 It's that time of year again when men and women scratch their heads wondering what to get the horror fan in their lives for Christmas. Don't fear folks I'm here to help with this guide to some of the best new horror fiction out there. I've even been nice and added purchasing links for all the books. All you have to do is click on the books cover. FOR THE LOVER OF BEAUTIFUL BOOKS Jenni’s husband was part of the Road of Souls––his flesh swarmed by ants and pecked by rooks, bones crushed to powder by wheels of dread––and yet she still saw him in the pool. The incursion has been and gone, the war is over, and the enemy is in the land, remote and ambiguous. The village outskirts are guarded by vicious beasts, making escape impossible. The village itself is controlled by the Finks, human servants to the enemy––brutal, callous, almost untouchable. Everything is less than it was before… time seems to move slower, the population is much denuded, and life itself seems to hold little purpose. This is not living, it’s existing. But in a subjugated population, there is always resistance. For Jenni, the happiest part of this new life is visiting the pool in the woods, seeing her dead husband within, and sharing memories of happier times. It calms her and makes her feel alive. But the resistance comes to her for help. And when her dead husband tells her it is time to fight, Jenni’s life is destined for a shattering change.  They are all around us all the time. But only a few make contact, and only certain people are destined to see the Ghosts. Here, you’ll read a lonely shade’s tale… a deceased old man’s house being invaded… how one person discovers the true meaning of the Christmas spirit, while a parent struggles to come to terms with the sad loss of a child… and what happens when the ghosts of war go on the rampage, or when a monstrous wraith stalks the streets looking for revenge. Gathering together all of award-winning and bestselling author Paul Kane’s supernatural fiction, including three brand new stories–one a sequel to Charles Dickens’ ‘The Signal-Man’–and featuring an introduction from bestselling horror author Nancy Kilpatrick (Power of the Blood World series), the script of Wind Chimes introduced by its director Brad Watson (7th Dimension), plus suitably atmospheric cover art from Edward Miller, this is one collection that will haunt you FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THEIR HORROR WITH AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH Newly pregnant, stuck in a job she doesn't like and mourning the death of her cousin, Beth Hammond’s life isn’t working out the way she thought it would. So when her boyfriend wins a weekend away at the seaside resort of Heyton, Beth thinks this could be just what they need — to get away, relax, and make plans for the future. But as they begin their weekend, a JCB driver accidentally damages a centuries-old memorial at the beach. He hopes no one will notice, but something has… a presence that was buried beneath the memorial, sealed in a stone tomb. Now that presence wants its revenge on the people of Heyton.  Horror is everywhere… It’s waiting behind a closed door, sitting in an ordinary chair, or following you on a country walk. Perhaps it’s washed up on a tranquil beach, hanging at a local skate park, recorded on an MP3 player hard drive, or even embedded somewhere deep within the design of something as simple and innocuous as a supermarket barcode. Horror is everywhere, in the shadows and in the light. It takes on every shape, comes in every conceivable size. But most of all it’s right where you live. FOR THE LOVERS OF SUPERNATURAL FICTION Welcome to Borley Rectory, the most haunted house in England. The year is 1926 and Sarah Grey has landed herself an unlikely new job - personal assistant to Harry Price, London's most infamous ghost hunter. Equal parts brilliant and charming, neurotic and manipulative, Harry has devoted his life to exposing the truth behind England's many 'false hauntings', and never has he left a case unsolved, nor a fraud unexposed. So when Harry and Sarah are invited to Borley Rectory - a house so haunted that objects frequently fly through the air unbidden, and locals avoid the grounds for fear of facing the spectral nun that walks there - they're sure that this case will be just like any other. But when night falls and still no artifice can be found, the ghost hunters are forced to confront an uncomfortable possibility: the ghost of Borley Rectory may be real. And, if so, they're about to make its most intimate acquaintance.  The Red House: home to the damaged genius of the late M. H. Mason, master taxidermist and puppeteer, where he lived and created some of his most disturbing works. The building and its treasure trove of antiques is long forgotten, but the time has come for his creations to rise from the darkness. Catherine Howard can’t believe her luck when she’s invited to value the contents of the house. When she first sees the elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals and macabre puppets, she’s both thrilled and terrified. It’s an opportunity to die for. But the Red House has secrets, secrets as dreadful and dark as those from Catherine’s own past. At night the building comes alive with noises and movements: footsteps, and the fleeting glimpses of small shadows on the stairs. And soon the barriers between reality, sanity and nightmare begin to collapse . . .  The village of Deepvale has a sinister past. Built in the 1400s, it has been home to a number of sordid characters, including Peter Suman, known locally as 'The Conjurer' due to the diabolical experiments he was rumored to have conducted during the 19th Century, in a dark old house beside a lake. In the 1990s, after a bet with his elder brother and three friends, seven-year-old Simon Mallinson goes missing inside the now derelict Conjurer's House. Fifteen years later, his brother Anthony is back in Deepvale, following the brutal deaths of his parents. And strange events have begun to occur in the village again, including the apparent return of young Simon and his creepy new friends. Worse still, Peter Suman appears to be back, too, bent on achieving what he failed to do over a hundred years earlier... Conjure House, a novel of cosmic terror from Gary Fry. FOR THOSE WHO LIKE THEIR HORROR WITH A SENSE OF ADVENTURE Someone is killing doctors in the style of the murders in Vincent Price movies, leaving the Bristol police baffled. The only man who could possibly be responsible died years ago . . . or did he . . .?" The police in Bristol have been confronted by a series of the most perplexingly elaborate deaths they've ever encountered in all their years of murder enquiries. The only thing which connects them is their seemingly random nature and their sheer outrageousness. As Detective Inspector Longdon and his assistant Sergeant Jenny Newham (with the help of pathologist Dr. Richard Patterson) race against time to find the murderer, they eventually realise that the link which connects the killings is even more bizarre than any of them dared to think...  Cavalry officer Stephens wants to keep his troopers safe, but when he is pulled into the oldest conflict of them all, he must choose - to serve, or to die. Saloon-hand Jacob wants to live a quiet life, play his fiddle, and sink a few beers. But something has come to his town-something old, hungry, and far from quiet. Farmer Joe Clancy wants to keep his herd alive long enough to be able to sell them and save his farm. But first, he has to save his family, as death stalks the corrals. To fight the growing menace, the three men must confront their inner demons and an all too real evil, one that threatens the lives of everyone it touches. FOR THOSE WHO LOVE ANCIENT TERROR Socrates has a gift, a power even he doesn't fully understand. But old Gert who feeds the pigeons in Gustav's Park understands. Pretty Jamie, who works at the Bird Emporium, understands. And the old Indian chief who wears a strange, two-sided bird mask, he understands too. As does the ancient, angry spirit called the Thunderbird and about a million of Wellington County's feathered creatures... They know what Socrates Singer really is. And they know what he can do.. FOR THE LOVER OF SHORT STORIES What are you afraid of? What are you haunted by? What waits for you in the dark? Face your fears and embark on a journey to the dark side of the human condition. Defy the demons that prey on you and the cruel twists of fate that destroy what you hold most dear. A sadistic baker, a psychopathic physics professor, wolves, werewolves, cannibals, Nazis, devils, serial killers, ghosts and other monsters will haunt you long after you finish reading FOR THOSE WHO DREAM MONSTERS by Anna Taborska  The laughter of a dead child echoes down the winding streets of a town in Spain… A mysterious stranger makes increasingly disquieting visits to a lonely English instructor in Central Europe… A woman experiences her own literal disintegration as someone – or something – from her past takes over her life…but who is the possessed and who is possessing? In return for the ability to touch the miraculous, the residents of an isolated mountain community are busily manufacturing items they don’t understand in preparation for a future they cannot imagine… With eight reprints from the pages of such publications as Black Static, The Third Alternative, and Supernatural Tales and three original tales, this chilling debut collection by Lynda E. Rucker will fill you with unease and unsettle your dreams. “Lynda Rucker's great talent is that she is able to carefully build a perceptive portrayal of the real world and in the process of that exploration find that edge where the everyday dissolves and the numinous begins. Her compelling execution of this transition strongly echoes the work of Robert Aickman.” – Steve Rasnic Tem  The tenth volume of Mortbury Press's Black Book of Horror anthology series contains 15 new stories. STIFF --- Angela Blake THE EASTER BUNNY --- Tom Johnstone THE LAST TESTAMENT OF JACOB TYLER --- David Surface THE WAR EFFORT --- Carl P. Thompson THE PRE-RAPHAELITE PAINTING --- David A. Sutton CHRISTMAS IN THE RAIN --- Chris Lawton DEEPER THAN DARK WATER --- Gary Power MARSHWALL --- Paul Finch EXPLODING RAPHAELESQUE HEADS --- Ian Hunter THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER --- John Llewellyn Probert THE PYGMALION CONJURATION --- Mike Chinn THE BOY --- David Williamson THE LAST WAGON IN THE TRAIN --- Andrea Janes DAD DANCING --- Kate Farrell GUINEA PIG GIRL --- Thana Niveau  Hersham Horror Books Presents 5 original stories from the minds of: Peter Mark May Thana Niveau John Llewellyn Probert David Williamson Stuart Young The Fourth anthology in our PentAnth range brings you five more satanic and demonic tales that hearkens back to an age when Dennis Wheatley was the king of horror. Please consider sharing these horror fiction reviews on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. By helping to spread these reviews you are increasing the potential readership of these authors, which might just help to sell some of their books
Comments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2023
|
RSS Feed
|
|