“The creatures in The Silence are bound to fascinate and terrify in equal measure.”
In the darkness of a underground cave system, blind creatures hunt by sound. Then there is light, there are voices, and they feed… Swarming from their prison, the creatures thrive and destroy. To scream, even to whisper, is to summon death. As the hordes lay waste to Europe, a girl watches to see if they will cross the sea. Deaf for many years, she knows how to live in silence; now, it is her family’s only chance of survival. To leave their home, to shun others, to find a remote haven where they can sit out the plague. But will it ever end? And what kind of world will be left?
Why We’re Excited About This Book: Acclaimed author Tim Lebbon returns with The Silence, an end of the world monster horror novel. A group of scientists open up a cave system that has been sealed off for so long that an unknown race of ravenous flying creatures has evolved in the darkness. Unleashed, these creatures, who hunt by sound, start to overrun the world… It’s not long before they reach the UK and Ally, a deaf girl, and her family must flee. As society crumbles, the fact that they can use sign-language rather than having to talk out loud and risk being heard by the creatures, may be their salvation…
Whilst owing something both to King’s The Mist and McCarthy’s The Road, The Silence is a distinct and compelling novel in its own right. This is not least because of the original and horrifying creatures Lebbon has invented, which are bound to fascinate and terrify in equal measure.
If you like your horror breakneck, fast-paced and gory, whilst still peopled by sympathetic and well-written characters, then this one’s for you.
The Silence is out on 17 April 2015 from Titan Books.
“Dark Detectives provides a fascinating overview of the occult investigation subgenre”
Eighteen stories of supernatural detective fiction, featuring sleuths who investigate fantastic and horrific cases, protecting the world from the forces of darkness. Each writer offers a tale of a great fictional detective, including Neil Gaiman’s Lawrence Talbot, Clive Barker’s Harry D’Amour, and the eight-part ‘Seven Stars’ adventure by Kim Newman (Anno Dracula).
Why We’re Excited About This Book: Stories about psychic investigators and supernatural detectives have a long history in horror fiction. Dark Detectives (edited by Stephen Jones) provides a fascinating overview of the occult investigation subgenre, collecting together both classic and new stories from the likes of Clive Barker, William Hope Hodgson, Basil Cooper, Manly Wade Wellman and R. Chetwynd Haynes. Interestingly the stories are arranged chronologically not by when they were written, but by when they are set, allowing the contemporary authors to rub shoulders with their forebears.
One of the main draws to the anthology is ‘Seven Stars’ by Kim Newman, the eight parts of which are scattered throughout the anthology. Taken together you’re almost getting a whole book by Newman, which is pretty much worth the download price alone, never mind the other ten stories.
A must-have reissue for fans of noir, musty old books, strange incantations and gemstones that can send people mad.
Dark Detectives is out now from Titan Books.
JAMES EVERINGTON