Title: MaelstromAuthor: R. J. Joseph
Series: Rapture Publishing Chapbooks #8
First Published: September 23, 2025
Publisher: Rapture Publishing
Pages: 31
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Horror, Short Stories
Format: Chapbooks and Zines
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Synopsis:
A new governess, Sarah will do anything to protect her young wards. She has the chance to prove her loyalty when they fight an ominous menace more devastating than the hurricane threatening to consume all they know.
Get the Book: PublisherReview
Maelstrom is a historical eco horror novel that takes place during the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the deadliest hurricane in United States history. I knew nothing about this event when I went into the story, and seeing the photos of the utter devastation after I finished reading was jarring.
There are supernatural elements of the story that I felt served the narrative well; the terrifying force of the menace outside the family’s window was an excellent metaphor for the hurricane’s unstoppable force. I was genuinely creeped out and appreciated the different elements that made this story special.
This was my very first R.J. Joseph story, and I picked it up by chance while meeting her at a convention. I really love when a story can teach me something new about history, and I’m so glad that I managed to get a copy. Rapture Publishing’s chapbooks are good quality and feature some outstanding art. An easy recommendation if you can track down a copy.
Quote
“My Mama doll says we don’t have to keep on any lights here at night. She can see better in the dark.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About R. J. Joseph
R. J. Joseph is a Stoker Award™ nominated, Texas based writer who earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and who must exorcise the demons of her imagination so they don’t haunt her being. A life long horror fan and writer of many things, she joyously discovered and embraced writing in the academic arena about three important aspects of of her life: horror, Black femininity, and popular culture. She has had works published in various venues, including the Halloween issue of Southwest Review and The Streaming of Hill House: Essays on the Haunting Netflix Series. When she isn’t writing, reading, or teaching, she can usually be found wrangling her huge blended family of one husband, four adult sprouts, seven teenaged sproutlings, four grandboo seedlings, and one furry hellbeast who sometimes pretends to be a dog.
When R. J. isn’t writing, teaching, or reading voraciously, she can usually be found wrangling one of various sprouts or sproutlings from her blended family of 11…along with one husband and one hellbeast that masquerades as a dog sometimes. R.J. is also an instructor at The Speculative Fiction Academy and a co-host of the Genre Blackademia podcast.
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