The New Fear: The Best of Hail Saten

by Brian Keene

I stared down at him; this wild, untamed creature trapped in a cage. He'd been hungry. Saw the bait and went for it. And the trap swung shut behind him. Sooner or later, the caretaker would bash him in the head with a club, and that would be it. At that moment, I felt closer to that possum than any other creature on earth, because the same thing was going to happen to me.In the era of The New Fear, most people are afraid of each other. I am afraid of myself.In the previous volumes of Brian Keene?s critically-acclaimed non-fiction series, the author faced off against fellow writers, unscrupulous editors, corrupt politicians, scandalous C.E.O.s, organized religion, professional sports, the entertainment and publishing industries, crazed "fans," egocentric celebrities, corporate America, and even God.But now, Keene must do battle with his greatest enemy.Himself...This third volume, which collects more of the best of Hail Saten, offers a fascinating look inside the mind of one of the horror genre?s brightest new talents?and a horrifying glimpse of what happens when that same mind declares war on itself. It also includes fan favorites such as the Adam Senft saga, publishing with Beautiful Nudes, the horrors of Insta-Broil, and for the first time anywhere, the original draft of Keene?s CIA essay (which was unpublished at the request of the US government).Brian Keene?s THE NEW FEAR.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror

325 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.

Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.

Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.

Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.

The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third collection of essays that Keene posted on his Hail Saten blog, containing entries from October of 2005 through November of 2006. It's a peripatetic collection, and he discusses events of the arts and world news and personal experience, with a strong slant towards the literary horror community. His adopted style is in the tradition of Hunter S. Thompson, or perhaps in the vein of how Harlan Ellison wrote about the science fiction community a few decades prior. He's usually quite amusing and always entertaining. Naturally some of the entries are somewhat out of date, as he explains in the introduction to this new (2022) edition; some of the people he mentions have passed, the publishing industry is quite different (for example, it's a little ironic that a self-published book contains a piece warning writers to never self-publish), some of the events are no longer relevant, and at least a couple of the people he cites as friends have since fallen socially. Still, it's all fascinating from an historical as from an autobiographical perspective, as well as filled with some good laughs. His story of how he explained to his wife why he only wrote 500 words while she was away on a business trip will remind everyone as to some of their wilder excuses (much better than "the dog ate my homework"!), and there are lots of great throw-away one-liners like "...scarcer than T.M. Wright at a Republican rally..." for old time horror fans. There's serious rumination, too, particularly as to how he feels about managing his personal life and balancing it with his public persona. (At the end of the book, there are two biographies on the about-the-authors page, Keene and the mysterious Adam Senft.) It's another altogether engaging and captivating collection of Keene's nonfiction.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one right up the second I finished "Running With The Devil". In some ways, it was a relief after the sense of emotional and metaphysical struggling that dominated that book; "The New Fear" seems to come from a more balanced perspective, a slightly less turbulent point in Keene's life, than did its immediate predecessor. This book is less focused than "Running With The Devil" as well; if it has a theme, said theme is Adam Senft, Keene's fictional narrator in his novel "Dark Hollow". Originally, he'd planned a marketing campaign around that novel that involved him pretending to be a real author named Adam Senft on the internet, only revealing the hoax when "Dark Hollow" was released. However, after that novel lost its initial publisher, delaying its release by about two years, Keene gave up on this plan. So, shortly after the book begins, the Adam Senft conceit is thrown by the wayside in favor of general stories about book tours, horror fiction industry whackjobs, and the trials and tribulations of living on several isolated acres in rural central Pennsylvania. He mixes these stories with advice for aspiring authors, generally delivered in a curmudgeonly tone reminiscent of his personal heroes Hunter S. Thompson, Howard Stern, and Spider Jerusalem (who is actually a fictional character created by Warren Ellis). The tone of this volume of blog entries is remarkably even, especially for the notoriously manic Keene... until the very end, when something quite shocking and unexpected occurs. I don't want to ruin it for you, so I'll say no more than to mention that the last 50 pages or so change the tone of the book completely. One starts to see the rest of the book in a completely different light. And if anything, this is why I didn't give this volume five stars, like I did "Running With The Devil"--knowing what I learned at the very end, I found myself wishing that the big reveal had come earlier. I guess at this point I have no choice but to wait for Volume 4. And believe me, I will be doing so anxiously.

[DJMikeG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this collection of Brian Keene's blogs in 24 hours. This book really surprised me and shows just what a talented author he really is. I've been a fan of Keene's since 2006 and 'The Conqueror Worms', and I always knew he could write a damn good novel, but this stuff is on another level. The blogs range everywhere from straight ahead advice about becoming a published author to heartfelt missives about his life and family to balls to the wall Gonzo pieces that are directly in the distinct style of Hunter S. Thompson. In fact, Keene dedicates one of them to Thompson, and the Good Doctor's influence over Keene is felt in many of these pieces. As a huge Thompson fan myself, I can attest that reading HST can directly affect one's writing. Keene doesn't just ape Hunter, though, he uses the style and concept of Gonzo in interesting and great ways to make parables about what he was going through professionally and personally. This was an excellent book, highly recommended. Now I have to track down the other 3 volumes in this series and they're rare as hell!

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. Poignant, even. Wow.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book just much as I did the first two in the series.