{"product_id":"spontaneous-human-combustion-9781684427543","title":"Spontaneous Human Combustion","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA 2022 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA TOR NIGHTFIRE MOST EXCITING HORROR BOOK OF 2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e \"In range alone, Richard Thomas is boundless. He is Lovecraft. He is Bradbury. He is Gaiman.\" —Chuck Palahniuk\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a Foreword by Brian Evenson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this new collection, Richard Thomas has crafted fourteen stories that push the boundaries of dark fiction in an intoxicating, piercing blend of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Equally provocative and profound, each story is masterfully woven with transgressive themes that burrow beneath the skin. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA poker game yields a strange prize that haunts one man, his game of chance now turned into a life-or-death coin flip. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA set of twins find they have mysterious new powers when an asteroid crashes in a field near their house, and the decisions they make create an uneasy balance.  \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA fantasy world is filled with one man’s desire to feel whole again, finally finding love, only to have the shocking truth of his life exposed in an appalling twist.  \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA father and son work slave labor in a brave new world run by aliens and mount a rebellion that may end up freeing them all. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA clown takes off his make-up in a gloomy basement to reveal something more horrifying under the white, tacky skin.  \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePowerful and haunting, Thomas’ transportive collection dares you to examine what lies in the darkest, most twisted corners of human existence and not be transformed by what you find.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"In range alone, Richard Thomas is boundless. He is Lovecraft. He is Bradbury. He is Gaiman.\" \u003cb\u003e—Chuck Palahniuk\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This chilling collection of short stories, with plenty of twists and turns, as well as echoes of Lovecraft and Bradbury, probes the dark corners between the horrors humans inflict on each other and those that haunt our nightmares. This volume will please Thomas's existing fans and will surely create new ones.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Shelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Fans of science fiction, horror, and dark fiction will relish immersing themselves in this collection for all its grit, lyricism, and unquestionable profundity.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Equally devastating and refreshing, this is a collection to be savored by horror fans and literary readers alike.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublisher’s Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Horror fans will be drawn to this compelling anthology.\" \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Booklist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Each story is filled with vivid and evocative details and provides a fascinating journey that explores the dark places of our existence and engages its readers throughout . . . [Richard Thomas] does not disappoint.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Journal of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A feast for the senses, this collection is simultaneously lush and terrifying. Horror and dark fantasy fans are sure to find many delights within.\" \u003cb\u003e—A.C. Wise, author of \u003ci\u003eWendy, Darling\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Nothing will prepare you for Richard Thomas' stories, for the brutality, for the intense white-hot horror, for the blood-soaked gorgeous beauty of his writing. Reading his fiction is like sinking into a fever dream, filled with an alien-yet-familiar wondrousness to it all that makes you long to be back inside those seductive terrors long after they've ended. I was not prepared: I can't wait to return.\" \u003cb\u003e—Livia Llewellyn, author of \u003ci\u003eFurnace\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Thomas masterfully combines noir and horror. He paints the beauty and the meanness of human life with an ease that belies how damned hard a trick it is to accomplish. \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e is a bottle of the top shelf stuff—smooth, but it burns. Burns all the way to the bottom.\" \u003cb\u003e—Laird Barron, author of \u003ci\u003eSwift to Chase\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"By turns poetic and brutal, this is a stellar collection.\" \u003cb\u003e—Lucy A. Snyder, author of \u003ci\u003eSister, Maiden, Monster\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Richard Thomas brings us expertly crafted tales steeped in violence and beauty. Each richly detailed story teases the reader with equal parts emotion and stoicism. \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e is truly a work of dark wonder.\" \u003cb\u003e—Mercedes M. Yardley, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of \u003ci\u003eLittle Dead Red\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The stories in \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e sizzle and burn. Richard Thomas is a narrator of the human condition at its most feral, and a master at the damnation game.\" \u003cb\u003e—Usman T. Malik, award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eMidnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Richard Thomas's \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e is a marvelous monster made of blood, anger, fear, guilt, grief, hunger, and pain. These gritty, blood-soaked stories pull readers into the darkness of the single black heart beating at the core of horror and noir, and somehow makes them love every second of it.\" \u003cb\u003e—Gabino Iglesias, author of \u003ci\u003eCoyote Songs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Richard Thomas gives us a timely and eloquent reminder that, no matter how far we run, we take our darkness with us.\" \u003cb\u003e—Priya Sharma, author of \u003ci\u003eOrmeshadow\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The stories in Richard Thomas’s \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e marry a dark noir sensibility with unusually wide-ranging horror and fantasy tropes. The results are impressive, not only because of their originality, but in the way he is able to elicit our empathy for the grotesque sufferings of deeply flawed characters torn between impulses of petty revenge and sacrifice, creation and destruction. The language here is dense and richly evocative, achieving at times a transgressive and surreal quality reminiscent of Rimbaud in its beauty and brutality.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eSteve Rasnic Tem\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eFigures Unseen: Selected Stories \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Thanatrauma\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dark, but rarely bleak. Punishing, but never sadistic. Thomas’s stories drag you into the light as often as they knock you into the abyss. A necessary collection.” \u003cb\u003e—Doug Murano, Bram Stoker Award–winning editor of \u003ci\u003eBehold!: Oddities, Curiosities \u0026amp; Undefinable Wonders\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“If you dig \u003ci\u003eBlack Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e or any surrealist, neo-noir fiction, then you definitely need to check this out, because this would be right up your alley.” \u003cb\u003e—Jenny Ashford, \u003ci\u003e13 O'Clock\u003c\/i\u003e podcast \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Richard Thomas is a seasoned professional . . . He is such a fantastic writer with so much depth and subtext in every single paragraph. Every single line has punch to it . . . This collection is damn near perfect!\" \u003cb\u003e—Edward Lorn, author of \u003ci\u003eLife after Dane\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Imaginative and propulsive, the stories of \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e confront universal human fears in supernatural, futuristic worlds.\" \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Transgressive, dark and masterfully written—with \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e, Thomas forces the reader to run the gamut of human emotions. With beguiling and devastating prose one can’t help but see the beauty in the macabre morsels Thomas has given us to consume. A truly breathtaking collection.\" \u003cb\u003e—Ross Jeffery, Bram Stoker \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward–nominated author of \u003ci\u003eTome\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In this collection, Richard Thomas leads us through a vivid sequence of ever-darkening dreams. Strange, surreal, terrible and beautiful—I didn't want to wake.” \u003cb\u003e—Karen Runge, author of \u003ci\u003eDoll Crimes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Raw and shocking, each story takes us deeper into the human psyche and our darkest instincts. Favorites included 'Ring of Fire' and 'Requital,' however, the strength of the collection overall make this a disturbingly satisfying read.” \u003cb\u003e—Kathleen Kaufman, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Lairdbalor\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHag\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eDiabhal\u003c\/i\u003e Trilogy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e, Richard Thomas bravely leads us into the darkest recesses of the human soul. As always his writing is superb—precise, evocative, and moving.\" \u003cb\u003e—Kate Jonez, author of \u003ci\u003eLady Bits\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Richard Thomas isn't just writing stories in his new collection, he's taking that part of yourself you look away from, the dark thoughts and forgotten nightmares, and showing them to you with the clarity and power only our best working writers possess. Take it from a guy who's actually been on fire—\u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e delivers.\" \u003cb\u003e—Fred Venturini, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Heart Does Not Grow Back\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTo Dust You Shall Return\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Soaked in dread and wonder, Richard Thomas' work has a way of worming deep into your heart to take hold like a beautiful sickness. And true to form, every piece in his magnificent \u003ci\u003eSpontaneous Human Combustion\u003c\/i\u003e hits like a fever dream you wish would never end.\" \u003cb\u003e—Matthew Lyons, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Night Will Find Us\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Black And Endless Sky\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Turner Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51360076824919,"sku":"9781684427543","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781684427543.jpg?v=1754126593","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/spontaneous-human-combustion-9781684427543","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}