Look Out For… Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

“Combines childlike wonder with an adult’s understanding that all our stories end finally end with darkness.”

In this new volume, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction-stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013—as well as ‘Black Dog’, a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods.

A writer whose creative genius is unparalleled, Gaiman entrances with his literary alchemy, transporting us deep into the realm of imagination, where the fantastical becomes real and the everyday incandescent. Trigger Warning engages the mind, stirs the heart, and shakes the soul. Neil Gaiman is one of the most original and popular literary artists of our day.

Why We’re Excited About This Book: Neil Gaiman almost certainly needs no introduction; most This Is Horror readers are likely to be looking out for this already, or have decided to ignore it.

But it’s worth saying that Gaiman the short story writer has a wider range than his longer-length output suggests. This book contains poetry and stories ranging from horror to science fiction, Sherlock Holmes to Doctor Who. These shared-world stories indicate a peculiar side to Gaiman’s talent: even when writing in someone else’s universe, a Gaiman story is always instantly recognisable. At his best, Gaiman manages to combine a childlike wonder at the possibilities of life and story-telling with an adult’s understanding that all our stories end finally end with darkness.

Gaiman called the collection Trigger Warning in an ironic reference to the contemporary idea that readers should be warned in advance about each and every possibility that a story might take them to some dark places. These stories will take you to some dark places, but in hands as capable as Gaiman’s you’ll be glad you went.

Trigger Warning is out now from Headline.

There is also a sampler, A Little Trigger, available as a free download.

Look Out For … The Hallow by Keith Deininger

“How much of is real and how drug-induced delusion is not clear…”

When James and his roommate Vance stumble home drunk, they find a young woman lying on their couch. Without a word, she walks into James’s room, lies down on his bed, and dies. After that, nothing is the same.

The streets, James discovers on his walks to and from the grocery store, are forlorn and empty.

His roommate, despite his loud and reckless nature, begins spending an unusual amount of time in his room with the door locked, strange shuffling sounds coming from within.

And his new girlfriend, the cute and free-spirited Allie, may know more about what’s happening than she lets on, and she’s about to take James on a surreal, drug-fueled journey to see the Hallow… and the horrors it has unleashed…

Why We’re Excited About This Book: Ambiguity is key to many horror stories, especially ambiguity of perception; what could be more scary than not being able to trust what your senses tell you is real?

It’s a theme which Keith Deininger explores in his new novella from DarkFuse, The Hallows. It begins with housemates James and Vance returning home to find an unknown woman there, who promptly dies. James and Vance attempt to dump her body in the canal at the back of their house, but the strange events have only just started, and how much of it is real and how drug-induced delusion is not clear… to them or the reader. Deininger tells the story in an appropriately experimental manner, producing something refreshing original.

Readers who treasure literary ambiguity, shifting realities—not to mention drugged up weirdness—should love this one.

The Hallow is out on 10 February 2015 from Darkfuse.

JAMES EVERINGTON