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Red Sky
Black Voltage Series Book 4
When a bank job goes horrifically wrong, career criminal Danny Black leads his crew from El Paso into the deserts of New Mexico in a desperate bid for escape. With a psychopath and a hostage keeping a gutshot redneck company in the back seat, Danny soon finds himself with no choice but to hole up in an abandoned factory, the former home of Red Sky Manufacturing.
Surrounded by nothing and no one, Danny thinks he may have finally found some breathing room, a chance to think and to plan. Danny and his crew aren't the only living things in Red Sky, though. Something waits in the abandoned factory's shadows, something horrible and violent. Something hungry.
And when the sun drops, it will feast.
When a bank job goes horrifically wrong, career criminal Danny Black leads his crew from El Paso into the deserts of New Mexico in a desperate bid for escape. With a psychopath and a hostage keeping a gutshot redneck company in the back seat, Danny soon finds himself with no choice but to hole up in an abandoned factory, the former home of Red Sky Manufacturing.
Surrounded by nothing and no one, Danny thinks he may have finally found some breathing room, a chance to think and to plan. Danny and his crew aren't the only living things in Red Sky, though. Something waits in the abandoned factory's shadows, something horrible and violent. Something hungry.
And when the sun drops, it will feast.
274 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Nate Southard
67 books119 followersNate Southard is moody, shy, lanky, bald, and has bad skin. When he isn’t writing, he’s probably cooking Thai food or fried chicken. Seriously, he has something like fifty fried chicken recipes. It’s ridiculous. He recently discovered coffee-flavored ice cream, and it’s ruling his entire world. Did you know if you mix it with chocolate ice cream, you can kinda make mocha ice cream? Nate does!
Nate lives in Austin, Texas.
He sucks at skateboarding.
Nate Southard's books include Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?, Scavengers, This Little Light of Mine, Red Sky, Just Like Hell, Broken Skin, and He Stepped Through. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Nightmare Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, Thuglit, and LampLight. His short story "Going Home, Ugly Stick in Hand" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror, and he earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his story "In the Middle of Poplar Street."
Nate lives in Austin, Texas.
He sucks at skateboarding.
Nate Southard's books include Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?, Scavengers, This Little Light of Mine, Red Sky, Just Like Hell, Broken Skin, and He Stepped Through. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Nightmare Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, Thuglit, and LampLight. His short story "Going Home, Ugly Stick in Hand" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror, and he earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his story "In the Middle of Poplar Street."
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 25, 2012
Als ich damals in der Vorschau des Festa Verlags schon das Cover zu RED SKY gesehen habe, war mir klar, dass ich dieses Buch lesen muss, ganz egal, um was es sich handeln wird.
Diese Gasmaske, blutig und verstörend, diese Flammen in den Sichtfeldern und die staubige, verschmutzige und feurige Luft im Hintergrund versprachen einen Trip durch die Hölle.
Und genau dieses Gefühl fand ich beim Lesen des Buches wieder.
Nate Southards Erstlingswerk lässt sich von der allerersten Seite an flüssig und actionreich lesen. Ich hatte sofort einen Bezug zu allen genannten Personen und war direkt mitten in der Story, denn diese beginnt sofort mit einem missglückten Banküberfall, welcher viel Action und Schnelligkeit vermittelt. Doch dabei bleibt es nicht, denn es geht auf eine ereignisreiche Flucht durch die Wüste und endet in einer Fabrik, welche das Grauen schlechthin beherbergt …
Ich hatte recht schnell eine Theorie, welches Grauen in der Fabrik lauert und hatte damit nahezu komplett Recht, denn ich bin nicht nur ein Leser, sondern auch ein Filmgucker in diesem Genre. Dies hat dem Lesegenuss allerdings gar nichts abgewonnen, im Gegenteil: Ich war gespannt, ob ich Recht behalte und wenn ja, in welchem Ausmaße und wie der Autor dies literarisch ungesetzt hat.
Der Schreibstil ist locker und kommt völlig ohne unnötige Details aus. Er ist klar strukturiert und fesselt den Leser immer wieder aufs Neue. Die 270 Seiten sind so voller Action und Ereignisse, dass einem kaum Luft zum Durchatmen bleibt. Das hat mir richtig gut gefallen, denn ich finde kaum etwas Schlimmeres an einer Geschichte, als ellenlange Beschreibungen von irgendwelchen Umgebungen oder bis ins kleinste Detail beschriebene Situationen.
Sowohl Danny als auch Dane und Konsorten haben mir als Charaktere alle durch die Bank super gefallen. Man entwickelt einen Bezug zu ihnen und leidet bzw. wettet mit. Ich war von der Story sehr gefangen, was natürlich nicht zu letzt daran lag, dass RED SKY sich wie ein Drehbuch zu einem Actionthriller liest. Super klasse, ich bin begeistert!
Auch der Kommentar „RED SKY startet als Thriller und endet in brutalem Horror“ ist hier absolut nicht aus der Luft gegriffen.
Selten habe ich ein Buch erlebt, welches genauso verlief: Anfangs voller Action und Spannung und viel Thrill und dann, nach und nach, immer weiter hin zu Horror, Blut und brutalem Töten.
RED SKY hat wahnsinnig viel Spaß beim Lesen bereitet und ich kann absolut nicht anders, als diesem Buch die voll Punktzahl zu geben.
Besonders beeindruckt hat mich das Ende: Ich werde und kann natürlich nichts davon berichten, aber das Ende war für mich sehr überraschend und hat mich ziemlich schockiert zurückgelassen, sodass ich sogar das eine oder andere Mal schlucken musste. Lest selbst und ihr werden mir da sicher zustimmen.
Diese Gasmaske, blutig und verstörend, diese Flammen in den Sichtfeldern und die staubige, verschmutzige und feurige Luft im Hintergrund versprachen einen Trip durch die Hölle.
Und genau dieses Gefühl fand ich beim Lesen des Buches wieder.
Nate Southards Erstlingswerk lässt sich von der allerersten Seite an flüssig und actionreich lesen. Ich hatte sofort einen Bezug zu allen genannten Personen und war direkt mitten in der Story, denn diese beginnt sofort mit einem missglückten Banküberfall, welcher viel Action und Schnelligkeit vermittelt. Doch dabei bleibt es nicht, denn es geht auf eine ereignisreiche Flucht durch die Wüste und endet in einer Fabrik, welche das Grauen schlechthin beherbergt …
Ich hatte recht schnell eine Theorie, welches Grauen in der Fabrik lauert und hatte damit nahezu komplett Recht, denn ich bin nicht nur ein Leser, sondern auch ein Filmgucker in diesem Genre. Dies hat dem Lesegenuss allerdings gar nichts abgewonnen, im Gegenteil: Ich war gespannt, ob ich Recht behalte und wenn ja, in welchem Ausmaße und wie der Autor dies literarisch ungesetzt hat.
Der Schreibstil ist locker und kommt völlig ohne unnötige Details aus. Er ist klar strukturiert und fesselt den Leser immer wieder aufs Neue. Die 270 Seiten sind so voller Action und Ereignisse, dass einem kaum Luft zum Durchatmen bleibt. Das hat mir richtig gut gefallen, denn ich finde kaum etwas Schlimmeres an einer Geschichte, als ellenlange Beschreibungen von irgendwelchen Umgebungen oder bis ins kleinste Detail beschriebene Situationen.
Sowohl Danny als auch Dane und Konsorten haben mir als Charaktere alle durch die Bank super gefallen. Man entwickelt einen Bezug zu ihnen und leidet bzw. wettet mit. Ich war von der Story sehr gefangen, was natürlich nicht zu letzt daran lag, dass RED SKY sich wie ein Drehbuch zu einem Actionthriller liest. Super klasse, ich bin begeistert!
Auch der Kommentar „RED SKY startet als Thriller und endet in brutalem Horror“ ist hier absolut nicht aus der Luft gegriffen.
Selten habe ich ein Buch erlebt, welches genauso verlief: Anfangs voller Action und Spannung und viel Thrill und dann, nach und nach, immer weiter hin zu Horror, Blut und brutalem Töten.
RED SKY hat wahnsinnig viel Spaß beim Lesen bereitet und ich kann absolut nicht anders, als diesem Buch die voll Punktzahl zu geben.
Besonders beeindruckt hat mich das Ende: Ich werde und kann natürlich nichts davon berichten, aber das Ende war für mich sehr überraschend und hat mich ziemlich schockiert zurückgelassen, sodass ich sogar das eine oder andere Mal schlucken musste. Lest selbst und ihr werden mir da sicher zustimmen.
October 14, 2014
Short take:
I dig Nate Southard's work in this book. I like his ear for dialog and that he uses the word "string" (it's been a few years since Tom Piccirilli employed that word to great effect in his "Cold" books). Southard writes good prose. He applied just enough gore to make me feel the violence in my gut. I felt like I was in capable hands while reading this book.
Random thoughts:
Could radiation really turn people into monstrous beings? I admit that I was disappointed that Southard went for this trope, as opposed to making up some kind of crazy monster and turning it loose. Yeah, there is the whole government-experiment angle that goes with this plot, and Southard does posit a mystery that drives the rest of the story at a nice clip; still, my interest flagged once Southard brought details into focus. The very end felt forced; in this case, a fade-to-black would have been fine by me.
Four books into my horror-binge and I am getting the sense that conclusions are tough to nail in this genre. What's so wicked about the end?
I dig Nate Southard's work in this book. I like his ear for dialog and that he uses the word "string" (it's been a few years since Tom Piccirilli employed that word to great effect in his "Cold" books). Southard writes good prose. He applied just enough gore to make me feel the violence in my gut. I felt like I was in capable hands while reading this book.
Random thoughts:
Could radiation really turn people into monstrous beings? I admit that I was disappointed that Southard went for this trope, as opposed to making up some kind of crazy monster and turning it loose. Yeah, there is the whole government-experiment angle that goes with this plot, and Southard does posit a mystery that drives the rest of the story at a nice clip; still, my interest flagged once Southard brought details into focus. The very end felt forced; in this case, a fade-to-black would have been fine by me.
Four books into my horror-binge and I am getting the sense that conclusions are tough to nail in this genre. What's so wicked about the end?
January 12, 2020
This was a five star book all the way. No doubt about it. You got everything one could want. Hardened criminals on the run. Government cover-up. Mutant creatures looking for food. Great dialog between characters. Each chapter keeps you wanting more.
What we have, is a group of bank robbers pulling off a job. Blood rushes to ones head and people die. The crooks go on the run with a hostage. They seek shelter in an old abandon factory. What seems like a bit of solace turns into a grim nightmare when they discover that it's not only the law that is hunting them.
What we have, is a group of bank robbers pulling off a job. Blood rushes to ones head and people die. The crooks go on the run with a hostage. They seek shelter in an old abandon factory. What seems like a bit of solace turns into a grim nightmare when they discover that it's not only the law that is hunting them.
October 22, 2011
Twisted story... i think its even better than Like Hell, which everyone seems to to tout as the best Southard... i feel he just gets better with each book and story.
Bank robbery goes wrong ending in a shooting spree, wounded robbers, and a hostage on the run. They flee into the New Mexico desert and take refuge in an old abandoned factory, Red Sky Manufacturing. But its not quite abandoned, a pack of twisted mutated creatures lives within... and the pack is hungry.
Bank robbery goes wrong ending in a shooting spree, wounded robbers, and a hostage on the run. They flee into the New Mexico desert and take refuge in an old abandoned factory, Red Sky Manufacturing. But its not quite abandoned, a pack of twisted mutated creatures lives within... and the pack is hungry.
August 6, 2016
5 Stars All The Way! Southard rocks out another work of reading art with RED SKY. I highly recommend this action-packed, fun with monstrous beings reading. Allow yourself to indulge in wicked word candy, but be prepared to stay for the long haul, because you won't put this book down.
February 5, 2021
Say hi to Danny. Danny pulls heists, and that (and the first name) is all he shares with Danny Ocean. Our Danny is more of a regular criminal, as in, he plans some nine seconds forward, no more. No chessplayer, our Danny is. More like an affable dimwit with temper issues and poor judgment.
This could be a very enjoyable book (the beginning is very promising), but after a while it shifts into easy mode, monster movie logic (long as there's teeth and claws and some explosions, no sense is required), and even writing quality suffers. Pity.
This could be a very enjoyable book (the beginning is very promising), but after a while it shifts into easy mode, monster movie logic (long as there's teeth and claws and some explosions, no sense is required), and even writing quality suffers. Pity.
October 15, 2012
************************SPOILERS**************************
This character driven story had some unlikable characters. I didn't really care if they all died. To review a few:
Danny- Leader of this bank-robbing gang who apologizes for the atrocities he commits, loves to get chatty with folk, and gets punked by Gina twice. I think we were supposed to feel sympathetic to this character, because the author kept showing us his soft side. A soft side get you killed or bitten by a big monkey type mutant. Oh, and he goes into a crazy haze every now and then.
Gina- Crazy psycho bitch who adores her equally crazy lover, Dale, who is a screw-up. She seems bi-polar at times, going from crocodile tears to feel-you-up to pure hatred in 0-60.
Dale- Screw-up who shoots before thinking and manages to survive way longer than expected.
Mel-kidnapped employee who develops feelings for one of her captors
This read is about Danny who pieces together a rag-tag group of rednecks (his word) to rob a bank. However, the robbery falls apart at the seams and people are shot on both sides and a hostage is taken. They flee to an old building in Mexico where they try to hold up until some of the heat blows away from their botched robbery. Lo and behold, the factory is not abandoned and the criminals must fight for their lives.
At times this read was cheesy, over-done, and unrealistic. It read more like a action-thriller than horror to me. Borrow it~
This character driven story had some unlikable characters. I didn't really care if they all died. To review a few:
Danny- Leader of this bank-robbing gang who apologizes for the atrocities he commits, loves to get chatty with folk, and gets punked by Gina twice. I think we were supposed to feel sympathetic to this character, because the author kept showing us his soft side. A soft side get you killed or bitten by a big monkey type mutant. Oh, and he goes into a crazy haze every now and then.
Gina- Crazy psycho bitch who adores her equally crazy lover, Dale, who is a screw-up. She seems bi-polar at times, going from crocodile tears to feel-you-up to pure hatred in 0-60.
Dale- Screw-up who shoots before thinking and manages to survive way longer than expected.
Mel-kidnapped employee who develops feelings for one of her captors
This read is about Danny who pieces together a rag-tag group of rednecks (his word) to rob a bank. However, the robbery falls apart at the seams and people are shot on both sides and a hostage is taken. They flee to an old building in Mexico where they try to hold up until some of the heat blows away from their botched robbery. Lo and behold, the factory is not abandoned and the criminals must fight for their lives.
At times this read was cheesy, over-done, and unrealistic. It read more like a action-thriller than horror to me. Borrow it~
November 7, 2017
A brisk, decently-written paint-by-numbers entry into the 'Humans versus Mutants in Hostile Environment' sub genre. Nothing new; essentially a re-tread of The Hills Have Eyes with a hint of Descent thrown in. Characters are largely implausible and lacking in depth, but interesting enough to keep me reading until the end. Bonus points for the abandoned factory setting which, while not exactly innovative, was pretty well rendered.
I will add that if I pick up and read a 'splatterpunk' novel about devolved mutants tearing apart a misbegotten crew of bank robbers, I am relying on plenty of splat to weather me through the mediocre plot and hackneyed characters. While there is a particularly visceral torture sequence halfway through, most of the gribble versus human kills were handled off-screen in a 'fade to black' fashion, which I found highly disappointing. Especially in the cases of some of the antagonists for whom Southard had been spending dozens of pages building up reader animosity. I am a strong believer in the 'less is more' approach to letting the reader imagine the worst in many horror novels but, as I said, I expect more grue in a 200 page splatterpunk novel that is otherwise short on plot and originality.
A mediocre effort all in all. I don't feel that my time was wasted because it was a very brisk read and I will try out some more of Southard's work to see if it improves upon Red Sky.
I will add that if I pick up and read a 'splatterpunk' novel about devolved mutants tearing apart a misbegotten crew of bank robbers, I am relying on plenty of splat to weather me through the mediocre plot and hackneyed characters. While there is a particularly visceral torture sequence halfway through, most of the gribble versus human kills were handled off-screen in a 'fade to black' fashion, which I found highly disappointing. Especially in the cases of some of the antagonists for whom Southard had been spending dozens of pages building up reader animosity. I am a strong believer in the 'less is more' approach to letting the reader imagine the worst in many horror novels but, as I said, I expect more grue in a 200 page splatterpunk novel that is otherwise short on plot and originality.
A mediocre effort all in all. I don't feel that my time was wasted because it was a very brisk read and I will try out some more of Southard's work to see if it improves upon Red Sky.
January 21, 2013
Nate Southard is an author that I haven't read before. For that reason, I approached Red Sky with no real expectations. After reading the first few chapters however, I soon realized that Nate is an author that we should be seeing big things from very soon. Red Sky starts out with a bank robbery gone horribly wrong when a trigger-happy member of the gang starts shooting victims indiscriminately. This attracts a ton of unwanted attention (mainly from the local police)that results in a high speed chase as the bank robbers attempt to make their getaway. As the gang of robbers are trying feverishly to avoid the police, they come across an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the New Mexico desert. They decide to hole up there until the heat blows over. The only problem is the creatures that call the warehouse their home also reside there - and they're very, very, hungry. This book was a pleasant surprise. It is definitely not your run-of-the-mill horror novel. The suspense is what carries the story, and the characters are not cookie-cutter in the least. The mystery of what the creatures are and where they came from is handled masterfully. Red Sky is a really good horror story. I can't wait to see what Nate Southard has in store for us next!
January 25, 2016
I've read a couple of Nate Southard book so far and found them both highly enjoyable so was looking forward to getting stuck into another novel by him.
The story follows a group of bank robbers in the middle of a job when things go wrong and they are forced to go on the run; but in true horror fashion things only get worse. The book has plenty of action from start to finish and manages to have a good collection of varied characters which keeps things entertaining and makes you want to keep on reading well into the night.
I really like that everything in the book feels despite having read hundred of horrors in the past - it's nice to see such a good book with a monster that is not the currently popular vampires or zombies. So if you'd like a great book that's just a bit different then this is for you.
The novel was received in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows a group of bank robbers in the middle of a job when things go wrong and they are forced to go on the run; but in true horror fashion things only get worse. The book has plenty of action from start to finish and manages to have a good collection of varied characters which keeps things entertaining and makes you want to keep on reading well into the night.
I really like that everything in the book feels despite having read hundred of horrors in the past - it's nice to see such a good book with a monster that is not the currently popular vampires or zombies. So if you'd like a great book that's just a bit different then this is for you.
The novel was received in exchange for an honest review.
July 7, 2015
I loved Southard's "Just Like Hell". It was a brutal, violent and emotionally crushing book. This one is more of a fun horror novel. Which is fine, I love that too. The story and setting were good. The thing that didn't work for me was the characters. They all fell kind of flat. Most were unlikable, which sometimes doesn't matter as long as they are interesting but in this case, I didn't find them to be. The last act when the monsters really kick in was pretty gorey fun. Overall it was an enjoyable quick read.
March 7, 2015
Really great book, I instantly fell in love with the characters, and therefor felt really sorry for them when bad things started happening to them. The environment the story plays in puts a nice post-apocalyptic feeling to it.
I've read many books before that disappointed me, but with all the action and suspense that happened in Red Sky there was no space left for any disappointment. :)
Recommending this book to anyone who is fond of zombies and agressive, radioactive mutants.
I've read many books before that disappointed me, but with all the action and suspense that happened in Red Sky there was no space left for any disappointment. :)
Recommending this book to anyone who is fond of zombies and agressive, radioactive mutants.
May 7, 2017
Red Sky Rocks!
Very cool tale about a group of bank robbers getting stranded and falling prey to a group of mutated man made monsters. I really liked this . It's very well-written and is full of action and suspense.
Nate does a great job of letting us get to know each character in the story before all hell breaks loose. This was a fun read!
Very cool tale about a group of bank robbers getting stranded and falling prey to a group of mutated man made monsters. I really liked this . It's very well-written and is full of action and suspense.
Nate does a great job of letting us get to know each character in the story before all hell breaks loose. This was a fun read!
August 5, 2013
2,5 Sterne
Red Sky liest sich wie ein B- Action-/Horrorfilm in Buchform. Vom unmittelbaren Einstieg in einen Banküberfall, der in ein Gemetzel ausartet, bis zum Finale gibt es praktisch keine Verschnaufpause. Das ist effizient und flott geschrieben, war mir allerdings deutlich zu vorhersehbar und krankte an denselben Problemen, wie sie auch bei so vielen B- Horrorfilme vorhanden sind.
Die Figuren verfügen über keinerlei Backstory, sondern sind wandelnde Klischees. Das verhindert leider dass man eine Bindung zu ihnen aufbaut. Insofern lässt es einen auch recht kalt, wenn wieder eine Figur dahinscheidet.
Auch der Plot ist nicht gerade innovativ und das Ende spätestens ab der Hälfte vorhersehbar. Was es letztlich mit Red Sky Manufacturing auf sich hat, bleibt ebenso ungeklärt, wie die Frage nach dem Sinn dieses "Projekts".
Und nicht zuletzt ein gewisses Übermaß an Gewalt führt zu Abstumpfungseffekten beim Lesen. Wenn zum zehnten Mal ein Kopf nach Kopfschuss explodiert, schockt das nicht mehr sonderlich.
Die Action bleibt im Gegensatz zu anderen Romanen aus diesem Genre allerdings recht glaubhaft und wirkt nicht übermenschlich.
Fazit: Für Freunde dieses Genres sicher recht empfehlenswert. Für mich leider nur Durchschnitt.
Red Sky liest sich wie ein B- Action-/Horrorfilm in Buchform. Vom unmittelbaren Einstieg in einen Banküberfall, der in ein Gemetzel ausartet, bis zum Finale gibt es praktisch keine Verschnaufpause. Das ist effizient und flott geschrieben, war mir allerdings deutlich zu vorhersehbar und krankte an denselben Problemen, wie sie auch bei so vielen B- Horrorfilme vorhanden sind.
Die Figuren verfügen über keinerlei Backstory, sondern sind wandelnde Klischees. Das verhindert leider dass man eine Bindung zu ihnen aufbaut. Insofern lässt es einen auch recht kalt, wenn wieder eine Figur dahinscheidet.
Auch der Plot ist nicht gerade innovativ und das Ende spätestens ab der Hälfte vorhersehbar. Was es letztlich mit Red Sky Manufacturing auf sich hat, bleibt ebenso ungeklärt, wie die Frage nach dem Sinn dieses "Projekts".
Und nicht zuletzt ein gewisses Übermaß an Gewalt führt zu Abstumpfungseffekten beim Lesen. Wenn zum zehnten Mal ein Kopf nach Kopfschuss explodiert, schockt das nicht mehr sonderlich.
Die Action bleibt im Gegensatz zu anderen Romanen aus diesem Genre allerdings recht glaubhaft und wirkt nicht übermenschlich.
Fazit: Für Freunde dieses Genres sicher recht empfehlenswert. Für mich leider nur Durchschnitt.
January 19, 2014
My review can be read at lurid-lit.com.
May 15, 2016
Ein actiongeladener Horrorthriller, der durchweg die Spannung hält.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews