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The Marigold
In a near-future Toronto buffeted by environmental chaos and unfettered development, an unsettling new lifeform begins to grow beneath the surface, feeding off the past.
The Marigold, a gleaming Toronto condo tower, sits a half-empty promise: a stack of scuffed rental suites and undelivered amenities that crumbles around its residents as a mysterious sludge spreads slowly through it. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates this toxic mold as it infests the city’s infrastructure, rotting it from within, while Sam “Soda” Dalipagic stumbles on a dangerous cache of data while cruising the streets in his Camry, waiting for his next rideshare alert. On the outskirts of downtown, 13-year-old Henrietta Brakes chases a friend deep underground after he’s snatched into a sinkhole by a creature from below.
All the while, construction of the city’s newest luxury tower, Marigold II, has stalled. Stanley Marigold, the struggling son of the legendary developer behind this project, decides he must tap into a hidden reserve of old power to make his dream a reality — one with a human cost.
Weaving together disparate storylines and tapping into the realms of body horror, urban dystopia, and ecofiction, The Marigold explores the precarity of community and the fragile designs that bind us together.
The Marigold, a gleaming Toronto condo tower, sits a half-empty promise: a stack of scuffed rental suites and undelivered amenities that crumbles around its residents as a mysterious sludge spreads slowly through it. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates this toxic mold as it infests the city’s infrastructure, rotting it from within, while Sam “Soda” Dalipagic stumbles on a dangerous cache of data while cruising the streets in his Camry, waiting for his next rideshare alert. On the outskirts of downtown, 13-year-old Henrietta Brakes chases a friend deep underground after he’s snatched into a sinkhole by a creature from below.
All the while, construction of the city’s newest luxury tower, Marigold II, has stalled. Stanley Marigold, the struggling son of the legendary developer behind this project, decides he must tap into a hidden reserve of old power to make his dream a reality — one with a human cost.
Weaving together disparate storylines and tapping into the realms of body horror, urban dystopia, and ecofiction, The Marigold explores the precarity of community and the fragile designs that bind us together.
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 18, 2023
About the author
Andrew F. Sullivan
11 books175 followersAndrew F. Sullivan is from Oshawa, Ontario. He is the author of The Marigold, a novel about a city eating itself, and The Handyman Method, cowritten with Nick Cutter. Sullivan is also the author of the novel WASTE and the short story collection All We Want is Everything. Sullivan's fiction and criticism have appeared in places like the National Post, Hazlitt, The Globe & Mail, The New Quarterly, PRISM, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Longform, and other publications. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 349 reviews
April 18, 2023
Near future Toronto, where the gig economy has become a fullfledged gig dystopia. A kind of spore is slowly creeping through the city, taking over people's bodies. We follow a cast of characters, including two corporate investigators that are trying to find out more about the spores, and a whole lot of people living in a high rise called the Marigold, where the spores are claiming more and more people.
The story jumps from character to character, every other chapter being a character piece about someone living in the Marigold. And it makes the storytelling slo-o-o-ow. Too slow, for me.
(Thanks to ECW Press for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
The story jumps from character to character, every other chapter being a character piece about someone living in the Marigold. And it makes the storytelling slo-o-o-ow. Too slow, for me.
(Thanks to ECW Press for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)
July 16, 2023
Science fiction, fantasy, folk horror. Social commentary, murder mystery, coming-of-age shenanigans, and a cast of characters enough to rival any classic Russian novel. There's no way that the glorious mess Andrew F. Sullivan threw together could work as a coherent narrative. Except it does, and on every level, leaving no loose ends. Sullivan can summarize pages of exposition into a couple of sentences, bind together seemingly disparate story threads with the ease of a grand master. This was my introduction to his body of work and I can't wait to read more.
April 24, 2023
This is a crazy read about the city of Toronto in a dystopian future where there’s random sinkholes opening up and a sentient fungus coming up through the car parks and drainpipes of apartment buildings. There’s a range of characters from all sectors of society but it centres around ‘The Wet’ and the health department can’t keep up with it. It’s quite a chaotic read but I enjoyed it.
September 5, 2023
This ruled. There's a great acknowledgment of the horrors of modern life: the gig economy, real estate, toxic mold, but then it takes those things and gives them a fantastic twist. And yet the characters involved and even perpetrating these horrors are still recognizably human, suffering through the same fever as everyone else.
Really this reminds me a lot of how Blade of Tyshalle operates. If you know how much that book means to me then you know that's one of the highest compliments I can bestow.
Really this reminds me a lot of how Blade of Tyshalle operates. If you know how much that book means to me then you know that's one of the highest compliments I can bestow.
June 22, 2023
“Before everything that happened, before the towers, before the site plans, before the deeds, before the failing sports bar and two-bedroom apartment above it that often operated like another, more financially successful, unlicensed sports bar until the police shut it down after that one Polish kid got strangled with a pair of pink stockings behind the abandoned Shoppers Drug Mart a block or two south, there were trees here.“
That is the first sentence. Are you kidding me? I should have stopped reading right away.
Confusing story telling, long winded and verbose. Oddly directionless, episodic, not much of a plot. Bleak, grim, with a seemingly endless stream of characters and constantly changing POVs. It was all pretty sterile. I did not much care for any of the characters. The body horror was pretty limp as well and lacked tension.
What is it about? We are in a near future Toronto, post-climate disaster, plagued by mold spreading through a city that has been flooded repeatedly (I presume), with a crumbling infrastructure. It seems to be commentary on the current state of the city‘s political and administrative situation.
Plenty of social commentary. Actual story telling would have been nice. Instead there are snapshots, crab walking us along to a lackluster comedic interlude instead of a satisfying ending.
Characters are luckless freelance taxi drivers, bicycle messengers delivering food, failed business men, etc., moving around a building called The Marigold. Every few chapters we get a chapter named „Suite xyz“, set in one of the building‘s suites, where we meet its inhabitant. Those characters are have-beens, rich people, wannabes etc. reflecting on their lives, their plans, how the world works. Whatever.
Then there is the owner of the Marigold with his wife and entourage as the epitome of the horrible people and two female public health inspectors dealing with the mold-infestation in the city. The mold/fungus is destroying buildings, killing people and becoming more aware. Then there are mysterious sinkholes slowly destroying the city as well.
“This impressively bleak vision of the near future is as grotesquely amusing as it is grim.” — Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
Bleak, very. Amusing, not so much. Mostly depressing and vaguely disgusting. The author seems to be trying hard to show us the ugly sides of humanity and all the characters are pretty despicable or defeated by life. Not my cup of tea.
“A bold dystopian novel that captivates with its dread and depth. The Marigold is unhinged literary horror that goes right to the source of decay.” — Iain Reid, award-winning author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Foe, and We Spread
I should have read the blurb more closely, “literary“ anything seldom leads to enjoyable experiences for me. This book didn‘t go right to anywhere.
“Weaving together disparate storylines and tapping into the realms of body horror, urban dystopia, and ecofiction, The Marigold explores the precarity of community and the fragile designs that bind us together.“
Besides the sporror and climate fic we also have a queer relationship, so all boxes are ticked.
Pretty cover.
Bottomline, I did not care for any of the characters. The story stayed on the surface, I lacked emotions and meaningful character development. It was all very episodic and the plot, as little as there was, moved glacially slow. Boring, bleak, depressing, with a silly ending. I hope the Toronto administrators and property developers will be forced to read this as punishment.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and ECW Press. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review. I am sorry I didn‘t like this.
Toronto Apocalypse? Andrew Sullivan on his new horror book ‘The Marigold,’ an oozing life form, and the terror of alienation and isolation:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment...
That is the first sentence. Are you kidding me? I should have stopped reading right away.
Confusing story telling, long winded and verbose. Oddly directionless, episodic, not much of a plot. Bleak, grim, with a seemingly endless stream of characters and constantly changing POVs. It was all pretty sterile. I did not much care for any of the characters. The body horror was pretty limp as well and lacked tension.
What is it about? We are in a near future Toronto, post-climate disaster, plagued by mold spreading through a city that has been flooded repeatedly (I presume), with a crumbling infrastructure. It seems to be commentary on the current state of the city‘s political and administrative situation.
Plenty of social commentary. Actual story telling would have been nice. Instead there are snapshots, crab walking us along to a lackluster comedic interlude instead of a satisfying ending.
Characters are luckless freelance taxi drivers, bicycle messengers delivering food, failed business men, etc., moving around a building called The Marigold. Every few chapters we get a chapter named „Suite xyz“, set in one of the building‘s suites, where we meet its inhabitant. Those characters are have-beens, rich people, wannabes etc. reflecting on their lives, their plans, how the world works. Whatever.
Then there is the owner of the Marigold with his wife and entourage as the epitome of the horrible people and two female public health inspectors dealing with the mold-infestation in the city. The mold/fungus is destroying buildings, killing people and becoming more aware. Then there are mysterious sinkholes slowly destroying the city as well.
“This impressively bleak vision of the near future is as grotesquely amusing as it is grim.” — Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
Bleak, very. Amusing, not so much. Mostly depressing and vaguely disgusting. The author seems to be trying hard to show us the ugly sides of humanity and all the characters are pretty despicable or defeated by life. Not my cup of tea.
“A bold dystopian novel that captivates with its dread and depth. The Marigold is unhinged literary horror that goes right to the source of decay.” — Iain Reid, award-winning author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Foe, and We Spread
I should have read the blurb more closely, “literary“ anything seldom leads to enjoyable experiences for me. This book didn‘t go right to anywhere.
“Weaving together disparate storylines and tapping into the realms of body horror, urban dystopia, and ecofiction, The Marigold explores the precarity of community and the fragile designs that bind us together.“
Besides the sporror and climate fic we also have a queer relationship, so all boxes are ticked.
Pretty cover.
Bottomline, I did not care for any of the characters. The story stayed on the surface, I lacked emotions and meaningful character development. It was all very episodic and the plot, as little as there was, moved glacially slow. Boring, bleak, depressing, with a silly ending. I hope the Toronto administrators and property developers will be forced to read this as punishment.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and ECW Press. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review. I am sorry I didn‘t like this.
Toronto Apocalypse? Andrew Sullivan on his new horror book ‘The Marigold,’ an oozing life form, and the terror of alienation and isolation:
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment...
September 8, 2022
I started The Marigold with fewer holes in my brain. You'd be hard pressed to find a more liminal novel. It straddles more lines than the dirtiest of politicians. Present and future; horrifying and mundane; the surreal and the relatable. This book contains myriad dualities, the contradictions serving to paint a grimy picture I've come to depend on from Sullivan.
His prose is essential, all fat trimmed and dumped in a garbage bin next to the corpse of a lion (check out his previous novel, WASTE, for more on that.) As lean as it is vivid, it forces you to hang on every word, each sentence assaulting your mind and fraying every synapse.
If that wasn't enough to exhaust your brain, he throws character after character at you, working decades of history into even the most minor of bit-players. You'll find yourself growing attached to friends who only show up for a single vignette, a quick glimpse into the lives of the tenants of The Marigold.
Don't even get me started on the racoons.
If you're a fan of Palahniuk, you're going to dig this. It goes toe-to-toe with the amount of decay in his stories and has you inhabiting the minds of characters you'd rather avoid. Be prepared to confront some deep flaws and make sure you're wearing your seat-belt when you climb into the Shit Car.
His prose is essential, all fat trimmed and dumped in a garbage bin next to the corpse of a lion (check out his previous novel, WASTE, for more on that.) As lean as it is vivid, it forces you to hang on every word, each sentence assaulting your mind and fraying every synapse.
If that wasn't enough to exhaust your brain, he throws character after character at you, working decades of history into even the most minor of bit-players. You'll find yourself growing attached to friends who only show up for a single vignette, a quick glimpse into the lives of the tenants of The Marigold.
Don't even get me started on the racoons.
If you're a fan of Palahniuk, you're going to dig this. It goes toe-to-toe with the amount of decay in his stories and has you inhabiting the minds of characters you'd rather avoid. Be prepared to confront some deep flaws and make sure you're wearing your seat-belt when you climb into the Shit Car.
April 17, 2023
The Marigold is reminiscent of “The Blob”, with the wet being a monster of our own making. This book is a solid 3.5 ⭐️'s, and has a lot packed into it. It took some time to get used to the writing and jumping back and forth between the main characters and victims.
April 11, 2023
I love fungal horror, I love literary fiction, I love body horror and weird just-left-of-center alternate futures. Based on all of that, I expected to love "The Marigold." It has a great cover, it has a fabulous premise, it's coming from an indie publisher, and I'd love to give the editor who crafted that synopsis a kiss--it's one of the most enticing I've read in a long time.
However, in the execution, this book falls flat.
First, let's talk grammar. This book could have benefited immensely from a heavy-handed additional round of copyedits. This author really loves commas. The sentence structures are very repetitive, and a book comprised almost entirely of six or seven clauses mashed together with commas does not make for a smooth or engaging reading experience. This book suffers from a multitude of comma splices, dangling modifiers, and random intrusions of second person. There's not a single use of a past participle in the entire thing, which is absolutely mind-boggling considering that it's written in past tense. It makes it very hard to follow what is happening, and when. I don't think I've ever seen this degree of grammatical mistakes in a traditionally published book before. Fixing these pervasive issues would bring my rating up by a full 1.5 stars immediately.
As far as plot goes, there are problems there, too. As other reviewers have commented, there are too many rotating POVs to really get attached to the characters or keep track of what's going on. In my opinion, you could have cut out either Cathy or Soda and not much would have changed. Cathy in particular felt like a police officer-shaped cardboard cutout, and her throwaway "relationship" with Jasmine was bizarre and half-baked. It changed nothing about the way the two of them interacted. Jasmine herself flips motivations and reactions like a light switch, which renders her one-dimensional and unconvincing. The chapters with the two of them felt like a slog, when they had the potential to be the most engaging. Their work was, for me, one of the more interesting aspects of the book, and I would have liked to have seen them better fleshed out.
Stanley Marigold's POV is rife with random sexual content that adds nothing to what we know about him as a character, and derails the plot completely. For example, this bizarre scene where he goes down into a subway station to hide in a corner and edge himself to pictures of his wife cucking him--what reason does a man who (as the narrative tells us again and again) has more houses than he can count have to go into a subway station to fondle himself? It's an odd choice for sure, and I would have cut it from the manuscript. It doesn't accomplish anything. I don't need to read about how this guy's genitalia shrivels from the cold. I'm good.
Of all the POVs, the one I found the most interesting and engaging was Henrietta's. I enjoyed the character of Cabeza the best, and the arcs that the two of them had were the most fleshed-out. I actually cared about what happened to them, which is more than I can say for most of the other characters. The little vignettes of other residents of the Marigold slowly succumbing to the Wet were also fun flavoring, and I think they added to the story.
Overall, I think presenting this novel as literary fiction is disingenuous. This is genre through and through--and there's nothing wrong with that! Genre isn't lesser, it's just different. When I'm told I'm getting literary fiction, I'm expecting 1) better than average writing quality, and 2) extensive engagement with complex themes that go beyond just driving the plot forward. Neither of those things are present here. This book isn't helping its case by writing checks with its jacket that the prose can't cash. Had my expectations not been set so high from the get-go, I might not have been so disappointed in the end.
More than anything, I'm let down because this book could have been a solid 4 stars--maybe even 4.5--if it had been executed differently. Instead it settled for being fine, which is one of the most frustrating things a book with great potential can do (The Latinist also comes to mind). Stephanie Feldman's "Saturnalia" (Unnamed Press, 2022) engages with similar themes--impending ecological disaster and the supernatural crimes of the wealthy elite in an alternate, near-future Philadelphia--and does it with grace and agility. I was hoping that "The Marigold" would stand up against that comp for me, but it didn't.
Overall, it was an interesting read, but not necessarily an enjoyable one. If the craft issues were addressed, I'd be happy to recommend it to other fans of fungal horror.
However, in the execution, this book falls flat.
First, let's talk grammar. This book could have benefited immensely from a heavy-handed additional round of copyedits. This author really loves commas. The sentence structures are very repetitive, and a book comprised almost entirely of six or seven clauses mashed together with commas does not make for a smooth or engaging reading experience. This book suffers from a multitude of comma splices, dangling modifiers, and random intrusions of second person. There's not a single use of a past participle in the entire thing, which is absolutely mind-boggling considering that it's written in past tense. It makes it very hard to follow what is happening, and when. I don't think I've ever seen this degree of grammatical mistakes in a traditionally published book before. Fixing these pervasive issues would bring my rating up by a full 1.5 stars immediately.
As far as plot goes, there are problems there, too. As other reviewers have commented, there are too many rotating POVs to really get attached to the characters or keep track of what's going on. In my opinion, you could have cut out either Cathy or Soda and not much would have changed. Cathy in particular felt like a police officer-shaped cardboard cutout, and her throwaway "relationship" with Jasmine was bizarre and half-baked. It changed nothing about the way the two of them interacted. Jasmine herself flips motivations and reactions like a light switch, which renders her one-dimensional and unconvincing. The chapters with the two of them felt like a slog, when they had the potential to be the most engaging. Their work was, for me, one of the more interesting aspects of the book, and I would have liked to have seen them better fleshed out.
Stanley Marigold's POV is rife with random sexual content that adds nothing to what we know about him as a character, and derails the plot completely. For example, this bizarre scene where he goes down into a subway station to hide in a corner and edge himself to pictures of his wife cucking him--what reason does a man who (as the narrative tells us again and again) has more houses than he can count have to go into a subway station to fondle himself? It's an odd choice for sure, and I would have cut it from the manuscript. It doesn't accomplish anything. I don't need to read about how this guy's genitalia shrivels from the cold. I'm good.
Of all the POVs, the one I found the most interesting and engaging was Henrietta's. I enjoyed the character of Cabeza the best, and the arcs that the two of them had were the most fleshed-out. I actually cared about what happened to them, which is more than I can say for most of the other characters. The little vignettes of other residents of the Marigold slowly succumbing to the Wet were also fun flavoring, and I think they added to the story.
Overall, I think presenting this novel as literary fiction is disingenuous. This is genre through and through--and there's nothing wrong with that! Genre isn't lesser, it's just different. When I'm told I'm getting literary fiction, I'm expecting 1) better than average writing quality, and 2) extensive engagement with complex themes that go beyond just driving the plot forward. Neither of those things are present here. This book isn't helping its case by writing checks with its jacket that the prose can't cash. Had my expectations not been set so high from the get-go, I might not have been so disappointed in the end.
More than anything, I'm let down because this book could have been a solid 4 stars--maybe even 4.5--if it had been executed differently. Instead it settled for being fine, which is one of the most frustrating things a book with great potential can do (The Latinist also comes to mind). Stephanie Feldman's "Saturnalia" (Unnamed Press, 2022) engages with similar themes--impending ecological disaster and the supernatural crimes of the wealthy elite in an alternate, near-future Philadelphia--and does it with grace and agility. I was hoping that "The Marigold" would stand up against that comp for me, but it didn't.
Overall, it was an interesting read, but not necessarily an enjoyable one. If the craft issues were addressed, I'd be happy to recommend it to other fans of fungal horror.
April 24, 2024
"A naturally occurring biological weapon, one humans could never hope to control, designed by no one, and beholden to nothing but its own propagation. This is the Wet."
The Marigold is a dystopian horror narrative that places in a not-so-distant future, in Toronto. It uses the genre to create an effective social critique/commentary on Toronto, and the lack of accountability taken by public institutions and government, the corruption of democracy in favour or monetary gain and the expense, health and even lives of local citizens.
The narrative centres around the development of the rise condo tower The Marigold II, the residents, builders and investors, nearby residents, as well as The Wet and those who's job it is to contain and maintain the waterfront area of Downtown from the wet. Andrew's narrative was heavily inspired by the local municipal, provincial and federal governments response to the covid pandemic, and the general governmental corruption within the city. This book is a funny, dark and disgusting critique by Sullivan on the current state of affairs for both the government and the ways in which we as humans effectively create this sense of isolation and loneliness due to capitalist social structure. I loved this novel. It was one of my favourite new releases of 2023 and in my top 10 dystopian narratives.
Genres:
- Science Fiction
- Literary Fiction
-Canadian Fiction
- Horror Fiction
--Body Horror
- - EcoHorror
-Fantasy
- Urban Dystopia -
Viral/Fungal pandemic
- LBGTQIA+
Themes:
-Isolation (neg. consequences of being isolated) -capitalism- - prioritizing money over everything -progress vs nature -Blood money -lack of meaningful connections among people
Thank you ECW Press and Netgalley for my E-book arc copy. That you Andrew for the awesome book.
The Marigold is a dystopian horror narrative that places in a not-so-distant future, in Toronto. It uses the genre to create an effective social critique/commentary on Toronto, and the lack of accountability taken by public institutions and government, the corruption of democracy in favour or monetary gain and the expense, health and even lives of local citizens.
The narrative centres around the development of the rise condo tower The Marigold II, the residents, builders and investors, nearby residents, as well as The Wet and those who's job it is to contain and maintain the waterfront area of Downtown from the wet. Andrew's narrative was heavily inspired by the local municipal, provincial and federal governments response to the covid pandemic, and the general governmental corruption within the city. This book is a funny, dark and disgusting critique by Sullivan on the current state of affairs for both the government and the ways in which we as humans effectively create this sense of isolation and loneliness due to capitalist social structure. I loved this novel. It was one of my favourite new releases of 2023 and in my top 10 dystopian narratives.
Genres:
- Science Fiction
- Literary Fiction
-Canadian Fiction
- Horror Fiction
--Body Horror
- - EcoHorror
-Fantasy
- Urban Dystopia -
Viral/Fungal pandemic
- LBGTQIA+
Themes:
-Isolation (neg. consequences of being isolated) -capitalism- - prioritizing money over everything -progress vs nature -Blood money -lack of meaningful connections among people
Thank you ECW Press and Netgalley for my E-book arc copy. That you Andrew for the awesome book.
August 22, 2023
In THE MARIGOLD, Andrew Sullivan delivers a weird and bold if sprawling story about a dystopian future Toronto, where rich developers satiate the earth with blood before building and a sentient fungus appears intent on making the city and possibly all of humanity its own. I loved it.
The novel has an ensemble cast doomed to play their parts in multiple, sometimes intersecting storylines. Decadent developers engaging in an ancient blood rite to fuel their real estate empires, public health workers investigating the monstrous fungus, teens probing the underworld to find a lost friend, and more. Through their perspectives, we see a Toronto built on blood, haunted by its victims, and possibly careening toward destruction. The book is sprawling in its scope and struck some readers as slow and a bit bloated, but I didn’t mind. In fact, I loved it for its bold and original ideas, general weirdness, provocative writing, and overall integrity. Sullivan gave me something I hadn’t seen before, and for that alone, he won my respect.
Check it out if you’re into eco-horror and looking for something new and different.
The novel has an ensemble cast doomed to play their parts in multiple, sometimes intersecting storylines. Decadent developers engaging in an ancient blood rite to fuel their real estate empires, public health workers investigating the monstrous fungus, teens probing the underworld to find a lost friend, and more. Through their perspectives, we see a Toronto built on blood, haunted by its victims, and possibly careening toward destruction. The book is sprawling in its scope and struck some readers as slow and a bit bloated, but I didn’t mind. In fact, I loved it for its bold and original ideas, general weirdness, provocative writing, and overall integrity. Sullivan gave me something I hadn’t seen before, and for that alone, he won my respect.
Check it out if you’re into eco-horror and looking for something new and different.
October 20, 2022
I have give this book only three stars. The story was good but told from so many different directions and not intersecting until the very end. I am sorry, it started out so good but lost its luster after the first few chapters and the ending seemed hurried and not formed like the rest of the book. The author must have had a deadline and finished in a hurry. I could only take a couple of chapters at a time because the middle of the book was so slow. Pretty good fleshing out of the characters. Makes you wonder what hit you in the last chapter when everything comes together hurriedly in one chapter. Disappointed!
June 4, 2023
Some books I will never forget. THE MARIGOLD is one of them. Penned by an extraordinary writer, Andrew F. Sullivan, about a Near Future, all too plausible, city in the throes of condemnation [not by decree, but by Nature and by the foul actions of the wealthy and powerful; by Weather; by human-intensified Climate Change; and by the insidious takeover of the Hive Mind (if only it was just Fungus) the characters herein name "the Wet"]: this City is Toronto, but certainly [one hopes] not the Toronto of today.
The Toronto that author Sullivan nightmare-envisions is a model also for the Near Future of this planet. [Certainly, when the Wet succeeds with its absorption of one city, it's not going to pause and rest on its laurels. Wherever are humans....]
Near Future Science Fiction, Dystopia, Diverse Rep, LGBTQ Rep, Classism, Occult [and its consequences], the human drive to "Belong," [the Wet has its own extraordinary riff to play on this concept], Hive Mind, Sentience. THE MARIGOLD is full to overflowing. I dare readers to swallow this novel and then try to forget it. Not happening.
The Toronto that author Sullivan nightmare-envisions is a model also for the Near Future of this planet. [Certainly, when the Wet succeeds with its absorption of one city, it's not going to pause and rest on its laurels. Wherever are humans....]
Near Future Science Fiction, Dystopia, Diverse Rep, LGBTQ Rep, Classism, Occult [and its consequences], the human drive to "Belong," [the Wet has its own extraordinary riff to play on this concept], Hive Mind, Sentience. THE MARIGOLD is full to overflowing. I dare readers to swallow this novel and then try to forget it. Not happening.
September 16, 2022
For me, the strongest element of this book was the bodyhorror. The style of writing suited it well- not overdone, not undercooked, just right for the tone. Without giving too much away, think Ghibli-style demon ick but make it toxic mould. It was right up my flooded alley. Or, resides in the penthouse suite of my decaying tower, if you prefer.
I found the Cathy, Soda and Henrietta perspectives the most interesting, and would have preferred a bit less time spent with the other characters. Overall I think if there were one less character for readers to follow it would have flowed even better and would have given the others a bit more time and depth, but all their threads were neatly interwoven by the end and didn't leave things confused.
Vignettes of various occupants of The Marigold and chapters marked with suite numbers was a nice touch.
The social commentary (which is the heart of book, really) was on point; not hammered into the reader but always present and consistent, and the eco-thriller vibe kept things low-level tense. There was a Hummingbird Salamander feel to it at times which I enjoyed.
3.8 stars rounded up for originality and intention. Also an excellent cover!
This was a very cool and considered idea for a story, many thanks to ECW Press for offering this one to me and Netgalley for providing access!
I found the Cathy, Soda and Henrietta perspectives the most interesting, and would have preferred a bit less time spent with the other characters. Overall I think if there were one less character for readers to follow it would have flowed even better and would have given the others a bit more time and depth, but all their threads were neatly interwoven by the end and didn't leave things confused.
Vignettes of various occupants of The Marigold and chapters marked with suite numbers was a nice touch.
The social commentary (which is the heart of book, really) was on point; not hammered into the reader but always present and consistent, and the eco-thriller vibe kept things low-level tense. There was a Hummingbird Salamander feel to it at times which I enjoyed.
3.8 stars rounded up for originality and intention. Also an excellent cover!
This was a very cool and considered idea for a story, many thanks to ECW Press for offering this one to me and Netgalley for providing access!
December 29, 2023
The Marigold was an intriguing book. The cover with its tower and all of that stuff in the middle first caught my attention. The story of a dystopian future with a new sinister lifeform growing beneath the city; this was a story for me.
Sullivan’s story bounces around from character to character, some we only get to see for their final moments, others, we spend a lot of time with. The only thing binding these characters together is the toxic mold rotting the city from its foundations. The reader gets to know these characters, understand their motives, strengths and especially their weaknesses.
I love the selection of Toronto for a story about a mold spreading out eating everything in its path. For anyone who has ever been to Toronto, the city has only one natural border, the lake. From there Toronto has spread out, consuming everything in its path. Even the communities around Toronto have been gobbled up by the ever-expanding city.
For me The Marigold was a story of wealth and avarice. The towers, with their blatant Babel reference, speak of pride (another one of the seven deadly sins). And you cannot have pride without hubris, as we all know hubris must be punished. The story looks at the price that must be paid to build an eternal monument and those who pay that price rarely pay it themselves, wealth is built with the blood of the poor.
I enjoyed my time with Sullivan and his vision of the future. I felt that The Marigold really touched on some relevant themes regarding greed and privilege, the disdain with which those who have, look down on those who don’t. I would definitely go to some other world from Andrew F. Sullivan’s imagination.
Sullivan’s story bounces around from character to character, some we only get to see for their final moments, others, we spend a lot of time with. The only thing binding these characters together is the toxic mold rotting the city from its foundations. The reader gets to know these characters, understand their motives, strengths and especially their weaknesses.
I love the selection of Toronto for a story about a mold spreading out eating everything in its path. For anyone who has ever been to Toronto, the city has only one natural border, the lake. From there Toronto has spread out, consuming everything in its path. Even the communities around Toronto have been gobbled up by the ever-expanding city.
For me The Marigold was a story of wealth and avarice. The towers, with their blatant Babel reference, speak of pride (another one of the seven deadly sins). And you cannot have pride without hubris, as we all know hubris must be punished. The story looks at the price that must be paid to build an eternal monument and those who pay that price rarely pay it themselves, wealth is built with the blood of the poor.
I enjoyed my time with Sullivan and his vision of the future. I felt that The Marigold really touched on some relevant themes regarding greed and privilege, the disdain with which those who have, look down on those who don’t. I would definitely go to some other world from Andrew F. Sullivan’s imagination.
March 10, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Out April 18, 2023.
4 stars
Who knew, the landlords were the bad guys all along?!
Jk, we all knew that.
This is so timely, especially with the housing crisis we’re seeing in Southern Ontario. It’s a little horror, a little social commentary and honestly a little humour (the raccoons, omg).
This crumbling dystopian version of Toronto was so interesting to read about. I especially loved the quote “Although people swore this was the end of the world, Dale knew the truth - the world was only flipping the mattress.” Life, uh, finds a way… right?
I thought the writing was very easy to read and enjoyed reading all the Toronto references. The Wet is such a weird, gross enigma and the only thing I’d say is that I almost wanted more of this weirdly sentient mold. And more about the gardeners! I’m honestly so intrigued by all the lore.
Out April 18, 2023.
4 stars
Who knew, the landlords were the bad guys all along?!
Jk, we all knew that.
This is so timely, especially with the housing crisis we’re seeing in Southern Ontario. It’s a little horror, a little social commentary and honestly a little humour (the raccoons, omg).
This crumbling dystopian version of Toronto was so interesting to read about. I especially loved the quote “Although people swore this was the end of the world, Dale knew the truth - the world was only flipping the mattress.” Life, uh, finds a way… right?
I thought the writing was very easy to read and enjoyed reading all the Toronto references. The Wet is such a weird, gross enigma and the only thing I’d say is that I almost wanted more of this weirdly sentient mold. And more about the gardeners! I’m honestly so intrigued by all the lore.
April 19, 2023
Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publishers and Andrew F.Sullivan for giving me the opportunity to read this book, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Firstly I want to say how much I love a good dystopian. And when I read the blurb, I knew this book was going to be interesting and unexpected. I wasn't wrong. I think Sullivan has an incredible imagination.
The Marigold is a hotel in dystopian Toronto that now resides below the ground after a fungal type entity/lifeform has taken over people and buildings from underground.
Stanley Marigold, our Villian, is attempting to open a second Marigold and great cost. What a fascinating and nasty character he is!
We see different characters who live in The Marigold and chapters alternate between the characters lives and perspectives. For me, I think the book would have worked better with less characters. Sullivan did a nice job at making sure the story didn't become disjointed because of alternating characters but I just found it a bit hard to connect with them when we were jumping around.
I'm glad I got the opportunity to read this story, however I'm ready to pick up a light hearted romance after this read. It was a little too dark and depressing for my likes. The body horror was BODY 👏 HORROR 👏
If I am honest, I was disappointment with the pacing. It was quite slow in the middle and then the ended felt rushed. I feel like it could have been paced slightly better, so that it kept interesting throughout.
I would recommend this but I'd say go in prepared and maybe check the trigger warnings. I just think this wasn't for me but that's the beauty of books, I know it's a 5star for someone.
Firstly I want to say how much I love a good dystopian. And when I read the blurb, I knew this book was going to be interesting and unexpected. I wasn't wrong. I think Sullivan has an incredible imagination.
The Marigold is a hotel in dystopian Toronto that now resides below the ground after a fungal type entity/lifeform has taken over people and buildings from underground.
Stanley Marigold, our Villian, is attempting to open a second Marigold and great cost. What a fascinating and nasty character he is!
We see different characters who live in The Marigold and chapters alternate between the characters lives and perspectives. For me, I think the book would have worked better with less characters. Sullivan did a nice job at making sure the story didn't become disjointed because of alternating characters but I just found it a bit hard to connect with them when we were jumping around.
I'm glad I got the opportunity to read this story, however I'm ready to pick up a light hearted romance after this read. It was a little too dark and depressing for my likes. The body horror was BODY 👏 HORROR 👏
If I am honest, I was disappointment with the pacing. It was quite slow in the middle and then the ended felt rushed. I feel like it could have been paced slightly better, so that it kept interesting throughout.
I would recommend this but I'd say go in prepared and maybe check the trigger warnings. I just think this wasn't for me but that's the beauty of books, I know it's a 5star for someone.
July 2, 2023
I loved this bleak, uncompromising novel about the collapse of a near-future Toronto. The characters are vivid, and Sullivan juggles multiple protagonists, perspectives, and storylines really well. Although human connection isn't posited as salvation here, it is posited (I think) as important, meaningful, and a way of staving off the situationally induced sociopathy of late capitalism. Enjoyed the somewhat lyrical, highly descriptive prose style, reminiscent of Gretchen Felker-Martin and Jeff Vandermeer-- a great style for thriller-adjacent novels that walk the thin line between socially conscious satirical science fiction and existential horror. I could smell parts of this book!
November 30, 2022
I received an ARC from the author for the purposes of an honest review. This is what follows.
At this point, I think I've read everything by Sullivan that I can get my hands on, from his short stories in All We Want Is Everything to his grimy, bleak crime-noir Waste. What I've come to expect is prose so lean it feels flayed from the bone, characters so sharp that they may have done the flaying, and unnervingly organic set-pieces.
The Marigold feels like a combination, and really, apotheosis, of these elements. Sullivan is working at the top of his craft here, writing from the perspectives of not only side-players but villains—and arguably, it's the latter whose perspective is most intriguing here. We follow a veritable panoply of characters around a near-future version of Toronto as they sidle and skulk around various sinkholes and towers. We inhabit the eyes of two health inspectors; a young girl and her cohort of friends; a Magellan (read: Uber) driver and conspiracy theory-obsessed father; the eponymous villain of the piece; a gardener...and some raccoons.
Just typing that up made me question myself, to make sure I hadn't forgotten anyone. In addition to this troupe of characters, there are also inventive side-stories of inhabitants who live in the fabled Marigold tower, delineated by Suite numbers, and their brief turns on the stage are just as brilliant and evocative as the main players. The characterization is top-flight—every single character is grappling with something.
Thematically, love and loss are constant, woven throughout, but even more prevalent is the satire. This is a brittle, angry book, charged with intense discussion of real estate, zoning, cityscape planning, and the nature of man's efforts to plumb the deepest depths—only to ascend the highest highs. Of course, what goes up... well, I'll let you finish that famous maxim on your own. From old rituals to modern-day technology and beyond, this is a stunning book that feels like it could be set in our present day, with a feverish news-cycle, simultaneously feeling like it could be set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In The Marigold, society is barely stringing itself along to meet the most basic of human needs, while pandering to those who have money and are turning the gears of the world, even as they slip and catch in the machinery.
I mentioned before that the villain of the piece—the eponymous Stanley Marigold—is by far the most interesting bit of this entire drama. Unrepentently vicious and ambitious, his trajectory parallels what he's wrought on the landscape of the doomed City, and it's fascinating to watch.
I will say that there is quite a bit of musing on how towers and structures come to be, especially from a legal angle, and I can only surmise that Sullivan has done quite a bit of research on these topics, as some of it was a bit difficult for me to parse through, and I did feel like there was a bit of narrative drag in places. This is because, in other places, the novel reads like a berserker version of an action-adventure movie. The set pieces—even those not set in The Marigold itself—are breathless and cinematographic as they careen back and forth from viewpoint to viewpoint. I could easily see this novel turned into a movie—though I doubt the frames could hold the prose—I would absolutely love to see how Hollywood would handle the creeping menace of the fungal spread that threatens the lives and livelihoods of those involved with its slow takeover.
Tonally speaking, this read—to me—like the lovechild of Jeremy Robert Johnson's The Loop and Matt Bell's Appleseed. There's bizarre, gonzo elements tempered by extended world-building and speculative, satirical musing on what it means to be human in a dark landscape where hope seems—at best—fleeting.
True to form, Sullivan's bleak, nearly nihilistic viewpoint shines through the narrative like a black light, and it spares no one. It reads like a pissed-off Cassandra pointing at the ruins, going "See? See?"
I dare you to look it in the eye. Once it's got you, it might be hard to break away.
And all the while, the raccoons creep closer...
At this point, I think I've read everything by Sullivan that I can get my hands on, from his short stories in All We Want Is Everything to his grimy, bleak crime-noir Waste. What I've come to expect is prose so lean it feels flayed from the bone, characters so sharp that they may have done the flaying, and unnervingly organic set-pieces.
The Marigold feels like a combination, and really, apotheosis, of these elements. Sullivan is working at the top of his craft here, writing from the perspectives of not only side-players but villains—and arguably, it's the latter whose perspective is most intriguing here. We follow a veritable panoply of characters around a near-future version of Toronto as they sidle and skulk around various sinkholes and towers. We inhabit the eyes of two health inspectors; a young girl and her cohort of friends; a Magellan (read: Uber) driver and conspiracy theory-obsessed father; the eponymous villain of the piece; a gardener...and some raccoons.
Just typing that up made me question myself, to make sure I hadn't forgotten anyone. In addition to this troupe of characters, there are also inventive side-stories of inhabitants who live in the fabled Marigold tower, delineated by Suite numbers, and their brief turns on the stage are just as brilliant and evocative as the main players. The characterization is top-flight—every single character is grappling with something.
Thematically, love and loss are constant, woven throughout, but even more prevalent is the satire. This is a brittle, angry book, charged with intense discussion of real estate, zoning, cityscape planning, and the nature of man's efforts to plumb the deepest depths—only to ascend the highest highs. Of course, what goes up... well, I'll let you finish that famous maxim on your own. From old rituals to modern-day technology and beyond, this is a stunning book that feels like it could be set in our present day, with a feverish news-cycle, simultaneously feeling like it could be set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In The Marigold, society is barely stringing itself along to meet the most basic of human needs, while pandering to those who have money and are turning the gears of the world, even as they slip and catch in the machinery.
I mentioned before that the villain of the piece—the eponymous Stanley Marigold—is by far the most interesting bit of this entire drama. Unrepentently vicious and ambitious, his trajectory parallels what he's wrought on the landscape of the doomed City, and it's fascinating to watch.
I will say that there is quite a bit of musing on how towers and structures come to be, especially from a legal angle, and I can only surmise that Sullivan has done quite a bit of research on these topics, as some of it was a bit difficult for me to parse through, and I did feel like there was a bit of narrative drag in places. This is because, in other places, the novel reads like a berserker version of an action-adventure movie. The set pieces—even those not set in The Marigold itself—are breathless and cinematographic as they careen back and forth from viewpoint to viewpoint. I could easily see this novel turned into a movie—though I doubt the frames could hold the prose—I would absolutely love to see how Hollywood would handle the creeping menace of the fungal spread that threatens the lives and livelihoods of those involved with its slow takeover.
Tonally speaking, this read—to me—like the lovechild of Jeremy Robert Johnson's The Loop and Matt Bell's Appleseed. There's bizarre, gonzo elements tempered by extended world-building and speculative, satirical musing on what it means to be human in a dark landscape where hope seems—at best—fleeting.
True to form, Sullivan's bleak, nearly nihilistic viewpoint shines through the narrative like a black light, and it spares no one. It reads like a pissed-off Cassandra pointing at the ruins, going "See? See?"
I dare you to look it in the eye. Once it's got you, it might be hard to break away.
And all the while, the raccoons creep closer...
May 16, 2023
Disaffection, gentrification, sinkholes, halted construction, slum landlords, unaffordable housing, heavy traffic, overworked city workers and underfunded departments, failing social services...these all make up Toronto in Andrew F. Sullivan’s latest novel. This could be the present day city, except for the regular bad storms and flooding, and a weird fungal growth called The Wet that appears in some city buildings. It’s hard to deal with, and dangerous if inhaled. There is little understanding of where it came from, and other than spraying it with an anti-fungal spray when it appears, no idea how to prevent it.
Sullivan presents a city ready to fall apart through a huge range of characters, some living in the buildings owned by the Marigold corporation, various corporation heads, including the Marigold's, a rideshare driver, kids living next to a halted Marigold construction project, and a mysterious figure known only as the gardener.
We find out that the fungal infection is spreading to more buildings, people are disappearing, absorbed by the Wet, corporate heads are engaging in weird rituals supposedly designed to ensure the health of their profits and influence in the city, the gardener is performing the actual rituals to ensure the health of buildings, and, there also appears to be a disembodied voice goading or chastising some of the people featured in the story.
There are lots of shocking moments, including the revelation that The Wet is sentient, and seemingly growing. Also, the overall picture Sullivan presents of Toronto is grim and disheartening.
The huge cast makes it hard to at times to care about any one person, especially as there is a fair amount of jumping from person to person. Sullivan also includes lots of grimy, goopy yuckiness, as well as a nice tie back to ancient practices.
I found this a slow read, and as already stated, pretty grim. I didn't enjoy it, but I appreciated it.
Thank you to Netgalley and to ECW Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Sullivan presents a city ready to fall apart through a huge range of characters, some living in the buildings owned by the Marigold corporation, various corporation heads, including the Marigold's, a rideshare driver, kids living next to a halted Marigold construction project, and a mysterious figure known only as the gardener.
We find out that the fungal infection is spreading to more buildings, people are disappearing, absorbed by the Wet, corporate heads are engaging in weird rituals supposedly designed to ensure the health of their profits and influence in the city, the gardener is performing the actual rituals to ensure the health of buildings, and, there also appears to be a disembodied voice goading or chastising some of the people featured in the story.
There are lots of shocking moments, including the revelation that The Wet is sentient, and seemingly growing. Also, the overall picture Sullivan presents of Toronto is grim and disheartening.
The huge cast makes it hard to at times to care about any one person, especially as there is a fair amount of jumping from person to person. Sullivan also includes lots of grimy, goopy yuckiness, as well as a nice tie back to ancient practices.
I found this a slow read, and as already stated, pretty grim. I didn't enjoy it, but I appreciated it.
Thank you to Netgalley and to ECW Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
September 13, 2022
The Marigold is a complex story. If you strip it back, it is somewhat reminiscent of the tv series Succession, or otherwise maybe the Trump family, as they struggle with the building of their latest supertower complex. The family is unlikeable, and they are really well crafted characters. Throw in some environmental breakdown, and some horror sci fi, and you get a great book, albeit one that is at times very hard to follow. It does come together well at the end, but there were definitely times I read this for 20 minutes and felt like I had got nowhere, and made no progress, because there are lots of character switches and a lot of the characters are very similar (largely horrible) people. That's my only negative otherwise. The writing throughout is excellent despite this (sometimes large) criticism. If you have a better attention span, you might well give it a 5*.
Fans of this should also definitely check out Terminal Park by Gary J Shipley.
Fans of this should also definitely check out Terminal Park by Gary J Shipley.
May 11, 2023
Loved this creepy, beautifully written tale!
December 13, 2022
First, huge thanks to Andrew for reaching out to see if I’d be up for reading an eARC of this one. While it’s not out until April, after reading the synopsis I needed to dive in almost immediately.
I will say, Andrew’s email had the most convincing opening sentence I’ve had received for a review request. “Hey, Steve. My name’s Andrew F. Sullivan and I’m friends with Andrew Pyper.” Sold. Haha! He went on to say something like, I’m a well-respected Canadian author, I have a book coming out soon with Nick Cutter, etc etc etc, something else, but I skimmed. I knew I was in! Haha! I kid. In truth, Andrew F. Sullivan is a name that has been recommended to me previously and when he reached out, I was surprised and humbled that he’d even considered me. So, huge thanks to him for that boost!
Now, regarding the book. There were two key things that really caught my eye about the synopsis. That is was described a urban dystopia and featured environmental chaos. As much as the climate crisis fills me with ongoing dread and worry – both regarding what we’re doing now and what kind of future my son will have – I actually enjoy reading about it. Recent books that I’ve read and enjoyed were Eden and The Last Storm by Tim Lebbon, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Lost Girl by Adam Nevill. All books that feature a significant change in our way of life directly due to the ecological impact and climate crisis events.
The other thing that had me intrigued was the Toronto aspect. I’ve mentioned it before, but Toronto is a mythical city for me. Growing up, it was where Canadian movies, tv shows and those appearing in them lived. It was where Hockey Night in Canada happened and where the Leafs and the Canadians battled. It created a spot in my small town brain that hasn’t left. So, I wanted to see what Sullivan was going to do to this place that continues to shimmer in my mind.
What I liked: ‘The Marigold’ follows a number of inter-woven storylines, all surrounding the strange mass growing below the surface of the city, called The Wet. This gelatinous mold material that seems to have a sentient component and a human-like emotive element is transforming and taking over everything in its path, including the people it comes into contact with.
The various characters that we are introduced to are all solid, well formed folks, people we either root for right away or (rightfully so) detest immediately. It’s one aspect of the book that keeps you turning the pages, hoping for redemption to those struggling (looking at you Soda) and ramifications for those who treat people poorly and only want progress and not well made, dependable product (looking at you all of The Marigold/Dundee folks).
Additionally, The Wet itself is an intriguing and often used device that keeps the tension high and when we get the ‘human’ aspects introduced, especially involving a search for a specific character, it worked so very well to give it a cinematic aspect.
The ending is powerful, reaching inwards to the reader and making us confront a tough question, one that revolves around our personal beliefs and challenges us to try and be better.
What I didn’t like: Yes, there are a lot of characters, but Sullivan handled that well. What I wasn’t too much of a fan of was the random entries/chapters regarding specific apartments in The Marigold building itself. After a couple of them, you know they are added purely to show how The Wet is pulling itself further into the building itself and the reader will have no care or concern for the resident themselves.
Why you should buy this: The way the dystopian aspect is positioned here, a lot of this book reminded me of what I loved about the 80’s and 90’s comic book movies and Tim Burton movies. Where Gotham City is overrun by crooks and crazies. Where Robocop patrols the streets of a Detroit overrun by gangs and madness. It turned Toronto into this heightened, horrifying place where the ground itself is crumbling, but progress can’t be stopped.
This was a fascinating, if not awful look, at just what our future could become, but done in such a way you want to hold onto hope.
Even when that seems impossible.
I will say, Andrew’s email had the most convincing opening sentence I’ve had received for a review request. “Hey, Steve. My name’s Andrew F. Sullivan and I’m friends with Andrew Pyper.” Sold. Haha! He went on to say something like, I’m a well-respected Canadian author, I have a book coming out soon with Nick Cutter, etc etc etc, something else, but I skimmed. I knew I was in! Haha! I kid. In truth, Andrew F. Sullivan is a name that has been recommended to me previously and when he reached out, I was surprised and humbled that he’d even considered me. So, huge thanks to him for that boost!
Now, regarding the book. There were two key things that really caught my eye about the synopsis. That is was described a urban dystopia and featured environmental chaos. As much as the climate crisis fills me with ongoing dread and worry – both regarding what we’re doing now and what kind of future my son will have – I actually enjoy reading about it. Recent books that I’ve read and enjoyed were Eden and The Last Storm by Tim Lebbon, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Lost Girl by Adam Nevill. All books that feature a significant change in our way of life directly due to the ecological impact and climate crisis events.
The other thing that had me intrigued was the Toronto aspect. I’ve mentioned it before, but Toronto is a mythical city for me. Growing up, it was where Canadian movies, tv shows and those appearing in them lived. It was where Hockey Night in Canada happened and where the Leafs and the Canadians battled. It created a spot in my small town brain that hasn’t left. So, I wanted to see what Sullivan was going to do to this place that continues to shimmer in my mind.
What I liked: ‘The Marigold’ follows a number of inter-woven storylines, all surrounding the strange mass growing below the surface of the city, called The Wet. This gelatinous mold material that seems to have a sentient component and a human-like emotive element is transforming and taking over everything in its path, including the people it comes into contact with.
The various characters that we are introduced to are all solid, well formed folks, people we either root for right away or (rightfully so) detest immediately. It’s one aspect of the book that keeps you turning the pages, hoping for redemption to those struggling (looking at you Soda) and ramifications for those who treat people poorly and only want progress and not well made, dependable product (looking at you all of The Marigold/Dundee folks).
Additionally, The Wet itself is an intriguing and often used device that keeps the tension high and when we get the ‘human’ aspects introduced, especially involving a search for a specific character, it worked so very well to give it a cinematic aspect.
The ending is powerful, reaching inwards to the reader and making us confront a tough question, one that revolves around our personal beliefs and challenges us to try and be better.
What I didn’t like: Yes, there are a lot of characters, but Sullivan handled that well. What I wasn’t too much of a fan of was the random entries/chapters regarding specific apartments in The Marigold building itself. After a couple of them, you know they are added purely to show how The Wet is pulling itself further into the building itself and the reader will have no care or concern for the resident themselves.
Why you should buy this: The way the dystopian aspect is positioned here, a lot of this book reminded me of what I loved about the 80’s and 90’s comic book movies and Tim Burton movies. Where Gotham City is overrun by crooks and crazies. Where Robocop patrols the streets of a Detroit overrun by gangs and madness. It turned Toronto into this heightened, horrifying place where the ground itself is crumbling, but progress can’t be stopped.
This was a fascinating, if not awful look, at just what our future could become, but done in such a way you want to hold onto hope.
Even when that seems impossible.
April 12, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. A crumbling Toronto, greedy real estate developers, a dank and dark atmosphere make a great eco fiction/horror novel. I had Jeff Vandermeer vibes while reading it. It is told from several POVs but it moves the story along and the reader learns as the characters learn. The story held my attention throughout and wasn’t predictable. Thanks NetGalley for an advance copy.
October 19, 2022
What's most incredible about this novel, and its most entertaining aspect, is the minutely detailed narrative of its many characters' psyches, delving deeply and turning up, revealing to the sun and readers' eyes, their dark moldy secret obsessions, greed, hatred, biases, and many other flaws hidden underneath. In that way, they're similar to (as well as residents of) the eponymous ultra-skyscraper, the Marigold: ostensibly a building of good, widely-sought-after, luxury condos while secretly breeding an insidious biological terror, the Wet, underneath. In Sullivan's indelible, delightfully horrific tale, it's ALL coming out of the basement. Thanks to Netgalley and ECW Press for the DRC of this very entertaining, thought-provoking, well-written book, the best horror I've read since King's.
January 31, 2024
A near future, pseudo-dystopia, with eco/body horror set in TORONTO? Hell yeah!
I've lived away but have spent most of my life on the outskirts of Toronto (Mississauga now North York) so I loved how vividly this book captured Toronto- but one where massive sinkholes have appeared and a sentient fungal growth seems to be spreading from the damp basements. Crumbling waterfront, flooded subway tunnels, a shit-drenched streetcar, rideshare apps and food delivery services, and the raccoons- one can never forget the raccoons- they are not your friends. The author clearly was as horrified as I was when Sidewalk Labs aka Google aka Alphabet (re: Threshold in the book) bought a chunk of Toronto's waterfront with the goal of building a smart-city pilot aimed at capturing citizens' data. A project that (thankfully) fell through in 2021. I recommend reading Sideways: The City that Google Couldn't Buy by Josh O'Kane if interested in that topic.
I immediately loved this book, I found the author was able to deliver really interesting characters within a very short introduction, I loved the short asides from the main characters who show a fraction of other's experiences in the city, I loved the commentary on the gig-economy, the housing crisis, negligent landlords, tech utopia vs old money traditions, class warfare, etc. Unfortunately, some of the main POVS were less interesting and my attention waned the longer we were in them (especially Stan Marigold and Henrietta's POVs), I found my thoughts regularly drifting off. I wasn't really satisfied with some of the more supernatural reasoning- it didn't seem internally consistent within his created world. But since I did drift my attention perhaps there were explanations I missed. Some characters didn't get real endings.
But overall I enjoyed this book more than was disappointed. Also-- the audiobook narrator says Toronto correctly!
For another take on near-future decrepit Toronto check-out The Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson.
I've lived away but have spent most of my life on the outskirts of Toronto (Mississauga now North York) so I loved how vividly this book captured Toronto- but one where massive sinkholes have appeared and a sentient fungal growth seems to be spreading from the damp basements. Crumbling waterfront, flooded subway tunnels, a shit-drenched streetcar, rideshare apps and food delivery services, and the raccoons- one can never forget the raccoons- they are not your friends. The author clearly was as horrified as I was when Sidewalk Labs aka Google aka Alphabet (re: Threshold in the book) bought a chunk of Toronto's waterfront with the goal of building a smart-city pilot aimed at capturing citizens' data. A project that (thankfully) fell through in 2021. I recommend reading Sideways: The City that Google Couldn't Buy by Josh O'Kane if interested in that topic.
I immediately loved this book, I found the author was able to deliver really interesting characters within a very short introduction, I loved the short asides from the main characters who show a fraction of other's experiences in the city, I loved the commentary on the gig-economy, the housing crisis, negligent landlords, tech utopia vs old money traditions, class warfare, etc. Unfortunately, some of the main POVS were less interesting and my attention waned the longer we were in them (especially Stan Marigold and Henrietta's POVs), I found my thoughts regularly drifting off. I wasn't really satisfied with some of the more supernatural reasoning- it didn't seem internally consistent within his created world. But since I did drift my attention perhaps there were explanations I missed. Some characters didn't get real endings.
But overall I enjoyed this book more than was disappointed. Also-- the audiobook narrator says Toronto correctly!
For another take on near-future decrepit Toronto check-out The Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson.
July 13, 2023
"...there weren't enough places to live, that the city could not contain its multitudes and would rather have them rot than see them housed."
This book turned out to be a little different than I was expecting, but overall, I had a great time with it. I loved the different POVs and the individual stories told by the residents of different apartment units, so even though there was a bit of jumping around, it was done so well and was easy to follow. Themes of greed and gluttony are woven throughout and their impacts. It was bleak and loved the increasing dread that was taking me over with each chapter.
I would categorize this as a creepy, reflective horror with a hint of The Last Of Us vibes. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Andrew in the future!
❤️ Read this if you like: multiple pov, dystopian horror, environmental horror, Canadian settings, casual sapphic romance, body horror, books that make you reflect.
This book turned out to be a little different than I was expecting, but overall, I had a great time with it. I loved the different POVs and the individual stories told by the residents of different apartment units, so even though there was a bit of jumping around, it was done so well and was easy to follow. Themes of greed and gluttony are woven throughout and their impacts. It was bleak and loved the increasing dread that was taking me over with each chapter.
I would categorize this as a creepy, reflective horror with a hint of The Last Of Us vibes. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Andrew in the future!
❤️ Read this if you like: multiple pov, dystopian horror, environmental horror, Canadian settings, casual sapphic romance, body horror, books that make you reflect.
May 18, 2023
Simplified summary:
First line from the summary is all you need: In a near-future Toronto buffeted by environmental chaos and unfettered development, an unsettling new lifeform begins to grow beneath the surface, feeding off the past
Opening lines:
Before everything that happened, before the towers, before the site plans, before the deeds, before the failing sports bar and two-bedroom apartment above it that often operated like another, more financially successful, unlicensed sports bar until the police shut it down after that one Polish kid got strangled with a pair of pink stockings behind the abandoned Shoppers Drug Mart a block or two south, there were trees here.
Review:
This book was incredibly written, had a slow building pace, and had several disparate storylines that came together in a very satisfying way. I love how seemless the transition is from the grounded reality of the struggles of an everyday person just trying to survive to this bizarre paranormal, dystopian world of sentient mold and world-ending conspiracies. A really, really wonderful book that I can see myself liking more and more as time goes by.
First line from the summary is all you need: In a near-future Toronto buffeted by environmental chaos and unfettered development, an unsettling new lifeform begins to grow beneath the surface, feeding off the past
Opening lines:
Before everything that happened, before the towers, before the site plans, before the deeds, before the failing sports bar and two-bedroom apartment above it that often operated like another, more financially successful, unlicensed sports bar until the police shut it down after that one Polish kid got strangled with a pair of pink stockings behind the abandoned Shoppers Drug Mart a block or two south, there were trees here.
Review:
This book was incredibly written, had a slow building pace, and had several disparate storylines that came together in a very satisfying way. I love how seemless the transition is from the grounded reality of the struggles of an everyday person just trying to survive to this bizarre paranormal, dystopian world of sentient mold and world-ending conspiracies. A really, really wonderful book that I can see myself liking more and more as time goes by.
May 22, 2023
Here’s a little fact about my reading preferences…
I’m a freak for funky fungi fiction.
In a not-so-distant future Toronto, a city ravaged by environmental chaos & non-stop development, a new life form begins to take root underground. The Marigold, a multi-storied condo tower sits atop the surface, half-filled & deteriorating as a toxic mold infiltrates the dark recesses. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates the encroaching mold, while Sam “Soda” Dalipagic uncovers a secret cache of data during his ride share job, big businessman Stanley Marigold makes plans for his next tower, and 13 year-old Henrietta tries to find a friend who disappears into the depths of a sinkhole. Weaving together a multitude of storylines, Andrew F. Sullivan explores community, gentrification, and the human condition.
This book is a wild & profoundly dark ride. Sullivan takes readers into the depths of a multitude of characters’ psyches, into the complexities of toxic traits like obsession, greed, biases, and hatred. The prose is eerily poignant & sheds light on uncomfortable topics. I’ll admit, I read a chunk & had to restart (mostly cause it was just cover pick for me & I hadn’t read the synopsis), but by the end I was highlighting almost entire pages. It’s definitely one for my forever shelf.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read & review this new favorite.
I’m a freak for funky fungi fiction.
In a not-so-distant future Toronto, a city ravaged by environmental chaos & non-stop development, a new life form begins to take root underground. The Marigold, a multi-storied condo tower sits atop the surface, half-filled & deteriorating as a toxic mold infiltrates the dark recesses. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates the encroaching mold, while Sam “Soda” Dalipagic uncovers a secret cache of data during his ride share job, big businessman Stanley Marigold makes plans for his next tower, and 13 year-old Henrietta tries to find a friend who disappears into the depths of a sinkhole. Weaving together a multitude of storylines, Andrew F. Sullivan explores community, gentrification, and the human condition.
This book is a wild & profoundly dark ride. Sullivan takes readers into the depths of a multitude of characters’ psyches, into the complexities of toxic traits like obsession, greed, biases, and hatred. The prose is eerily poignant & sheds light on uncomfortable topics. I’ll admit, I read a chunk & had to restart (mostly cause it was just cover pick for me & I hadn’t read the synopsis), but by the end I was highlighting almost entire pages. It’s definitely one for my forever shelf.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read & review this new favorite.
January 3, 2024
I was hooked from the very first sentence. Sullivan creates such a detailed, plausible sense of decay in this near-future version of the city of Toronto. The characters are richly detailed and the story is a bleak imagining of a city that's on the verge (or maybe it's already over the edge?) of collapse. We begin with a large cast of richly detailed and specific characters. Some we follow throughout, and some don't quite make it that far. A strange, sentient mold called The Wet suffuses every aspect of the story with horror and dread, and as we read, we slowly come to realize just how tainted the characters, the world, has become. The storylines come together to paint a thoroughly entertaining yet utterly frightening picture, and the story is all too close to reality. Those readers who also enjoy a certain gallows-like humour in their books will find much to like here, as Sullivan's sense of despair is layered with darkly funny elements. There are scenes and sentences in the story that I had to immediately go back and re-read, they were just so perfect. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of Andrew's stories. What a fantastic story!
December 18, 2022
Sullivan's prose is compelling and insidious, creeping under my skin and casting hooks into my brain even after I finished The Marigold. For me, the story works on multiple levels: there's the superficial threat of the Wet, and the intertwining lives of the characters affected by it; and there's also a deeper, more allegorical meaning that is every bit as chilling. It's also a wonderful lesson in how to write large casts of characters and how to keep their stories separate yet intertwined, like tendrils of ivy. One thing in particular that pleased and disturbed me is the setting: there are few horror stories set in Toronto, and Sullivan's obvious familiarity with the city gives the Marigold a sense of realism and adds an element of believability to the experience.
**I received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.**
**I received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.**
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