Tag Archives: Horror

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: S.A. Sidor Talks The Last Ritual

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I chat to author S.A. Sidor about his new novel The Last Ritual, his first for Aconyte Books. It’s the second Aconyte novel to be set in the world of Arkham Horror (after Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai), and looks like being a fascinating read for horror fans and Arkham aficionados alike. Keep an eye out for the ebook and the US paperback edition releasing on the 3rd November, with the UK paperback edition coming a little bit later on the 10th December.

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QUICK REVIEW: Nightbleed – Peter Fehervari

The first of Peter Fehervari’s short stories officially released under the Warhammer Horror label, Nightbleed lives up to expectations as both a creepy, low-key horror story in its own right and an intriguing addition to The Dark Coil. In Carceri Hive, on the night-shrouded world of Sarastus, two souls find themselves bound together. Reduced to applying her skills for a dubious synth-protein supplier, ex-medicae Chel forces herself not to question where the raw materials come from, but suffers dark dreams nonetheless. In shadowed alleys, street prophet Skreech plans his next offering to the Night Below. As True Night approaches, the two spiral ever closer to a fateful meeting.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tim Waggoner Talks Writing in the Dark

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, my ongoing series of quick interviews with authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

This time around I spoke to veteran horror writer Tim Waggoner about his new book Writing in the Dark, a guide to writing horror stories which is packed full of advice, suggestions, exercises and inspiration from Tim’s decades of writing experience. It’s available to order now from Raw Dog Screaming Press, and if you have any interest in writing horror then this is the book for you!

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The Colonel’s Monograph – Graham McNeill

Released as part of Black Library’s 2019 Novella Series 2, Graham McNeill’s Warhammer Horror novella The Colonel’s Monograph is a quiet, creepingly sinister portrayal of the slow road to corruption. Grieving in the wake of her husband’s death, retired archivist Teresina Sullo takes on a private commission to catalogue the library of a celebrated war hero, the late Colonel Elena Grayloc. As her work progresses Sullo fixates on finding one particular book, which she hopes might shed light on the mysterious circumstances of the colonel’s return to Grayloc Manor and subsequent death. The deeper she digs, however, the more it becomes clear that something sinister lurks behind the colonel’s heroic facade, and that Sullo’s obsession with finding answers is leading her down a dark path from which she might not return.

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Curse of Honor – David Annandale

David Annandale’s novel Curse of Honor kicks off the new range of Legend of the Five Rings fiction from Aconyte Books with a sinister tale of duty, ambition, misplaced pride and monstrous darkness. Lieutenant Hida Haru is destined to one day become the daimyō of Striking Dawn Castle, but before then he has to somehow prove himself to his family, a task at which he has spectacularly failed thus far. When he stumbles upon a foreboding city hidden within the Twilight Mountains, he sees a chance to make a name for himself and strike a blow against the Shadowlands, but his ill-timed actions only lead to disaster. With cracks forming in the fragile alliances within Striking Dawn, and a horrifying evil unleashed upon the castle, its defenders must find a way to guard against terrible enemies both within and without.

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QUICK REVIEW: Elizabeth on the Island – Josh Reynolds

First published in 2011 anthology Candle in the Attic Window, Josh Reynolds’ short story Elizabeth on the Island is a haunting gothic tale of rain-lashed rocks, troubled memory and inhuman strength. On an unnamed island in an unnamed sea, a lone woman ekes out a harsh existence hunting rats for food and with only the remnants of someone else’s life for company. When her troubled solitude is interrupted by a new presence on the island, the woman who calls herself Elizabeth, who emerged bleeding and bedraggled from the sea into this strange life, must face up to her fear of the unknown.

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Exuma – Mark Brendan

From Cartagena on the Gulf of Mexico to the time-lost isle of Exuma Obscura, Mark Brendans’ adventure-horror novella Exuma inhabits some of the darker corners of the 17th Century New World. Merchant Juan de Castro lives a quiet, largely contented life with his family until he’s accused of heresy by the Inquisition and sentenced to serve as a galley slave, for the crime of being a Protestant. When his galley is attacked and he’s washed up on the shore of a strange, mist-shrouded island, de Castro finds himself free once more but surrounded by dangers he can’t imagine.

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Infestation (S-Squad #1) – William Meikle

The first book in William Meikle’s S-Squad series, Infestation is a short, snappy creature-feature packed full of action, danger, sweary soldiers and swarms of disgusting (and worryingly large) creepy-crawlies. Captain John Banks and a hand-picked team of soldiers are dispatched to investigate reports of a Russian boat in some kind of trouble in Canadian waters, their mission simply to drop in, find out what’s going on and report back. When they’re greeted by scenes of bloody devastation on arrival, however, it quickly becomes clear that there’s more going on than just a few Russian spies lurking where they shouldn’t be.

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Wrath of N’Kai – Josh Reynolds

Aconyte Books’ exploration of the world of Arkham Horror begins in fine style with Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai, an entertainingly dark tale of a gentlewoman thief getting more than she bargained for. Countess Alessandra Zorzi has been commissioned to travel to Arkham, where a recently-discovered ancient American mummy is to be displayed, and steal it. What sounds like a relatively simple job, however, is complicated by the presence of an investigator from the insurance company underwriting the exhibition, and the dawning realisation that there’s more going on than meets the eye in both Arkham’s criminal underworld and its wealthy upper class.

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Casefiles of the Royal Occultist: Monmouth’s Giants – Josh Reynolds

Josh Reynolds’ Monmouth’s Giants, a Casefiles of the Royal Occultist anthology from 18th Wall Productions, collects together 13 tales of monsters, magic, occult history and stoic British nerve. In 1920s London the position of Royal Occultist, a sort-of-policeman tasked with investigating occult crimes and mysterious goings-on, is held by the impeccably dressed if slightly bumbling Charles St. Cyprian, with the valuable help of apprentice/assistant (depending who you ask) Ebe Gallowglass. Over the course of these stories the pair battle all manner of mysterious creatures and disreputable characters, getting by on bravery, ancient knowledge, a stiff upper lip and just a little bit of luck.

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