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She Said Destroy
She Said Destroy | Nadia Bulkin
4 posts | 4 read | 13 to read
A dictator craves love--and horrifying sacrifice--from his subjects; a mother raised in a decaying warren fights to reclaim her stolen daughter; a ghost haunts a luxury hotel in a bloodstained land; a new babysitter uncovers a family curse; a final girl confronts a broken-winged monster... Word Horde presents the debut collection from critically-acclaimed Weird Fiction author Nadia Bulkin. Dreamlike, poignant, and unabashedly socio-political, She Said Destroy includes three stories nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award, four included in Year's Best anthologies, and one original tale, with an Introduction by Paul Tremblay.
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Reggie
She Said Destroy | Nadia Bulkin
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Nadia does smart political horror. In “Endless Life,” a general in a small Asian country, the head of a regime responsible for the death of 500k, knows his time is at an end and rents a room at a well known, high end hotel and commits suicide. There is a young woman whose brother and father were killed by that regime. She works as a cleaning woman at the hotel. In the same room the general died she slips on water in the bathroom and breaks her👇🏼

Reggie neck and dies. She ends up haunting the room. But people thinks it‘s the general and the room becomes a popular attraction. I think she‘s just trying to say we think about the horrible perpetrators of the world and never really think about their victims. It‘s a great story and she‘s a great writer. 2y
vivastory I've read a couple of her stories in anthologies and I thought they were fantastic 2y
Suet624 Great point. I think of Putin and shudder to think of each of the individuals he has killed. 1y
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review
Reggie
She Said Destroy | Nadia Bulkin
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Pickpick

Wow. Not gonna lie. This collection of short stories made me feel dumb. Nadia grew up in Indonesia with a Javanese father and an American mother then moved to Nebraska later and now has a BA in political science and an MA in international affairs. Her stories made me feel dumb because they were so smart. I was left feeling queasy while reading them not because there was gore but because she can write a hell of an atmospheric tilt. There were 👇🏼

Reggie demons and ghosts and half stag dads and nods to Lovecraft. These stories were not just about being along for the ride. Each story possesses a mirror that‘s capable of showing a reader something about themselves in these world on fire times. This would be a great bookclub book. Pick! 3y
Cathythoughts Great review 👍🏻 & stacked ! 3y
Crazeedi Vert descriptive review, well done 3y
See All 17 Comments
Ruthiella I felt like that when I read Ted Chang‘s first short story collection! 3y
Suet624 Wow! Sounds fantastic! 3y
rwmg Wishlisted 3y
Reggie @Ruthiella I need to read that one. I always hear good things about it. 3y
Reggie @Suet624 it was. There was this sad story about a General who committed genocide of over 500k people who commits suicide in this hotel room. In the same hotel room a woman who works there slips on water and dies in the same hotel room. People visit this hotel hoping to glimpse his ghost but never knowing it‘s the girl who haunts it. It‘s very much about how we remember events and the evildoers but never really think about the victims. The 👇🏼 3y
Reggie girl had very much been impacted by the General as her father and brother were killed. It was a very intelligent story. 3y
Reggie @rwmg I hope you get it. 🤞🏼 3y
rwmg It turns out that the author is the daughter of a friend of a friend 3y
Reggie @rwmg wow!!! What a small world! Lol 3y
Suet624 That‘s so very true. 3y
RohitSawant Loved this collection. Sharp, smart, and vivid. NB is definitely in a league of her own. The book as a whole has been a huge inspiration for me. 3y
Reggie @rohit-sawant it‘s one of those books I haven‘t read in a while. One in which I as a reader have to a little more work than usual reading it and feel very rewarded afterwards. I‘m reading Laird Barron‘s The Beautiful Thing that Awaits Us All and he‘s like Nadia‘s American early twentieth century cousin. I think you‘d like him, too. 3y
RohitSawant @Reggie Totally agree about feeling rewarded for doing more work than usual as a reader. Man, I'm so looking forward to that book, The Beautiful Thing that Awaits Us All (such a terrific title) and that's an apt description of Barron! Have loved his work in anthologies and can't wait to read more of him. 3y
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review
Thndrstd
She Said Destroy | Nadia Bulkin
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Pickpick

A debut collection of haunting short stories that are not only scary but truly politically astute and human. She creates very real characters and settings even when the most unreal, dark, or weird situations happen. I look forward to more of Bulkin‘s work in the future as she is a strong voice in the horror and weird genres.

ohyeahthatgirl If you like podcasts, her stories have been featured on the Nightmare Magazine podcast. (Also in the magazine if you don't do podcasts.) 6y
Thndrstd @ohyeahthatgirl I usually don‘t do podcasts but I‘ll check it out. Thanks 6y
25 likes2 comments
review
ohyeahthatgirl
She Said Destroy | Nadia Bulkin
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Pickpick

Bulkin writes such unique horror. This book is filled with demons, Lovecraftian monsters, and many-armed goat gods, but each story is very much about the horrors of life as we know it. It was a very good book to finish on Halloween.