It's Not a Cult
'Fierce, freewheeling modern folk horror that thrums with originality' Financial Times
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:23rd Oct '25
Should be back in stock very soon
Darkly comic Northumbrian folk horror in which a terrible band accidentally start a death cult; the debut novel from actor and singer Joey Batey
'I loved it straight away ... characters so vivid you feel like they might be living in your wardrobe right now' NATASHA PULLEY, author of THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET
'Gloriously over-the-top and under-the-skin [with] shades of early Angela Carter' OSKAR JENSEN, author of HELLE AND DEATH
Callum, Melusine and Al play in a band with no name, baffling audiences in terrible pubs across the northeast of England with their ‘sound’. Their songs tell the stories of the Solkats: fictional northern gods of small things, of mishap and mayhem. Absolutely no one knows what they’re on about. But they believe in their music, and in each other. And they’re happy.
That is, until an act of violence at a pub gig goes viral, they catch the eye of a disillusioned influencer and suddenly go from having a cult following to having a cult, following.
All the Solkats want, Callum insists, is to have effect on the world. But as fans from LA to Australia flock to Northumberland, and each gig becomes larger and more lawless than the last, this effect starts to feel scarily... real. Which poses the question: if the Solkats really do exist, which is it more dangerous to anger: a wayward group of elder gods, or your biggest fans?
Because gods and cults both demand sacrifices. And one way or another they’re going to get one...
'An incredibly fun read ... Joey Batey has pulled another arrow out of his creative quiver and hit a bullseye' GRIMDARK
‘Vigorous, lurid, page-turning’ LOCUS
Fierce, freewheeling piece of modern folk horror that thrums with originality -- James Lovegrove * Financial Times *
An incredibly fun read … Joey Batey has pulled another arrow out of his creative quiver and hit a bullseye * GRIMDARK *
Vigorous, lurid, page-turning * LOCUS *
Batey writes confidently, leaning into the mordant comedy, while also committing fully to the book's disturbing premise * SFX *
Fabulously mad … I loved it straightaway … So convincing that I’m a little bit worried that somehow I too will end up living in a disused water park with purple hair and weird chalk symbols on the door. Usually, I’d say, oh, if people like this book or this book then they’ll love this, but actually, I can’t here: It's Not A Cultgenuinely isn’t like anything else. But if you love characters so vivid you feel like they might be lurking in your wardrobe right now, wicked-clever jokes, and a brilliantly cynical take on the music industry (and death cults): this is fully for you -- Natasha Pulley, bestselling author of THE WATCHMAKER OF FILIGREE STREET
Gloriously over-the-top and under-the-skin. In his enthusiasm for an ornate turn of phrase and Gothic levels of grubbiness, Batey evokes shades of early Angela Carter and Nicola Barker -- Oskar Cox Jensen
Batey writes with fierce intelligence, delivering a terrifying and piercing exploration of fandom, fame and authenticity. It’s Not a Cult is a rich and provocative read that invites the reader into the world of Al, Melusine and Callum and the strange Solkats of which they sing * The Bookseller *
ISBN: 9781526676818
Dimensions: 236mm x 158mm x 32mm
Weight: 540g
320 pages