One of best stories in recent memory is James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera’s Something is Killing the Children comic series. While the comic is approaching issue 50 and now has many different companion series, it’s this latest addition to the universe that had my interest peaked. Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife is a prose novel based in the Slaughterverse written by Tynion IV and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White. It’s a story that is right at home in the SIKTC universe, while also feeling original at the same time. It’s horrifying and unsettling, with a dash of emotional weight, making for a truly incredible experience.
As a Black Mask, Erica Slaughter has a very straightforward job: find the monster, kill the monster, then do it all again. But when she arrives in Badwater, Idaho, nothing is simple. She can’t determine whether the horrific killer of a twelve-year-old was a bear, a person, or something much worse. Complicating matters is the charismatic doomsday preacher who is quickly leading the small town to the verge of hysteria. If Erica wants to save the surviving children, she has to figure out which kid’s fears might have summoned a monster—and fast. Erica must get to the truth before the Order and the town come to the same conclusion: to stop the monster, you have to kill the girl.
Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife is more than just a prose novel adaptation of the BOOM! Studios comic series. Tynion and White have created a brand new story featuring the beloved Erica Slaughter that is a standalone tale set prior to the events in the first volume of the comic. This allows anyone to pickup this book and get a glimpse of what Something is Killing the Children is all about without needing any prior knowledge. Plus, you can then open up the comic and enjoy the outstanding series it is in comic form.
While the primary deaths in Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife take place early on, its the slow burn mystery that builds the overall tension in the story. Tynion and White craft a prose novel that is not just here to creep us out with blood, guts, and gore but one that is lays down a foundation of dread and unease that is felt throughout the tale. Of course, monsters targeting fearful children is always something that hits a bit hard, but this unsettling part makes for a more emotional attachment to the story and not just a scare to scare.
The monsters targeting children is the definite problem, but this town itself is ultimately messed up and just as much of an issue as the monsters themselves. Badwater, Idaho is an outstanding setting, one that really had me on edge throughout. There is this unsettling feeling of this town, but also the people who reside within the town that made this story even more horrifying.
The comic series will always be near and dear to my heart and one of the best comic series I have ever read, but not everyone is into reading comics. Getting a story featuring some familiar faces and in the Slaughterverse not only gives us diehard fans more to read, but also opens up the universe to those who lean towards reading prose novels. While this story would be great with artwork by Dell’Edera, Tynion and White do a fantastic job setting the scene and keeping the unsettling feelings with easy.
Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife is proof that the Slaughterverse thrives just as well in prose as it does on the pages of a comic. James Tynion IV and Kiersten White deliver an unsettling and character-driven story that is just as much for the newcomers as it is for the longtime fans. Hope is a Knife balances dread, mystery, horror, and emotional weight impressively, making Badwater feel as dangerous as any monster lurking in the dark. A haunting and unsettling horror that cuts deep, Hope is a Knife is a wonderful entry point into the Slaughterverse and a truly must-read story.
Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife hits bookstores everywhere on October 13, 2026 from Crown Publishing. The audiobook is available for preorder via Libro.fm!
