“What a torturously smart little book.”
THE PATIENT ROUTINE
Ashton is convinced they are dying. whether it be from cancer, heart disease, or a fungal infection,
they know something bad is always about to happen. after a night of health-related panic attacks, & urged by a voice in their head, Ashton decides to check in to the ER again but when another patient is brought in with an unknown ailment that puts the entire hospital on lockdown, Ashton may be trapped in their worst nightmare.
Cover: Elizabeth Leggett | June 16, 2023 | ISBN 9781957537603 | paperback & ebook | 226 pages
praise & reviews
“A psychedelic, propulsive stream-of-consciousness narrative that feels at times claustrophobic, at times conspiratorial, and at all times curiously suspenseful. Unlike anything I've ever read.”
— Nick Cutter, best-selling author of The Troop
“Filled with frantic death energy. Entrancing, gruesome, and heartening too. hall's lyrical hospital saga shows that we are small inside the grandiose mortality machine.”
— Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth
“THE PATIENT ROUTINE is a merciless, anxiety-charged, possible-apocalypse, possible-zombie thriller, long narrative poem about the body in maddening conversation with itself. luna rey hall takes us through the terrifying halls of a hospital in lockdown while deftly exploring an immensely personal journey through the shifting realities of an over-medicalized mind, a body snared in systems that do not understand or serve it. The tension between inner and outer worlds is relentless and the body horror hits all the worst/best buttons while raising philosophical questions of identity and power. What a torturously smart little book.”
— Joe Koch, author of The Wingspan of Severed Hands and Convulsive
“A fascinating, at times disturbing, suspense-filled tale related as a poem, allowing empathy and understanding of a patient’s response to self, the hospital milieu, and fears, this book is fascinating and immersive as an exploration of a mind searching for answers about self, hospital medicine, death and more. A masterful creation that deserves a wide audience.”
— Jocie McKade, Reader’s Entertainment Magazine
“Haunting, captivating, and engaging, author luna rey hall’s THE PATIENT ROUTINE is a must-read horror and psychological thriller novel.”
— Anthony Avina, Blog
featured on
People & Publishing Roundup, February 2023 - Books Sold
— Locus Magazine
Season 5 Episode 11: Luna Rey Hall
— The Poetry Question: TPQ20
All the New Horror Books Coming in June 2023
— Jump Scares
— NBC
Luna Rey Hall - The Patient Routine
— Allusions: LGBTQ Writing
My First Horror Movie Ep. 414: Luna Rey Hall (the patient routine)
— Sledgehammer Horror
— Canvas Rebel
#WriterWednesday Interview with Luna Rey Hall
— Heather Weidner Blog
— Discovered Wordsmiths
Write or Die Show - Luna Rey Hall - OCD
— RB Radio
2023 Top Reads from the Uncomfortably Dark Review Team
— Uncomfortably Dark
HERE COMES YOUR 2023 READING LIST. . .
— Goth Chick News
Spotlight On: Indie Press Gothic Horror
— Ghost Orchid Press
nominations & awards
2023 Minnesota Book Award Submission
— The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library
2023 Bram Stoker Award in Poetry Preliminary Ballot
— Horror Writers Association