Eric LaRocca is one of the cutting-edge voices of horror today (mid 2020s), known for uncompromising stories that defy boundaries of any kind. When I was provided the opportunity to review his novel Wretch after his publicist reached out to me, it was an easy yes, please. This was my first opportunity to read his fiction and I don’t think it will be my last. Despite sitting in a horror panel where LaRocca was a panelist and knowing of his reputation, I wasn’t prepared for Wretch and I mean that in a very, very good way. Nor was I prepared for Porcelain Khaw, of the novel’s subtitle, “or, the Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw.
After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one last intimate moment with their beloved…for a price.
Hallucinatory, fiendish, and destructively beautiful, Wretch transports us to a world where not everything is as it seems, and those we love may be the ones who haunt us most.
Our protagonist is Simeon Link, who we meet shortly after the death of his husband Jonathan. Simeon is finding it difficult to cope with life after this loss, he is distracted at work to the point his boss and HR put him on a leave of absence. We learn that Simeon was once married and fathered a son, but left his wife early in the life of his son Carter for Jonathan after Simeon realized he was gay. Simeon still maintains a semblance of a connection to his ex-wife, but finds himself unable to truly connect with his son. His unassailing grief gives rise to the thought that perhaps he, a living man, is haunting the dead.
Drifting through life, in and out of chat forums for sexual gratification and grief, Simeon finds himself joining a grieving self-help group called The Wretches. It is also through these chat forums Simeon learns of Porcelain Khaw, an urban legend or maybe even a creepy pasta about a being who can connect grieving individuals with their deceased loved ones. One Wretch in particular reveals to Simeon that Porcelain Khaw is indeed a real person? Thing? Creature?
His wife loved him, still loves him despite what he did to her. Now, I’m not one to judge a person going through any kind of identity crisis, I can’t imagine the struggles somebody may have when they are hiding who they truly are. Simeon is clearly a character who struggled for much of his life with sexuality, emotions and identity. Unfortunately, experiencing those emotions and struggles are one thing, how they affect your interactions with other people – especially a wife and son – is another. There isn’t a clear answer outside of “try not to harm others in anyway” and Simeon couldn’t quite stop himself from brining discomfort or pain of some kind to those around him. We aren’t always supposed to like the protagonists of the novels we read, even if we at times can empathize with them. Simeon is a character that evoked sympathy, frustration, empathy, pity, and anger in me.
Grief is one of the cornerstones of horror, one of the driving emotions for stories off all kinds particularly those that have an element of haunting. LaRocca exploits that emotion in ways I can’t say I’ve seen other writers manage to do. Grief can be a very destructive emotion if it takes over a person and Simeon is unable to prevent his grief and other emotions from consuming him and tainting those around him. The destructive nature of grief is what leads Simeon to the enigmatic, otherworldly “man” known as Porcelain Khaw and this meeting happens with a significant amount of the novel’s pages to go. You might say that Simeon has an addiction to grief and once an addict gets their proverbial drug once, they are hard-pressed to be satisfied with just that singular hit.
Wretch begins at a very identifiable place – a person grieving the death of a loved one. From there, LaRocca took me on a destructive journey through one person’s immediate life and a reflection on their past that puts into question their own sanity. Another identifiable thing – people build their memories out of what they experienced with the spice of emotion, often clouding the reality of what happened. Or, “Did I really experience that thing that way?” The answer to that question can be its own little horror story.
This book made me feel, made me question things in ways that weren’t very comfortable. Again, a feature not a bug. Wretch is an unrelenting, devastating horror novel. Taken as a warning – don’t let grief swallow you, get your head out of your ass. Not always easy things to do, certainly.
A relatively short novel (a bit under 300 pages), but my oh my is it a weighty, massive novel for how it wrapped its claws around me and forced me to confront things I wouldn’t have otherwise confronted.
Highly recommended
© 2026 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover | Saga Press
March 2026 | 228 pages
https://ericlarocca.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Saga Press Books
