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We Can Never Leave This Place
"When you're given a gift, something else gets taken away."
A precocious young girl with an unusual imagination is sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity. After her father dies violently, young Mara is surprised to find her mother welcoming a new guest into their home, claiming that he will protect them from the world of devastation and destruction outside their door.
A grotesque and thrilling dark fantasy, We Can Never Leave This Place is a harrowing portrait of inherited grief and familial trauma.
A precocious young girl with an unusual imagination is sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity. After her father dies violently, young Mara is surprised to find her mother welcoming a new guest into their home, claiming that he will protect them from the world of devastation and destruction outside their door.
A grotesque and thrilling dark fantasy, We Can Never Leave This Place is a harrowing portrait of inherited grief and familial trauma.
106 pages
First published June 24, 2022
About the author
Eric LaRocca
31 books1,536 followersEric LaRocca (he/they) is the author of several works of horror and dark fiction, including the viral sensation Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and currently resides in Boston, MA with his partner. For more information, please follow @hystericteeth on Twitter/Instagram or visit ericlarocca.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 453 reviews
June 17, 2022
Don’t mind me over here, forever obsessing over everything Eric writes. 🖤
I've read several of Eric's works now, and have been genuinely captivated by each and every one. Their way with words is brilliant all on its own, but Eric has the plots and characters to flesh out all of that eloquence and give it a sturdy home that leads to the most memorable and truly special reading experiences. Unsurprisingly for anyone who's a fan of this author's works, We Can Never Leave This Place runs through a wide gambit of emotions, and left me feeling somehow both drained and fulfilled in the best way when it ended.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a gloomy, claustrophobic tale of a teen girl in a seemingly war-ravaged or dystopian society, trapped in a toxic home with her ruthlessly cold mother after her father is murdered. Strange characters filter into the apartment and bring their own bizarre and, at times, horrific motives and desires with them, and all Mara can do — and us, alongside her — is watch the quiet chaos reach its peak. There's a general sense of disgust and true, human horror that permeates the entire tale, due both to the characters' depraved actions and Mara's filthy living conditions, and each time a glimmer of hope is unveiled, you can't help but grasp onto it desperately despite knowing it will likely be wrenched away from Mara soon enough.
Much like Eric's other works, there's only so much I can say without spoiling the madness that ensues within these pages, but I truly enjoyed this novella so much and I know I'll be adding it to the ever-growing list of Eric LaRocca titles I frequently rave about and recommend so highly. Well done with another incredible release that has dug itself entirely under my skin, Eric. I'm happy to have it here.
✨ Content warnings for: mentions of child death, parent death, grief, unclean living situation, violence, murder, brief mention of rape, emotional and verbal abuse from a parent, animal violence/death, insects, body horror, brief descriptions of miscarriage/stillbirth, incest
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!
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“If you hold on to a rope long enough, it’ll pull you with it. I’ve been holding on to one my whole life.”
I've read several of Eric's works now, and have been genuinely captivated by each and every one. Their way with words is brilliant all on its own, but Eric has the plots and characters to flesh out all of that eloquence and give it a sturdy home that leads to the most memorable and truly special reading experiences. Unsurprisingly for anyone who's a fan of this author's works, We Can Never Leave This Place runs through a wide gambit of emotions, and left me feeling somehow both drained and fulfilled in the best way when it ended.
From baby teeth to virginity, to live is to regularly suffer loss.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a gloomy, claustrophobic tale of a teen girl in a seemingly war-ravaged or dystopian society, trapped in a toxic home with her ruthlessly cold mother after her father is murdered. Strange characters filter into the apartment and bring their own bizarre and, at times, horrific motives and desires with them, and all Mara can do — and us, alongside her — is watch the quiet chaos reach its peak. There's a general sense of disgust and true, human horror that permeates the entire tale, due both to the characters' depraved actions and Mara's filthy living conditions, and each time a glimmer of hope is unveiled, you can't help but grasp onto it desperately despite knowing it will likely be wrenched away from Mara soon enough.
“She’s a storyteller.”
“Just another word for ‘liar,’” my mother said, folding her arms.
Much like Eric's other works, there's only so much I can say without spoiling the madness that ensues within these pages, but I truly enjoyed this novella so much and I know I'll be adding it to the ever-growing list of Eric LaRocca titles I frequently rave about and recommend so highly. Well done with another incredible release that has dug itself entirely under my skin, Eric. I'm happy to have it here.
✨ Content warnings for: mentions of child death, parent death, grief, unclean living situation, violence, murder, brief mention of rape, emotional and verbal abuse from a parent, animal violence/death, insects, body horror, brief descriptions of miscarriage/stillbirth, incest
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!
———
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August 12, 2022THIS IS A DNF REVIEW. I tapped out at some point.
am a big fan of Eric LaRocca's work. You can find my reviews of THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE, THE STRANGE THINGS WE BECOME And Other Dark Tales and YOU'VE LOST A LOT OF BLOOD at Cemetery Dance & LitReactor
https://litreactor.com/reviews/things...
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
I show up for everything he writes and I am almost never disappointed.
WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE is a bit of a departure from some of LaRocca's earlier work. Readers can expect this story to feel more like a fable or dark fairytale. The protagonist is a young woman named Mara who lives with her mother and has recently lost her father to a war that is waging outside their home.
Mara's mother is icy and unloving which comes across as unnecessarily harsh since the character development is a little thin. We're not really sure why Mara's mother despises her so much. It reminded me of James and the Giant Peach and how James (an orphan and a sweet boy) was treated so cruelly by his aunts. It's unexplained behavior the reader has to accept (sometimes I can get on board and sometimes I can't). The two of them live in squaller.
At some point in the tale, Mara's mother begins allowing strange guests to live in the house. She becomes preoccupied with them and their unusual promises, neglecting her grief-stricken daughter even further.
I have to admit, my experience was a perplexed one. I couldn't decide how I was supposed to interpret or engage with the story. I generally have a hard time with surreal, transgressive fiction. So I'm willing to admit the problem with this book lies with me and the way I don't enjoy feeling confused. I'm not good at the whole, "just go with it" kind of reading experience. There was one scene in particular, with a photograph I needed more from. I felt like there were more questions than conclusions; this unsettled feeling that I was missing something-was the author saying something about ugly trauma responses? Because this was full of them. Anyhoodles, this one didn't work for me and I felt like it was important for me to share my experience.
am a big fan of Eric LaRocca's work. You can find my reviews of THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE, THE STRANGE THINGS WE BECOME And Other Dark Tales and YOU'VE LOST A LOT OF BLOOD at Cemetery Dance & LitReactor
https://litreactor.com/reviews/things...
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
I show up for everything he writes and I am almost never disappointed.
WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE is a bit of a departure from some of LaRocca's earlier work. Readers can expect this story to feel more like a fable or dark fairytale. The protagonist is a young woman named Mara who lives with her mother and has recently lost her father to a war that is waging outside their home.
Mara's mother is icy and unloving which comes across as unnecessarily harsh since the character development is a little thin. We're not really sure why Mara's mother despises her so much. It reminded me of James and the Giant Peach and how James (an orphan and a sweet boy) was treated so cruelly by his aunts. It's unexplained behavior the reader has to accept (sometimes I can get on board and sometimes I can't). The two of them live in squaller.
At some point in the tale, Mara's mother begins allowing strange guests to live in the house. She becomes preoccupied with them and their unusual promises, neglecting her grief-stricken daughter even further.
I have to admit, my experience was a perplexed one. I couldn't decide how I was supposed to interpret or engage with the story. I generally have a hard time with surreal, transgressive fiction. So I'm willing to admit the problem with this book lies with me and the way I don't enjoy feeling confused. I'm not good at the whole, "just go with it" kind of reading experience. There was one scene in particular, with a photograph I needed more from. I felt like there were more questions than conclusions; this unsettled feeling that I was missing something-was the author saying something about ugly trauma responses? Because this was full of them. Anyhoodles, this one didn't work for me and I felt like it was important for me to share my experience.
June 3, 2022
Very weird!! Way weirder than Things Have Gotten Worse, but not quite as disturbing. Don’t get me wrong, it had plenty of f’d up, cringe-worthy things, but I mostly thought it was just bizarre!
Edit: it’s been driving me crazy because I couldn’t remember, but the plot twist at the end is the same exact plot twist as another book. Like, the same thing happened 😅 I didn’t mention it in my initial review because I thought I was losing my mind, but yeah. Still pretty good!
Edit: it’s been driving me crazy because I couldn’t remember, but the plot twist at the end is the same exact plot twist as another book. Like, the same thing happened 😅 I didn’t mention it in my initial review because I thought I was losing my mind, but yeah. Still pretty good!
June 2, 2022
We Can Never Leave This Place, I think probably I can’t. I’m trapped in a state of purgatory. How do you sum up a story that depicts such vivid imagery of neglect and trauma? I’m not going to lie; this book seems to be impossible to review with enough fervour to do it justice. It’s the kind of story that leaves you staring into space afterward. The musings playing around your consciousness like a never-ending loop.
“When you’re given a gift, something else gets taken away.”
Eric LaRocca is the king of trauma horror. Reading a story penned by this glorious author is always an experience. He leads you down a path that humanity doesn’t willingly tread. It’s the dark side of the human condition, the wants, and desires that we only allow ourselves to know and most importantly he gives a voice to the voiceless. LaRocca is truly one of the most unique and influential authors in horror. He has an incredible talent for writing characters that are not impacted by the stereotypes of gender. The experiences can be associated with male, and female and it is delightful to find an author that writes for everyone.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a society gutted by destruction. The streets are patrolled with something akin to soldiers. The backdrop of gunfire and explosions can be heard all around. Mara, a sixteen-year-old girl answers the door two of these men returning her father’s body. He has been murdered and this is where life takes on a darker descent into oblivion. She was close to her father and grief threatens to forever change her. It also means that life with her mother and her abusive ways has no ending in sight. It’s oppressive – she is at the mercy of her venomous tongue and the constant ramblings that she is to blame for her father’s death.
Reality is a human-made construct, and her father’s death is the catalyst for monsters knocking at their door and interjecting into her mother’s life. She becomes enamoured with them and basically can’t see the wood from the trees.
LaRocca has perfectly examined how trauma can leave a permanent scar on bodies or places. The physical wound may have healed but they leave a bump in the road or the jagged healing of skin that only is skin deep. The actual wound is still there underneath the thinnest layer of skin, it wouldn’t take much to break free. That’s trauma, you can put a mask on but in difficult circumstances, it will slip, and you are back to the start.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a stunning masterclass in trauma horror. LaRocca remains white-hot in delivering another hold your breath novel. He truly understands the darkest recesses of the mind.
“When you’re given a gift, something else gets taken away.”
Eric LaRocca is the king of trauma horror. Reading a story penned by this glorious author is always an experience. He leads you down a path that humanity doesn’t willingly tread. It’s the dark side of the human condition, the wants, and desires that we only allow ourselves to know and most importantly he gives a voice to the voiceless. LaRocca is truly one of the most unique and influential authors in horror. He has an incredible talent for writing characters that are not impacted by the stereotypes of gender. The experiences can be associated with male, and female and it is delightful to find an author that writes for everyone.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a society gutted by destruction. The streets are patrolled with something akin to soldiers. The backdrop of gunfire and explosions can be heard all around. Mara, a sixteen-year-old girl answers the door two of these men returning her father’s body. He has been murdered and this is where life takes on a darker descent into oblivion. She was close to her father and grief threatens to forever change her. It also means that life with her mother and her abusive ways has no ending in sight. It’s oppressive – she is at the mercy of her venomous tongue and the constant ramblings that she is to blame for her father’s death.
Reality is a human-made construct, and her father’s death is the catalyst for monsters knocking at their door and interjecting into her mother’s life. She becomes enamoured with them and basically can’t see the wood from the trees.
LaRocca has perfectly examined how trauma can leave a permanent scar on bodies or places. The physical wound may have healed but they leave a bump in the road or the jagged healing of skin that only is skin deep. The actual wound is still there underneath the thinnest layer of skin, it wouldn’t take much to break free. That’s trauma, you can put a mask on but in difficult circumstances, it will slip, and you are back to the start.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a stunning masterclass in trauma horror. LaRocca remains white-hot in delivering another hold your breath novel. He truly understands the darkest recesses of the mind.
August 25, 2022
Vlog/Review: https://youtu.be/eztIapuW3bc
First of all, I love Eric Larocca. He writes a lot of different genres of horror but this one unfortunately wasn't for me. Nothing against him. This one just really missed the mark for me 'personally'. I will continue to pick up anything he writes in the future cause the man can WRITE!
First of all, I love Eric Larocca. He writes a lot of different genres of horror but this one unfortunately wasn't for me. Nothing against him. This one just really missed the mark for me 'personally'. I will continue to pick up anything he writes in the future cause the man can WRITE!
August 7, 2022
What a waste of a gorgeous cover. I’m sorry did I read the same thing as everyone else??? Gratuitous, pointless, nonsensical horror with paper thin characters and a message that is so surface level and obvious. I couldn’t suspend any disbelief by how ridiculous this book was. This author seems to think writing gross shit is all it takes to write a horror novel. I want the time back I spent reading this garbage of a book.
July 2, 2022
"I watched as blood swirled down my naked body in dark ribbons-tiny threads that had forever come undone from me and were sent to freedom."
It floors me how such a horrific story can have so much beauty.
It floors me how such a horrific story can have so much beauty.
January 7, 2022
“I wanted to be the only one to hurt you.”
Can we all come to an agreement that Eric LaRocca is probably one of the most beautifully horrific authors that’s graced our bookshelves? Yes? Good.
I’m fortunate enough to have received an advanced copy of We Can Never Leave This Place, and although it’s only the beginning of the year, I can say for certain that this will probably be one of my favourite pieces of writing that I’ll read all year.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a tale that portrays the horrific and dreadful things we do, to deal with the trauma and damage that’s bestowed upon us.
To say I was entangled in this story is undercutting how beautifully enchanting this novella is. I was swept away (again) by Eric’s prose, how much he’s able to pull you in so easily and captivate you with their sublime way with words. We Can Never Leave This Place is a master-craft at leaving you feeling dirty, unsettled, whilst reading. It feeds you bits & pieces, and leaves your head reeling over the circumstances of what’s taking place the further you tune in.
It’s very different from what I’ve read previously from Eric, but it stills holds to what I’ve come to know of them, and it’s a beautifully written creation. This novella mixes fairytale & macabre into a wondrous duo and tangles you in a web of abandonment and melancholy.
Each reader will come away with entirely different feelings and how the story affected them, and for me, this story hit deep, like, fist plummeting my intestines deep, and I’m bloody thankful for it.
Eric LaRocca really outdoes himself with each story they release, and We Can Never Leave This Place is probably one of his best works yet. This is horror at its best, and LaRocca deserves every ounce of praise they get.
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May 23, 2022
"When you're given a gift, something else gets taken away."
Eric's books instantly become favorites after reading them. This one was one even before I started it. The synopsis won my black heart and soul from the start. If you're ready to live a nightmare, take a journey through this book.
This was weird af and I loved it. Eric takes us on a horrifying journey and fills our minds with this gory tale that you'll never forget. Madness and nightmares are what are between these pages.
We Can Never Leave This Place was really bizarre and I enjoyed every single page. If you loved his other works then you'll love this one. I can't recommend Eric's books enough. Try them! Your warped mind will thank me.
Eric's books instantly become favorites after reading them. This one was one even before I started it. The synopsis won my black heart and soul from the start. If you're ready to live a nightmare, take a journey through this book.
This was weird af and I loved it. Eric takes us on a horrifying journey and fills our minds with this gory tale that you'll never forget. Madness and nightmares are what are between these pages.
We Can Never Leave This Place was really bizarre and I enjoyed every single page. If you loved his other works then you'll love this one. I can't recommend Eric's books enough. Try them! Your warped mind will thank me.
June 28, 2022
Another great exploration of grief through horror masterfully written.
I ended up reading this in one sitting because I was just physically unable to put it down.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a story about a girl trapped home in the middle of a war with her toxic mother. That is all I can say in order not to ruin your reading experience. What I can tell you is this gets weird and weirder. Just imagine something like the movie Mother!
At first glance this might seem like a sad but innocent story. However it changes its skin like a snake and ends up being your absolute worst nightmare. Get ready to feel disgusted and claustrophobic.
I ended up reading this in one sitting because I was just physically unable to put it down.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a story about a girl trapped home in the middle of a war with her toxic mother. That is all I can say in order not to ruin your reading experience. What I can tell you is this gets weird and weirder. Just imagine something like the movie Mother!
At first glance this might seem like a sad but innocent story. However it changes its skin like a snake and ends up being your absolute worst nightmare. Get ready to feel disgusted and claustrophobic.
March 31, 2022
I HEART ERIC LAROCCA
June 10, 2022
Let me just say this before I get into my review: if you haven’t read Eric Larocca, you absolutely need to.
ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴡᴏʀꜱᴇ ꜱɪɴᴄᴇ ᴡᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴘᴏᴋᴇ put Eric in the auto-buy category. It’s still one of my favourite novellas.
I still don’t have the words to describe this experience but…let’s try.
It’s a portrait from a nightmare that will make your hairs raise and skin literally crawl. A fever dream of epic proportions. This one will have you scratching your head and thinking to yourself : what did I just read, dear heart? Was this just a bad trip that felt like reality was shattering?
Delirium. That’s the best word to describe this novella. It started to morph into something that resembled Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs. And it will haunt you for days.
The atmosphere is gloomy, fetrid and extremely claustrophobic. I mean it’s in the title, we can never leave this place.
Mara knows trauma. From her war torn town that has boarded up windows, buildings crumbling and bombs going off, to a mother that is literally grotesque and mean spirited. A hellish environment.
After the death of her father, the grief escalates. And I mean, what can I say… did these events happen or were they the musings of a wandering teenage mind searching for a way to process the trauma and grief?
It’s gory, slimy, and full of creatures that devour, creep and crawl.
Thank you Eric for my ARC. I loved it. I’m still thinking about it. And I need some more of it.
March 25, 2022
"From baby teeth to virginity, to live is to regularly suffer loss."
THANK FUCKING GOD. Not at that quote, though that will stick with me for a while, but this whole story! Fuck. LaRocca is high, HIGH on my favorite horror novella, short story writer EVER. And this is HUGE for me. GINORMOUS.
Reading this was like living my worst nightmare. *SHIVER* Are fever nightmares a category because that's where I would put this. Grief horror. Vivid depravity. Charlotte and Mommy Dearest got NOTHING on this book. Ok, ok, I should try to calm down. I spent the majority of the book with a cringe look on my face because phew, these guests that were welcomed in are things I actively try to avoid. Except for one... ok maybe two things.. but I digress. Y'all don't want to hear about my phobias. When it all starting clearing up at the end, I couldn't help but smile. Like huge, creepy smile as I was so satisfied with it all. Though I also really need a shower now. Bless.
I fell in love with his writing after reading THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE. I absolutely LOVED that book and all it's WTFness. And just bought YOU'VE LOST A LOT OF BLOOD. Seriously y'all. If you can stomach it, you HAVE to read their books!
Also, I love Mara. The end.
THANK FUCKING GOD. Not at that quote, though that will stick with me for a while, but this whole story! Fuck. LaRocca is high, HIGH on my favorite horror novella, short story writer EVER. And this is HUGE for me. GINORMOUS.
Reading this was like living my worst nightmare. *SHIVER* Are fever nightmares a category because that's where I would put this. Grief horror. Vivid depravity. Charlotte and Mommy Dearest got NOTHING on this book. Ok, ok, I should try to calm down. I spent the majority of the book with a cringe look on my face because phew, these guests that were welcomed in are things I actively try to avoid. Except for one... ok maybe two things.. but I digress. Y'all don't want to hear about my phobias. When it all starting clearing up at the end, I couldn't help but smile. Like huge, creepy smile as I was so satisfied with it all. Though I also really need a shower now. Bless.
I fell in love with his writing after reading THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE. I absolutely LOVED that book and all it's WTFness. And just bought YOU'VE LOST A LOT OF BLOOD. Seriously y'all. If you can stomach it, you HAVE to read their books!
Also, I love Mara. The end.
July 10, 2022
Sometimes life is too hard to accept it for reality. This standalone novella brings the night to dark fiction. It brings unwelcomed visitors, stone hard grief, and violences that very few could cope with. It's a short read, but impactful. As always, I love this author's work.
April 22, 2022
An exceptional, strange splatterpunk fairy tale that kept me up all night.
Overview:
😍 Modern fairy tale
😍 Novella
😍 Coming of age
🤯 Gore
😍 Themes of loss
🤯 Not quite sure what is real
Eric LaRocca has done it again with his 100 page novella We Can Never Leave This Place. It's very hard to describe the plot of a book this short without spoilers, but the general idea is that a teenager (Mara) and her mom live together. One day, her father's dead body is delivered to their home. The next day, a strange man enters their lives, entrancing Mara's mother.
The novella is haunting and well written, leaving the reader constantly guessing if there is a deeper meaning behind the way Mara tells her story, or if there is something supernatural and sinister going on in her house. Like many splatterpunk stories, We Can Never Leave This Place normalizes the strange and grotesque, with the characters often experiencing unimaginable horrors casually. The pace of the book is perfect for its length, with significant build up before and unforgettable climax of horror and dread that will absolutely not leave your head.
At the same time, the characters are vivid and well written. You care about Mara, and certainly develop strong feelings (whatever those might be) about the cast of characters that makes their way into her home. The story touches a lot on loss and broken families. Any "least favorite child" can find some painful truths in this book.
One thing I love about Eric LaRocca is how aggressively non binary their books are, in that his unique perspective clearly influences their ability to tell a story from both male and female points of view while still being easy to empathize with. LaRocca taps into deep gender anxieties even when the book in question is "less queer" (We Can Never Leave This Place does not have the same aggressively queer themes as their other titles) In this case, Mara's generational trauma colliding with her blossoming womanhood, her mother's relationship to motherhood, and all of the twisted secrets within the family.
Like everything else in this genre, expect a lot of shock and ~problematic~ stuff. I would shy away if your idea of good horror is limited, or you think some elements of horror should be off limits.
If you enjoyed Thing Have Gotten Worse, you know what to expect from Larocca at the core. Strong characters, psychological and physical disgust, and no holding back on the "splatter". I will continue to be a dedicated fan who will preorder anything they put out moving forward with the level of quality that these novellas are maintaining.
Overview:
😍 Modern fairy tale
😍 Novella
😍 Coming of age
🤯 Gore
😍 Themes of loss
🤯 Not quite sure what is real
Eric LaRocca has done it again with his 100 page novella We Can Never Leave This Place. It's very hard to describe the plot of a book this short without spoilers, but the general idea is that a teenager (Mara) and her mom live together. One day, her father's dead body is delivered to their home. The next day, a strange man enters their lives, entrancing Mara's mother.
The novella is haunting and well written, leaving the reader constantly guessing if there is a deeper meaning behind the way Mara tells her story, or if there is something supernatural and sinister going on in her house. Like many splatterpunk stories, We Can Never Leave This Place normalizes the strange and grotesque, with the characters often experiencing unimaginable horrors casually. The pace of the book is perfect for its length, with significant build up before and unforgettable climax of horror and dread that will absolutely not leave your head.
At the same time, the characters are vivid and well written. You care about Mara, and certainly develop strong feelings (whatever those might be) about the cast of characters that makes their way into her home. The story touches a lot on loss and broken families. Any "least favorite child" can find some painful truths in this book.
One thing I love about Eric LaRocca is how aggressively non binary their books are, in that his unique perspective clearly influences their ability to tell a story from both male and female points of view while still being easy to empathize with. LaRocca taps into deep gender anxieties even when the book in question is "less queer" (We Can Never Leave This Place does not have the same aggressively queer themes as their other titles) In this case, Mara's generational trauma colliding with her blossoming womanhood, her mother's relationship to motherhood, and all of the twisted secrets within the family.
Like everything else in this genre, expect a lot of shock and ~problematic~ stuff. I would shy away if your idea of good horror is limited, or you think some elements of horror should be off limits.
If you enjoyed Thing Have Gotten Worse, you know what to expect from Larocca at the core. Strong characters, psychological and physical disgust, and no holding back on the "splatter". I will continue to be a dedicated fan who will preorder anything they put out moving forward with the level of quality that these novellas are maintaining.
April 17, 2022
What kind of fever induced nightmare did I just read? Eric LaRocca has already proven that he has a creatively wicked imagination but with WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE he takes it to another level, or further down the rabbit hole with a demented and warped Alice in Wonderland sort of tale saturated with sadness.
A dystopian society ravaged by destruction. Bands of gas masked marauders roam the streets to a symphony of gunfire and explosions. Being indoors seems like it would be safer but for adolescent Mara it's a prison where the toxicity of her venomous mother is slowly poisoning her psyche, corrupting her wellbeing. When the one relationship keeping her tethered to reality snaps with the violent murder of her father, Mara spirals down the rabbit hole of grief into a world that manifests monsters who come knocking at her door.
A myriad of stranger denizens interject themselves into the lives of the grieving mother and daughter, weaving a web of condolences and reassurances to placate Mara's mother into a semblance of peace, safety, and security. The insidiousness of the (un)welcomed guests permeates the story with a constant sense of unease and tension, of a danger rippling just beneath the quivering surface ready to boil up and scald at any moment. Mara must tread these new trepidatious waters alone with no care from her mother all while bearing the weight of her grief that threatens to pull her under like an anchor if she is to survive.
WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE by Eric LaRocca is a spellbindingly surreal exploration into the horrors of neglect, grief, and trauma. Perpetuating the idea that no matter how we process our sorrows they never truly dissipate, only fade, like the residue of a stain we can never scrub clean, or a place we can never leave. We can hope to drag ourselves up from the darkness of that rabbit hole and out into the light, for a while at least, before our mind wanders with the desire to go tumbling back down.
I received an eARC of this book from the author for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/BORkS3HQiW4
A dystopian society ravaged by destruction. Bands of gas masked marauders roam the streets to a symphony of gunfire and explosions. Being indoors seems like it would be safer but for adolescent Mara it's a prison where the toxicity of her venomous mother is slowly poisoning her psyche, corrupting her wellbeing. When the one relationship keeping her tethered to reality snaps with the violent murder of her father, Mara spirals down the rabbit hole of grief into a world that manifests monsters who come knocking at her door.
A myriad of stranger denizens interject themselves into the lives of the grieving mother and daughter, weaving a web of condolences and reassurances to placate Mara's mother into a semblance of peace, safety, and security. The insidiousness of the (un)welcomed guests permeates the story with a constant sense of unease and tension, of a danger rippling just beneath the quivering surface ready to boil up and scald at any moment. Mara must tread these new trepidatious waters alone with no care from her mother all while bearing the weight of her grief that threatens to pull her under like an anchor if she is to survive.
WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE by Eric LaRocca is a spellbindingly surreal exploration into the horrors of neglect, grief, and trauma. Perpetuating the idea that no matter how we process our sorrows they never truly dissipate, only fade, like the residue of a stain we can never scrub clean, or a place we can never leave. We can hope to drag ourselves up from the darkness of that rabbit hole and out into the light, for a while at least, before our mind wanders with the desire to go tumbling back down.
I received an eARC of this book from the author for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/BORkS3HQiW4
June 25, 2022
1.5
I hate that I am not a fan of LaRocca, his cover art always draws me in, but the content pulls me out.
I have the same issue with this novella as I do with the author’s previous works. They are trying too hard to impress me.
What do I mean by this?
Instead of focusing on developing the characters and allowing them convey depth and dimensions, he puts effort into over-embellishing his writing. Further, placing unnecessary emphasis on symbolism and extravagant horror. The tone comes across as shallow, elitist, and arrogant, rather than philosophical or unique.
It’s like having a conversation with someone who is trying to tell you how intelligent they are instead of demonstrating it. In simpler terms, it oozes with the, “I’m not like other girls,” vibe.
I think LaRocca need an editor to help him pull back from the overly-verbose prose and focus more on bringing tangibly to his characters. Because he has great ideas and an amazing imagination, but appears to get lost over-bedazzling his books. It’s a shame.
I hate that I am not a fan of LaRocca, his cover art always draws me in, but the content pulls me out.
I have the same issue with this novella as I do with the author’s previous works. They are trying too hard to impress me.
What do I mean by this?
Instead of focusing on developing the characters and allowing them convey depth and dimensions, he puts effort into over-embellishing his writing. Further, placing unnecessary emphasis on symbolism and extravagant horror. The tone comes across as shallow, elitist, and arrogant, rather than philosophical or unique.
It’s like having a conversation with someone who is trying to tell you how intelligent they are instead of demonstrating it. In simpler terms, it oozes with the, “I’m not like other girls,” vibe.
I think LaRocca need an editor to help him pull back from the overly-verbose prose and focus more on bringing tangibly to his characters. Because he has great ideas and an amazing imagination, but appears to get lost over-bedazzling his books. It’s a shame.
June 17, 2022
"Wings and claws burst through the opening to seize me. I screamed, struggling as the creatures pulled at my hair and tore me from the passageway into the living room, where they finally released me. Lifting my head, I covered my mouth, and my eyes widened with horror at the sight—a feeding frenzy."
We Can Never Leave This Place is the first Eric LaRocca that I've read, and it most definitely will not be the last!
Massive thanks to the inimitable Mother Horror for her consistent efforts to promote horror & getting this into my hands!
We Can Never Leave This Place comes out June 24th!
LaRocca's dark odyssey is compulsively brutal, viscerally squicky & weird as fuck. IN THE BEST WAY!!
What a gruesome little delight this is!
HOWEVER--
Please look up the trigger warnings, if needed, because HOO BOY there are plenty in this graphic, emotional novella!
We Can Never Leave This Place is the first Eric LaRocca that I've read, and it most definitely will not be the last!
Massive thanks to the inimitable Mother Horror for her consistent efforts to promote horror & getting this into my hands!
We Can Never Leave This Place comes out June 24th!
LaRocca's dark odyssey is compulsively brutal, viscerally squicky & weird as fuck. IN THE BEST WAY!!
What a gruesome little delight this is!
HOWEVER--
Please look up the trigger warnings, if needed, because HOO BOY there are plenty in this graphic, emotional novella!
September 6, 2022
My biggest fears are rats/mice & pregnancy. Never thought I'd ever see an author manage to combine those things into one scene. This was just as disturbing as people warned me it'd be, it made my stomach hurt, it made me scream/cringe/hyperventilate/gag/need a breather. But you bet it's 5 mf stars 🌟
May 21, 2022
Troubling on many levels. Five stars! LaRocca is the horror genre's darling, and deservedly so.
September 4, 2022
Just when you thought nothing could gross you out anymore, you find Eric LaRocca. I don't even know what to say about this book, other than praise for its exceptional grim atmosphere and horrifying twisting of reality. Although I might have to also mention a CW spanning from... honestly what in this book isn't on the CW-list?
June 29, 2022
WTF did I just read? This was insane! I’m not usually a fan of fantasy but this worked for me. LaRocca has a beautiful, spellbinding way with words that just sucks you right in. I eagerly await his next masterpiece!
July 7, 2022
it’s giving james and the giant peach but make it an ✨ actual fucking nightmare✨ 🐍 🪳 🐀 🕷
June 26, 2022
Horror Bookworm Reviews
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/
A mother and daughter live within four walls of fear & stress as their underlying disease of anxiety slowly grows due to a poisoned environment. Shortly after an unforeseen tragedy rocks the duo, an unusual visitor comes knocking at their door. The newly acquired guest brings with it empty promises, accusatory blame and sacrificial offerings of the unprocurable. Monsters are real and they dwell out there waiting to get in.
Eric LaRocca’s We Can Never Leave This Place has an artistic penned content of surreal horror and symbolisms of power & chaos. From a wool-haired eight eye antagonist to a slithery serpent that exposes celestial truths. The suspense LaRocca creates dangles from the ceiling by a thread of silk above the reader. He spins his web of fictional fear with beauty and finesse.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a warped Brothers Grimm, a morbid Aesop’s Fables, a demented Charlotte’s Web if you will. Be without fear, dear reader…LaRocca’s irresistible flavor of horror will suck you in one page at a time and never let go. What an amazing complete package this is! From the beautiful cover straight out of a Rod Serling night gallery to the visionary representation of this amazing literary talent. A must read, and a five star Horror Bookworm Recommendation.
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/
A mother and daughter live within four walls of fear & stress as their underlying disease of anxiety slowly grows due to a poisoned environment. Shortly after an unforeseen tragedy rocks the duo, an unusual visitor comes knocking at their door. The newly acquired guest brings with it empty promises, accusatory blame and sacrificial offerings of the unprocurable. Monsters are real and they dwell out there waiting to get in.
Eric LaRocca’s We Can Never Leave This Place has an artistic penned content of surreal horror and symbolisms of power & chaos. From a wool-haired eight eye antagonist to a slithery serpent that exposes celestial truths. The suspense LaRocca creates dangles from the ceiling by a thread of silk above the reader. He spins his web of fictional fear with beauty and finesse.
We Can Never Leave This Place is a warped Brothers Grimm, a morbid Aesop’s Fables, a demented Charlotte’s Web if you will. Be without fear, dear reader…LaRocca’s irresistible flavor of horror will suck you in one page at a time and never let go. What an amazing complete package this is! From the beautiful cover straight out of a Rod Serling night gallery to the visionary representation of this amazing literary talent. A must read, and a five star Horror Bookworm Recommendation.
December 24, 2022
i’ve read 3 of eric’s works and i’m officially declaring myself a fan. i want to sit down with him, go inside his mind, maybe eat his brain idk. he can tell these haunting, intense stories in such few words (though, sometimes i do think some more words are needed such as the case with things have gotten worse but i think for this book, the short length is perfect) and the stories are always unique. i love this guy!
we can never leave this place is very explicitly about generational trauma but i throughout the story, i also had the reading of an allegory for the way predators often prey on vulnerable single mothers in order to get access to their children. the way mothers can often be complicit in the sexual abuse of their child even if they’re not exactly the ones inflicting the abuse itself but by seeing a man as above their child, they think that if they just pretend everything will be fine, if they keep quiet and just comply with the man’s needs, it will be okay. situations like this often leave the children feeling totally isolated. if person that’s supposed to be in their corner the most is the one allowing them to be harmed then who else can they trust? who can they turn to? their home is invaded by pests that they have no power to get rid of. their view of the world becomes riddled with filth, destruction and decay. you often see these children turning to fictional worlds (books, movies, tv shows, stories in general) as a means of escapism and coping just like the mc has. i’m not sure if it’s meant to possibly be read like that but 🤷🏽♀️ that’s just my analysis of it.
can’t wait to see what eric puts out next!
we can never leave this place is very explicitly about generational trauma but i throughout the story, i also had the reading of an allegory for the way predators often prey on vulnerable single mothers in order to get access to their children. the way mothers can often be complicit in the sexual abuse of their child even if they’re not exactly the ones inflicting the abuse itself but by seeing a man as above their child, they think that if they just pretend everything will be fine, if they keep quiet and just comply with the man’s needs, it will be okay. situations like this often leave the children feeling totally isolated. if person that’s supposed to be in their corner the most is the one allowing them to be harmed then who else can they trust? who can they turn to? their home is invaded by pests that they have no power to get rid of. their view of the world becomes riddled with filth, destruction and decay. you often see these children turning to fictional worlds (books, movies, tv shows, stories in general) as a means of escapism and coping just like the mc has. i’m not sure if it’s meant to possibly be read like that but 🤷🏽♀️ that’s just my analysis of it.
can’t wait to see what eric puts out next!
May 15, 2022
I’m going to need some time to process what I just read. For now 4 stars
July 7, 2022
What
The
Fuck
The
Fuck
January 10, 2022
‘We Can Never Leave This Place’ is a fever dream of a book, a story that could be mistaken for the deranged musings of Guillermo del Toro, Roald Dahl and Salvador Dalí.
LaRocca brings us another nightmarish vision that will surely further cement his place as a leading player in horror / dark fiction - this book comes on the back of the breakout hit novella ‘Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke’ and the wonderful short story collection ‘The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales’ - and is it in keeping with those wondrous dark musings… you bet your sorry life it is.
We are treated to something rather different in this offering, LaRocca gives us an almost dystopian landscape, although details of the outside world are hidden in part (as we never leave this place - the house) we get enough of an idea about the state of play, how the world seems to have gone to ruin, that outside this house is a war zone, that the buildings are falling apart (the house we never leave is flooded with sewage). Fires rage and awful things move in the shadows, it’s best to stay hidden, doors locked and hope that something might change.
Spoilers coming (but only small ones)
And it does for our teenage protagonist as after her father is murdered (this happens early on in the story) a guest turns up at the door seeking sanctuary, needing nourishment, and in return he’ll provide our protagonist and her pregnant mother protection from the beasts that look to do harm, that will come looking for them when they find out that their protector, father, husband is no longer in the picture.
And so her mother decides to let him in, let him feast on their meagre supplies and set up home within their dilapidated abode. But shortly after setting up residence and eating them out of house and home, his friends begin to arrive, each one more deranged and different from the last, they hunker down and decide that they’ll all stay put, and talk of the things to come.
There are fantastical elements in this book, which bring to mind Salvador Dalí, Roald Dahl and Guillermo del Toro - it’s like nothing you’ve ever imagined, trust me on that. The way LaRocca writes this, the way he conjures these images and writes in such a way that you just accept what your reading is remarkable, it’s gritty, it’s real, but un-real at the same time. As I read I never once doubted what I was reading, but these things come full circle at the end… so pay attention to the start and the final few chapters - be ready for that what the hell moment!
As you would expect, the writing from LaRocca is exemplary, causing me to pause every so often (usually after each paragraph) and marvel at his word choices, allegories, the beauty that he conjures from the simplest of every day actions. The fantastical elements of the story also enable LaRocca to paint wonderful images, which are layered with feeling and meaning so it’s quite literally stepping into a Salvador Dalí piece of artwork. Full immersive and utterly beguiling - I couldn’t look away. I’d highlighted so many passages, I was going to share them here, but out of context I don’t feel they would do the words justice if we extracted them from this quite remarkable tale… so I’ll leave those for you to discover yourself.
LaRocca writes intoxicating nightmares that are so rich and wondrous that they soon become our nightmares, which there is no waking from!
LaRocca brings us another nightmarish vision that will surely further cement his place as a leading player in horror / dark fiction - this book comes on the back of the breakout hit novella ‘Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke’ and the wonderful short story collection ‘The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales’ - and is it in keeping with those wondrous dark musings… you bet your sorry life it is.
We are treated to something rather different in this offering, LaRocca gives us an almost dystopian landscape, although details of the outside world are hidden in part (as we never leave this place - the house) we get enough of an idea about the state of play, how the world seems to have gone to ruin, that outside this house is a war zone, that the buildings are falling apart (the house we never leave is flooded with sewage). Fires rage and awful things move in the shadows, it’s best to stay hidden, doors locked and hope that something might change.
Spoilers coming (but only small ones)
And it does for our teenage protagonist as after her father is murdered (this happens early on in the story) a guest turns up at the door seeking sanctuary, needing nourishment, and in return he’ll provide our protagonist and her pregnant mother protection from the beasts that look to do harm, that will come looking for them when they find out that their protector, father, husband is no longer in the picture.
And so her mother decides to let him in, let him feast on their meagre supplies and set up home within their dilapidated abode. But shortly after setting up residence and eating them out of house and home, his friends begin to arrive, each one more deranged and different from the last, they hunker down and decide that they’ll all stay put, and talk of the things to come.
There are fantastical elements in this book, which bring to mind Salvador Dalí, Roald Dahl and Guillermo del Toro - it’s like nothing you’ve ever imagined, trust me on that. The way LaRocca writes this, the way he conjures these images and writes in such a way that you just accept what your reading is remarkable, it’s gritty, it’s real, but un-real at the same time. As I read I never once doubted what I was reading, but these things come full circle at the end… so pay attention to the start and the final few chapters - be ready for that what the hell moment!
As you would expect, the writing from LaRocca is exemplary, causing me to pause every so often (usually after each paragraph) and marvel at his word choices, allegories, the beauty that he conjures from the simplest of every day actions. The fantastical elements of the story also enable LaRocca to paint wonderful images, which are layered with feeling and meaning so it’s quite literally stepping into a Salvador Dalí piece of artwork. Full immersive and utterly beguiling - I couldn’t look away. I’d highlighted so many passages, I was going to share them here, but out of context I don’t feel they would do the words justice if we extracted them from this quite remarkable tale… so I’ll leave those for you to discover yourself.
LaRocca writes intoxicating nightmares that are so rich and wondrous that they soon become our nightmares, which there is no waking from!
August 31, 2022
We can never leave this place is truly a fever dream book with a bizarre, dark, disturbing, and heavy subject of grief, trauma, and survival of a young girl.
September 7, 2022
[Full review coming. Short review: 😧😨😰🤢🤮👍🏻]
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