Brainwyrms

By: Alison Rumfitt

Narrated by: Nicky Endres

From Alison Rumfitt, the author of Tell Me I’m Worthless—“a triumph of transgressive queer horror” (Publishers Weekly)—comes Brainwyrms, a searing body horror novel of obsession, violence, and pleasure.

When a transphobic woman bombs Frankie’s workplace, she blows up Frankie’s life with it. As the media descends like vultures, Frankie tries to cope with the carnage: binge-drinking, sleeping with strangers, pushing away her friends. Then, she meets Vanya. Mysterious, beautiful, terrifying Vanya.

The two hit it off immediately, but as their relationship intensifies, so too does Frankie’s feeling that Vanya is hiding something from her. When Vanya’s secrets threaten to tear them apart, Frankie starts digging, and unearths a sinister, depraved conspiracy, the roots of which go deeper than she ever imagined.

Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, Brainwyrms confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain, and identity.

“Filthy, searing, and hideously intimate – a modern classic.” —Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt

Also by Alison Rumfitt:
Tell Me I'm Worthless

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.

©2023 Alison Rumfitt (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The literary equivalent of swallowing a mouthful of maggots and liking it. Rumfitt is a master of disgust, twisting the horrors of transphobia into a hellish masterpiece, and you won’t be able to look away.” —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us

“A gut-churning infestation mixing extreme depravity with a hive of obsessive violence. Rumfitt consistently has her finger to the societal pulse.” —Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of No Gods for Drowning

“Brutal and terrifyingly visceral, Brainwyrms will slither inside unsuspecting readers and lay eggs there—an infection that can never be cured, a book that refuses to be ignored.” —Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes

Amazing book! Hurt my mental health!

Truly not a book for the faint of heart. At one point I tried to look up trigger warnings for this book and everywhere I looked just said “all of them. Every trigger imaginable is in here”. The author even encourages you to take a break at one point.

A really interesting blend of storytelling methods, integration of real life politics, and outrageous fantasy. The audio performance is incredible. Truly. It felt like a fundamentally different experience in audio form and I doubt it would have affected me as much if I read it in written form. There are points when the author directly addresses the reader and hearing it spoken really makes it personal. Even though I was not affected by any of the horrific triggers present in the plot this is what finally got me.

A really devastating look at how easy it is to be manipulated- by sex, by bigotry, by capitalism, and how inescapable this manipulation can be. The irony of reading this book on audible, an Amazon company, really hammers this point home.

Modern Erotic Horror Classic

Where do you even start with Brainwyrms? I think I'll start with the attention to erotic detail. Alison Rumfitt brings a deft, raw emotion to the underground fetish scene, and an inquisitive tactfulness to the birth of "what gets you off," in Vanya's words. You'll be hard pressed to find a horror story that approaches the terror and pleasure of fetish and kink like 'Brainwyrms.' The horror, too, is some of the best, most artfully written I've ever encountered. As is the mark of a brilliant piece of genre fiction, there is more here than meets the ears, and this one will sit with you long after the wrap-up.

The most disturbing book I've ever read.

It is the book that made me wonder whether someone can get a PTSD from reading a book.

Beautifully disgusting

Well-written and artfully crafted, but also disgusting. I enjoyed it overall, but I’ll never read it again.

not my cup of tea

The concept is cool... I like the idea of brain worms. The horror elements are great. I'm just not into smut. Some people will really love this book and I hope they find it.

Edgy

Mostly gross and depressing, but kind of fun in a dark way at certain points. I would have loved this in my late teens and early 20s.

Sometimes you just need to read brainless smut

Narrator did fantastic, and honestly made the book listenable. I used this book as a palate cleanser between heavy academic stuff and it did its job. Story line was interesting and I enjoyed the theme and overall message. I could have done without the hyper specific and unnecessary kink action, but some of it was necessary for the storyline. I really wanted more descriptive content for the final chapters, the ending felt super rushed. I’ll listen to more from Rumfitt if the price is right, but I wouldn’t waste a credit.