Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
The old gods have fled, and the monsters they had kept at bay for centuries now threaten to drown the city of Valentine, hunting mankind as in ancient times. In the midst of the chaos, a serial killer has begun ritually sacrificing victims, their bodies strewn throughout the city. Lilac Antonis wants to stop the impending destruction of her city by summoning her mother, a blood god—even if she has to slit a few throats to do it. But evading her lover Arcadia and her friends means sneaking, lying, and even spilling the blood of people she loves. Alex and Cecil of Ace Investigations have been tasked with hunting down the killer, but as they close in—not knowing they’re hunting their close friend Lilac—the detectives realize the gods may not have left willingly. As flooding drags this city of cars and neon screaming into the jaws of sea demons and Arcadia struggles to save the people as captain of the evacuation team, Lilac’s ritual killings at last bear fruit, only to reveal her as a small piece in a larger plan. The gods’ protection costs far more than anyone has ever known, and Alex and Cecil are running out of time to discover the true culprit behind the gods’ disappearance before an ancient divine murder plot destroys them all. Set in an alternate reality which updates mythology to near-modern day, No Gods For Drowning is part dark fantasy, part noir detective story, and unlike anything you’ve read before, from an author whose imagination knows no boundaries. Available for pre-order now in eBook and paperback editions, you can guarantee your copy here.
Something old and deadly has awoken. When two teenagers go missing from the small, rural town of Sallow Bend, the residents come together to search for them. Little do they suspect that finding the wayward girls will be the start of their problems. An old evil is rising, and only one man seems to realize that everyone is in danger and this is not the first time it’s happened. With the carnival in town, people want to have a good time, but for many, this will be the worst time of their lives. Available now in eBook and paperback editions, you can grab your copy here.
In a forgotten Eastern European country, Andrei celebrates his 30th birthday by himself in a tacky nightclub. He has achieved nothing in life and he’s finding it harder and harder to pretend that it doesn’t bother him. His brother, his parents’ pride, offers him an unwanted gift—a job as a night guard. Across town, Andrei’s future boss Niko is also celebrating his 30th birthday, but in an exclusive nightclub. His fabulous entourage have turned up to party with him, but they can’t relieve Niko’s terminal boredom. That is until he lays eyes on Noor, an exotic beauty that is much more than she seems. As Noor takes Niko down a dark path, Andrei is dragged along first as a pawn, later as a victim. For the first time, Andrei’s decisions could mean life or death for himself, his family, and his friends, as a shape-shifting, supernatural predator hunts him across Europe to London. Available to pre-order now in eBook, with a paperback edition to follow, you can guarantee your copy here.
Byron can see the future. Just a few maddening seconds. Never able to change anything. It’s a curse she’s been running from for years. Just like she ran away from home where her mother died the day she was born. Where her father blamed her. But when her father dies suddenly, Byron is finally able to come home. A quick visit, she thinks—collect her inheritance, say hello to her childhood best friend, Chase, and be gone before morning. Except Chase is missing…and no one seems to be looking for her. Desperate to find her friend, Byron instead uncovers a pattern of young women who’ve vanished from this town over the years—a pattern that points to her dead parents, and to the mysterious source of her visions. Now, with a kidnapper closing in, Byron must learn to break her curse and change the future she’s seen. Her life—and Chase’s—depends on it. Available for pre-order now in eBook, with a paperback to follow, you can guarantee your copy here.
After a two-year hiatus, Corona Books UK are back with The Fourth Corona Book of Horror Stories, containing twenty of the best new horror short stories you will find anywhere this — or any — year. Available to pre-order now in eBook or paperback formats, you can guarantee your copy here.
KEV HARRISON