It's Not A Cult

It's Not A Cult
AuthorJoey Batey
Publication dateOctober 23, 2025
ISBN9781526676818

It's Not A Cult is an adult horror fiction novel by Joey Batey. It was published October 23, 2025, by the publisher Raven Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. This is Batey's debut novel, though he has said he had been writing for about seventeen years prior to its release.

The story follows the characters Callum, Melusine, and Al. The three of them are in a band with no name that hasn't reached more than 97 subscribers in several years. Their band features tales about gods, or Solkats, who represent the minute things in life.

Currently, the audiobook can only be purchased within the UK, but the physical book is available worldwide. The Broken Binding is selling a special edition copy, which are signed and have painted edges of the Solkats.

Summary

The three main characters in It's Not A Cult bring the spirit of the band together. While their music is described as amateurish at times, Mel, Callum, and Al are so involved in their art and the creation of the Solkat stories to give up trying.

Callum began the stories of the Solkats when he was still in art school. Eventually he found that music was the best way to tell these stories, and without Mel, the stories probably wouldn't have been told at all. When Al eventually joins the band, they begin to grow an online presence because of her help with recording their performances.

Solkats

There are twenty-four Solkats in total.

Photo Name Title
Bizen The Witch, Solkat of children's lies
Hadaway Solkat of rust and texts at three in the morning
Fast Solkat of cold calls and blighted crops
Canny Solkat of betting shops and unheard jokes
Marra The Companion, holder of hands and pints
Whisht Solkat of red wine stains and noise
Cowp and Creels The Tricksters, Solkat of stubbed toes and fateful meetings
Skinchies The Luck Monger, Solkat of bus stop fights and fear
Neb Solkat of falling petals and looking at someone else's phone
War Lass The Last Word You'll Hear, Solkat of one too many
Belter Wielder of the Thyrsus, Solkat of neon wristbands and punishment
Radge The Cripple, Solkat of masks and mortar
Sneck Solkat of thumb prints and blurted thoughts
Yem The Mother, Solkat of empty beds
Haporth Solkat of lost coins in pocket holes, charity shops and memory
Scran Solkat of bar tabs, reckonings and squander
Spelk The Muzzled Hound, Solkat of cramps and forgotten bruises
Hackies Solkat of breath, side-eyes and nightmares
Clarty Solkat of smudged lipstick, mud and change
Hockle The Antecedent, Solkat of spit and nervous moments
Monkey's Blood Solkat of aftertaste and imagined conversations
The Blatherskite Voluble Purveyor of Nonsense, Solkat of perversion, politics and escape
The Bagsies The Wild Sisters, Solkat of promises and payment
Bonnie The Wind on Windows, Solkat of fairy lights, flirting and falling

References

  1. ↑ Gittelman, Maya (2025-11-20). "If It's Not A Cult, What Is It? A Conversation With Joey Batey". Reactor. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  2. ↑ "Halloween Box 2025 - It's Not A Cult". The Broken Binding SE. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  3. ↑ Batey, Joey (October 23, 2025). It's Not A Cult. United Kingdom: Raven Books. ISBN 9781526676818.