The Vengeful Dead

She's the FBI's go-to expert on Chicago's most brutal supernatural crimes. But a bloodthirsty, revenge-crazed killer is using her deepest fears as a terrifying weapon. . . Jackie Rutledge just can't put her past to rest. Her Bureau partner is dead, but not gone. And her sanity is becoming as fragile as her career. Worst of all, a wrenching journey into Deadworld has given her unwanted new abilities—and exhuming memories she hoped to keep buried . . . Now a merciless force capable of possessing humans is on a killing spree, destroying the guilty and innocent alike. It isn't long before Jackie is a prime suspect, struggling to stay two steps ahead of her savvy new partner, and her undead P.I. and paramour, Nick. But to clear her name, she'll have to take on her greatest challenge yet: confronting an inner darkness as inescapable as the one she hunts—and capable of annihilating more than her soul . . . Praise for Deadworld "The perfect dark fantasy." --Kat Richardson "Bloody, delicious, twisted."--Lilith Saintcrow, New York Times bestselling author of the Jill Kismet, Hunter series "Duncan's deftly subtle debut creeps up on you like a ghost in the night." --Mark Henry, author of Happy Hour of the Damned

The Dead don't always rest in peace. Dunham Raynor is a second-rate psychic traveling with a rundown medicine show. Months after the end of the American Civil War, Dun and his partners head west with dreams of easy wealth. They finally have a chance to make some real money when they cross paths with a murderess in a small Missouri town. The blackmail job is sure to give their band of swindlers the stake they need to reach San Francisco. But luck is a fickle mistress. Marked by magic as a youth, Dun isn't the fake he pretends to be. His mysterious tattoo of an Ouroboros allows him to see and speak with the Dead. When the ghost of a Confederate soldier arrives with a dire warning about the little town's imminent destruction, Dun must choose between loyalty and his own skin. The Undead never forget. Dun tries to escape his past by traveling west along the Santa Fe Trail, but vicious killers haunt his every step. Their ruthless games turn deadly as Dun's new traveling companions are brutally slaughtered. Are the supernatural hunters bent on delivering justice, or is the Necromancer holding their leash after revenge? The answer lies in the living Ouroboros embedded in Dun's chest.

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. But can silly graves truly contain every species of hate? The Vengeful Dead is eleven wholly different mini supernatural horror novels crafted to take even the most jaded horror fans on a spine-tingling rollercoaster ride deep into the dark realms. Angels and demons, ghosts, graverobbing ghouls, pagan desert gods, animal possession, psychological horror, evil spirits, charming gigolos and pretty witches, ancient dark magic artifacts, frozen corpses, gangster hit men, blood-sucking freaks, a snuff film gone wrong, Heaven and Hell, Santa Muerte unholy death cult and a creepy clown statue: Nothing is beyond Minster's nightmare imagination. The living are capable of great good, also inconceivable evil-but in a world where dead doesn't always mean gone, the evil dead with scores to settle are even worse. One reviewer's five-star rating and comment: "So disturbing I could not sleep. Literally. It disturbed the sleep out of me." "Scary! Game changer. Truly horrifying. Each story could be a movie. Minster is a master of supernatural horror." - Anthony Masi, Hollywood Producer of Silent Night, Deadly Night "John's writing style gets under your skin. He masterfully evokes emotions through beautifully penned characters and scene building. John should be at the top of your author-to-watch list." - Marc Layton, international best-selling horror author

An eerie, atmospheric Polar Gothic following a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate and his own redemption—from the author of the “vivid, immersive” (The Guardian) horror novel All the White Spaces. William Day should be an acclaimed Arctic explorer. But after a failed expedition, in which his remaining men only survived by eating their dead comrades, he returned in disgrace. Thirteen years later, his second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has gone missing in the same frozen waters. Perhaps this is Day’s chance to restore his tarnished reputation by bringing Stevens­­—the man who’s haunted his whole life—back home. But when the rescue mission becomes an uncanny journey into his past, Day must face up to the things he’s done. Abandonment. Betrayal. Cannibalism. Aboard ship, Day must also contend with unwanted passengers: a reporter obsessively digging up the truth about the first expedition, as well as Stevens’s wife, a spirit-medium whose séances both fascinate and frighten. Following a trail of cryptic messages, gaunt bodies, and old bones, their search becomes more and more unnerving, as it becomes clear that the restless dead are never far behind. Something is coming through.

Gods in the Desert explores the fascinating religious cultures of the ancient Near East. From the mysterious pyramids, tombs, and temples of Egypt to the powerful heroes, gods, and legends of Mesopotamia, Glenn Holland guides readers through the early religions that are the root of many of today's major faiths. Holland compares the religions of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria-Palestine, including Israel and Judah, from the Neolithic era through the conquest of Alexander the Great. He provides a historical survey of each region, then discusses the gods, the rulers, the afterlife, and the worship rituals. This accessible overview makes clear how these religions converged and diverged, and are intimately connected to many of the religions we recognize today, sometimes in surprising ways.

From bloodsucking schoolgirls to flesh-eating zombies, and from psychopathic killers to beasts from hell, '100 European Horror Films' provides a lively and illuminating guide to a hundred key horror movies from the 1920s to the present day. Alongside films from countries particularly associated with horror production - notably Germany, Italy, and Spain and movies by key horror filmmakers such as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Lucio Fulci, '100 European Horror Films' also includes films from countries as diverse as Denmark, Belgium, and the Soviet Union, and filmmakers such as Bergman, Polanski and Claire Denis, more commonly associated with art cinema. The book features entries representing key horror subgenres such as the Italian 'giallo' thrillers of the late 60s and 70s, psychological thrillers, and zombie, cannibal, and vampire movies. Each entry includes a plot synopsis, major credits, and a commentary on the film's significance, together with its production and exhibition history. Films covered in the book include early classics such as Paul Wegener's 'The Golem,' Robert Wiene's 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,' and 'Murnau's Nosferatu'; 70s horror favorites such as 'Daughters of Darkness, The Beast,' and 'Suspiria'; and notable recent releases such as 'The Devil's Backbone, Malefique,' and 'The Vanishing.'

Some of the greatest works of literature have wrestled with the task of illuminating the human experience of death. This new title discusses the role of death and dying in works such as Beloved, A Farewell to Arms, Lord of the Flies, Paradise Lost, and many others. Featuring approximately 20 essays, Death and Dying provides valuable insights on this recurring theme in literature.