What do you think?
Rate this book
The Ash Episode : A Horror Novel
Not yet published
Expected 17 Nov 26Face the darkness together... Or perish.
Three complete strangers are invited to appear on the 347th episode of the Missing Patterns podcast. Each carries a childhood memory they believe belongs to them alone.
What none of them know is that more than twenty years earlier, all three had survived the exact same impossible experience. They were brought together to tell their stories in the hope of finally understanding what had happened to them.
Instead, they learn that their stories are just the beginning. To survive to the end, they'll need to face something none of them could ever comprehend.
Three complete strangers are invited to appear on the 347th episode of the Missing Patterns podcast. Each carries a childhood memory they believe belongs to them alone.
What none of them know is that more than twenty years earlier, all three had survived the exact same impossible experience. They were brought together to tell their stories in the hope of finally understanding what had happened to them.
Instead, they learn that their stories are just the beginning. To survive to the end, they'll need to face something none of them could ever comprehend.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 17, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Podcasts, liminal spaces, cosmic beings- sign me up!
This was creepy right off the bat and got sooooo much weirder and disturbing as the plot progressed.
Gave me messed up dreams, but I kind of love when a horror story can actually affect me like that.
The ending… hmmm I have mixed feelings about where things were left with some characters.
This was a great new tale of horror from the author who brought us “Daughter’s Drawings”. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by Nick and can’t wait to see what he creates next!
This was creepy right off the bat and got sooooo much weirder and disturbing as the plot progressed.
Gave me messed up dreams, but I kind of love when a horror story can actually affect me like that.
The ending… hmmm I have mixed feelings about where things were left with some characters.
This was a great new tale of horror from the author who brought us “Daughter’s Drawings”. I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by Nick and can’t wait to see what he creates next!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This starts really strong and creepy. Incredibly, it gets even stronger and creepier as the story develops. The premise sounds plain and straightforward: a couple of professional podcasters are preparing for their new episode, welcoming the visitors they've invited to be interviewed on the show. Yet, once everything's ready to go, it becomes apparent that a mystery is unfolding little by little in the background. The podcast investigates weird situations, and this time it's gonna shed light on the uncanny experiences of three people, completely unknown to each other; they went missing as children, and got back telling tales of the most bizarre nature. The podcasters, however, have a big surprise up their sleeve, a big reveal they've been painstakingly preparing to spring on them for quite some time: what these three guests are going to discover is that the accounts of their experiences, though given totally independently of each other, are in fact exactlly the same in all their creepy details - and, surprisingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Extremely odd events get registered on the cameras, extremely eerie sounds are picked up on the audio; very soon, the podcasters realize that this time, they may have placed themselves in a situation far more dangerous and peculiar than they'd planned for.
The book's a page-turner. I binged the story, and got sad when it ended. It promises weirdness, it delivers it in spades! It thrives on plot twists which sneak up on you unawares, and has tons of unsettling imagery, all growing around an engrossing central mystery you can't help getting pulled into from early on. The story goes for disturbing liminal horror, has a pervasive urban legend vibe, and its ending is totally unhinged. The characters act realistically, they're all interesting and relatable, and the resolution of the mystery itself, though not as complete as I expected, does get under one's skin. The writing allows the reader to really experience the story as it unfolds, share in the characters' fear, wonder and astonishment, and easily follow the dark and eerie happenings on the page.
In sum, it’s one helluva read I very highly recommend!
The book's a page-turner. I binged the story, and got sad when it ended. It promises weirdness, it delivers it in spades! It thrives on plot twists which sneak up on you unawares, and has tons of unsettling imagery, all growing around an engrossing central mystery you can't help getting pulled into from early on. The story goes for disturbing liminal horror, has a pervasive urban legend vibe, and its ending is totally unhinged. The characters act realistically, they're all interesting and relatable, and the resolution of the mystery itself, though not as complete as I expected, does get under one's skin. The writing allows the reader to really experience the story as it unfolds, share in the characters' fear, wonder and astonishment, and easily follow the dark and eerie happenings on the page.
In sum, it’s one helluva read I very highly recommend!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I wasn’t entirely sure where this story was going at first, but boy, did things get weird! It starts off with what seems like an innocent enough podcast featuring three guests who are there to discuss what initially sounds like an alien abduction or something along those lines. The catch? All three experienced remarkably similar events, in the exact same way and at the exact same time, despite being thousands of miles apart. The podcast hosts thought they were doing a brilliant job researching the phenomenon and bringing these people together to get some answers… or so they thought!
Things get increasingly strange from there, and for every question that gets answered, at least three more pop up. This story will leave your brain completely befuddled, questioning everything you just read, but in the best possible way! It’s a mind-bending, bizarre, and thoroughly entertaining ride that kept me guessing. If you enjoy stories that take you down a rabbit hole of WTF moments, this one is definitely worth the trip!
Things get increasingly strange from there, and for every question that gets answered, at least three more pop up. This story will leave your brain completely befuddled, questioning everything you just read, but in the best possible way! It’s a mind-bending, bizarre, and thoroughly entertaining ride that kept me guessing. If you enjoy stories that take you down a rabbit hole of WTF moments, this one is definitely worth the trip!
November 14, 2026
This book was strange and I am unable to decipher what I just read. I read this story of these people who were brought together to discuss something that happened to them when they were young. The experiences were life-changing, and none of them could remember much. As the guests were questioned, out of nowhere, came an entity that demanded their attention. From there on the book travels to a strange place that was changing as the characters tried to deal with their part in the past. I found myself wondering if this book had drawn me into this weird place and I had to figure out how to leave. I felt the strange atmosphere and wished for the book to end. This author has cornered the trope of feeling disoriented as the characters in the book. Long after the final word was read; this reader is still wondering what just happened.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews