One man's dangerous addiction leads to a glimpse of another world, while another seeks total mastery over his own bodily functions. As two immortal godlike creatures in charge of balancing all of existence come to a crossroads with their relationship, another person has to face the fact that he only has a short amount of time left to live. And while a sleepy English village hides one terrifying secret, the mystery of a famous horror writer's success turns out to be the result of another . . . Including the award-winning 'A Chaos Demon is for Life . . .', 'Dead Time'--which was turned into an episode of the NBC/Lionsgate primetime series Fear Itself--and 'Rag and Bone', selected for The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, this collection gathers together some of Paul Kane's best fiction and celebrates his twenty years as a professional writer. With an introduction by the bestselling author of Furnace and The Ancient, Muriel Gray, and stunning cover art from the award-winning Vincent Chong, this is a very special commemorative book that no collector or genre fan will want to be without.
Industry Reviews
'Paul Kane is a first-rate storyteller, never failing to marry his insights into the world and its anguish with the pleasures of phrases eloquently turned.' -Clive Barker, bestselling author of The Hellbound Heart, Abarat, Mister B. Gone & The Scarlet Gospels 'Paul Kane's lean, stripped-back prose is a tool that's very much fit for purpose. He knows how to make you want to avoid the shadows and the cracks in the pavement.' -Mike Carey, bestselling author of the Felix Castor series of novels and The Girl with All the Gifts and Fellside as M.R. Carey 'Kane finds the everyday horrors buried within us, rips them out and serves them up in these deliciously dark tales.' -Kelley Armstrong, bestselling author of Bitten, Haunted, Broken, Waking the Witch, Spell Bound and Thirteen 'I'm impressed by the range of Paul Kane's imagination. It seems there is no risk, no high-stakes gamble, he fears to take . . . Kane's foot never gets even close to the brake pedal.' -Peter Straub, bestselling author of Ghost Story, Mr. X, Lost Boy Lost Girl, and In the Night Room 'Paul Kane is a name to watch. His work is disturbing and very creepy.' -Tim Lebbon, New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin in the Woods, Echo City and The Silence 'His stories not only, at his best, put him neck and neck with Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, but also in the company of greats like Machen and M. R. James. You don't rest easily after reading a Paul Kane story, but strangely your eyes have been somewhat opened.' -Stephen Volk, BAFTA-winning screenwriter of Gothic, Ghostwatch, Afterlife, The Awakening and Midwinter of the Spirit; author of Whitstable, Leytonstone and The Parts We Play 'He stands out as one of the better writers I've read.' -Eternal Night 'Wonderfully dark and satisfying.' -Dark Side Magazine 'Kane is best when taking risks with his bizarre flights of imagination.' -SFX Magazine 'Kane is a highly regarded author whose influence can be felt across the genre, with a large and notable body of work behind him.' -Starburst Magazine 'On a par with what the big boys are cranking out these days.' -SFReader