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You Weren't Meant to be Human
The bestselling adult horror debut about cults, pregnancy, and worms
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Brief Description
Festering masses of worms and flies have taken root in dark corners across Appalachia. In exchange for unwavering loyalty and fresh corpses, these hives offer a few struggling humans salvation. A fresh start. It’s an offer that none refuse. Crane is grateful. Among his hive’s followers,...
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You Weren't Meant to be Human
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A bestselling Washington Post and Publishers Weekly Best SF/Fantasy/Horror Novel of 2025 Alien meets Midsommar in this chilling debut adult novel from award-winning author Andrew Joseph White about identity, survival, and transformation amidst an alien invasion in rural West Virginia.
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Description
Festering masses of worms and flies have taken root in dark corners across Appalachia. In exchange for unwavering loyalty and fresh corpses, these hives offer a few struggling humans salvation. A fresh start. It’s an offer that none refuse.
Crane is grateful. Among his hive’s followers, Crane has found a chance to transition, to never speak again, to live a life that won’t destroy him. He even met Levi: a handsome ex-Marine and brutal killer who treats him like a real man, mostly.
But when Levi gets Crane pregnant—and the hive demands the child’s birth, no matter the cost—Crane’s desperation to make it stop will drive the community that saved him into a devastating spiral that can only end in blood.
You Weren’t Meant to be Human is a deeply personal horror; a visceral statement about the lives of marginalised people in a hostile world, echoing the works of Stephen Graham Jones and Eric LaRocca.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781837841028
Publisher: Daphne Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 July 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Daphne Press
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 300g
Pages: 336
About the Author
Andrew Joseph White is the trans, autistic, and bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and Compound Fracture. Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, he received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University, and lives in Virginia with his wife and their antisocial cat. Learn more at andrewjosephwhite.com.
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