Narcissus: A Novella

by Adam Godfrey

If the remainder of your life was only as long as your ability to avoid your own reflection, how long would you last?

An hour? A day? Perhaps a week?

It’s been said that at the core of every legend lies a seed of truth. For four American tourists vacationing in Greece, this is a lesson learned the hard way.

When the group sets out to find a subterranean pool that’s rumored to be the one by which the demi-god Narcissus once wasted away in self-obsession, what started as a fun excursion quickly escalates into a full-blown nightmare. After looking into the waters of the pool, they come to find their own reflections have become infected by an ancient evil. As they’re picked off one-by-one by a malevolence that resides in the reflective world, those remaining race to find a way to bring the nightmare to an end before it takes them all.

In the meantime, all they’ll have to do is avoid their own reflections.

Genres: Horror, Novella, Fiction, Short Stories, Horror Thriller, Audiobook

110 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2023

About the author

Adam Godfrey has published numerous short stories spanning the genres of horror, thriller, and science fiction, and is the author of the horror novella NARCISSUS. He holds a BA in marketing, MS in cybersecurity, and has worked for the United States Department of Defense as a cybersecurity risk management professional for over twenty-five years. Adam and his family live in Chesapeake, VA.

Reviews

[Mikala · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a really creepy concept like our reflections being evil is something scary to imagine, but in execution, this felt flat.
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Reading notes...

Cave horror 💯🫶

Wow that scene where the dude was getting bitten was really really hard for me to picture in my mind, I feel confused.

The concept is very intriguing and there are some pretty creepy moments. However some of the writing is unsatisfying (particularly the dialouge). It reads a bit rushed and lacks detail, but then some moments are strangely over empahized with kind of flowery writing.

Honestly I don't really like the writing itself.

Overall, I am a bit underwhelmed. I would rate it a 2 and a 1/2, could just rate it a 3. There wasn't a moment where I was truly scared. I think that this concept could have been built up. A little bit more time spent on the scenes where the main character is looking at the reflection And it's this sinister double in the mirror And the horror of that moment.. We didn't really get that Barely.

It was a really creepy concept like our reflections being evil is something scary to imagine, but in execution this felt flat.

[Mother Suspiria]

NARCISSUS is a unique spin on a classic myth with a special resonance in a world that seems to reward vapid, vacuous vanity. This compact and creepy nightmare will keep your gaze transfixed as the gory horrors mount and may even inspire a little self-reflection, after.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hell yes.

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooked from the opening scene. I love exploring, even more so if it takes you somewhere forbidden and that is just how this starts off.
Four friends on vacation in Greece are looking for adventure. Seeking an old legend they stumble upon a hidden cave. They will never get a chance to reflect on what they have unleashed.
This was tense and quite creepy at times. I really enjoyed the dynamics of the four friends, their banter made things feel real and that much more tense.
I would love to see the story expanded upon but when the last line dropped I was shaking my head and smiling while cursing out the author😄

This review is actually for the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job. I highly recommend you get this in your ears.

[Stu Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little purple gem.

Four zoomers -on holiday/vacation in Greece- decide to track down the local urban legend of the narcissus. Things start to get messy after they find a hidden subterranean pool of water, only known by few locals. Can they find a way to stop the curse before It's too late?...

I was stuck between 3-4 stars on this one, as there is a SMALL amount of purpleage, that was a bit cringe and OTT. Settled on four, as I enjoyed the story - which gets better as It unfolds. Nice job Adam! A straight-up story, with no woke ideologies being pushed. I enjoyed It enough to review It, anyway - I'm being a bit lazy at the moment ;)

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to make a mirror pun but on reflection I couldn't see myself doing that.

[Lyndsey Croal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super pacy, cinematic and delightfully creepy novella, with a cool concept masterfully delivered. Was hooked throughout!

[Justin Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you get when you mix Greek myth with a touch of It Follows and a drop of Final Destination? You get Adam Godfrey's new novella- and friends...it's great!

Four friends on vacation in Greece sneak somewhere they shouldn't and, while you may be able to guess how that works out for them, there's an aspect I haven't seen explored in horror before that I really enjoyed. The story was over before I wanted it to be, and for me, that's always a good sign.
I'm on board for whatever Godfrey writes next.

*Thanks go to Shortwave Publishing for an ebook ARC.

[Marguerite Turley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great concept and a quick moving story make this a fantastic read!! Taking an ancient myth and putting a modern spin on it has me never wanting to look at my reflection again!

[Karen Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections tell us many things-
Mirrors show us how we see ourselves
People use them to see their imperfections; some use it to admire themselves.
This story of four odd friends on vacation, looking for the infamous pool of Demi-god, Narcissus, the pool that everyone claimed is, cursed.
What do they find?
Each friend seeks to fulfill their selfishness by gazing into the pool, and each pays the price in horrific ways, was there reflection of their true greedy selves? Or something much more sinister?
The moral here, avoid one’s own reflection, for too long, focus on other important things vs. one’s own vanity.
A creepy and unsettling look at one’s own vanity.
Well played!

[David Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narcissus is a new twist on the myth that is its namesake... Four friends on vacation, a chance discovery, and then the horror begins. Very difficult to review this one without spoilers, but imagine what it would be like trying to get through a day, even an hour, without catching a glimpse of your own reflection. There is a lot going on in the minds of the four as they are drawn into a pattern as old as the myth itself.

A fast, interesting read.

[Daniel Lorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four tourists vacationing in Greece stumble upon an underground pool rumoured to be infested by the demi-god Narcissus. Unfortunately, their misadventure awakens whatever malevolent force stirs within the depths of that place... something with insidious intent!

A well-crafted, creepy and engaging story, short enough to read in a couple of sittings, and I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

[Amy Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw Clay McLeod Chapman blurbed this so I had to check it out. Very quick, entertaining listen (I read via audio). I enjoyed it a lot. Definitely curious to read something full length from this author.

[Myranda Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. The way the mythology was used as horror made it entertaining. However, I don’t appreciate the ending. Felt I was left with questions and wanting more. 🙃

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It had an intresting concept but it literally gave nothing, the actual story was so generic. 

[Brian Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This is the first Adam Godfrey book I read, and it won’t be the last! He took a classic trope and turned it into a poetic masterpiece. His writing is phenomenal! It’s bone chilling how good this book is. The beautiful prose and imagery, natural speaking dialogue, creepy vibes, and terrorizing entity in it, made reading this story an enjoyable ride from start to finish. It reads like a movie playing in your head. I would love to see it optioned for film. Highly Recommended!

[Josh Buyarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick continuation of the Greek myth.

The fear that the characters experience while trying to figure out their way to survive.

The creepy Twilight Zone type ending wraps the story up nicely too!!!!

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too short to make it compelling. The prose, whilst not without its charms, was too florid and stretched, usually making it hard for me to get what was going on, in turn undermining any potential horror.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Americans Kate, Gemma, Liam, and Ethan are enjoying the sun, food, and local culture on a vacation in Mykonos, Greece. When Ethan hears a local legend about the pool of Narcissus, he drags his friends into an off-limits set of caves looking for it. Although only Gemma will admit it at first, the pool they discover shows them reflections of themselves that are rather disturbing. Then the weird stuff commences.

Godfrey's novella is a quick, diverting read. I love a good doppelganger story, and this one has some creepy moments. The pacing is almost too fast, though (I know I know, I'm like Goldilocks with my book length preferences). I would have liked for some of the scenes to take a little longer to build tension, and more descriptions of the locale would have been good too (digress a little and tell me what they've been eating on vaycay!). Overall though, worth my time and recommended.

[Paperback Pixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this is just a novella so its supposed to be short but it felt too short. And because of the shortness it felt sort of rushed to me. The story was still okay but it could have had a little more story and filler and been SO much better. The creepy factor could have been so much more. It was still a good novella anyway.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jarring, surprising, horrific, spectacular with every twist and turn.

[Ed Crocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror, particularly films rather than books, has a noble tradition of getting good value from the concept of don’t do something that’s really hard not to do. In Nightmare on Elm Street, you can’t fall asleep. In Final Destination, you can’t be around anything dangerous. Or anything, to be honest. The concept has ramped up in recent times as we enter a new age of horror popularity in both book and film, with recent efforts including Smile, where to survive you just have to not be around people (finally a horror where a video game-playing introvert myself would do quite well.)

Into this common habit-avoidance genre (other names are available) we can now include Narcissus, a novella by Adam Godfrey published by indie press Shortwave Publishing. Not only is it a great example of the bite-sized quality being put out by Shortwave at the moment (see my recent review of Lyndsey Croal’s Have You Decided on Your Question for another example) but it’s an exciting introduction to a new horror voice whose promise I am really excited about.

The plot is pleasingly simple. Four friends on holiday in Greece visit an ancient cave system, purported to be where the Greek demi-god Narcissus succumbed to his fate – you know, the one who stared so lovingly at his own reflection until he wasted away. Obviously, they look – to be fair to them, in the real world you probably would be expecting too much harm to come from looking into a subterranean pool – and consequently they are stalked by something that hides in their own reflections. How hard is it to avoid your own reflection in any surface? Very hard, as this pacy, compelling novella proves.

Apart from the fantastically creepy concept, competently delivered, the thing which really puts this novella above a lot of its horror contemporaries is the prose. I am really, really excited by the prose and the potential of Adam Godfrey in this respect. You don’t always have to have brilliant prose in horror. Especially not in a whirlwind cool-concept-based short snack of a book. But Godfrey puts real effort into his, and the results are… well, in places nothing short of brilliant. Take this early sentence we get which told me a lot about how seriously he takes his prose:

The stone cathedral sings a song of echoes, every drip and breath and step a note that plays a dozen times across the void and melds into the next in anxious harmony. They stand inside a cerulean bath of light that stains the black, emanating from an abstract work of bioluminescence spackled out across the vaulted ceiling. Down below, a pristine doppelganger of the tapestry above repeats itself inside a pool as clean and still as polished onyx.

I’m sorry but that is fantastic description. Frame it in quality wood, hang it on your wall pronto. Godfrey parcels out these show-off paragraphs sparingly (though all the prose is of a great standard) but they come at regular intervals, and it adds a layer of poetic beauty to a novella that didn’t really need it. It could have stood on its own pace and well-written concept – but the prose elevates it, adding a layer of poetic creepiness to the already surreally unsettling experience.

Another thing that stands out is the quality of the deaths. One in particular might be the best I have read and will read all year – a gloriously dreamlike and deeply unsettling and extended sequence, beginning with an innocent scene on a beach and ending in a physics-defying, horrifically abstract scene of grotesque gore. It’s brilliant, a real contender for horror scene of the year.

I also enjoyed the standard mid-act explanation of the true nature of the horror the four friends are facing, which added an interesting twist to their prospects of survival and gives a new layer to the title. It was a welcome development, but it did make me wish we had more time to explore this, not to mention more attempts at avoiding their reflections which is just endlessly good fun. But of course, as this is a novella, it’s important to remember that this isn’t really a criticism but more a sign of how much I was enjoying it that I wanted more of this lore to be explored.

The one thing that didn’t quite click for me was the characters, none of whom I really engaged with on a level that made me desperately want them to survive. Again, this is a novella, so it is difficult to achieve that while also getting all the plot in, but they didn’t really come alive for me. The one exception, who held a lot of promise though frustratingly brief, was a character with an intriguing neurodivergent trait which was beautifully and compellingly explained (I won’t give it away but it’s genuinely fascinating). So great to see ND rep explored in this thoughtful, even if brief, way.

Overall, Narcissus is not just a fantastic concept brilliantly and creepily conveyed, but it is also a beautifully written book with prose that, on occasion, I swooned over, and it is for both these reasons that on... reflection (sorry/not sorry) I am really excited to see what this fresh new voice of horror will give us next.

[Chandra Claypool (WhereTheReaderGrows) · Rating 3 out of 5]

You and your friends go to "find a subterranean pool that's rumored to be the one by which the demi-god Narcissus once wasted away in self-obsession." Sounds ... like not the best idea. They must not read and/or watch a ton of horror stories. *snarky face* Now, one by one, they are destroyed by their own reflections. Say what....

I tried just doing my normal things in my apartment without ever seeing my reflection and I lasted for about 2 seconds. Maybe less. Do you all even realize just how many reflective surfaces/things that surround us all the time! There's no way I would ever survive. Plus I already think my reflection, at some point, will try to get me but that's a whole other ball game.

This story definitely gave me Blumhouse's Truth or Dare 2018 and Final Destination vibes. The story definitely follows the trope of oh shit, find past survivors for help, try to survive... oh shit again. But listen, it's a trope that I never tire of. Please find new ways for people to die. Drop in some mythology and you've sold me. However, I don't know that I buy fully into the deaths themselves or why this would happen to the pool gazers. I think I would've liked it more had it followed more of Narcissus's actual mythology. While I may have been distracted by little plot holes, the story itself is a lot of fun and I appreciate what the author gave us.

Godfrey shows amazing promise in his debut horror novella and I certainly will be checking out his next release. If this debut is any indication, we have great things coming our way and I can't wait to see what he brings. And if anyone wants to bring this to the big screen, I'll be first in line with my big bag of buttered popcorn.

[Camille24 (camilleisreading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a creepy, bingeable, and fast-paced horror novella. Four friends vacationing in Mykonos stumble upon the underground lake where, according to local legend, Narcissus fell in love with his reflection and starved to death, unable to leave. The set up is reminiscent of The Ruins by Scott Smith, in that these are four unlikable characters in their early 20s vacationing in a foreign country where they do not know very much about the local culture. I found this story entertaining, but the pacing was a little off. I wish it had been a bit longer as the ending felt slightly abrupt. Overall, this is a good idea for a vacation horror story and just the type of quick spooky read I like in the summer! I recommend for fans of The Ruins by Scott Smith, As Above So Below (film), and Greek mythology.

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

That’s crazy. Yeah, no. Maybe not being that adventurous has actually saved me from some evil entities. Because what are you even supposed to do at that point? Like kill me. Just kill me. I could not live my life knowing that something, somewhere beyond this veil of existence, is actively hunting me down and there’s literally nothing I can do about it. ABSOLUTELY NOT 😭 Just thinking about it gives me anxiety.

This novella was so creepy and gory (lowkey nightmare-inducing). I loved the whole concept of reflection both in the literal sense and in how who you are as a person is mirrored in the world through your actions to the point where it can literally doom you.

If there’s one thing to take away from this, it’s that folklore and urban legends definitely have at least a little (maybe a lot) of truth to them. So yeah, don’t go acting like Dora the Explorer in places you absolutely should not be.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Godfrey writes a positively haunting debut. Taking the classic tropes in the horror of friends on vacation, he does something truly unique and interesting with a seldom-explored myth. Godfrey’s dark entity is a being of fathomless terror and malice, something that strikes through one’s own reflection. It’s a concept that has been done before, but rarely better than Godfrey.

You can read Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Windy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narcissus is the debut horror novella by Adam Godfrey and I was lucky enough to snag an eArc from @shortwavebooks thanks in (great) part to @mother.horror 👊🏻

Four close-knit friends are on vacation in Greece and set out on a walkabout in search of a mysterious subterranean pool. Spoiler Alert! They find said mysterious subterranean pool 😱 but that’s not even the scary part!

It’s a twisted story loosely based on the Greek myth about Narcissus (who fell in love with his own reflection and died staring at himself). Believe me when I say, this novella is an amazing debut. It’s unique, swiftly paced, with true friendship dynamics and a solid delivery.

[Christine HorrorReaderWeekend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror novellas are my favorite reads. Short stories are not enough and sometimes a horror tome can go on and on. Terror can be impactful and incessant in 100 pages.

Four friends on vacation in Greece follow an online 30-year old urban myth about a cave and a pool and mysterious deaths.

What they find in that pool hunts them in terrifying ways!

Beautifully written and fast-paced, Godfrey manages to describe the feel of Greece while the four friends are stalked by an adversary that is judging them and murdering them.

Thoroughly enjoyed EVERY PAGE of this horror novella

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What kind of batshittery have you experienced?"


There are two great speleology horror stories: Jeff Long's Descent duology and Alistair Hodge's The Cavern, but this novella fits right into that tradition. Fans of It Follows and Hereditary will be pleased with the lore behind this compact, well-developed narrative supported by lyrical prose and transporting imagery.
For a sincere, original, and an especially terrifying take on the miss of Narthithuth--I mean, the myth of Narcissus-try this perfectly paced thriller by Adam Godfrey.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The potential freakiness of mirrors has followed me around since i saw the ill fated David Warner falling foul of his back in "From Beyond the Grave", and its been done countless times since and before going right back to Ovid with the original tale of Narcissus.

There are some familiar tropes here but what makes it stand out is the quality of the writing, AG has done a really good job of making it an atmospheric tale, certainly an author to keep an eye on.