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Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

Publisher’s Description

Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death.

A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s – a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?


Review

I recently read LGBTQI dark fiction Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by US author Eric LaRocca.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is set in the early 2000s and told through an epistolary format of chat conversations and emails – the correspondence between Agnes and Zoe listed as court documentation. The development of the relationship between Zoe and Agnes is one of dominance and submissive natures from the start. How Zoe helps Agnes earn her freedom from societal constraint is the reason she freely enters into a sadomac relationship of master and slave. The changes wrought are irreversible to both women and the relationship spirals dangerously beyond control.

Final Thoughts

A beautifully written, addictive storyline of obsession- twisted dreams and a tale of dark love. A challenge of convention and sometimes sanity. More than what I expected. The epistolary format in dark fiction provides the sense of being an outsider to events which is part of what LaRocca discusses in the Author’s Note about intentions writing the novella and to delve into some of the often misunderstood world of sadomasochistic relationships.

Conclusion

A darkly disturbing but highly recommended read!