Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
New from Dave Jeffrey and Demain Publishing, A Quiet Apocalypse, the new novella, out now
The end is HEAR …A mutant strain of meningitis has wiped out most of mankind. The few who have survived the fever are now deaf. Bitter with loss and terrified to leave the city known as Cathedral, the inhabitants rely on The Samaritans, search teams sent out into the surrounding countryside. Their purpose, to hunt down and enslave the greatest commodity on Earth, an even smaller group of people immune to the virus, people who can still hear. Thomas Joyce of This is Horror, says “Jeffery hasn’t reinvented the apocalyptic sub-genre … he has given us something fresh, exciting, and intriguing, that not only entertains from the first page to the last, but also forces us to open our hearts and minds to the plight of a minority.” Out Now from DEMAIN PUBLISHING! Get your copy here.
Coming 20 October from Bronzeville Books, Rigor Morbid: Lest Ye Become, an anthology, edited by Sandra Ruttan
Coming 20 October, and featuring twelve dark tales by Hailey Piper (The Possession of Natalie Glasgow), V Castro (Maria the Wanted) and more, Rigor Morbid: Lest Ye Become is an anthology of dark tales exploring themes of oppression, bigotry and change. Award-winning author Ken Bruen says: “These stories knock it out of the park … The writing is tight, terse and so fully formed. The ideas just blew me away.” Rigor Morbid will be available wherever you buy books on 20 October and, in the meantime you can find out more about the authors and stories included at the official webpage, here.
Oscurita, an unthemed anthology of dark tales, edited by Edward Caio, out now
Compiled by editor and writer Edward Caio (Dark Destinations) and featuring tales by S. J. Budd, Hailey Piper and others, Oscurita: A Dark Anthology is a non-themed anthology of dark tales. Featuring stories of body horror, cosmic horror, monsters from legend and ghosts, this anthology of ten stories is sure to keep you up at night as we approach halloween season. Available in both paperback and eBook formats as well as being available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers, you can get hold of your copy, here.
Volume three of Crystal Lake Publishing’s Shallow Waters flash fiction anthology, available now
Edited by Joe Mynhardt and featuring twenty-one stories by authors such as Richard Thomas, Theresa Derwin, Mark Allan Gunnels, Monique Snyman and many more besides, Shallow Waters is Crystal Lake Publishing’s regular anthology of flash fiction. Derived from their monthly flash fiction contest, these tales of terror feature some of the strongest voices working in horror today, at a bitesize flash fiction length. Available for just £0.99 or $1.25 depending on your location (and similar values in other territories), this kindle only release is perfect for the autumn nights. You can get hold of your copy here.
Coming 28 October from Bram Stoker Award-winner Nicole Cushing and Grimscribe Press, The Half-Freaks
Harry Meyers is ill-equipped to handle funeral planning of any sort. If he had a goldfish and that goldfish died, he would probably find a way to bungle the flushing. But when Harry’s mother passes away without having made any arrangements, and he’s the only surviving next of kin, Harry is called on to navigate a grimly hilarious, half-real world of morgues, morticians, fetishes, and cosmic disaster. Transgressive and bleakly funny, terrifying but surprisingly humane, The Half-Freaks showcases Nicole Cushing’s ever-evolving take on the Weird. The deluxe edition drops on 28 October, but is already sold out, while the trade paperback and eBook editions are available for pre-order here.
New from author S. H. Cooper, The Festering Ones, available now
New from writer S. H. Cooper (The Corpse Garden: A Collection Of Short Horror Stories) comes the novel, The Festering Ones. Faith York was a young girl when she saw her father dragged into the ground by a spider-armed woman, never to be seen again. Twenty years later, the events of that day continue to haunt her, and her need for answers has only grown stronger with time. After her estranged mother’s death forces her to return home, old wounds are reopened and Faith finally decides to face her demons. What started as a search for closure soon pits her against a shadowy cult known as The Gathered and the eldritch beings they worship. With reality becoming more blurred by the day and the thousand eyes of an alien deity fixed on her, Faith must decide if the dark secrets of White Crow Mountain are really worth losing herself over. Already receiving rave reviews in a variety of genre publications, you can get hold of your copy here.
Available for pre-order now, Nox Pareidolia, an anthology of ambiguous dark fiction, edited by Robert S. Wilson, coming 31 October from Nightscape Press
Featuring stories by S. P. Miskowski, Brian Evenson, Gwendolyn Kiste and more, Nox Pareidolia is an anthology of ambiguous dark fiction. Inspired by themes found in the work of Robert Aickman, the anthology, compiled by Bram Stoker Award-nominated and This is Horror Award-winning editor Robert S. Wilson, will feature full colour illustrations by Luke Spooner. Unleashed on 31 October, you can pre-order your copy now, here.
KEV HARRISON
