Horror Book
This collection marks the ninth book by Fangoria / Dread Central writer, Thom Carnell. In this volume, we present thirteen tales – some old, some new – designed to mesmerize and astonish. From ‘high adventure’ to quiet stories detailing the darkest corners of the human experience, Thom Carnell presents them all with an unflinching eye toward both terrifying and entertaining the unsuspecting reader.
“Settle in and get comfy and prepare to be disquieted.”
~ Christina Morgan, Warlock Infernal, Rip Your Heart Out
“Carnell adapts and subverts conventional horror tropes… HORROR BOOK is a perfect October read. Punchy short stories that help pass a rainy day, this collection of tales will make you realize there is so much more to fear than what goes bump in the night.”
~ Franklyn Thomas, author The Favorite
”It’s clear to me after reading this book that [Thom Carnell] is an accomplished and experienced writer
~ Kendall Reviews
In this collection, we present thirteen bloodcurdling tales for your amusement:
Family Matters
A lost NFSBS chapter – see how the original story could have ended!
The Promise
Hearts were made to be broken…
The Appeal
“I’ll make him an offer…”
Homecoming
The Undead return
Esurience
“A man’s strength can be measured by his appetites”
Happy Together
Marriage is forever
Sovereignty
What would you do for freedom?
Tomb of the Living Dead
Dedicated to Amando de Ossorio
The Dagger of Golgotha
Fr. Thorpe returns in a case of biblical proportions
Hypoxia
Kekoa meets Fr. Handel
Anamnesis
Memory is the diary we all carry with us
Collodi no Kikai
The road to Enlightenment is not exactly what we might expect
Sala-Ampuja
I am… the assassin.
The Escort
A young maiden is helped by a pale stranger
“Several of the fifteen stories in this collection tie into the author’s other works (particularly the zombie-apocalypse universe of the No Flesh Shall Be Spared books), but don’t let that scare you off; each of them stand well enough on their own and don’t strictly require advance familiarity.
Of course, if you HAVE read the others, the addition of extras, cut scenes, alternate endings, and appearances of recurring characters all make for a cool added bonus … and if you haven’t, this makes a fine gateway starting point … either way, settle in and get comfy, and prepare to be disquieted.
Among my personal favorites:
“The Appeal,” which is … I mean … it’s The Godfather meets the North Pole … it’s twisted and grim and just delightful in all the best childhood holiday ruining ways, and played out in my mind just like watching a movie;
“Sala-Ampujar,” a chilling-in-more-than-one-sense account of a very patient sniper enduring the elements to make sure he gets his shot;
“Esurience,” the title itself a term I’d never run across before (so I learned something new, always a plus!), the story an appetite-killer in more ways than one as a man discovers a friend’s journal detailing his interest in fasting;
“The Dagger of Golgotha,” an archeological adventure more like the opening scenes of The Exorcist than anything Indiana Jones might get up to;
“Happy Together,” all about love and commitment and faith and marriage and something ominous and creepy is going on here and OMG WHAT AUGH NO no nope yeah just gonna stay single now okay pls thx!
and “Tomb of the Living Dead,” because no matter how cliche, there’s always just something so satisfying about seeing entitled tourists who really should know better get their comeuppance for doing stupid (bleep).”
~ Christine Morgan’s World of Words
”Loans taken had a way of coming due at the worst possible times…” Thom Carnell writes in “Family Matters,” the opening story in his newest collection HORROR BOOK. It’s a great summation (if one could do that so succinctly) of Carnell’s work. The reader is never safe, but there’s a flip side. The reader is also loved. Beyond romance or sex, Carnell’s writing evokes a great love: the kind that will die or kill for someone. The kind that can hurt because it feel so much.
Carnell loves his zombies, and we get a smattering of those stories here, some of which are enhancements to previous work. In this century, there have been a lot of horror writers tackle zombie stories and Carnell is better than all of them. Why? Love. Love for the characters: living, dead, and undead alike. Take any zombie story or movie you can think of (with the OG Night of the Living and Dawn of the Dead aside) and imagine it just a bit better. Carnell’s stories are like seasoning: something good becomes something memorable.
For example: the Blind Dead films. Good stuff, the first couple are classics and the rest you watch to be a completist. Add Carnell’s seasoning and we get his story “Tomb of the Living Dead.” Or, you want to spice up Christmas and The Godfather, check out “The Appeal.” Another: you like Stephen King’s “Survivor Type”? Here’s “Esurience.”
Is everybody going to like every story in this book? No, and that’s okay. Out of the 14 stories, I guarantee that two or three of them will stick with you for a long time. And they might not be the same ones that stick with a different reader.
That’s the spice. It hits everyone a little differently. Carnell knows just how much to sprinkle in.”
~ TJ Tranchell, author CRY DOWN DARK, TELL NO MAN
Available Now from Crossroad Press
Dark Delicacies Signing for HORROR BOOK