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Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

Book · Horror books · 17 mentions · 1 subreddit · discussed in r/horrorlit

Reddit take

AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a highly polarizing work of extreme horror that frequently sparks intense debate. While it gained viral traction for its disturbing premise, the prevailing sentiment on Reddit is negative, with many readers describing it as overhyped, poorly paced, and amateurish in its execution.

Pros

  • Effective at being genuinely disturbing and "rough" for readers seeking extreme content
  • The title story is often cited as the most entertaining or strongest in the collection
  • A very quick read that generates significant discussion

Cons

  • Prose is frequently criticized as "cringetastic" or resembling low-quality fan fiction
  • Pacing feels rushed, with relationships and plot points escalating too quickly without sufficient development
  • Lack of character depth and meaningful substance behind the shock value
  • The collection's later stories are often viewed as confusing or "laughably weird" compared to the lead novella

Caveats

  • The author reportedly wrote the book in a single week, a fact many readers feel is reflected in the final quality
  • Extremely polarizing; it is often cited as a book readers "love to hate" rather than one they genuinely enjoyed

Best for

  • Readers looking for quick, viral extreme horror
  • Fans of the 'splatterpunk' subgenre who prioritize shock value over prose quality

Avoid if

  • You prefer character-driven horror with slow-burn tension
  • You are sensitive to 'gross-out' horror or 'weirdly gruesome' subject matter
  • You value polished, literary prose

This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 122-month half-life. The evidence is drawn from 17 mentions in r/horrorlit with a median age of approximately 377 days.

Sentiment

3 positive (18%) · 5 mixed (29%) · 9 negative (53%)

Trust + time weighted score: -31% · raw score -35%

What redditors said (10 of 17)

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, a collection of three short stories
positive · u/D****t · r/horrorlit · comment · Aug 3, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
everyone always wants to talk about the lesbian tapeworm story, understandable. but i found that was actually the best one—or at least the most entertaining. the second story, i feel like i don’t even understand the ending?? ... last story was laughably weird.
mixed · u/f****o · r/horrorlit · Dec 22, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
He tweeted out that he wrote this in a week -- and you can tell.
negative · u/p****a · r/horrorlit · comment · Dec 18, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
*Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke* is good imo, but I feel like the more books he puts out, the more strained they become.
positive · u/s****n · r/horrorlit · comment · Dec 18, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
I absolutely hated Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and honestly erased it from my brain since I read it a few years ago
negative · u/r****t · r/horrorlit · comment · Dec 18, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
Man fuck Im Thinking of Ending Things and Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. Always happy to pile on those two pieces of shit
negative · u/M****r · r/horrorlit · comment · Dec 17, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
Books in recent history I have hated: Things have gotten worse since we last spoke
negative · u/d****- · r/horrorlit · Dec 17, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗ · attribution unverified
Maybe not the best, but the first one I thought of was Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric Larocca.
mixed · u/T****g · r/horrorlit · comment · Nov 25, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. Supposedly important for being an early extreme horror story, but it honestly felt much more like a YA fanfic with weirdly gruesome subject matter. Awkward and cringetastic.
negative · u/M****8 · r/horrorlit · comment · Nov 13, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗
Overrated? *Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke* by Eric LaRocca
negative · u/a****g · r/horrorlit · comment · Aug 29, 2025 · open on Reddit ↗

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