Publisher's Synopsis
WINNER, BEST PARANORMAL IN THE 2024 BEST INDIE BOOK AWARDS (BIBA®) 'A thought-provoking novel of considerable power' -Strange Horizons FROM THE WINNER OF THE 2022 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR BEST HORROR London, 1973. A small-time crook is on the run - from the law, from the local crime boss and, above all, from a horror that's haunted him since childhood: a supernatural psychic entity that seeks to devour his soul. It's crawled out of his memories and now, slowly, it's emerging from his mind and into reality. So he believes, but is it real? Are feelings of guilt about his most recent crime pushing him into paranoid delusions? At the boarding house where he takes refuge, he hopes to restart his life through his love for a fellow resident, but his growing fear of the entity - and the imminent vengeance of London's criminal underworld - threatens disaster for them both. When they find themselves at the entity's mercy, trapped in a bizarre, menacing otherworld, reality itself mutates into something truly evil... PRAISE FOR RICHARD GADZ 'Gadz brings the squalor of Victorian London to life...The fast-moving story maintains a good balance between the outright horror of gleefully gruesome scenes and the increasingly sympathetic character of the "monstrous" Maria as she learns what it means to be human' -Lisa Tuttle, The Guardian 'Gadz nails the Gothic sensibility and Victorian-era characters, and the story was practically dripping with atmosphere. Gadz nicely balances nail-biting action scenes with horrific descriptions of medical procedures, and I can honestly say I was never bored... I loved every bit of it' -Books Bones & Buffy 'I was completely captivated by these characters. One to read over a dark dramatic weekend' -Genevieve Jenner, author of Chocolate Cake For Imaginary Lives 'A remarkable book, visceral and philosophical in equal measure. The perfect combination of big ideas and a rattling good yarn. Hell of a read' -James Kinsley, author of Playtime's Over and Greyskin 'A superbly atmospheric novel imagined around the next generation after Frankenstein... Gadz's novel is always convincing and placed authentically in its historical context. The believable, well-drawn characters... draw us in and earn our interest and sympathy, although some of the more gruesome details are not for the fainthearted. The plot is intricate, full of action, and very exciting with plenty of wonderful set pieces' -Rubery Award for Fiction, shortlisted 2022.
