John Shirley
Cellars
A modern classic by a master of the macabre in a new revised edition
"Today [1988], the relentless over-the-top horror-baroque of Cellars brings Clive Barker to mind. It reads like Lovecraft on PCP. In 1982, there was nothing quite like it." -- William Gibson
Trade Paperback (6" X 9") $15.95
ISBN: 0-9742907-8-5
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Hardcover (6" X 9")
ISBN: 0-9742907-9-3$27 On Sale $22!
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An ancient evil deep beneath New York City turns subway stations into bloody altars for ritual sacrifice. Monsters made of blood arise from drains, an invisible hellhound devours human flesh, feral children stalk the shadowy streets and make murder a terrifying game. Occult investigator Carl Lanyard risks his life, his love, and his sanity as he battles the unspeakable forces of darkness.
Edward Lee
(From his Introduction to Cellars):
"Cellars proved to be one of my strongest creative inspirations, ever. It seems
unreal to me that I first read it nearly a quarter of a century ago...Yet after all that time, it's one of the few
horror novels I'm first to recall. Because it was a progenitor to a good-sized
pie wedge of the horror market in 2006. Some books are timeless, immune to
fading from their original creative luster, and Shirley's early masterpiece of
the form is one such endeavor. I hope this new edition of Cellars inspires new
writers today the way it inspired me so long ago....The bottom line is this: One of the very first hardcore horror novels truly
remains one of the very best, even after two and a half decades. "
John Shirley
In Darkness Waiting
New edition of the 1986 cult classic
"In Darkness Waiting is one of the icons of the 1980s horror and surely a highpoint for the dark fiction of that decade." -- Rick Kleffel
April 2005: In Darkness Waiting by John Shirley has been optioned to Gold Circle (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, White Noise). Matt Venne (who sold a spec horror script to Clive Barker's Seraphim Films and is rumored to be writing Halloween 9) has been attached to script. |
Trade Paperback (6" X 9") $15.95
ISBN: 0-9742907-3-4
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Hardcover (6" X 9")
ISBN: 0-9742907-5-0 $29.99 On Sale $22.50!
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Visit the In Darkness Waiting Web Site!
Considering a read of In Darkness Waiting is like considering a trip through the Amazon with no weapons and no vaccinations and no shoes. It's like contemplating a journey in the Arctic clad only in your underwear. Or maybe it's more like dropping into one of those spelunker's challenges, those chilling pitch-black shafts into the Earth's crust-and when you get down there your light burns out and you remember the chitinous fauna of the cavern...
Unlike undertaking those endeavors, you can get through the harrowing pages of In Darkness Waiting alive (although we are not promising you'll remain unscathed.) Towards the end you'll discover one of the most extreme yet literate passages ever written. It may well be the most outr scene ever created.
But John Shirley wasn't after shock alone. Shock is never enough for him.
No writer combines the "delight in dread" with social consciousness and metaphysical meaning the way John Shirley does. Although In Darkness Waiting begins in much the same vein as many horror novels (mysterious deaths; a small town invaded by evil; plucky, attractive young lovers; the logical level-headed doctor; some salt-of-the-earth townsfolk...) by its end you will have discovered it is not "just another horror novel." With its exploration of the "insect" inside us all, In Darkness Waiting proves more relevant today than ever.
John Shirley
John Shirley is the author of more than a dozen books including his most
recent novels, Crawlers
and Demons (both from Del Rey). His
noted proto-cyberpunk novel,
City Come-A-Walkin' was recently
reissued by Four Walls Eight Windows as has the
A Song Called Youth
trilogy -- Eclipse, Eclipse Corona, and Eclipse Penumbra (Babbage).
He is the recipient of the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award
and the International Horror Guild Award for his collection
Black
Butterflies (Mark V. Ziesing). Shirley's fronted punk bands and
written lyrics for his own music, as well as for Blue ��yster Cult
and other bands. A principal screenwriter for The Crow, Shirley now
devotes most of his time to writing for television and film.
Authorized John Shirley Web Site
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