Look Out For … Ruin by Rich Hawkins

“A typically grim yet engaging apocalypse from the brilliant Rich Hawkins.”

These are the dark days, a time of ruin.

It began when the black rocks fell to earth, bringing with them a contagion which infected man and beast alike, spreading death and destruction across the land. These are the days of the blight.

The south of England has become a quarantine zone, separated from the rest of the country by a huge wall, a wall which Gus Abernathy must cross to find his son, Tom, taken from him at the outbreak of the blight. Amid the decaying remnants of civilisation, Gus discovers he is not the only one searching for Tom, so too are the Nephilim, once human but now changed by the blight into -something monstrous who want the boy for their own deadly reasons.

So begins one man’s quest, a nightmare journey in which finding his son really could be the most important thing in the world…

Why We’re Excited About This Book:

Ruin is the fourth release in the Dark Minds Press novella series, following on from books by Gary Fry, Benedict J. Jones and Paul M. Feeney. That run of quality continues with another typically grim yet engaging apocalypse from the brilliant writer Rich Hawkins. Ruin begins with strange black rocks falling from the sky, which spread a blight first to plant-life, then livestock and then people themselves…

With clear influences from James Herbert, Stephen King and the films of John Carpenter, Hawkins’s work is fast-paced, inventive, frequently gory yet underlined by a bleakness that gives his tales depth. It’s at least his fourth release this year, but that shouldn’t detract from the fact that Ruin is yet another must-read for all his fans.

Ruin is out now from Dark Minds Press.

Look Out For … What The #@&% Is That?

“The editors have brought together some of the finest writers in horror, fantasy and science-fiction and let them all run wild with their own monster story.”

Renowned editors John Joseph Adams and Doug Cohen then asked some of the best writers in the fantasy, horror, and thriller genres including Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Christopher Golden, and Scott Sigler to create a monster story that included the line WTF is that? This anthology is a feast for the imagination for anyone who loves monsters.

 Why We’re Excited About This Book:

What the #@&% Is That? The Saga Anthology of the Monstrous &  the Macabre is an anthology of short stories, all of which contain the line, “What the fuck is that?” The idea for the book came from a piece of artwork by Mike Mignola depicting an unearthly creature that caused people to ask that very question when they saw it… Inspired, the editors brought together some of the finest writers in horror, fantasy and science-fiction and let them go wild with their own monster story.

There’s a pleasing variety to the stories within, which run the full range from blackly humours to dark and eerie. Contributors include Laird Barron, Isabel Yap, John Langan, Alan Dean Foster, Gemma Files and Sennan McGuire. The latter contributes perhaps the most original story here, a haunted house tale written entirely in Tweets, caleld ‘#connollyhouse #weshouldntbehere’.

A compelling anthology of stories where the titular question is answered twenty different ways, What The #@&% Is That? is a worthy addition to any genre fan’s bookshelf.

What The #@&% Is That? is out now from Saga Press.

JAMES EVERINGTON