It's Not a Cult: 'Fierce, freewheeling modern folk horror that thrums with originality' Financial Times...

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Joey Batey

It's Not a Cult

Name: It's Not a Cult
Price: 42.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781526676818

'Fierce, freewheeling modern folk horror that thrums with originality' Financial Times

Joey Batey

$42.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

RAVEN
03 February 2026

Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Horror & ghost stories; Fantasy; Horror

'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

By: Joey Batey
Imprint: RAVEN
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 158mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 540g
ISBN: 9781526676818
ISBN 10: 1526676818
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 03 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Joey Batey was raised in the North East of England and read Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge. He has worked as an actor and musician and is best known for his role in flagship Netflix show The Witcher. Joey produces music with his alt-folk group The Amazing Devil. It’s Not A Cult is his first novel.

Reviews for It's Not a Cult: 'Fierce, freewheeling modern folk horror that thrums with originality' Financial Times

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 * 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 Fierce, freewheeling piece of modern folk horror that thrums with originality -- James Lovegrove * Financial Times *