Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Obscene body horror at it's most invasive.
Did I almost puke listening to this audiobook? Yes.
Should you listen to this audiobook immediately? Also, yes.

This waking nightmare of a book follows two trans folks, Frankie and Vanya. Frankie struggles to cope after she's caught in a terrorist bombing targeting the trans health clinic she works at. We follow the speed run destruction of her life through hard drugs, binge-drinking and sex with strangers. Her life becomes entangled with Vanya's when they meet at a club and start seeing each other. Vanya is a damaged, non-binary, eighteen year old with dark secrets and an obsession with having insects/worms living inside their body.

The social commentary around bigotry/violence against the trans community juxtaposed with the wyrms storyline is what elevates this from a traditional body horror to something so much more insidious. This story will stay, like a wyrm, in my brain for a long time.

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Narrator Nicky Endres does an amazing job infusing the many character voices with their own cadence, tone and intonations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced listener copy.

This book is best read outdoors, alone in the forest where no one can see you dry heaving into the bushes.