The Horse Is Dead

A stuffed bear’s heart beats with the rhythm of a dead baby, Reno keeps receding to the east no matter how far you drive, and in a mine on another planet, the dust won’t stop seeping in. In these stories, Evenson unsettles us with the everyday and the extraordinary—the terror of living with the knowledge of all we cannot know. Praise for Brian Evenson: "Brian Evenson is one of the treasures of American story writing, a true successor both to the generation of Coover, Barthelme, Hawkes and Co., but also to Edgar Allan Poe."—Jonathan Lethem "One of the most provocative, inventive, and talented writers we have working today." The Believer "There is not a more intense, prolific, or apocalyptic writer of fiction in America than Brian Evenson." —George Saunders “Brian Evenson is one of the few who will still be read a hundred years from now: either by our grandchildren, or by the machines who have killed our grandchildren.” —Hobart, “An interview with Brian Evenson” "Packed with enough atrocities to give Thomas Harris pause. . . . Not many writers have the imagination or the audacity to transform what looks like salvation into an utterly original outpost of hell." —Bookforum “Evenson’s writing is something to be read in short intervals, like a good tea that you want to savor to the last drop.” —Twin Cities Geek Praised by Peter Straub for going "furthest out on the sheerest, least sheltered narrative precipice" Brian Evenson has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and is the World Fantasy Award and the winner of the International Horror Guild Award, the American Library Association's award for Best Horror Novel, and one of Time Out New York's top books.

A solitary man digs a hole in the ground, near a dead horse. Amidst the clutter of food and equipment stands Hobart Struther, who has ridden all the way out to the middle of nowhere on a holy mission. But one day into his “Great Sojourn,” things are looking bleak. His horse has choked to death, he's miles away from civilization, and there's not a person around to talk to – other than himself. As Hobart examines his rise — how he built a vast art collection while ensconced in a comfortable Park Avenue lifestyle — he digs deep into his own history, unearthing truths about his past while still struggling to find the answers he needs. With Shepard's linguistic flair, subtle humor, and probing insights, Kicking a Dead Horse is an invigorating addition to the works of one of America's most innovative playwrights.

A collection of women's funny, lively, and inspirational stories in their own words, recounting how they overcame their "dead horse" mindsets to find thoroughbred replacements: success, happiness, self-worth, and fulfillment. The stories, narrated by women of varied ages, nationalities, and socioeconomic status, are interwoven with Lynn's own anecdotes, insights, and commentary, and are designed to encourage and help you to take charge of tour life. In each of these women, we recognize a little part of ourselves.

When Elijah Blanco said his last words, he didn't realize he was about to be thrown into a competition to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But now the game is on, and Elijah and thousands of other dead riders soon learn there's much more to dying than any preacher could have guessed. Heaven has released a herd of unearthly ponies into the world of the living and beyond, and it's up to the dead riders to capture them if they want to save their souls from Hell. As the game heats up, Elijah and his horse Delilah find themselves joined by a futuristic woman with a computer-powered horse; an easy-going English biker in black leather; and a Roman soldier as bred for war as the horse he rides. Together they uncover a Divine conspiracy that puts the riders' immortal souls in greater danger than ever before. And when the dead start dying, Elijah begins to think the Apocalypse should be brought to Heaven instead.

On May 24, 1935, author Raoul Whitfield's estranged wife, Emily Vanderbilt, was found dead at their New Mexico ranch from a gunshot wound. The official prognosis was suicide. Locals considered it murder. Dead Horse is Raoul and Emily's story, told from the latter point of view.