If I had to guess why this is the first Weirdpunk release to gain so much attention, I’d guess those attributes are part of the formula for success, along with its striking cover and that ominous title. The well-circulated promise to feel changed after reading it—grossed out, unable to sleep—probably pulled in some curious readers. There are always bonus points if tears and/or fear are involved. (It’s physiological: The rush of being scared raises your adrenaline and leaves you with a sense of calm and relief.)

Most of the horror elements are little stories that the two women tell each other and which have nothing to do with what you're here for — a downward spiral of a terrible, bad sadomasochistic relationship. Our protagonist has a predilection for starting fires, for burning things, for reducing things to carbon, so what happens when they are entrusted to look after a small child… this is LaRocca so all bets are off, but you can be guaranteed you will be out through the ringer with this one! There are some quite fabulously squeamish moments early on, which I absolutely loved - these are descriptions by LaRocca of injury detail and they are just gorgeously put across! Anyway, this story is crazy good… I’ll leave it there before I give away too much! ‘Sometimes you have to do something horrible to prevent something even worse from happening.’ Here's the hard truth: I have no idea,” he says. “Well, I have some idea, but the answer has less to do with anything I did.” Despite being horrifying and sinister, I can understand this tale of self-interest, power, lust, and fixation. So flawlessly put together, with the ideal conclusion. The term perfect cannot be emphasized enough. A perfect 5 star and the finest by far.Eric LaRocca's superb collection Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is cutting edge horror with pristine writing sharp enough to slice open your skin. Strongly recommend." -Ray Garton, author of Live Girls and Crucifax Autumn

Bad People Abuse Animals: The point where it's apparent Zoe is not as nice of a person as she appears is where she commands Agnes to find a salamander in the park and kill it. Characterisation across all three novels are extremely bland and flat and motivations and emotional states of the characters are inconsistent/erratic for no purpose.

YOU'LL FIND IT'S LIKE THAT ALL OVER is the weird tale of a man who finds a bone in his yard. The bone leads him down a strange path, involving the man's racist spouse and his foreign neighbor. It also involves a lot of betting. Sounds weird, right? This tale is so off beat, yet completely satisfying. Therein the problem lies with me and weird fiction. I like weird, but I also want a conclusion to the story. For me a lot of supposedly great weird fiction stories have fallen flat..sometimes it's like there's no story at all. It drives me crazy. That is not the case with Eric LaRocca. Unfortunately, I felt like the horror in Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke was there just for horror's sake. It wasn't developed or believable - it was just horrific.

There’s something Godlike about holding something so small – something that solely depends on your kindness, your generosity. I had never thought about hurting something before. Until now. I imagined what it might feel like. I imagined closing my hand to make a fist until its tiny body was squished, its innards squeezed out like toothpaste from its mouth open in a muted scream. Each thing we love takes a little piece of us whether we give it willingly or not. By the time we find the person we were meant to be with, we're a honeycombed shell of what we once were. Each person we love turns us into the strange thing we become."The ferryman and the steward arrive at the small cottage, Olive trailing close behind. They cover their mouths , coughing, the stench of gas greeting them as soon as they enter. “Gas. The stove,” the ferryman says. The steward dashes into the kitchen. He turns off the gas stovetop. Then, flings open a window. While the events were quite extreme, it all seemed very realistic in the sense that things like this could really happen. This was dark and disturbing and I loved it! There are nine short stories each more horrifying than the last.