single moral so heavy-handed that it all but topples the book.
So, no wonder, DeMeester regurgitated the same formula to produce a dual with an interlude or triple timeline story that follows women wronged and oppressed by men. Men so wicked they'll literally drain the life out of them. 
Cliches abound as the quality of writing declines into predictable melodramas until the inevitable reckoning. And the entire production is sprinkled with plenty of body horror, just so you remember what genre you're reading.

This book is sure to find its adoring audience. It isn't terrible by any means. I'm just so tired of reading the same story, told in different ways. Whatever happened to originality? 
Thanks Netgalley.

I've long been fascinated by MKULTRA, along with other means of mind control. This book provides a thorough and terrifying play-by-play (or rather chapter-by-chapter) account of how it came to exist, what it did, and what followed. 
From the inception to the horrific real-life tests to the grizzly aftermath, this is an unflinching look at what happens when power goes unchecked and ideas become more valuable than people.
Meticulously researched, this can be a somewhat dry read, especially in the latter chapters which turn into a court drama. But the earlier chapters read like a horror book, just as compelling and disturbing.

Overall, a fascinating read. Recommended for the thinking audience, especially those with an interest in the subject. Thanks Netgalley.

This is my second read by Brian Evenson. The first one made a very strong impression, and this one didn't fall too far behind. 
Evenson certainly continues to live up to his reputation as a master of the literary horror. His writing style draws directly on the old-time genre masters like M.R. James and company. Except that those stories have never quite worked for me: too slow, too dense, too soporific.
Evenson uses similar style and tone, but his writing is better paced and much more engaging. 
Branching out here, a number of stories were science fiction. They were more or less tangentially related but interspersed throughout the collection with seemingly no rhyme or reason. They took a bit to get into.
What Evenson excels at most is a sort of quiet unease - oh how they creep :)
The only drawback I can think of is that sometimes his stories are a bit dullish or stodgy. But this is ever so minor and occasional. 
Overall, a lovely collection for bedtime reading for discerning genre fans. 

​I don't care for fantasy and I'm highly selective about sci-fi, but this collection featuring stories of both those genres turned out to be a real winner.
I picked up this book because I've been meaning to check out Swanwick's writing and found the title and cover difficult to resist. Besides, I've always believed that a talented author can make any genre (within reason) appealing. And right I am, because Swanwick's natural storytelling ability and wonderful imagination made these tales of strange and fantastic sing, irrespective of their genre. 
Even high fantasy works here. 
Every story was engaging and interesting. Tale after tale delighted and entertained. What a terrific introduction to the author.
I enjoyed this collection immensely and would recommend it to all fans of speculative fiction. Thanks Netgalley.

​The elegant gilded cage on the cover makes light of the grotesqueness of the subject, but the title does it justice. Slashed beauties were the anatomical specimens of yesteryear, and the author squeezes out the most oomph out of the macabre pulchritude of them.

The dual timeline plot revolves around three women of the past, trying to make their way in a man's world by plying the world's oldest profession, and one woman in the present, determined to finally set them and their story to rest.

And yes, this is yet another one of those "wronged women fight back against wicked men" sort of book, but that's all the market seems to want these days. Gender dynamics stopped requiring nuance a while back - now it's all about the convenient, easily digestible binary of good and evil.

This was a debut novel, and, as debuts often do, it tried to cram too much into itself. Some things worked better than others for me. The past timeline was much more compelling than the present. The witches thing came across nonsensical and unnecessary. The ending was way overexplained and dragged out. The final twist/character revelation was nicely done. As was the historical fiction aspect. 
As a result, the read was a bit of a mixed bag. but overall, the writing was strong, and the book entertained sufficiently. So I'm going to round up my rating. 
Thanks Netgalley.