It’s autumn in Harrow … the season is changing.
In Harrow, there’s an orchard with seven very unusual trees. The fruit of these trees is a new species of apple … delicious, beautiful, with a skin so red it looks black.
One bite of this apple and you’re hooked. You must have another, and another. It makes you more vital. Stronger, but more yourself. The more you eat, the more your appetite for the apples grows. The entire town is obsessed with these apples.
What’s the harm, especially if they make you feel happy, confident … powerful?
Just as the season is changing, something else is changing in Harrow. Something buried in the orchard … a terrible history with roots reaching to the origins of the town.
The leaves are falling, the days grow darker. It’s harvest … time for Harrow to reap what it has sown.
Why we’re excited about this book:
The work of Chuck Wendig should be well-known to most readers of horror and speculative fiction. The author of the Miriam Black series, the Star Wars Aftermath trilogy, Wanderers, Wayward, The Book of Accidents, The Blue Blazes, Zeroes, and Invasive among others, and Wendig’s nonfiction includes such titles as The Kick-Ass Writer and Damn Fine Story. With his latest, Wendig gets to the core of a town’s horrifying history with an epic tale ripe with nightmarish obsession. Hailey Piper (Queen of Teeth) calls Black River Orchard “Creepy and insidious, Black River Orchard whets your appetite and then turns you inside out.”, and Cynthia Pelayo (Children of Chicago) says: “Enchanting, exquisite and dark, Chuck Wendig masterfully weaves a new horrifying fairy tale in Black River Orchard.” Gabino Iglesias (The Devil Takes You Home) says: “Dark. Visceral. Creepy. Smart. Deep. So red it’s dark brown. Chuck Wendig’s Black River Orchard slithers and shines, its dangerous belly full of dark magic and accusations. I’ve been a fan of Wendig for years, and this is his best novel yet.”
Releasing from Del Rey 26 September 2023, Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA