S. Kovax's Blog, page 3

THE REDDENING – BOOK RECOMMENDATION

‘Bad memories never died. They only blurred, became smooth and heavy and not so spiky and sharp.’

Adam Nevill is one of my favourite ‘new’ authors. Although he has been publishing horror novels for over 15 years now, I came across his most famous piece, The Ritual, only a couple of years ago. I’ve read most of his stuff since, and he never disappoints.

He claims in his interviews that the biggest gift an author can receive from readers is word of mouth. This was how I received a recommendation to read him too: from my former boss, during an unexpected conversation in the middle of a meeting, where he revealed to me his love of horror. And he said, ‘Adam Nevill is the scariest writer out there today.’ After reading several of his books, I strongly agree.

We say don’t judge a book by its cover, which is true in the sense that a great cover doesn’t mean the content is going to be amazing, but it helps us decide to buy or not. In this case, I highly recommend you to buy a physical copy. The cover is phenomenal.

The story revolves around a rural coastal area where a new cave system is discovered. The protagonists are Kat and Helene, who get entangled in the dark past of the place. They’re led by different motivations, but they suffer the same consequences by crossing the mysterious red folk terrorising the neighbourhood. Ancient rituals, prehistoric terror, and a terrifying conspiracy reveal themselves on the pages.

The writing is mature and poetic. Nevill’s ability to paint pictures in the mind, both beautiful and disturbing, is remarkable. I loved reading his descriptions, liked the characters and feared for their lives. This novel is not for the faint-hearted, even among horror fans. Some scenes are extremely violent and graphic. Adam Nevill is a hell of a writer, and by painting these emotionally charged, gruesome scenes in your head, I guarantee he will cause some sleepless nights.

If you like your horror atmospheric and gory, The Reddening is what you need to read next.

THE FISHERMAN – BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Every year, I try to discover new authors based on recommendations or just pure browsing, and every now and then I find a gem that changes me to the core. Not necessarily because that particular book is superior to the others (so many great books are out there), but because it touches my dark soul the most, because it pushes all my buttons. Let me introduce you to John Langan’s mighty novel, The Fisherman.

Based on the blurb, I wasn’t sure what to think. Two guys, marred by grief, fishing. I had to admit, it didn’t sound like anything exciting, especially for a horror novel, but the Horror Writers Association doesn’t just give a Bram Stoker Award for your pretty eyes. It also had raving reviews from its readers and basically every horror review site I follow, so I picked it up as a paperback (after reading the book, the cover got a new meaning, and since, I find it even more stunning). And I’m so glad I did. The Fisherman is one of the most well-written, most epic horror novels I’ve ever read.

It starts with Abe and Dan who both have tragically lost their families and are trying to get over the events. They find some happiness in each other’s company and their new hobby: fishing. But Dutchman’s Creek, the place where they decide to fish next, has a dark past and an unholy presence lurking around it. They learn about the Fisherman and his still existing powers, which enwrapes them with its powerful melancholy.

This novel is literary, terrifying, and epic at the same time. The beasties in my head would categorise it as weird fiction with a hint of dark fantasy. It’s a story within a story within a story; a delicious story cake; daring and masterful. Every horror fan will find something in it: great character portrayal, epic storytelling, cosmic terror, psychological horror, a strong theme, and mystery. Add beautifully crafted prose to this mix and voila, you have crafted a bestial, unholy masterpiece that will devour your attention. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I will definitely read more from John Langan, and I will most definitely revisit the world of the mighty Fisherman.

A taster from the novel:
“I don’t know if you’ve spent time in the Catskills. From a distance, say, the parking lot of the old Caldor’s (which became an Ames that became a Stop ‘N’ Shop) in Huguenot, they’ve always made me think of a herd of giant animals, all standing grazing on the horizon. Up close, when you’re driving among them with the early morning light breaking over their round peaks, they seem incredibly present, more real than real, these huge solid heaps of rock that wear their trees like mile-long scarves. You glance at them, trying to keep your eyes on the road, which is already pretty busy with people driving up for a weekend getaway, and somehow you wouldn’t be surprised if the mountain closest to you were to cast off its trees in one titanic shrug and start to lumber away, a vast, unimaginable beast. When you turn off onto whatever secondary road you need to take, and you’re following its twists and turns back into the mountains, and the ground is steep to either side of you, opening every now and then on a meadow, or an old house, you think, Here, there are secret places.”
― John Langan, The Fisherman

THE HORROR OF BOLOGORSK – STORY ORIGINS

The Horror of Bologorsk is one of my most successful pieces in traditional publishing terms. It’s been published twice and earned me a semi-pro payment (if you think I could quit my job and live on the Canary Islands, think again — it was enough for the electricity bill, though). Which reminds of the following Stephen King quote: “If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn’t bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented.” Never fails to cheer me up.

It seems right that my first story-origins post is about this novella.

A warning to the curious: this isn’t an introduction and it may SPOIL the story for you. Treat this as an afterword and read it first. Click the button below to summon your free copy.

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Sometimes I find nightmares a fertile ground to develop into a narrative. Other times they are so random that not even the greatest horror writers can shape them into coherency. This time, the former was true, thank the horror gods.

In the dream, I was driving up a hill towards a small town, in a familiar car — I think it was our childhood Zsiguli, a popular car in Hungary at that time and appropriate to the environment of my dream. Here’s a photo:

A frozen, derelict landscape surrounded us until the eye could see. The old car climbed the hill and darkness descended on us, prematurely, as it was only four o’clock in the afternoon. I don’t remember who was there with me, but I’m sure I wasn’t alone. It might have been my wife, so that’s whom I’m going to refer to. In the next scene, we were investigating several abandoned houses on the top of the hill while an almost total darkness enveloped us. We were using the flashlights of our phones. We found bodies lying around, and they moved like there was something underneath their skins. The surrounding shadows were also alive. We didn’t talk, just walked from house to house. Then, from one of the corpses, a million tiny bugs swarmed out, and we had to run down the hill to escape their torrent, and when we reached a point where there was light again somehow, the bugs stopped. We walked back to the car, panting and not understanding what had happened, but now there were corpses everywhere next to the road as well. We got into the car, and I saw that something was moving underneath my wife’s skin.

I woke up, quite disturbed, and although the dream was incoherent, I liked its imagery. I got up and scribbled down some notes. For a long time, I didn’t know how to use it. Then, a few weeks later, during those useless headline-scrolling minutes, I found a real-life article about a Russian village where the inhabitants suffered from terrible hallucinations and nightmares. I won’t link it here because it was a Hungarian news article, and you can find a pretty accurate replica in the novella.

It was perfect. I made the connection in my head, and I had a story to write.

The Horror of Bologorsk was published in 2018 by The Society of Misfit Stories, first online and later in their annual print anthology. The chalice is raised with my eternal appreciation bound to it.

WELCOME TO THE SITE

Welcome, Children of the Night. I couldn’t be happier about your presence. I hope you’ll enjoy yourself here and satisfy all your dark desires.

On this blog, you will find stories about my writing process, fun facts, recommendations of my favourite books and films, discussions about all that is dark, and news about my upcoming releases. Leave comments, share, enjoy. I’d love it if this site became a vibrant place of horror and dark fantasy fans.

Now go ahead and explore. But please be careful while you are at it; something might look back at you from the shadowy corners of the pages.

YOUR FREE HORROR NOVELLA AWAITS… A ghost town in the Russian wilderness.
A small but daring team to uncover the truth.
And the terror that lurks under the surface.Unleash the horror of Bologorsk. GET YOUR FREE BOOK NOW