Thursday, July 11, 2019

Books: By Paul Tremblay





Paul Tremblay has established himself as a rising star in the literary world since the release of his seminal novel A Head Full of Ghosts in 2015.


Since then, Tremblay has garnered stellar reviews for Disappearance at Devil’s Rock and The Cabin At The End of The World, which, in addition to being included in a slew of “year’s best” roundups at the end of 2018, has brought continued accolades in the form of a Bram Stoker Award for ‘Superior Achievement in a Novel,’ a nomination for a Thriller Award from the Thriller Writers of America for ‘Best Hardcover Novel,’ and a Locus Award.

The Cabin At The End of The World is now out in paperback, as well as his new collection of short fiction, Growing Things and Other Stories, and descriptions of what you can find in both of these wonderful books are below.

Growing Things and Other Stories
By Paul Tremblay
William Morrow; hardcover; $25.99



Tremblay has now created an incredible collection of short fiction, Growing Things and Other Stories, which showcases his signature blend of smart psychological suspense and spine-tingling horror.
This is a rich and varied assortment of tales, some of which experiment with narrative form, from diary entry format to interview style, and they highlight the author’s literary dexterity and creativity. A treat for Tremblay's devoted fans and new readers alike, a few of the tales are connected to characters and plotlines from the novels. Here are some of the thrilling stories that are in there:
• In the metafictional novella “Notes from the Dog Walkers,” the blogger Karen Brissette (last seen in A Head Full of Ghosts) deconstructs the horror genre while also telling a story that serves as a prequel to Disappearance at Devil’s Rock.
• In “The Teacher,” a student is forced to watch a disturbing video of a terrible event within a day care—only for the video to torment the lives of her and her classmates.
• In “The Getaway,” four men rob a pawn shop at gunpoint but start to vanish, one-by-one, as they speed away from the crime scene.
• In “Swim Wants to Know If It’s as Bad as Swim Thinks,” a meth addict kidnaps her own daughter from her estranged mother as a giant monster may or may not be terrorizing the town.
• “The Thirteenth Temple” follows Merry from A Head Full of Ghosts, who has published a tell-all memoir years after the events of the novel.
• The title story, “Growing Things,” loosely related to a character from A Head Full of Ghosts, is told here in full for the very first time.

The Cabin At The End Of The World
By Paul Tremblay
William Morrow; paperback; $15.99



Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. They are a handful of miles from the Canadian border, far removed from the bustle of city life, cut off from the urgent hum of cell phones and from the internet.
It is so rural and secluded that their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.
One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly.
Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, "None of what’s going to happen is your fault. You haven't done anything wrong, but the three pf you will have to make some tough decisions. I wish with all my broken heart you didn't have to."
Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: "Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world. Please."
Thus begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined.
The Cabin at the End of the World is a masterpiece of terror and suspense, one of the best you will ever read in this genre.

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