Tapeworm

Praise for Tapeworm

“One nasty (and we mean that as a compliment) concoction. Transporting us to a tiny town not unlike the ‘Salem’s Lot of Stephen King fame.”—Fangoria

“Tapeworm by A. P. Thayer has left me wounded, reeling, and repelled—and I absolutely adore it.”—Grimdark Magazine

“Slow-burning his way to a gnarly, all-consuming deflagration, Thayer’s vividly organic prose shines at the finicky analysis of the body and the mind, their desires and destruction. Throughout Tapeworm, all matter is transformed, and only one thing remains: hunger.” —Edgar Cantero, New York Times bestselling author of Meddling Kids

“Tapeworm slowly strangles the reader as it explores loss, lust, and vampirism through an unexpected creature that will literally make you squirm in the best of ways. A.P. Thayer is a must-read Chicano writer for 2026.” ―V. Castro, author of The Haunting of Alejandra

“Tapeworm is an eldritch orgy…directed under the loving Lovecraftian eye of John Carpenter. No amount of hand sanitizer will disinfect this book from your consciousness.” —Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

“Tapeworm is a visceral tale of broken hearts and famished monsters. With his delicate prose, a nightmarish atmosphere, and exquisite yearning, A.P. Thayer reveals himself as horror’s discovery of the year.” —J. V. Gachs, author of Epiphany

“Tapeworm is a stand-out body horror debut that tackles everything from connection and identity, friendship, and self-doubt. It’s Thayer’s confident use and command of voice channeling the vicious vampiric horror within the novel that conjures a narrative pulse that is equally infectious and irresistible.” —Michael J. Seidlinger, author of Anybody Home? and Brokeula

“The discomfort of friend groups growing older smashes right into eldritch body horror in this banger of a story from Thayer. Wrapped myself in a blanket and squirmed my way gleefully through it all. Unputdownable!” —Brent Lambert, author of A Necessary Chaos and co-founder of FIYAH Literary Magazine

“Desire meets with grotesquerie in Thayer’s spooky debut, which, à la the television show The Strain, reimagines vampirism as the result of parasitic worms . . . Thayer is a promising new voice in horror.” —Publishers Weekly

“As the tension rises and more secrets are revealed, readers will be compelled to turn the pages and see where the story goes. Thayer’s debut features characters who are heading uneasily toward middle age and explores the tensions that can appear in long-term friendships and romances. The novel also includes an exploration of sexual fluidity mixed with body horror and competing narrators. Tapeworm is a good introduction to eldritch horror for readers who loved books like The Shuddering (2013) by Ania Ahlborn or Near the Bone (2021) by Christina Henry.” —Booklist

“As a debut novel, Tapeworm displays confidence in both its thematic ambitions and its willingness to push horror into deeply uncomfortable territory. It understands that body horror is most effective when it reflects emotional truths rather than existing solely to provoke disgust. By intertwining monstrous transformations with questions of repression and desire, Thayer creates a tale that satisfies both viscerally and intellectually.” —The Fandomentals

“Thayer masterfully weaves body horror, creature lore, a little bit of splatterpunk, and a whole shitload of heart to create a taught tale that terrifies as much as it horrifies, all the while never losing track of what really drives this tale – relationships and the lengths to which some will go to protect them. Told with a gleeful bent to the bizarre, Tapeworm is one infestation you should allow to invade your mind.” — Gruesome Magazine