104 – Michael J. Seidlinger and Strange Footsteps at Midnight

Talking Scared

Are your doors and windows locked? Good. ‘Cos this one is going to scare you!

This week I’m joined by Michael J. Seidlinger, author of the new home-invasion nightmare, Anybody Home. You’ve read this scenario before – invasion, torture, death and suffering – but never like this.

We talk about why home invasion is so singularly frightening, about the role of movies and lenses in our hyper-surveillant culture, we disagree on the current state of experimental fiction, and Michael gives perhaps the most startling answer yet to the question of where did the idea for this book come from…

All that, plus my rantings on the morality of torture porn, some really geeky video game chat, heavy metal metaphors, and an afterword containing some important questions for the future of this show.

Enjoy!

Anybody Home is published August 16th by CLASH books

Other books discussed in this episode include:

• The Shards (2023), by Bret Easton Ellis
• Hoarders (2021), by Kate Durbin
• Frank (2002), by R. M. Berry
• “The Death of the Author” (1967), by John Barthes – read here

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