Cathedral of the Drowned by Nathan Ballingrud review

Author Nathan Ballingrud is back with the second in the Lunar Gothic Trilogy, Cathedral of the Damned.

With the lore established in first novella, Ballingrud is able to cut loose and really explore some surrealistic and creepy narratives.

We follow the converging stories of Charlie, who is part brain in a jar, part hanging on the wall of Barrowfield Home, filled with a burgeoning bloodlust plus Io who lives in a giant centipede as they both await the hatching of a new Moon Spider.

This is a fast-paced novel which sometimes could benefit from slowing down and concentrating on the finer details, as the breakneck pace may catch readers who haven’t re-read Crypt of the Moon Spider (the first novella), off-guard.

I wasn’t overtly keen on the first novella and Cathedral of the Damned is fine for what it is, but I did struggle to invest in the characters.

I don’t think this will be the case for everyone, as it’s very much horses for courses when it comes to horror and fantasy fiction. I think if you’d enjoyed the first in the series, there’s enough here to keep you interested for the trilogy closer.

Cathedral Of The Drowned by Nathan Ballingrud, is available now in various formats from Titan Books.