The Lilac Retribution Theory

by Jeremy Lowe

A fixture of the Chicago punk scene, Jeremy Lowe aka Germ T Ripper made his fiction debut in the Punksploitation anthology, Kids of the Black Hole, published by St Rooster Books. Over the next few years, Lowe has cultivated a widely and wildly varied brand of short fiction writing, encompassing several sub genres of horror and exploitation, distilling body horror, demonic madness, 1970s exploitation, bizzaro, cosmic, absurdist, and weird into a gory, explicit, sometimes funny, always captivating collection of literary madness.
The Lilac Retribution Theory bounces through time and subgenre with a reckless abandon, fit for a blood-soaked dance floor below a rabid demon mosh pit. Howling in the Dark Books is proud to present the debut story collection of a true punk rock hero, destined to become a horror literary legend.
“Germ is someone who loves horror. Someone who eats, sleeps and breathes it. He built a screening theater in his home just for watching the seemingly endless array of titles in his collection, unwilling to roll the dice on a cellphone-using audience at the local cineplex; this was his church, a place of reverence. I remember one time I crashed with him while on tour, a gleam in his eye as he asked me if I would like to sleep in the ‘horror clown room.' I passed.”
-from the foreword by JT Habersaat

364 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2024

Reviews

[Jim X Dodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, graphic, and twisted, these stories are a thrill ride through the brain of a man whose imagination has no boundaries. This is some of the coolest short fiction I've read, but it's not for the faint of heart. There are scenes of explicit violence, gore, sex... if you have triggers it's best to try a different book. One of the stories was too much, even for me. If you're a fan of extreme authors like Jasper Bark or Wrath James White you're going to love The Lilac Retribution Theory.