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| Gwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar; foreword by Stephen KingWhat it's about: Years after a sinister gift-giving box wreaked havoc on her childhood, 37-year-old Gwendy finds it in her possession again.
What happens next: Returning to her hometown of Castle Rock for the holidays, Gwendy contemplates harnessing the box's power to cure her mother's cancer and solve a rash of local disappearances.
Series alert: This unsettling 2nd entry in the Gwendy series follows the novella Gwendy's Button Box, co-written with Stephen King. |
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The boatman's daughter : a novel by Andy DavidsonWhat it's about: A swampy literary horror novel about a young woman facing down drug dealers, a crooked cop, and a mad preacher on the banks of an Arkansas river. Why you might like it: With the heady mythmaking of Neil Gaiman and the heartrending pacing of Joe Hill, Andy Davidson spins a thrilling tale of love and duty, of loss and discovery. The Boatman's Daughter is a gorgeous, horrifying novel, a journey into the dark corners of human nature, drawing our worst fears and temptations out into the light.
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Burn the dark by S. A. HuntThe premise: The star of an online indie series about witch-hunting across America harbors a secret burning desire for revenge against a coven of witches who sentenced her mother to a dire fate. Series alert: The first book in the series Malus Domestica. Reviewers say: With a detailed setting and an ear for dialogue, Hunt captures a distinct feeling of Southern Americana. The cliff-hanger ending is sure to leave readers eager for the next installment.” ―Publishers Weekly
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What it is: First published in 1897, Richard Marsh's classic work of gothic horror, The Beetle, opens with Robert Holt, an out-of-work clerk seeking shelter in an abandoned house.
What happens next: He comes face to face with a fantastical creature with supernatural and hypnotic powers; a creature who can transform at will between its human and beetle forms and who wrecks havoc when he preys on young middle-class Britons.
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| The Pursuit of William Abbey by Claire NorthWhat it's about: Decades after he failed to save a young Zulu boy from a lynching, guilt-ridden English doctor William Abbey recounts his experiences in 1880s Colonial South Africa and the (figurative and literal) shadow that has followed him since that fateful day.
Is it for you? Readers interested in big-picture issues like the legacy of colonialism and the nature of guilt and culpability will want to check out this thought-provoking novel; period-authentic racist language may be off-putting for some readers. |
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| A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman, Rafael Albuquerque, and Rafael Scavone; illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque and Dave StewartWhat it is: an inventive mashup of Sherlock Holmes and Cthulhu Mythos set in an alternate Victorian London.
Why you might like it: Neil Gaiman's graphic novel adaptation of his Hugo Award-winning short story concludes with a shocking twist.
Art alert: Eisner Award-winning artist Rafael Albuquerque's detailed illustrations evocatively depict the novel's creepy otherworldly entities. |
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| Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": The Authorized Graphic Adaptation by Miles HymanWhat it is: a haunting adaptation of Shirley Jackson's classic 1948 short story "The Lottery," illustrated by her grandson.
Art alert: Escalating dread is conveyed through the Norman Rockwell-esque illustrations' changing colors, panel sizes, and perspectives.
Reviewers say: "One of the strongest graphic adaptations of a classic work to come along in some time" (Booklist). |
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30 Days of Night 1 by Steve Niles The premise: In a sleepy, secluded Alaska town called Barrow, the sun sets and doesn't rise for over thirty consecutive days and nights. From the darkness, across the frozen wasteland, an evil will come that will bring the residents of Barrow to their knees. The only hope for the town is the Sheriff and Deputy, husband and wife who are torn between their own survival and saving the town they love.. Reviewers say: “…a short, sharp shocker of a horror tale with an original premise and a Matterhorn-sized mountain of tension.” –Maxim
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| Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshote; illustrated by Aaron Campbell; with José Villarrubia and Jeff PowellThe premise: After she moves into a new apartment, Muslim woman Aisha finds herself preyed upon by monstrous manifestations of her fellow tenants' xenophobia.
Art alert: The human characters are as realistic as the monstrous ones are twisted in this striking work NPR named one of their "100 Favorite Horror Stories of All Time."
Try this next: For another metaphor-rich graphic novel set in a haunted apartment building, check out Bttm Fdrs by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore. |
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| Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann; illustrated by KerascoëtWhat happens: Elfin Princess Aurora and her companions' whimsical adventures take a sinister turn when they leave the rotting corpse they've been living in and step into a woodland sanctum that is anything but.
Art alert: Bright, lush watercolors underscore this macabre tale's eerie and disturbing tone.
Who it's for: readers who appreciate fractured fairy tales and the cutthroat intrigue of Lord of the Flies. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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