Many years ago, when the moon had forests and streams, a giant spider thrived. Worshippers harvested its silk and marveled at its immense powers.
In 1923, Veronica Brinkley arrives on the moon for treatment at the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy. Renowned for its invasive yet successful treatments, Dr. Barrington Cull provides a simple remedy: a little spider silk in the amygdala, maybe a strand in the prefrontal cortex, a small amount in the hippocampus, and those troublesome intrusive thoughts and ideas disappear.
Seems the patients there aren’t the only ones with trouble in mind. The spider’s been dead for years, but not its denizens. Someone or something is up to no good, and Veronica just might be the cause.
Why we’re excited about this book:
Nathan Ballingrud is one of the premier stylist working in horror and speculative fiction. The author of North American Lake Monsters (adapted on Hulu as Monsterland), Wounds (including The Visible Filth, orginally published by This Is Horror), and The Strange, Ballingrud’s fiction has graced the pages of such publications and anthologies as Years Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 3, The Humanity of Monsters, and Fearful Symmetries to name a few. With this new novella, Ballingrud blends horror, science-fiction, and fantasy with the tale of a troubled young woman caught in a web of nightmarish dread. Seanan McGuire (Middle Game) says: “This short, surreal novella feels like a slice of a much larger story in the best way. A thoughtful meditation on personhood, judgment, and trauma. Not for the arachnophobic among us.”, Paul Tremblay (Horror Movie) says Crypt of the Moon Spider is “A wicked, pulpy, hideously gorgeous phantasmagoria that will leave you helplessly twitching in its grand web. Nathan Ballingrud once again demonstrates that he’s one of our finest writers.” and Dan Chaon (Ill Will, Sleepwalk) says: “Nathan Ballingrud is one of our best and most original writers … Crypt of the Moon Spider is psychologically rich, nightmarishly vivid, and deeply scary.”
Releasing from Tor Nightfire 27 August 2024, Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA