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PainSpace: A Novella
Not yet published
Expected 30 Apr 26His daughter went into the tubes. She never came out.
During a break from work, Lucas Flores brings his six-year-old daughter, Alexis, to Buddy’s Burgers—a local fast food joint—for a quick bite and some playtime at the attached indoor playground dubbed ‘Buddy’s PlaySpace.’ But after he awakens from a lengthy, impromptu nap, he finds the playground vacant with only his daughter’s shoes near a tube entrance.
He hears her playing in the playground, but he’s unable to lure her out. Worried for her safety and kicking himself for dozing off, he ventures into the tubes to find her... unaware of the horrific secrets lurking in the playground.
Jon Athan, the author of Shared by Two and Her Suffering, blends white-knuckle suspense, bone-chilling visuals, and raw emotion in this twisted novella of cerebral, supernatural horror. Enjoy your meal... it could be your last!
This book features twelve high-quality, full-page illustrations.
Although this is not an extreme horror story, it does contain some graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
During a break from work, Lucas Flores brings his six-year-old daughter, Alexis, to Buddy’s Burgers—a local fast food joint—for a quick bite and some playtime at the attached indoor playground dubbed ‘Buddy’s PlaySpace.’ But after he awakens from a lengthy, impromptu nap, he finds the playground vacant with only his daughter’s shoes near a tube entrance.
He hears her playing in the playground, but he’s unable to lure her out. Worried for her safety and kicking himself for dozing off, he ventures into the tubes to find her... unaware of the horrific secrets lurking in the playground.
Jon Athan, the author of Shared by Two and Her Suffering, blends white-knuckle suspense, bone-chilling visuals, and raw emotion in this twisted novella of cerebral, supernatural horror. Enjoy your meal... it could be your last!
This book features twelve high-quality, full-page illustrations.
Although this is not an extreme horror story, it does contain some graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 30, 2026
33 people want to read
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Review of advance copy received from Author
"𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝒚𝒐𝒖."
Jon Athan has tackled so many genres of horror--extreme, splatter, psychological--but this quiet little novella uses subliminal horror to evoke an overwhelming sense of dread, and this is not an easy feat. Horror is more than jump scares and gore; it's also using atmosphere and familiar places to create a sense of disembodiment and the uneasy feeling that something just isn't right.
Lucas Flores brings his six-year-old daughter Alexis to one of their favorite fast food haunts, Buddy’s Burgers, for dinner and some playtime at the attached indoor playspace. But this tired father makes the mistake of closing his eyes, and when he wakes up, an alarming amount of time has passed. Alexis is nowhere to be found, and only her shoes are left near the entrance to one of the play tubes. He's frantic and can't seem to get the attention of any employee, so he does what any good father would do--he ventures in the tubes to retrieve her.
What he finds there will break your heart.
I can't believe what Jon accomplished in just under 100 pages. This one was definitely a gut punch, and coupled with the twelve interior illustrations that just really brought this story to life, it made my list of top ten favorites of the year. His author's notes are always a treasure trove of information, so don't even think about skipping this one. Many thanks to the author for this early copy that you can pre-order NOW and have when it releases April 30, 2026.
Jon Athan has tackled so many genres of horror--extreme, splatter, psychological--but this quiet little novella uses subliminal horror to evoke an overwhelming sense of dread, and this is not an easy feat. Horror is more than jump scares and gore; it's also using atmosphere and familiar places to create a sense of disembodiment and the uneasy feeling that something just isn't right.
Lucas Flores brings his six-year-old daughter Alexis to one of their favorite fast food haunts, Buddy’s Burgers, for dinner and some playtime at the attached indoor playspace. But this tired father makes the mistake of closing his eyes, and when he wakes up, an alarming amount of time has passed. Alexis is nowhere to be found, and only her shoes are left near the entrance to one of the play tubes. He's frantic and can't seem to get the attention of any employee, so he does what any good father would do--he ventures in the tubes to retrieve her.
What he finds there will break your heart.
I can't believe what Jon accomplished in just under 100 pages. This one was definitely a gut punch, and coupled with the twelve interior illustrations that just really brought this story to life, it made my list of top ten favorites of the year. His author's notes are always a treasure trove of information, so don't even think about skipping this one. Many thanks to the author for this early copy that you can pre-order NOW and have when it releases April 30, 2026.
Displaying 1 of 1 review