I'm an absolute fan for anything Betty Rocksteady puts out, and this novella is proof to why this is. The Writhing Skies is a trip through a nightmare where everything squirms, drips, and tries to enter your body. Rocksteady has truly found the magic of capturing a dream and stapling it to the page, the world is twisted, things morph from real to unreal, you can't trust what you are seeing.
Sarah's world becomes a terrible scary place all from one sad decision. In her hunt to find any scrape of humanity in the nightmare, she is forced to look back at the one thing she'd rather ignore. Her boyfriend Derek is a jerk and her friend Tiffany is trying her best to help, but is being overcome by the nightmare. Beneath the haunting imagery is a story about decisions and how quickly life can change. My heart hurt at the pain that Sarah went through, I wanted to reach through the pages and hug her, support her and show her the strength we see her gain through out the story. I also really wanted to throttle Derek.
Within the novella are twenty black and white drawings from Rocksteady. The style reminds me a bit of Max Fleischer/Betty Boop cartoons, except with a bit more creepiness to them. I think the addition of drawings adds a connection between you and the characters, seeing Sarah's face while being attacked by glowing creatures leaves you itchy and wondering what you'd do in that situation. There is also something haunting seeing cute drawings of people while they have strange growths covering their skin.
There is a magic here that you have to discover. Rockysteady has a way to mix the tragic and haunting to punch you in the gut. You'll be terrified to look up into the sky one moment and the next moment practically in tears at what a character has gone through. I am always going to be on the look out for the next book by Betty Rocksteady. I believe after this one, you will be too.
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