Answers of Silence

by Geoff Cooper, Russell Dickerson (Cover Illustrator)

Welcome to Brackard's Point, New York — a town full of secrets. Gustav, Chuck, Jammer, Ronnie, and the rest of the residents know about darkness…. and pain. This is a town brimming with unrequieted love and unfathomable hate. A town where dreams lay shattered in back alleys. A town where trees whisper in the moonlight. A town where serial killers attend cub scout meetings. A town where doves ask the questions and the answers are silent.

Welcome to Brackard's Point. Enjoy your stay — because you won't be leaving…

Thunderstorm Books is proud to present Geoff Cooper's Answers of Silence, collecting some of the most hard-to-find and sought after short fiction of any small press author in the last decade.

Maelstrom Volume 3, Book 3

Genres: Horror, Collections

313 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Karl]

This is copy 108 of 300 signed numbered copies.

This is book 3 of Brian Keene’s Maelstrom Series 3.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid short story collection, there was only one that I didn't care for.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifteen pieces of short fiction, including a novelette size effort, in Answers of Silence involves a wide range of plot and emotion. All of them are on the dark side and most have a horror or supernatural element. Yet Geoff Cooper always goes for the unusual and the surprising making the tales constantly entertaining and unique. I have never heard of Geoff Cooper before this but he seems to have a reputation for quality writing among the indie writers and the lovers of the grotesque. His output is slim and this short story collection, a reprint released this year by Deadite Press, appears to have a range of his works from early to recent. That usually means uneven but each of the works has its strengths.

It starts with an especially strong one titled "A Question of Doves" that both scare and mystifies. It is one of those tales that doesn't have to explain everything to pack a punch. In other words, it is intelligent horror as most of the stories here are. "Incentive No. 43" is a powerful serial killer story that is simplistic in plot yet complex in characterization. It is one of the pieces with no fantasy element. I thought "Mo 3:16" was going to be more non-supernatural psychological suspense but it threw me a curve near the end that made it one of the most disturbing of the stories. "Badgetree" is almost old fashioned like a cross between Brothers Grimm and Algernon Blackwood. "The Sheriff of Pense Avenue" is one of the earlier works and the author, as noted in his afterword, seems a little embarrassed by it. He shouldn't be. It may lack the maturity of some of the other fiction but it is still creative and daring. "Strangers, Good Friend and a Bottle of Wine" is the type of tale that would have felt at home in the old Alfred Hitchcock Mystery magazine and shows a little humor in the tension.

And so it goes until we get to the last and longest story in the collection: "One Eyed Jack". It is also the most recent and the best. It starts out like one of those old men's magazine stories with its macho World War Adventure theme, swerves a little into Heart of Darkness territory, then goes head first into Weird Tales times twelve. Exciting, mystifying and thoroughly worth the effort.

Geoff Cooper is certainly a talent. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with next. It also appears that there may be a bit of a wait due to his small output but I hope not. Good intelligent writers of strange fantasy and horror are sorely needed.

[Ben Arzate · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Full Review

Answers of Silence is an excellent collection of dark stories. It's a shame Geoff Cooper doesn't have more work out. He's a talented writer in a wide variety of genres. I highly recommend this and I hope Cooper will be coming out with more soon.

[Jorge Palacios Kindelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really top shelf short story collection, each one being very interesting and intriguing with good concepts and a genuine mood of dread. One Eyed Jacks in particular stands out, beside being the longest, as being my favorite. It's too bad Mr. Cooper doesn't write anymore, I'd love to read new stuff from him.

[Horror Underground · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review from HorrorUnderground.org

Answers of Silence
Deadite Press
Author: Geoff Cooper

“There is a place where beauty is shunned and obscenity is worshipped. Where a game can determine salvation or damnation. A town where God is irrelevant and the only future is Hell. It’s where love dies and hate thrives. Welcome to Brackard’s Point, New York – a place where horror, surrealism, violence, and the fantastic collide. Enjoy your stay…”

Geoff Cooper, or Coop, as he and his friends refer to him as, falls into a very unique category of horror authors. Coop is revered as one of the best in the genre, despite not having a prolific career. Most of his novellas and stories are hard to find, many of which were published in limited fashion. The fact that Deadite has re-released this collection in a less limited form (compared to the original run of 300 copies from Thunderstorm Books), combined with the fact that he is one of the most talked about horror authors, this should be reason enough to grab this collection.

Plain and simple, Geoff Cooper scares the shit out of me. His talent is unlike any out there. Writing far more than just horror or splatter, Coop delves into dark fantasy and other forms of literature. No matter what he writes, it is terrifying. The dark lining that surrounds each tale adds a deep level of horror no matter where the story takes you. Also, his reserved use of gore is of note. Like many of the greats to come before him, Coop uses gore and violence to highlight and accent the shock that he hits you with, rarely does it become the center piece.

Featuring a wonderful introduction from the late J. F. Gonzalez, Answers of Silence is jam packed with 15 tales that span the spectrum of horror genres, all taking place in the fictitious town of Brackard’s Point, New York. Some of the stories are humorous, others are downright depressing. My favorite of the collection, Incentive No. 43, combines both of these styles, a combination that you will find throughout Cooper’s work.

If you have not had the pleasure of reading Geoff Cooper’s work, now is the time. This brilliant collection is the fastest, easiest way to get into one of the most talked about writers in horror. Fans of Brian Keene and Jack Ketchum will not be disappointed.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard of Geoff Cooper from Brian Keene's podcast. He was a guest on the show and is a very funny and interesting person. I started looking for his work but it is pretty hard to come by. I got lucky and Camelot books (my favorite place for limited and rare editions of genre fiction) had the Maelstrom set containing this book available. All the stories have a very dark edge. That being said Cooper does inject clever bits of humor here and there. The majority of the stories take place in the fictitious New York town of Brackard's Point. It is a very dirty little town filled with some vile characters. Great writing and imaginative original stories. Its a shame Cooper's work is so hard to come by.

[Jeff Heimbuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even after knowing Coop for a few years, this collection of stories completely blown me away.

I'm not going to say much about this book other than to use a Coop-ism about it: If you haven't read this already, you should unfuck that.

[Shana Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with an amazing introduction by the late J.F. Gonzalez! There were quite a few typos but easy to ignore. The stories stayed with me for a long while too!