Talking Scared

Imagine you’re back in high school – but worse! The shuffling idiots actually want to EAT you!   That’s the premise of Courtney Summers’ This is Not a Test, her 2012 zombie novel of teen despair amongst the undead, now reissued in a fresh ‘definitive’ version for 2026. When better than a time in which the mindless, greedy and brutal are running amok in the real world.   Courtney and I talk about zombies in 2012 and now, we discuss optimism versus despair, we track the challenges of writing a survival thriller with a suicidal protagonist, and she offers advice on rapid character building and writing teen dialogue.   It’s a good one.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: The Project (2021), by Courtney Summers Room To Dream (2018), by David Lynch and Kristine McKenna The Stand (1990), by Stephen King   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The year may have started with more real-world horrors from old white dudes, but here on Talking Scared they get their comeuppance – in the form of Kristi DeMeester’s Dark Sisters.   Kristi returns to the show for the first time since 2022, to talk about her novel of religious hypocrisy, patriarchal control and feminine revenge. It’s a three-timeline story of curses through the century and the dark magic that underpins everything.   She tells us about her own childhood in the fundamentalist church, we look back at the cruelty culture of the mid-noughties, and we revel in the wrath of witches with nothing to lose.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Such a Pretty Smile (2022), by Kristi DeMeester Itch (2025), by Gemma Amor Gather the Daughters (2017), by Jennie Melamed Grey Dog (2024), by Elliot Gish   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No need for a big intro this week. You know what this is about.   The year is over, and it’s time to offer my thoughts on the best books that made it bearable. Here’s my top-10 favourite horror novels of 2025.   I invite comment and debate. The polite kind. Don’t make me set Ted on you.   Enjoy.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our sixth Let Us Palaver, Nat and I try to clean things up a bit after the dirty deep dive into Wizard & Glass.   We get spoilery, so this is for Tower Junkie’s only. It will make no sense to anyone else anyway – as we get deep into the metatextual elements of what is to come, who WE think put those red shoes in the road, and we begin to question which books we should read next.   Not a dirty joke in sight.   Enjoy.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a summer of diversion and detour, we’re back with the main Ka-Tet for Christmas. What better time for a tale of heartbreak, lost love, and cabin-bound masturbation.   Yes, we’re covering Wizard & Glass.   Some would call this the high point of the Dark Tower series (for me, it’s certainly up there) – and it gives us chance to talk in depth about how Roland became the man is he, and how love made us the men we are!   Yeah… if you’re ready for 2+ hours of middle-aged male nostalgia and dick jokes, this is the episode for you. Thankfully, it also offers literary analysis, Stephen King lore, and the greatest love of all, between a witch and her snake.   Enjoy.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices