In Darkness Waiting

By John Shirley

No writer combines the "delight in dread" with social consciousness and metaphysical meaning the way John Shirley does. Although In Darkness Waiting begins in much the same vein as many horror novels (mysterious deaths; a small town invaded by evil; plucky, attractive young lovers; the logical level-headed doctor; some salt-of-the-earth townsfolk...) by its end you will have discovered it is not "just another horror novel." With its exploration of the "insect" inside us all, In Darkness Waiting proves more relevant today than ever. Considering a read of In Darkness Waiting is like considering a trip through the Amazon with no weapons and no vaccinations and no shoes. It's like contemplating a journey in the Arctic clad only in your underwear. Or maybe it's more like dropping into one of those spelunker's challenges, those chilling pitch-black shafts into the Earth's crust-and when you get down there your light burns out and you remember the chitinous fauna of the cavern... Unlike undertaking those endeavors, you can get through the harrowing pages of In Darkness Waiting alive (although we are not promising you'll remain unscathed.) Towards the end you'll discover one of the most extreme yet literate passages ever written. It may well be the most outré scene ever created. But John Shirley wasn't after shock alone. Shock is never enough for him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Night Shade Books
• Release date: Oct 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781627933131

John Shirley

John Shirley is the author of many novels, including Borderlands: The Fallen, Borderlands: Unconquered, Bioshock: Rapture, Demons, Crawlers, In Darkness Waiting, City Come A-Walkin', and Eclipse, as well as the Bram-Stoker-award winning collection Black Butterflies and Living Shadows. His newest novels are the urban fantasy Bleak History and the cyberpunk thriller Black Glass. Also a television and movie scripter, Shirley was co-screenwriter of The Crow. Most recently he has adapted Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia for the screen. His authorized fan-created website is DarkEcho.com/JohnShirley and official blog is JohnShirley.net.