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‘In Darkness, Shadows Breathe’ is a Haunting, Reality-Bending Novel

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In Darkness, Shadows Breathe

I’m getting really close to calling the race for best British genre novelist of the 21st century (thus far) for Catherine Cavendish, and the author’s new novelĀ In Darkness, Shadows Breathe just might be her best yet.

From the novel’s synopsis:

Carol and Nessa are strangers but not for much longer.

In a luxury apartment and in the walls of a modern hospital, the evil that was done continues to thrive. They are in the hands of an entity that knows no boundaries and crosses dimensions – bending and twisting time itself – and where danger waits in every shadow. The battle is on for their bodies and souls and the line between reality and nightmare is hard to define.

Through it all, the words of Lydia Warren Carmody haunt them. But who was she? And why have Carol and Nessa been chosen?

In many ways,Ā In Darkness, Shadows Breathe is a perfect example of modern Gothic horror. The writing is raw and vulnerable and drenched with dread, slowly drawing the reader into an intricate web whose true shape you can only see after its final page is read and its cover closed.

Remarkably, Cavendish manages to tell a story involving slipping through time that never feels like science fiction while simultaneously telling one of the most chilling stories of possession that I have ever read. Moreover, she pulls off one of the best bits of literary sleight of hand with the ease of a trained magician, switching narrators halfway through the book in a way that utterly changes the perspective of the novel while still feeling cohesive.

Corridors and spirits who appear and disappear at will are just the tip of Cavendish’s iceberg, however.

I don’t believe I’ve ever read a fictional account of someone going through cancer treatments that was as brutally honest in the way that the author manages here. Of course, when one reads the afterword and discovers that she had been through her own battle with cancer that makes more sense.

Still, for many authors, even when recounting something they have been through themselves there is a disconnect that does not exist in this novel. Cavendish explains Nessa’s experiences in a way that will have you twisting in your chair and praying for the pain to end. The pain, however, never fully goes away. It is a constant ache, emotionally and physically, that flares to the point of being unbearable.

This would be almost too much for any one person to deal with, but Cavendish then compounds that pain by layering on the anger and vengeance of a family line tracking back generations and an entity out of time and space which personifies those traits.

You might think that this all sounds a bit disjointed, but I assure you, the author brings them all together seamlessly.

If I had one complaint aboutĀ In Darkness, Shadows Breathe, it would be that we didn’t get to spend quite enough time with Carol as narrator. Though her story feels told to completion, I wonder if there wasn’t just a bit more that was left out or that might have been sacrificed for the sake of pacing in order to get to next section of the story. Otherwise, this novel is beautifully written and realized on the page.

In Darkness, Shadows Breathe is published by Flame Tree Press and is available now wherever you buy books online!

For more from Catherine Cavendish, read my reviews ofĀ The Garden of Bewitchment andĀ The Malan Witch.

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book ā€œOh Mother, What Have You Done?ā€

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983ā€™s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. ā€œOh Mother, What Have You Done?ā€

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the filmā€™s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Hollandā€™s own personal archive ā€“ Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the filmā€™s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), ā€œI wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the filmā€™s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklinā€™s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. Iā€™d had no idea heā€™d written them before he passed in 2007.ā€

ā€œReading them,ā€ continues Holland, ā€œwas like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.ā€

ā€œSo, step back with me forty years and letā€™s see how it happened.ā€

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as ā€œbetter than I am nowā€ and ā€œa lot more energetic.ā€ But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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