David Nickle - Volk: A Novel of Radiant Abomination

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR VOLK: A Novel Of Radiant Abomination

David Nickles compelling Volk extends and expands upon his Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism. In elegant, engaging prose, Nickle explores the darker highways and byways of the middle decades of the last century, when science joined hands with frightening ideology. Its the latest contribution to what is emerging as one of the truly substantial bodies of weird fiction in the early twenty-first century, and further cements David Nickles reputation as one of the leaders of his generation of writers.

John Langan, author of The Fisherman

David Nickles sequel to his eugenicist novel Eutopia switches the action to 1930s Europe, but jumping to a different continent doesnt mean the gruesome horror is about to diminish. Volk is a worthy book with plenty of secrets to unravel.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, World Fantasy Award-winning editor

David Nickles distinctive mastery of voluptuous horror makes for a sequel every bit as enthralling and disturbing as Eutopia.

Molly Tanzer, author of Vermillion

PRAISE FOR EUTOPIA: A NOVEL OF TERRIBLE OPTIMISM

Nickle (Monstrous Affections) blends Little House on the Prairie with distillates of Rosemarys Baby and The X-Files to create a chilling survival-of-the-fittest story.... [His] bleak debut novel mixes utopian vision, rustic Americana, and pure creepiness.

Publishers Weekly

Eutopia is the kind of book Id recommend to literary snobs who badmouth the horror genre while completely ignoring the multitudes of splendid books on the shelves. Nickle comes from a different cut of cloth than a lot of current horror authors. Hes created a unique world thats a far cry from any of the current trends in horror fiction. In fact, his style seems generations removed from all the apocalyptic zombie and vampire novels on the market. Thankfully, he understands that the most important ingredients are strong characters, originality, and a compelling story. That his novel is also dark, frightening, and beautifully written is just icing on the cake.

All Things Horror

Toronto author David Nickles debut novel, the follow-up to his brilliantly wicked collection of horror stories Monstrous Affections, establishes him as a worthy heir to the mantle of Stephen King. And I dont mean the King of Under the Dome or other recent flops, but the master of psychological suspense who ruled the 80s with classics like Pet Sematary.

The National Post

Nickles debut novel Eutopiaan entrancing amalgam of historical thriller, dark fantasy and weird fictionis an utterly creepy, bladder-loosening, storytelling tour de force.

Barnesandnoble.com

Try to imagine a collaboration by Mark Twain and H.P. Lovecraft, with Joe R. Lansdale providing the editorial polish. Or if thats too difficult to imagine, read the book and see for yourself.

The New York Review of Science Fiction

A dark, complicated and frequently harrowing read... Eutopia is a compelling exploration of the horror of good intentions.

Locus Magazine

[Eutopia] is immensely readable: a quick-paced mountain stream of a novel, cool and sharp and intense, and terrifically adept at drawing a reader in.... Eutopia accomplishes what the best horror fiction strives for: gives us characters we can care about and hope for, and then inflicts on them the kind of realistic, inescapable, logical sufferings that make us close our eyes a little at the unfairness of not the author, but the worldand all the while with something more to say for itself than the world is a very bad place.

Ideomancer

Eutopia is a fantastic read, a frighteningly good first novel, and a solid and worthy contender for the Prix Aurora.

AESCIFI.CA

If smart, innovative horror is nice, it still has to strike at the base of the skull.... Nickle knows that horror needs to strike at nerve endings and not get too cerebral; Eutopia does that by getting out of its own way.

Philadelphia City Paper

Eutopia is as frightening in its social message as it is with its religious themes, and features irresistible prose.... A top-notch novel all around.

The Horror Fiction Review

PRAISE FOR THE GEISTERS

Anyone who enjoys ghostly yarns or supernatural dark fiction should add this perverse, spine-tingling tome to their collectionstat!

Rue Morgue

The language of The Geisters does an exquisite job of capturing the struggle for language in the face of horror and violence, the way that the brain can fail to interpret what the eyes are seeing.... It is this groping towards making sense of what the characters are seeing and experiencing that makes The Geisters succeed in its most wrenching and visceral moments, as horror or fractures in logical reality gradually take shape in the mind of the reader and the characters together. These dawning moments of horror, or spookiness, or dread, or simultaneous arousal and disgust, are what make The Geisters at once so desirable and so deeply uncomfortable. This is a book that buzzes in your ears, climbs your crawling skin with multiple barbed feet, feeling with exquisitely sensitive antennae for the next new and terrible revelation.

The National Post

Few writers do psychosexual horror as well as Torontos David Nickle, and with The Geisters hes back with another tale of voluptuous terror and the supernatural.

Toronto Star

The book doesnt just explore the attractiveness of terrorit embodies it in a narrative that demands (excites even as it repels) your attention. Its a(nother) strong novel by one of the best, most interesting horror writers working today.

Bookgasm.com

PRAISE FOR RASPUTINS BASTARDS

This novel is supernatural eeriness at its best, with intriguing characters, no clear heroes, and a dark passion at its heart. Horror aficionados and fans of Stephen Kings larger novels should appreciate this macabre look at the aftermath of the Cold War.

Library Journal

Rasputins Bastards is a testament to the fact Nickle can write anything.

The Winnipeg Review

A plot so dissected is not easy to get right, but Nickle juggles it incredibly well. And its just the right kind of style for this book.

Newstalk 1010

Rasputins Bastards is a book with such a vast canvas and sweep, handled with such command and care by Nickle, that it is a must-read for anyone who wants to know what amazing things can be done with dark historical fantasy.

Tony Burgess, author of People Live Still in Cashtown Corners

To read David Nickle is to be reminded what the best storytellers can do, and to glory in unbridled imagination released on the page. Davids achievements in Rasputins Bastards are innumerable. He reminds me of no one so much than maestro Dan Simmons, another writer unconstrained by the limits of genre. When it comes to narrative, David dances where others plod, and dares where others play it safe. This is all to say, David Nickle takes no prisoners, and leaves a magnificent bruise as a reminder of the encounter.

Corey Redekop, author of Husk

PRAISE FOR MONSTROUS AFFECTIONS

[L]ike the cover, the stories inside are not what they seem. But also, like the cover, the stories inside are brilliant.... Youd think that you were reading a book full of what you had always expected a horror story to be, but Nickle takes a left turn and blindsides you with tales that are not of the norm, but are all the more horrific because of surprise twists, darkness and raw emotion.

January Magazines Best Books of 2009

Bleak, stark and creepy, Stoker-winner Nickles first collection will delight the literary horror reader... 13 terrifying tales of rural settings, complex and reticent characters and unexpected twists that question the fundamentals of reality. All are delivered with a certain grace, creating a sparse yet poetic tour of the horrors that exist just out of sight.... This ambitious collection firmly establishes Nickle as a writer to watch.