Book picks similar to
The Hanover Block by Gregor Xane
horror
bizarro
novellas
novella
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
Alissa Nutting - 2010
One is the main course of dinner, another the porn star contracted to copulate in space for a reality TV show. They become futuristic ant farms, get knocked up by the star high school quarterback and have secret abortions, use parakeets to reverse amputations, make love to garden gnomes, go into air conditioning ducts to confront their mother’s ghost, and do so in settings that range from Hell to the local white-supremacist bowling alley.
Human Flesh
Nick Clausen - 2019
A rational explanation for what happened has still not been presented. Now, for the first time, all the available written evidence is being released to the public from what is commonly know as the Freyston case.Human Flesh was originally published in Danish to great reviews, and is now available in English. This dark winter horror story will also satisfy crime lovers, as the plot is told through written evidence in a fictitious murder case. For fans of Hannibal Lecter and Pet Sematary. REVIEWS "great, mysterious and creepy ... I couldn't put it down"★★★★★ Adventures of a Book Nerd"all the planning it must have taken to put the story together is impressive. And the effect is enormous. It gave me chills and I still feel it"★★★★★ Bookish Love Affair EXCERPT “Has he had any other episodes since then?” I asked.“A bunch,” Martin said. “Most of the time he’s just gone for a couple of seconds or so. My dad has been keeping an eye on him ever since that New Year’s Eve.”“Then why do you think it’s PTSD?”“Because it always happens in the winter. I think the cold reminds him of your grandma and—” Martin broke off at this point and threw a look at me. “You know how she died, right?”I nodded.“He never told anyone around here about it,” Martin went on. “We only know the story through rumors. How did he say she died exactly?”I was kind of surprised Martin would ask me that directly. I told him she died from cold in a cabin they had come by to seek shelter.“From cold,” he repeated thoughtfully.“Yes, from cold,” I said. “What else would she have died from?”Martin bit his lip. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk anymore about it.”“It’s kind of too late now,” I said.“All right, listen. You might as well hear it from me. There are certain rumors going about. Some people think your grandpa killed your grandma.”It honestly made me laugh. “That’s ridiculous. He loved her more than anything.” When Martin didn’t reply, I crossed my arms and asked him: “Why on earth would he have killed her?”“To survive, of course. There was this whole case concerning the plane crash. Your grandpa was detained by the Canadian police for like three months before he was allowed to return home. He was the sole survivor, so no one could really confirm what he said had happened.”“Why would that need to be confirmed? He had nothing to lie about!”“The police apparently thought your grandma was murdered by someone. They never found her body, you know. I guess that’s kind of weird.”“Yeah, well, it doesn’t mean he killed her,” I told him—I probably sounded pretty angry by now, because I was.“Listen, I’m on your side,” he said. “I’m just telling you what people are saying. I’ve known your grandpa my whole life, and I don’t think for a second he could hurt anyone.
Follow Me to Ground
Sue Rainsford - 2020
Ada and her father, touched by the power to heal illness, live on the edge of a village where they help sick locals—or “Cures”—by cracking open their damaged bodies or temporarily burying them in the reviving, dangerous Ground nearby. Ada, a being both more and less than human, is mostly uninterested in the Cures, until she meets a man named Samson. When they strike up an affair, to the displeasure of her father and Samson’s widowed, pregnant sister, Ada is torn between her old way of life and new possibilities with her lover—and eventually comes to a decision that will forever change Samson, the town, and the Ground itself.Follow Me to Ground is fascinating and frightening, urgent and propulsive. In Ada, award-winning author Sue Rainsford has created an utterly bewitching heroine, one who challenges conventional ideas of womanhood and the secrets of the body. Slim but authoritative, Follow Me to Ground lingers long after its final page, pulling the reader into a dream between fairytale and nightmare, desire and delusion, folktale and warning.
Last Summer at Mars Hill
Elizabeth Hand - 1998
There are 12 pieces in all here, ranging from those first published in places like Interzone and Pulphouse to a two-page poem taken from the pages of Asimov's. Although many readers may be familiar with Hand's longer works, such as Glimmering or Waking the Moon, here she shows that she's a master of short fiction as well. Her stylish prose and keen insights make for some wonderful stories. --Craig E. EnglerContents:Last Summer at Mars Hill (1994)The Erl-King (1993)Justice (1993)Dionysus Dendrites (1993) poemThe Have-Nots (1992)In the Month of Athyr (1992)Engels Unaware (1992)The Bacchae (1991)Snow on Sugar Mountain (1991)On the Town Route (1989)The Boy in the Tree (1989)Prince of Flowers (1988)
The King in Yellow
Robert W. Chambers - 1895
I pray God will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with the beautiful, stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth - a world which now trembles before the King in Yellow.The four uncanny and terrifying tales contained between these covers are all linked by their reference to a certain notorious play, a cursed, forbidden play that has spread like a contagion across the world, a play in which the second act reveals truths so terrible, and so beautiful, that it drives all who read it to lunatic despair: The King in Yellow.These stories are some of the most thrilling ever written in the field of weird fiction. Since their first publication in 1895 they have become cult classics, influencing many writers from the renowned master of cosmic horror H. P. Lovecraft to the creators of HBO's True Detective. Contains: ‘The Repairer of Reputations’, ‘The Mask’, ‘In the Court of the Dragon’, ‘The Yellow Sign’
Dimentia
Russell Coy
As the visions manifest with greater frequency they start targeting his young daughter. They are finding their way into his world and only he can fight them. Chris must uncover the truth about his connection to this strange, sadistic realm, and plunge headfirst into the unknown if he wants to save his daughter and himself.
Our Lady of Darkness
Fritz Leiber - 1977
Then one day, peering at his apartment window from atop a nearby hill, he sees a pale brown thing lean out his window…and wave.This encounter sends Westen on a quest through ancient books and modern streets, for the dark forces and paramental entities that thrive amidst the towering skyscrapers of modern urban life…and meanwhile, the entities are also looking for him.A pioneering work of modern urban fantasy, Our Lady of Darkness is perhaps Fritz Leiber’s greatest novel.
Fury of the Orcas
Hunter Shea - 2017
From marine parks to the deepest oceans, the world’s killer whale population has turned against man and beast alike. Orca show trainers are ripped to pieces before stunned audiences. Ships are capsized. Oil rigs are bashed without mercy. What has driven the apex predators stark raving mad? Chet Clarke has dedicated his life to preserving the health and dignity of orcas in captivity. Along with orca trainer Rosario Benitez, he embarks on a whirlwind journey across the globe to witness unconscionable carnage and uncover the mystery for the sudden outbreak of mania. Is this the start of a catastrophic pandemic? Or do the clues lead to an enigmatic experiment in the wilds of Alaska and shadow operations in a Russian ghost town? Time is running out faster than the lives of those in the path of the orcas.
All the Fabulous Beasts
Priya Sharma - 2018
writer Priya Sharma, All the Fabulous Beasts collects 16 stunning and monstrous tales of love, rebirth, nature, and sexuality. A heady mix of myth and ontology, horror and the modern macabre.
Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed
Lance Carbuncle - 2007
He escaped from his master's house for a brief romp around town, seeking out easy targets such as bitches in heat, fresh roadkill and unguarded garbage cans. When he returns to his house, the aged basset hound discovers that his master has packed up their belongings and moved to Florida without him. "Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed" is the story of Idjit Galoot's ne'er do well owner and his efforts to work his way back to the dog that he loves. Along the way, Idjit's owner encounters Christian terrorists, swamp-dwelling taxidermists, carnies, a b-list poopie-groupie, bluesmen on the run from a trickster deity, and the Florida Skunk Ape.
The Litany of Earth
Ruthanna Emrys - 2014
They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The Litany of Earth" is a dark fantasy story inspired by the Lovecraft mythos.
The Dulwich Horror and Others
David Hambling - 2013
P. Lovecraft, this stylish new collection of adventure stories fizzes with wit and invention. They can be enjoyed separately, but read them in one sitting and the pieces fit horribly together into a larger and more terrible nightmare. †These tales constitute David Hambling’s initial foray into the realm of Lovecraftian fiction. The fertility of imagination, the crisp character delineations, and the smooth-flowing prose that we find in these seven tales leave us wishing for more of the same, and Hambling will no doubt oblige in the coming years. For now, we can sit back and relish a brace of stories that not only evoke the shade of the dreamer from Providence, but which that dreamer himself would have enjoyed to the full. —S. T. Joshi(from his foreword)
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
Harlan Ellison - 1967
It was first published in the March 1967 issue of IF: Worlds of Science Fiction.It won a Hugo Award in 1968. The name was also used for a short story collection of Ellison's work, featuring this story. It was recently reprinted by the Library of America, collected in volume two (Terror and the Uncanny, from the 1940s to Now) of American Fantastic Tales (2009).
Super Fetus
Adam Pepper - 2009
His problem: she wants to have him aborted. But what this bitch doesn't know is that she isn't pregnant with some mild-mannered developing human form. Heck no. This is Super Fetus. He has an attitude and he is deter mined to be born, whether she likes it or not. Doing push-ups in the womb day and night, until he becomes amazingly buff, this little fetus is prepared to fight off the onslaught of vacuums, tongs, coat hangers, and scalpels. Once that sonofabitch doctor comes for him... he'll be ready. A horrific and humorous romp with strange characters, stranger sex scenes, and one kick-ass musclebound fetus.
Dead Lake
Darcy Coates - 2015
A week's visit to the remote Harob Lake cabin couldn't have come at a better time for Sam. She's battling artist's block ahead of a major gallery exhibition. Staying at Harob Lake is her final, desperate attempt to paint the collection that could save her floundering career. It seems perfect: no neighbours, no phone, no distractions. But the dream retreat disintegrates into a nightmare when Sam discovers she's being stalked. A tall, strange man stands on the edge of her dock, staring intently into the swirling waters below. He starts to follow her. He disables her car. He destroys her only way to communicate with the outside world. And Sam is beginning to suspect he's responsible for the series of disappearances from a nearby hiking trail. Stranded at Harob Lake, Sam realises she’s become the prey in the hunter’s deadliest game…