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TRVE CVLT
Tenebrous Press’ first foray into gamebooks is a meta-exploration into religious trauma, arrested adolescence and anxiety…and it’s Metal as F$%k.
You wake with a brutal hangover, but that can't crush your spirits: you’ve been invited to take back the drum throne for Abyss, the cult band you co-founded!
It means quashing a turbulent history with Abyss' vocalist, Austin. You aren’t sure if he’s invited you back to bury the hatchet, or if he’s just desperate because infamous black metal legends Waste Doctrine are rolling through town. They've given you the opportunity to open for them and maybe, finally, get the hell out of this nowhere town.
The promise of the upcoming gig doesn't come without its share of hurdles. Austin’s hellbent on creating a ritualistic experience out of the performance, turning the abandoned roadhouse he’s chosen as a venue into a bloody, occult nightmare. Yes, it’s black f$%king metal, but is it too far?
Only you can decide.
Get the gig. Hit the road. Try not to destroy humanity. TRVE CVLT.
You wake with a brutal hangover, but that can't crush your spirits: you’ve been invited to take back the drum throne for Abyss, the cult band you co-founded!
It means quashing a turbulent history with Abyss' vocalist, Austin. You aren’t sure if he’s invited you back to bury the hatchet, or if he’s just desperate because infamous black metal legends Waste Doctrine are rolling through town. They've given you the opportunity to open for them and maybe, finally, get the hell out of this nowhere town.
The promise of the upcoming gig doesn't come without its share of hurdles. Austin’s hellbent on creating a ritualistic experience out of the performance, turning the abandoned roadhouse he’s chosen as a venue into a bloody, occult nightmare. Yes, it’s black f$%king metal, but is it too far?
Only you can decide.
Get the gig. Hit the road. Try not to destroy humanity. TRVE CVLT.
246 pages, Paperback
Published September 25, 2024
11 people are currently reading
3015 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 1, 2024
Look, here’s the thing: Nothing about Trve Cvlt should work, and yet it does, beautifully. Here’s what I mean.
First, it’s written in second person, with “you” as the main character. Writing an entire novel in second person is a highwire act that’s tricky to navigate, and trickier to pull off successfully, but Bettendorf does a great job. Instead of being off-putting, Trve Cvlt pulls you in, making you an intimate part of the story without ever feeling like a gimmick.
Second, and if you’re a gamer you may have already guessed this from the sub-title, Trve Cvlt is a choose your own adventure story. Remember those from when you were a kid? The novel doesn’t overdue it, it’s not every chapter, but it adds a quirky little spin to the story. In fact, part of me wants to go back and make different decisions, just to see what I missed.
Last is the story itself. Trve Cvlt starts off as a gritty, knowing look at a young midwest black metal band with all the infighting, backstabbing and love of music that entails. And then…and then the madness starts. Bettendorf throws a legendary, possibly haunted cult house, a cult, a preacher and his wife who maybe aren’t what they seem (“your” parents, by the way), otherworldly, cosmic horror, and a hard right turn into murder and mayhem, throws it all into a blender, and hits puree. Again, it shouldn’t work, but it does. This is a fast, fun read.
I also want to mention the cover art by Echo Echo. It’s densely, hypnotically detailed, and fits the novel perfectly.
Trve Cvlt debuts September 25th, and is available for pre-order now. I think this is the third book from Tenebrous Press I’ve read, and I’ve enjoyed them all. They are definitely a publishing house to watch.
First, it’s written in second person, with “you” as the main character. Writing an entire novel in second person is a highwire act that’s tricky to navigate, and trickier to pull off successfully, but Bettendorf does a great job. Instead of being off-putting, Trve Cvlt pulls you in, making you an intimate part of the story without ever feeling like a gimmick.
Second, and if you’re a gamer you may have already guessed this from the sub-title, Trve Cvlt is a choose your own adventure story. Remember those from when you were a kid? The novel doesn’t overdue it, it’s not every chapter, but it adds a quirky little spin to the story. In fact, part of me wants to go back and make different decisions, just to see what I missed.
Last is the story itself. Trve Cvlt starts off as a gritty, knowing look at a young midwest black metal band with all the infighting, backstabbing and love of music that entails. And then…and then the madness starts. Bettendorf throws a legendary, possibly haunted cult house, a cult, a preacher and his wife who maybe aren’t what they seem (“your” parents, by the way), otherworldly, cosmic horror, and a hard right turn into murder and mayhem, throws it all into a blender, and hits puree. Again, it shouldn’t work, but it does. This is a fast, fun read.
I also want to mention the cover art by Echo Echo. It’s densely, hypnotically detailed, and fits the novel perfectly.
Trve Cvlt debuts September 25th, and is available for pre-order now. I think this is the third book from Tenebrous Press I’ve read, and I’ve enjoyed them all. They are definitely a publishing house to watch.
September 25, 2024
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for a review.
You’re a young adult in a small town waking up in an unfamiliar place after a bender. And soon you will have to decide how your life continues. For now, all you know is you’re a drummer without a band, who still lives with his parents (and your dad is the local preacher). Depending on your choices you travel down on different paths, but all of them will lead to you preparing for the gig that might finally get out of here. And you desperately want and need to get out of here. So, no matter how much of a dick your lead singer Austin is or how weird the house he is urging you to preparing for your black metal church is there is really no way you can say no.
This novel presents you with a really fun exploration of small town life and teenage rebellion, including the tension between suburban normality and wanting any kind of different life, but also the ways people in subcultures can and do often fall into infighting as their own personal goals diverge. The characters are interesting and the horror is intense. I also loved that towards the end of my first route (the people pleasing one), my agency disappears further and further, really forcing the reader to go along on the path they have picked for the character. One thing I also quite enjoyed with the different routes I’ve played so far is that you get to interact with different bandmembers and learn different things about their lives, which adds a lot to the experience (and at points made me quite sad as well). While I haven’t been able to finish all routes just yet (only had time for three rereads so far, which was great because I did manage to spend time will all three bandmembers in turn, but it also means there are still a few choices left unread!) I really enjoy what I’ve read so far and can only recommend this book to anybody who enjoys black metal, cults, blasphemy and one fucked up house.
tw: drugs, graphic injury, past suicide attempt & jokes about suicide, death by being burned alive, murder
You’re a young adult in a small town waking up in an unfamiliar place after a bender. And soon you will have to decide how your life continues. For now, all you know is you’re a drummer without a band, who still lives with his parents (and your dad is the local preacher). Depending on your choices you travel down on different paths, but all of them will lead to you preparing for the gig that might finally get out of here. And you desperately want and need to get out of here. So, no matter how much of a dick your lead singer Austin is or how weird the house he is urging you to preparing for your black metal church is there is really no way you can say no.
This novel presents you with a really fun exploration of small town life and teenage rebellion, including the tension between suburban normality and wanting any kind of different life, but also the ways people in subcultures can and do often fall into infighting as their own personal goals diverge. The characters are interesting and the horror is intense. I also loved that towards the end of my first route (the people pleasing one), my agency disappears further and further, really forcing the reader to go along on the path they have picked for the character. One thing I also quite enjoyed with the different routes I’ve played so far is that you get to interact with different bandmembers and learn different things about their lives, which adds a lot to the experience (and at points made me quite sad as well). While I haven’t been able to finish all routes just yet (only had time for three rereads so far, which was great because I did manage to spend time will all three bandmembers in turn, but it also means there are still a few choices left unread!) I really enjoy what I’ve read so far and can only recommend this book to anybody who enjoys black metal, cults, blasphemy and one fucked up house.
tw: drugs, graphic injury, past suicide attempt & jokes about suicide, death by being burned alive, murder
August 30, 2024
The publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.
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LONG LIVE THE TRVE CVLT FLESH! If you are a Decaying Millenial like myself, you remember library spinner racks of paperbacks that allowed you to choose your path, choose your end...then go back and try it again differently! TRVE CVLT does better than deliver you back to that time. This is not nostalgia! Michael Bettendorf takes this very special literary form, and works his dark craft, splicing into the great void that is the small town metal scene in the rural Midwest. If you grew up in one of those pockets, as some of us did, you understand what a rare treat this book is! Choose the left hand path dear reader! See past the veneer of Midwest normalcy! Face Horrors occult, Cosmic and navigate the perilous paths of Metal Band BS! Then turn back, and do it all again. This was one of hell of a fun read, I already want to dive back in and look for story paths I may have missed. This is one not to be missed! Fans of the writings of Michael Bettendorf and Ed Callahan will get a kick out of michael's book.
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LONG LIVE THE TRVE CVLT FLESH! If you are a Decaying Millenial like myself, you remember library spinner racks of paperbacks that allowed you to choose your path, choose your end...then go back and try it again differently! TRVE CVLT does better than deliver you back to that time. This is not nostalgia! Michael Bettendorf takes this very special literary form, and works his dark craft, splicing into the great void that is the small town metal scene in the rural Midwest. If you grew up in one of those pockets, as some of us did, you understand what a rare treat this book is! Choose the left hand path dear reader! See past the veneer of Midwest normalcy! Face Horrors occult, Cosmic and navigate the perilous paths of Metal Band BS! Then turn back, and do it all again. This was one of hell of a fun read, I already want to dive back in and look for story paths I may have missed. This is one not to be missed! Fans of the writings of Michael Bettendorf and Ed Callahan will get a kick out of michael's book.
July 27, 2025
Horror nominee for the Small Spec Book Awards.
As an 80s kid, I fondly remember picking up the “choose your own adventure” books. This was probably also my introduction to second-person narrative which isn’t so common with traditional books. The multiple potential courses of this story (and you will need to go back and make different choices!) and the music (hard rock and metal are my personal go-to) leant me a comforting sense of nostalgia… not something you typically think of with a horror novel. Maybe I should have said discomforting?
Overall, I thought Trve Cvlt was clever and unique. I never got a sense of fear but rather an inquisitive and unsettling sense of dread. I needed to know what was behind the door even if it wasn’t good for me.
Thank you to Tenebrous Press for the complementary copy and the SSBA for the opportunity to participate as a reading judge this year.
As an 80s kid, I fondly remember picking up the “choose your own adventure” books. This was probably also my introduction to second-person narrative which isn’t so common with traditional books. The multiple potential courses of this story (and you will need to go back and make different choices!) and the music (hard rock and metal are my personal go-to) leant me a comforting sense of nostalgia… not something you typically think of with a horror novel. Maybe I should have said discomforting?
Overall, I thought Trve Cvlt was clever and unique. I never got a sense of fear but rather an inquisitive and unsettling sense of dread. I needed to know what was behind the door even if it wasn’t good for me.
Thank you to Tenebrous Press for the complementary copy and the SSBA for the opportunity to participate as a reading judge this year.
February 25, 2025
5 shining, enthusiastic stars! This book is FANTASTIC and I'm so glad I read it!
A unique, metal-themed choose your own adventure horror novel, TRVE CVLT is pure fun.
This book is written in second person POV and it's masterfully done.
The first path I chose led to a hilarious scene and the book became wilder, weirder, and more horrific as I read.
The members of Abyss, the band the MC is the drummer of, are dealing with their adulthood approaching and with the end of their youth, with their problems and uncertainty about the future. As a metalhead who spent most of their teen years (and early 20s) in their hometown's metal scene, this book filled me with nostalgia.
However, when the realistic, nostalgic part ended, madness began. As I navigated the story and made my choices, horrors ensued and chaos reigned. And as the synopsis says, it was metal as f$%k.
The year has barely started, but TRVE CVLT is hands-down one of my fave books of 2025!
A unique, metal-themed choose your own adventure horror novel, TRVE CVLT is pure fun.
This book is written in second person POV and it's masterfully done.
The first path I chose led to a hilarious scene and the book became wilder, weirder, and more horrific as I read.
The members of Abyss, the band the MC is the drummer of, are dealing with their adulthood approaching and with the end of their youth, with their problems and uncertainty about the future. As a metalhead who spent most of their teen years (and early 20s) in their hometown's metal scene, this book filled me with nostalgia.
However, when the realistic, nostalgic part ended, madness began. As I navigated the story and made my choices, horrors ensued and chaos reigned. And as the synopsis says, it was metal as f$%k.
The year has barely started, but TRVE CVLT is hands-down one of my fave books of 2025!
February 15, 2025
This started off strong, but unfortunately fell apart fairly quickly for me. I appreciate the experimental CYOA nature of this story, especially the second person perspective. I resonate with the aimless suburban millennial, with the religious trauma, and conservative American parents that you can't actually talk to. But 1) the number of choices available before you get railroaded to the end is tiny, and 2) regardless of the choices you make, the narrative will reference incidents DIFFERENT from what you chose. Example: My first choice was to vomit onto an offering plate, my second choice was not to touch the wall. Once my ability to choose ended, the narrative functioned as if I'd projectile vomited onto my dad, and had a whole psychedelic trip from touching the eldritch wall. And like, if you're going to give the illusion of choice(and then meta-joke about the illusion of choice) the least you could do is ensure the continuity of said choices before that moment. It really is a shame because there are some great moments in the story, it's mostly well-written, and to be perfectly honest, it could very well have stood on its own without the CYOA aspects. Full disclosure, I did not read through every choice of this book. I ran through once, then went back and changed my last choice to see how much that would affect the outcome, which was... Significant, as a matter of fact. The last choice came about midway through the story, so changing that effectively made my second run a whole different plot.
Thank you very much to the Small Spec Book Awards and Tenebrous Press for providing me a copy of this novel. All thoughts are my own.
Thank you very much to the Small Spec Book Awards and Tenebrous Press for providing me a copy of this novel. All thoughts are my own.
November 16, 2024
Special thanks to Tenebrous Press for the ARC copy they provided.
I am late to the review party this time around, but the thought of just not leaving a review never came to mind. Reviews are crucial and both Tenebrous and Michael Bettendorf have done more than an amazing job on this book.
Trve Cvlt is a pick your own adventure (or in this case, maybe your own doom??) book and it winds from beginning to the anticipated first end right back to the beginning again. And from this beginning, Trve Cvlt takes you into the corridors of the restart that leads to the next end and the next restart, and each of these feels natural. Each leaves you feeling you haven’t “finished a path” and begun another, but that you’ve just completed a plot arch and discovered a new one lurking at the end. Ready to pounce.
And the best part is you want to be pounced. You want to launch yourself down the next, new, twisting hallway to the inevitable end that will not be an end.
Ultimately, the story building astounded me. I still haven’t investigated all the tours of this book I could experience and I’m eager to find the time this book deserves. I don’t want to rush through my read thoughs, I want to linger, to savor.
Trve Cvlt is a treat, and I’m looking forward to my second, third, and fourth helpings as much as I’m anticipating what horrors Tenebrous Press will be rolling out next. And if some of those horrors happen to be from Michael Bettendorf I won’t be complaining, oh no, I will be rubbing my hands together in expectation.
I am late to the review party this time around, but the thought of just not leaving a review never came to mind. Reviews are crucial and both Tenebrous and Michael Bettendorf have done more than an amazing job on this book.
Trve Cvlt is a pick your own adventure (or in this case, maybe your own doom??) book and it winds from beginning to the anticipated first end right back to the beginning again. And from this beginning, Trve Cvlt takes you into the corridors of the restart that leads to the next end and the next restart, and each of these feels natural. Each leaves you feeling you haven’t “finished a path” and begun another, but that you’ve just completed a plot arch and discovered a new one lurking at the end. Ready to pounce.
And the best part is you want to be pounced. You want to launch yourself down the next, new, twisting hallway to the inevitable end that will not be an end.
Ultimately, the story building astounded me. I still haven’t investigated all the tours of this book I could experience and I’m eager to find the time this book deserves. I don’t want to rush through my read thoughs, I want to linger, to savor.
Trve Cvlt is a treat, and I’m looking forward to my second, third, and fourth helpings as much as I’m anticipating what horrors Tenebrous Press will be rolling out next. And if some of those horrors happen to be from Michael Bettendorf I won’t be complaining, oh no, I will be rubbing my hands together in expectation.
September 5, 2024
I might still be in the Abyss. I’m not sure. I think this book did something to me. To say it might be spawned from hell would be an oversimplification. It likely materialized in a distant realm beyond our comprehension, in a vacuum, formed from molecules, anger, and the vibrations of death metal. I think I reached the end, but somehow I know there’s more to explore—More that I HAVE to explore. Will I ever be free?… Do I want to be?…
TRVE CVLT is one wild ride, taking the “getting the band back together” trope and infusing it with small town cult mythology, religious trauma, and weird, unexplainable horror. It’s an interactive narrative that lets you make decisions as to where the story goes. Like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch before it, TRVE CVLT mingles with the very architecture and expectations of that format to create a mind-bending reading experience.
Michael Bettendorf and Tenebrous Press have created a book that’s sure to be unlike anything you read this year (or any year).
I wish there was more I could say, but for now I’ll advise you to not take the wrong turn down Cult Road…
TRVE CVLT is one wild ride, taking the “getting the band back together” trope and infusing it with small town cult mythology, religious trauma, and weird, unexplainable horror. It’s an interactive narrative that lets you make decisions as to where the story goes. Like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch before it, TRVE CVLT mingles with the very architecture and expectations of that format to create a mind-bending reading experience.
Michael Bettendorf and Tenebrous Press have created a book that’s sure to be unlike anything you read this year (or any year).
I wish there was more I could say, but for now I’ll advise you to not take the wrong turn down Cult Road…
November 5, 2024
It's an adult CYOA type book that is coated in cosmic horror and featuring black metal and cult mythology. It's excellent. Read through it a couple times and was just blown away by how well it all worked together, especially since I'm not really a metal fan let alone black metal.
Very much recommend for all horror fans, but especially cosmic/weird horror fans or anyone searching for a CYOA nostalgia
Very much recommend for all horror fans, but especially cosmic/weird horror fans or anyone searching for a CYOA nostalgia
October 7, 2024
Bathed in American Midwest ennui and the last flames of the Satanic Panic, Trve Cvlt combines black metal, urban legends, cults, cosmic horror, and a narrative structure that recalls the beloved Choose Your Own Adventure books. Set in Nebraska, the story follows Abyss, a black metal band whose journey intersects with the ominous Cult Road House, a place blackened by real and imagined torches and steeped in the lore of animal and human sacrifices. Their goal is to get Abyss back together and open for Waste Doctrine, a touring black metal band, as a way out of their hometown or to play an unforgettable last show and say goodbye to their youth. Depending on how you navigate the story, it might be a way to say goodbye to everything.
You can read Stephen McClurg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Stephen McClurg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
August 31, 2024
I'm beginning my second run of TRVE CVLT this weekend. In my first, I avoided conflict, people-pleased, and learned about the awful things that breed in churches, the permeability of many kinds of wall, and that being in a black metal band can be just as joyless as it seems.
Choose your own fate, then try again. I don't know if there are happy endings to be found, but along the way there is black metal mayhem, sour magic, and a damned good time. Tenebrous is krieg.
Choose your own fate, then try again. I don't know if there are happy endings to be found, but along the way there is black metal mayhem, sour magic, and a damned good time. Tenebrous is krieg.
August 5, 2025
This book was a blast and a half to read! Haven't cracked open a "choose your own adventure" book since I was a kid but Trve Cvlt sure was a gnarly way to revisit the genre
Lots of great goopy, visceral imagery for horror fans who like their gore, but plenty of surreal, mind melting Eldritch horror to satisfy horror buffs of that flavor as well.
Super fun and worth it to go back and re-read different options as well, it's the only true way to get the whole story of the Cult House.
Lots of great goopy, visceral imagery for horror fans who like their gore, but plenty of surreal, mind melting Eldritch horror to satisfy horror buffs of that flavor as well.
Super fun and worth it to go back and re-read different options as well, it's the only true way to get the whole story of the Cult House.
September 27, 2024
Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, so in keeping with the theme of the book, I'll give it 4.666 stars. It definitely felt like a classic Choose Your Own Adventure book with more mature writing and subject matter. Highly recommended if you are into horror and heavy metal.
January 27, 2025
I've only gotten through one ending, and it was a little lackluster considering what had been set up. However!!!! I'm excited to go back and see which paths the story can take. Might even change my rating
September 12, 2024
Metal AF. Choose your own adventure (demise?). Wholly original and an absolute blast.
March 6, 2025
Austin sucks. All my homies hate Austin.
Read
July 23, 2025This is a Small Spec Book Awards nominee!
July 26, 2025
Mos def five stars of weird. If you dug choose-your-own-adventure, and have been hoping for the grown-up version, this is it.
July 30, 2025
I generally dislike black metal fandom, living in Nebraska, and religion, but it makes for a hell of a book. Definitely more than a simple gimmick, I loved TRVE CVLT and would recommend it to anyone.
November 17, 2025
A Choose Your Own Adventure-style book for adults...and it's about a metal band! Take all my money. TRVE CVLT is a heavy hitter with the perfect amount of angst and weird.
February 8, 2025
Thank you Tenebrous Press and Small Spec Book Awards for providing me a copy for judgment.
This book was so much fun! I haven't read a choose your own adventure in forever. It's written with "you" as the MC, which made it engrossing and nostalgic. It has everything: religious hypocrisy, a cult, cosmic and small town horror, and of course heavy metal. I'm excited to read this again to see all the different endings.
This book was so much fun! I haven't read a choose your own adventure in forever. It's written with "you" as the MC, which made it engrossing and nostalgic. It has everything: religious hypocrisy, a cult, cosmic and small town horror, and of course heavy metal. I'm excited to read this again to see all the different endings.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews