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Midas

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An epic horror novel about a family fighting against death in an unsettling vision of the Old West, by the author of Burn the Plans (an Esquire Best Horror Book of 2022).

Former preacher Jeremiah Pevensie has lost his faith after the death of his young son. When he discovers a dead body in the woods near his house, and a map depicting a location that doesn’t exist, Jeremiah and his wife begin a journey to uncover the secret of a power that can transform anything to pure gold. A journey that puts them on a collision course with a violent cult leader.

From the peak of a secret mountain where time stands still, to a stone fortress that never stops growing, Midas is a brutal and gripping novel of greed, terror, sacrifice...and consequences.

“Midas is a heart-wrenching cautionary tale about greed, and love, and loss, and so many of the flawed parts of ourselves that leave gaping holes where perfection should be. However, as Jones points out—in gruesome, diabolic detail—it’s those missing pieces that make us human, and fallible, and—in some cases—murderous. This is a story I won’t soon forget; there is imagery in this book I’ll take with me to the grave.”
—Philip Fracassi, author of Boys in the Valley

436 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2025

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242 people want to read

About the author

Tyler Jones

22 books193 followers
Tyler Jones is the author of CRITERIUM, THE DARK SIDE OF THE ROOM, ALMOST RUTH, BURN THE PLANS, TURN UP THE SUN, HEAVY OCEANS, MIDAS, and NIGHT OF THE LONG KNVIES (coming December 2024 from Earthling Publications). His work has appeared in the anthologies BURNT TONGUES (edited by Chuck Palahniuk), ONE THING WAS CERTAIN, 101 PROOF HORROR, CAMPFIRE MACABRE, PARANORMAL CONTACT and in Dark Moon Digest, Coffin Bell, Aphotic Realm, Cemetery Dance, LitReactor, and The NoSleep Podcast.

He lives in Portland, Oregon.

He is represented by Elizabeth Copps at Copps Literary Agency and Alec Frankel at IAG for Film/TV.

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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Ross Jeffery.
Author 28 books362 followers
October 17, 2022
Midas is Tyler Jones’ magnum opus - a truly exceptional story and a remarkable gift to the literary world.

I’ve been shot through with adrenaline in Criterium, suffered nightmarish visions with The Dark Side of the Room, had my heart torn open and crushed underfoot in Almost Ruth, and my nerves shredded by his short story collection Burn The Plans - but nothing could prepare me for what I encountered with Midas.

It’s a masterpiece; gilded in gold and polished with bloodshed and heartache.

It’s a study of grief, pain, love and suffering.

Tyler’s prose is powerful, but delicate, his story horrific yet beguiling, but his message is tender whilst being hard-hitting.

All of these elements converge to manifest an intrinsically beautiful fable / folklore - told in the vein of The Brothers Grimm, with elements of Stephen King’s ‘Pet Sematary’, Carlo Collodi’s ‘Pinocchio’ and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’.

Jones has crafted his own Frankenstein’s Monster with Midas, a monster of a book that is forged in gold, ensuring this story, the message of this book, will not tarnish over time, but will grow priceless with age and will become a rare antiquity on the shelves of horror literature.

Midas is a gift for the reader, but it’s also a gift for the ages!
Profile Image for Brennan LaFaro.
Author 25 books155 followers
August 1, 2025
Midas will be Earthling Publications 2023 Halloween Limited release. Expect a full review after the pre-order goes live, but watch for that announcement like a hawk.

Midas is bleak and contemplative, a meditation on the aftermath of loss and grief. Violent when it needs to be, quiet when the story demands it, Jones follows the lead of his characters and pulls the reader to uncomfortable places. When the story ends, we are all the better for it. Terrifying and thoughtful in equal measure, Midas promises to be one of the strongest 2023 releases and I suspect it won't be long before it finds a home for wide release.
Profile Image for Dana.
390 reviews16 followers
December 17, 2025
A terrifying and gut-wrenching look at grief and the processing of unimaginable loss. In Jones' unflinching story, we see how all the warning signs can be ignored when the pain is so deep that it leads to madness, when a parent will go to horrific lengths to have a moment of relief from the despair. Truly, a work of art.
Profile Image for Marguerite Turley.
229 reviews
March 9, 2024
This book was an incredible mixture of weird western and fairy tale. Tyler Jones writes such beautiful prose, and he weaves a tale about a grief stricken couple willing to do anything to be a whole family again. This is the story of a preacher(Jeremiah) and his wife whose son is lost to sickness. This completely destroys their lives and when Jeremiah finds a dead man in the woods with a very dangerous secret he can’t help but try and bring happiness back to their lives. I’m a huge lover of grief horror, and this is an amazing rendition of it. Such a beautiful and sad story with incredible characters that you can’t help but feel for, this story had me from the first page. I need to read everything by Jones now, he has a fan for life!!
Profile Image for unstable.books.
322 reviews29 followers
July 25, 2025
Midas ... where to begin. This edition is a reissue coming up here soon from Lethe Press, previously published in limited edition from Earthling Publishing. This book is incredibly unsettling and heartbreaking. I am hard to crack, emotionally, from a book or story. I do get excited, angry, yell, scream. This is the third of recent books that have made me clutch my figurative pearls. This story hurts. I IMPLORE YOU, look in the corners of the book world. Peruse the smaller, indie presses. I promise you will find some gems.

Back to Midas, this combines the Greek legend of Midas and horror, set amid the backdrop of a Western world. It is superb grief horror that is not short on the blood and the supernatural. I really hate to spoil it much more than saying, a man named Jeremiah finds a map that leads him to discover something no one should ever have access to. Please, go pick it up. Thank you so much to Tyler for sending me an ARC. This is one of my favorite books that I have read in 2025, maybe ever.
Profile Image for 2ndHandBookclan.
236 reviews27 followers
October 26, 2023
Someone once said a great story needs to ensnare you with its opening chapter. Obviously someone has mentioned this to Mr. Jones.

“𝘼 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨.”
-Thomas Dekker

After the loss of his child a grieving father stumbles upon a deceased traveler who possessed an impossible treasure and a mysterious map. Inspired to solve this mystery Jeremiah Pevensie begins a journey into impossible wealth, murder, and a set of experiments that reach beyond our mortal coil.

Sometimes an impulse buy can really surprise you, and sometimes it’s one of the best things you’ve read all year. The later is the case with 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐬. It’s a story with traces of classic fable but with characters and plotline that are altogether it’s own. Jones talent as a storyteller has created something that feels rich (no pun) and imaginative. And it’s wonderful to swim through these pages exploring alongside the characters every step of the way.

The horror genre can sometimes feel bogged down by repetitive tropes and one dimensional characters so it’s always refreshing to read a novel like this. Do yourself a favor and step into the old west and ponder the limits of your greed and the strength of your moral fiber. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5
Profile Image for Rick.
94 reviews
January 2, 2024
I've read all of Tyler Jones's books so far, and this one is probably my favorite. Part Pet Sematary, part Pinocchio, and all enjoyable. My only complaint is that the last 50 pages or so have some very detailed, non-urgent conversations that don't seem practical given what's going on in the characters' immediate surroundings. This is #18 in Earthling's Halloween Series. The cover is fantastic, and the few interior illustrations are great too. I couldn't help but notice the resemblance between Solomon and either the author as he appears on the book jacket, or a young Clive Barker. Either way, that was a nice touch by Vincent Chong.
Profile Image for Jesse Garcia.
46 reviews15 followers
November 21, 2023
A great book to read (this is more for me to recap this story)
This book has grief, pain, loss, lust, greed, guilt and other emotions that wonderfully written and described by Tyler within each character.

After the loss of their son Jeremiah and Emma live in an empty home in grief, once a lively home when their son was alive. Jeremiah loses his faith and denounces his position as the preacher of Charwood, the small town in which they live in. After a riderless horse arrives at house he soon seeks out its rider in which lead to a series of events that lead to a world within a world where he eventually possesses the power to turn anything into gold with the price of sacrificing his brother. He then seeks more answers which leads to a bookstore in San Francisco where he finds and learns from old scrolls of reviving the dead. Wanting to bring life back into Emma’s life, along with his own selfish reasons, he resurrects their son. With the new found wealth Emma has just building and adding to their castle. In the meantime, Solomon a cult leader has been seeking the power that Jeremiah now posses his entire life sacrificing a total of 27 of his newborn children to no avail. Solomon seeks and finds Jeremiah both of them dying horrible deaths. The story ends with the maid Abagail making out with the gold and knowledge of the mountain and the world within the world. Later in life after having loss her husband and youngest daughter she seeks out the power Jeremiah once had thinking that she would be different and a stronger person than he was. She sets off with her eldest son Jesse, whom to my own conclusion she’ll have to sacrifice for it and no doubt her ending will be similar to Jeremiah’s end. There’s also a Wolf who I think it’s the embodiment of the Devil or the evilness of the Midas touch.. he’ll help but then it all results in death and he’s usually only present nudging characters and changing their decisions therefore their eventual tragic faiths.


My favorite part of this story is Emma’s character, most of my favorite chapters are drawn out in her point of view. You can really feel her emotions. Her interactions and emotions with her son and pretty much everyone around her and the way she deals with things feel much too real.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for George Dunn.
330 reviews30 followers
August 12, 2023
4.5 stars- thank you to Earthling publications for providing me with an ARC.

In "Midas," we follow former preacher "Jeremiah Pevensie," whom we quickly learn is devastated and questioning the existence of God over the death of his son Samuel. After an outburst at a sermon, in which he proclaimed God to be a thief to his congregation, Jeremiah and his wife Emma now live in ruin. The story truly takes off when a horse approaches the Pevensie home (which is situated next to a notoriously dangerous forest), concerned for the rider's safety, Jeremiah enters the woodland.. changing his life forever. The former-preacher finds the horse's owner dead, and not only does the man have more gold than Jeremiah has ever seen before, but he's bleeding it.

This is a story featuring grief, greed, religion and pure terror. It is of course inspired by the legend of King Midas. It is well-thought out, incredibly intelligent, exquisitely written.. and so HEAVY. I have a full review live on my blog

georgereadshorror.blogspot.com
Profile Image for Mark Kenific.
46 reviews2 followers
November 29, 2023
Wow! Where do I start? This is my first book by Tyler Jones, but it certainly will not be the last. Here is a name to get used to because you will be seeing it a lot in the future. Boy, can he write a good, scary, tense, uncomfortable book that grabs you from the first page and never let's go.
I think you can guess from the title where this book may take you, but once you are there, it goes much further than the King Midas story ever went. A book of family. Of love, both between husband, wife, and child, but also between brothers.
To tell you what happens would be an injustice to you, the reader. This is a journey you will want to take without knowing what's going to happen. The story does take place in a time when horse and wagon were the usual means of travel and where life was so much harder than it is for the people that live today. But, what happens there can easily be brought to today's world, and the end would most likely be the same.
As I said earlier, look for the name Tyler Jones in the near future. This man can write!
Profile Image for Heidi.
503 reviews51 followers
September 21, 2025
Absolutely and utterly PERFECT this book is. My favorite book that I have read this year!

Grief and loss lead a desperate man to journey into an ancient place to find redemption and wealth in order to restore his life and all that was lost. Sound easy enough? A sacrifice must be made and the gift comes at many a cost.

It almost seems unfair that wealth can play such a trick on people. Money surely without a doubt can never buy happiness or restore the loss of a loved one but damn did Jeremiah give it a wholehearted try. Gold being a doubled edged sword reigns true here.

1800's time frame (my favorite)
Grief horror
Subtle body horror in a unique form
Western (comes with the time frame)
Family grief, love, loss, and sacrifice

The writing, the storyline, the ups & downs, the adventure, the character development, everything about this book is absolutely PERFECTION!!! I loved it and didn't want it to end.
Profile Image for Mike Hughes.
321 reviews18 followers
July 3, 2023
What a great original tale about great loss and the lengths humans could go to try to alleviate the grief that comes with losing a family member. this book is coming out this year from Earthling publicatios as the next in the Halloween series. Could not have picked a better book. this is my first read from Tyler Jones, but knowing Earthling and the past books in the series had to have it.

sometimes loss and grief are better than what you might find trying to cover it up instead of dealing with it. part of life is dealing with loss. one of my favorite lines in this book was "to be alive is painful".
loved this book, easy five stars and is in the running for my favorite read this year.
Profile Image for Chad.
878 reviews17 followers
October 18, 2023
Midas is a terrifying tale of greed, grief and obsession.
"Someday death will sneak up and rob you of something you didn't think you could live without. Who will you be then? What do you have that will take the pain away?"

Tyler Jones is at his best in this one, his writing is phenomenal and poetic at times. Check out this line, from early in the book:
"Smoky fingers moved over the field, stirring the dead grass with tiny shivers"
It gives me shivers reading something like that. The book is filled with lines like that. The plot is a bit of a slow burn for most of the book, but you'll be so invested in the characters early on, that it never really feels slow. The end definitely ratchets up the tension and pace. I loved the short, snappy chapters...Tyler Jones knows how to keep me hooked. Wish more authors did this!

The fact that this is also Earthling's 2023 Halloween installment, makes this release all that much more special.
Profile Image for C.I.I. Jones.
Author 8 books40 followers
March 18, 2024
I don’t often treat myself to collectibles or special editions when it come to books. I made an exception recently and bought a special edition of Midas by Tyler Jones. As it turns out, this book is another juggernaut push for Tyler to take over the very coveted position as my favorite author - I know, many are fighting for the title, but Jones might just have it.
This book is something special. These characters are the most complex I’ve read in years, all exploring the very idea of being human, often in heartbreaking ways. A tale of greed and grief, it’s part frontier adventure, part fantasy horror, and completely compelling.
I just hope it gets the mass market treatment, because more folks need to read this one.
Profile Image for Matt M.
167 reviews76 followers
July 22, 2025
Tyler Jones is a master of writing about grief and MIDAS is perhaps his best. Set in the Old West (but it honestly feels like it is timeless), it follows a former preacher who has denounced his faith after his son dies. He discovers a dead man in the woods along with some gold and a mysterious map that can unlock a power of turning things to gold.

Jones is a great storyteller and he is so good at writing flawed, real characters. You feel for Jeremiah even as he makes decisions that you know are wrong but cannot look away as he drowns in grief. His wife, Emma, deals with the grief and the circumstances in an entirely different way. The villain of the story is very scary as he tries to seek the power for himself.

If you’re a fan of horror that explores grief, supernatural horror, and books like Pet Sematary and Revival, check out MIDAS. It’s a fantastic novel.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an ebook for review in advance of the trade paperback release.
8 reviews1 follower
November 7, 2025
This book is so good! It's horror and it's supernatural and it's a real page-turner. It's a little bit the story of King Midas, a little bit "Pet Sematary," and even a little bit "The Magnificent Seven." But it is also nothing like you have ever read before. And, it is all Tyler Jones! This story deals with the ugliness and all-consuming characteristics of greed. It questions the notions of safety and security versus self-imprisonment. And, it challenges you to face the question of what lengths you would be willing to go to in order to get the thing you want the most. What would you give up your very humanity for? This story is brilliant, gripping, unsettling, and heart-breaking, all at the same time. Five enthusiastic stars! Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Clayton Gallaway.
83 reviews3 followers
December 30, 2024
I spent way too much money on a copy of this book because I waited too long. But it was so worth the money I spent this is a heart wrenching fantastical western story. Having just had a child when I read it the themes hit way harder. I first heard of this book on the talking scared podcast and I highly recommend listening to it after reading this book or way in advance of reading it. It ties everything together within the book and Tyler’s life. This book left an impression on me and I am very excited to read more.
Profile Image for Angel Zapata.
Author 45 books30 followers
May 14, 2025
Another outstanding novel from one of my new favorite authors. Tyler Jones pours so much emotion into his characters. It’s far more than a horror story. More than anything, it’s a profound character study. The question: what wouldn’t we do for our family?, becomes the driving force of this tale. It shows us how quickly we can turn grief into something ugly, how that ugliness can creep under our skins, how it can warp our perceptions into believing every awful thing we see and do is gold. It’s a heartbreaking, yet powerful story well worth your time.
Profile Image for Sean Lynch.
56 reviews4 followers
December 1, 2023
Midas is a Gothic/Western/Horror crossover and it's one of the best books of 2023.

Jeremiah and his wife have experienced absolute tragedy and soon find themselves on a quest for the extraordinary. You'll follow them on a journey that explores loss, greed, obsession, and the mystical.

Tyler Jones needs to get Midas released as a trade edition and you need to read this.

My full video book review can be found here:
https://youtu.be/ofrfzssJvxs
Profile Image for Anthony  Vincent.
6 reviews
January 26, 2024
Midas has a depth and sincerity to it that is haunting. I had heard good things about the book, but there is something so much more than solid writing here. The level of investment I developed for these characters was unlike anything I expected. I was fully committed. This is a great work that needs to be read! Find a copy!
98 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2023
Great! Might be my favorite from Tyler Jones now.
Profile Image for Michael.
99 reviews3 followers
November 13, 2023
wow, what an excellent book. Emotional, eerie, suspenseful - just great.
Profile Image for Philip Haagensen.
197 reviews10 followers
March 25, 2024
Tyler Jones is a literary alchemist. How else to explain the way he deftly blends several elements of horror and transforms them into a beautiful, golden amalgam of a novel.

MIDAS, at its heart, incorporates components of grief, family, cults, westerns, gothic, murder, and obsession seamlessly into a wonderful tale laying bare its soul for all of us readers to experience. And by experience I mean devastate us. Ruin us and leave us as hollow shells of our previous selves.

It follows the story of fallen preacher Jeremiah Pevensie and his wife Emma, still reeling from the death of their young son, Samuel. Jeremiah comes across a riderless horse, and he wanders the hills of nearby Charwood to find the horse’s owner. What he finds is life changing. And something which puts him squarely in the crosshairs of cult leader Solomon, who has been searching for this same gift for a long time.

Jeremiah and Emma hide a secret within the walls of the castle they call home. A secret Solomon will stop at nothing to obtain. A secret which has been both a gift and a curse to Jeremiah and Emma in their quest to reunite with their son Samuel. But Jeremiah’s not going to let anyone take it from him. Jones knows how to build their story, all the while tearing apart their lives.

But to say MIDAS is a western horror thriller does not do it justice. Jones makes you care deeply for these characters, investing you in the story, so when the endgame comes it is soul crushing. Here Jones works his magic. These are familiar tropes to which Jones adds depth and dimension; a new sandbox for all of us to enjoy, turning it into something wholly shocking and invasive. I especially enjoyed (is that the right word?) Jeremiah’s arc—a man of faith who falters, finds a new faith, then realizes that,too, is a false god…albeit too late.

MIDAS is a chimera of a novel, merging all its distinct parts to form a literary monster of a tale. Feelings of obsession, grief, love, and pain play off each other symphonically, with Jones acting as maestro, landing every note with gut wrenching impact. This beast of a story packs a wallop on many levels. And through it all, Jones never lets you settle in.

Released as a limited edition of 500 through Earthling’s Halloween series it sold out quickly, meaning not everyone that wanted to read it got a copy. Here’s hoping for a wider release soon as it truly deserves to be read by more people #giveusmidas.

5 out of 5 g(u)ilt stars.
Profile Image for Jeff Terry.
126 reviews27 followers
February 12, 2024
My first from Tyler Jones and definitely not my last. I posted a very odd and awkward and uncomfortable review on my YouTube channel The Jeff Word. But really what more do you need to know after you see my 4-star rating?

It's a great tale of grief and obsession. Made me think of death differently. That's not easy to do.

Gothic Frankenstein vibes. Man is screwing with things he can't understand or control. This leads to terrible stuff. But not done in the same-ol', same-ol' style.

Highly recommend getting this one!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews

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