Far-right cable news has been chipping away at Noah’s parents for years. When his mother leaves him a strange voicemail about the “Great Reawakening”, Noah figures it’s something about one of her conspiracy theories. Then his phone calls go unanswered and unreturned. Making the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia, Noah finds his childhood home rundown, all the food in the fridge spoiled, and both mom and dad in a trancelike state in front of their TV. Fearing the worst, Noah tries to get them snap out of it.
Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.
And he’s not the only one. All across the country, families are tearing each other apart, literally. Some weird form of possession is claiming victims everywhere, a condition that worsens the more they spend glued to their screens. For Noah’s family, only he and his nephew Marcus are unaffected by this possession. Working together, they race back to Brooklyn—but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?
Why we’re excited about this book:
Clay McLeod Chapman is a modern horror master, and each new release proves he is one of the best working in horror fiction today. The author of Whisper Down the Lane, Ghost Eaters, What Kind of Mother, Stay on the Line, and most recently Kill Your Darling, Chapman has also written in the world of comics, such as The Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and American Vampire, and has short fiction featured in such publications as FOUND: An anthology of found footage horror stories, October Screams, and the forthcoming Long Division: Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse, and Bad Manners, among others. With his latest, Chapman taps into our national obsession of endless doomscrolling with a timely and relevant novel of nightmarish, violent horror. Chuck Wendig (Black River Orchard) says: “With Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, Chapman isn’t merely checking the pulse of America—he’s tapping the vein. And trust me, there’s blood everywhere. This book throbs with body horror and familial conflict and, most notably, the sociopolitical nightmare we find ourselves in.”, and Stephen Graham Jones (My Heart is a Chainsaw) says: “The Purge ain’t got nothin’ on this.”
Unleashing from Quirk Books 7 January 2025, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA