I want to say it right away, I deeply enjoyed The Afterlife Experiment by Sam Weiss. I’ve seen others compare the story to Fringe or Stranger Things, and while I can’t attest to the Stranger Things comparison, I can and will agree it shares the same vibe as Fringe in that scientists messed about where they shouldn’t have and found other planes of existence, and they threw ethics out the window to see what else they could do.

However, I’d like to take this a step further. I’d also aliken it to Alice in Wonderland but not cute and fuzzy Alice, or Disney Alice. This is more like American McGee’s Alice. There’s an insane asylum, things only Atra Hart can see and control, a great escape from many a monster - most of them with a human face - and there’s magic.

I think the author did well to describe this story as a dark science fantasy. Horror is utilised so beautifully, particularly body horror, with the science and fantasy that it completely feels like it’s something that could happen in real life.

Further more, there isn’t a single character without flaw, and I love that. I felt so many things ranging from disgust to triumph to deep sadness. There were even times when I was unknowingly rooting for the villain.

That’s a lot of words to say, if you like multiple planes of existence, thrilling escapes, a variety of horror with a blending of science and magic then this is probably a good fit for you.