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Blood Crazy: Aten In Absentia: Three years after ‘The Day’, the world remains a deadly place…
‘I'm a massive fan of post-apocalyptic novels, and Blood Crazy is one of my absolute favourites.’ – Tim Lebbon
THREE YEARS AGO, EVERYONE OVER THE AGE OF NINETEEN BECAME MURDEROUSLY INSANE.
THEY BEGAN KILLING – ESPECIALLY THEIR OWN CHILDREN.
AND NOW THE NIGHTMARE VISION OF A WORLD DESCENDING INTO BRUTAL VIOLENCE CONTINUES.
Beleaguered settlements of young people fight to stay alive in a world of increasingly scarce food and fuel. Crazed adults still roam a dangerous landscape. They are pathologically hardwired to eradicate young people…
Jack Ranzic returns from a search for supplies to find that his village has been attacked by the Creosotes. His friends lie dead on snow-covered fields. Jack discovers his best friend, Gorron, has survived the carnage yet is suffering from a mystery illness.
Jack is faced with not only escaping the dangerous adults but finding somewhere safe to live in in a perilous world. In an old industrial complex, he encounters an individual that Nick Aten knew well, and who will join him on this savage journey. And another shadowy figure is looking for Jack – an extraordinary survivor from his childhood past.
Jack and his friends will face adventures and danger. They will be besieged by thousands of murderous adults. But it gets worse…the adults are transforming…changing into something utterly different.
GET THIS MESSAGE INTO YOUR HEAD.
YOU, TOO, STILL HAVE A MONSTER TO KILL.
NO, MY FRIEND, WE’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET.
‘I actually loved Blood Crazy. Not just liked it but loved it.’ — Mark Morris
‘Clark is worth seeking out’ — Fear
‘One of the best contemporary horror writers’ — Deathrealm
THREE YEARS AGO, EVERYONE OVER THE AGE OF NINETEEN BECAME MURDEROUSLY INSANE.
THEY BEGAN KILLING – ESPECIALLY THEIR OWN CHILDREN.
AND NOW THE NIGHTMARE VISION OF A WORLD DESCENDING INTO BRUTAL VIOLENCE CONTINUES.
Beleaguered settlements of young people fight to stay alive in a world of increasingly scarce food and fuel. Crazed adults still roam a dangerous landscape. They are pathologically hardwired to eradicate young people…
Jack Ranzic returns from a search for supplies to find that his village has been attacked by the Creosotes. His friends lie dead on snow-covered fields. Jack discovers his best friend, Gorron, has survived the carnage yet is suffering from a mystery illness.
Jack is faced with not only escaping the dangerous adults but finding somewhere safe to live in in a perilous world. In an old industrial complex, he encounters an individual that Nick Aten knew well, and who will join him on this savage journey. And another shadowy figure is looking for Jack – an extraordinary survivor from his childhood past.
Jack and his friends will face adventures and danger. They will be besieged by thousands of murderous adults. But it gets worse…the adults are transforming…changing into something utterly different.
GET THIS MESSAGE INTO YOUR HEAD.
YOU, TOO, STILL HAVE A MONSTER TO KILL.
NO, MY FRIEND, WE’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET.
‘I actually loved Blood Crazy. Not just liked it but loved it.’ — Mark Morris
‘Clark is worth seeking out’ — Fear
‘One of the best contemporary horror writers’ — Deathrealm
- GenresHorror
191 pages, Paperback
Published December 3, 2023
About the author
Simon Clark
215 books305 followersBorn, 20th April, 1958, Simon Clark is the author of such highly regarded horror novels as Nailed By The Heart, Blood Crazy, Darker, Vampyrrhic and The Fall, while his short stories have been collected in Blood & Grit and Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. He has also written prose material for the internationally famous rock band U2.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
Raised in a family of storytellers – family legend told of a stolen human skull buried beneath the Clark garage – he sold his first ghost story to a radio station in his teens. Before becoming a full-time writer he held a variety of day jobs, that have involved strawberry picking, supermarket shelf stacking, office work, and scripting video promos.
He lives with his wife and two children in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 13, 2024
I have waited twenty years to read the sequel to Blood Crazy and it was worth wait. Returning to the world of the creosotes was a great experience. I re-read book 1 first and then devoured this one. In book 2, we follow a new set of characters. While I missed Aten, Slater and co, there is a familiar face in the new group. This is also book 2 of a trilogy so as we know, it’s always going to be a build up to a grand finale. In this book the creosotes have begun to change but I won't tell you how as I hate spoilers. There is also a new virus that is affecting the under 19s. All in all, this was a great read, and I cannot wait to book 3 releases.
October 7, 2024
I read through the trilogy in one read. This book was still entertaining, but just hit the same as the first novel, especially (as you can guess from the title) it is missing the main character. Instead, we get a Nick stand-in, Jack.
Still entertaining, this novel adds some interesting changes to the crazy adults. If you've read Blood Crazy, the rest of the trilogy is certainly worth a read.
Still entertaining, this novel adds some interesting changes to the crazy adults. If you've read Blood Crazy, the rest of the trilogy is certainly worth a read.
March 28, 2026
As a much anticipated second book I was in awe. This didn’t disappoint.
I remember writing to Simon Clark in my younger years and he replied and hinted that possibly he’d write a sequel and I’m pleased he did, this book definitely grabs you from the start.
If you’re a fan of his, I’d recommend reading from the beginning.
I remember writing to Simon Clark in my younger years and he replied and hinted that possibly he’d write a sequel and I’m pleased he did, this book definitely grabs you from the start.
If you’re a fan of his, I’d recommend reading from the beginning.
July 21, 2024
Continued Excitement!!!
As in book one, this book, too, is full of blood, violence and love!!! Nick is not in this book but Jack is now the main character. And what a character he is !!!
As in book one, this book, too, is full of blood, violence and love!!! Nick is not in this book but Jack is now the main character. And what a character he is !!!
April 17, 2024
Love the Blood Crazy books. Can't wait for book 3!!!!
September 27, 2025
i was bored lowkey. didn’t care much for any of the characters
January 12, 2024
Let me start by saying that this is nowhere near a bad book. Maybe it's a 4star book too, but I need to keep it one star under my review for the first book in the series in order to highlight how lesser of a book it is by comparison. I feel that the first book was only marginally not perfect. Compared to that, this here trails by some degree.
The things I didn't love :
- it feels like the soul of the first novel is not present here. Now, this is entirely subjective, but it was a feeling I could not shake.
- the first book had a massive cast of characters and, respectively, complex interpersonal relationships. The second book is solely focused on the one main character (you could argue that there were more than one main characters in the first book) and also includes a minimal amount of secondary characters (compared to the numbers of secondary characters in the first book)
- staying on the issue of characters, character development in the first book was nothing short of sublime. It could be taught in classrooms right next to classics such as the lord of the flies. The second book sidesteps that in favour of descriptive storytelling. Where the first book was equal parts character driven and plot driven, the second book almost entirely drops the ball with character development and takes an entirely different approach to storytelling.
I don't mean to put off anyone from reading this book. In fact, once you get into the story and accept the limitations and read it for what it is, it actually picks up in the final third of the book in a way that may actually mean that the entire second book is a prequel to the next book. A pointer towards that sentiment is the reintroduction of main characters from the original story back into the groove.
What I can't fail to say however, and this is the main takeaway for me, is this: the first book reads as *I'm living this story, I'm experiencing it together with the character as it unfolds*. The second book reads as *oh my God, listen to this story this guy is telling me about, uffff, that must have been so scary*!
3.5/5. It's not a bad book, it builds on the original mythos, attempts a few new things, but, ultimately, the soul of the original Blood Crazy is not there.
The things I didn't love :
- it feels like the soul of the first novel is not present here. Now, this is entirely subjective, but it was a feeling I could not shake.
- the first book had a massive cast of characters and, respectively, complex interpersonal relationships. The second book is solely focused on the one main character (you could argue that there were more than one main characters in the first book) and also includes a minimal amount of secondary characters (compared to the numbers of secondary characters in the first book)
- staying on the issue of characters, character development in the first book was nothing short of sublime. It could be taught in classrooms right next to classics such as the lord of the flies. The second book sidesteps that in favour of descriptive storytelling. Where the first book was equal parts character driven and plot driven, the second book almost entirely drops the ball with character development and takes an entirely different approach to storytelling.
I don't mean to put off anyone from reading this book. In fact, once you get into the story and accept the limitations and read it for what it is, it actually picks up in the final third of the book in a way that may actually mean that the entire second book is a prequel to the next book. A pointer towards that sentiment is the reintroduction of main characters from the original story back into the groove.
What I can't fail to say however, and this is the main takeaway for me, is this: the first book reads as *I'm living this story, I'm experiencing it together with the character as it unfolds*. The second book reads as *oh my God, listen to this story this guy is telling me about, uffff, that must have been so scary*!
3.5/5. It's not a bad book, it builds on the original mythos, attempts a few new things, but, ultimately, the soul of the original Blood Crazy is not there.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews