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Stone Cold
A race against time in a terrifying page turning thriller where once again Simon clark proves his brilliance as an author Meteors are falling to earth and it turns out they are hugely valuable. So what better way to get rich quick than by finding your own meteorite and selling it piece-by-piece to eager collectors? This is what Stoner and his friends plan to do when they learn that a meteor crashed into a remote valley several years ago. However, the valley is the site of a new reservoir and will be flooded in a matter of days. The meteor hunters face a race against time. Not only is the rising flood engulfing roads and ghostly, abandoned villages, and threatening the safety of the meteor hunters, but that cold slab of extra-terrestrial stone harbours a force of pure evil. A force, which entered the rock in the eternal, dark midnight of the cosmos, has the power to possess minds, take lives and wreak chaos. And Stoner and his team are plunged into a fight for their lives... Stone Cold is a dramatic and terrifying novella by the award-winning author, Simon Clark, in which the hunt for a valuable piece of stone from the sky becomes a desperate battle for survival. Praise for Simon ‘Inventive and fast moving – good old fashioned fun.’ The Washington Post. ‘To say that Simon Clark is the best novelist to emerge this decade is self-evident. Simon has simply outgrown genre restrictions’ Andrew Darlington '... a wildly imaginative ride from page one, masterfully twisting and turning, and still never going where you might think...' Gord Rollo, author of The Jigsaw Man. 'Clark again proves that when it comes to generating tension, he is without peer' Michael McBride, author of the God’s End Trilogy. 'a master storyteller, and a must have for anyone who enjoys exciting and expertly crafter horror fiction’ Greg F. Gifune, author of The Bleeding Season. Simon Clark is the highly-regarded author of numerous horror novels. His short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. His work has also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and he has written prose material for the rock band U2. He lives with his wife in mystical territory that lies on the border of Robin Hood country in England.
- GenresHorror
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 6, 2013
4 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Simon Clark
212 books300 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 9, 2021
A group of rock hunters (!) are looking for a true Martian meteorite. In a soon to be flooded area and now derelict town they are lucky. But wait a minute. An old Indian seems to be the keeper of an old secret. What is behind the story of the meteorite? Why does it seem to be evil? What about the voices? Can the group survive the rising flood? This was quite an entertaining horror pulp fiction novella. Eerie at parts, some sex, greed, one over the top story and a bizarre ending. Knocked me out stone cold. Recommended!
December 7, 2017
Pulp horror at its best
This novella is like one of those "cabin in the woods" horror movies, set on an abandoned, soon to be flooded farm where a group of young meteorite hunters is about to uncover some bad stuff. The characters are not very well drawn, but the story works and has some cool twists. The prose is a little on the pulpy side.
This novella is like one of those "cabin in the woods" horror movies, set on an abandoned, soon to be flooded farm where a group of young meteorite hunters is about to uncover some bad stuff. The characters are not very well drawn, but the story works and has some cool twists. The prose is a little on the pulpy side.
October 9, 2017
Hunting for lost or buried treasure has been a staple of adventure fiction since the days of Treasure Island, but Simon Clark puts a couple of new twists on the theme, including the addition of some supernatural elements, in his horror novella, Stone Cold. The result is a mix of suspense, adventure and horror that’s an entertaining page turner.
Instead of gold or silver, Clark’s treasure hunters are after something far more unusual, a rare meteorite that landed on Earth in the 1940’s and was buried soon after by a scientist who couldn’t haul it away at the time. Since the meteorite was on private land, the scientist couldn’t reclaim it before he died, but he left a journal detailing the location that fell into the hands of a prospector of sorts named Stoner. It seems that meteorites of this nature and size are worth a small fortune, and Stoner now has a limited opportunity to recover the meteorite. The land where the rock is buried is now abandoned because it’s in the process of being flooded due to the construction of a dam. Stoner and his team have only a few days to find it before it winds up at the bottom of a lake.
That buildup might well lead to a fairly suspenseful adventure story by itself, and, indeed, there is a good scene early in the book in which an attempt to cross some now flooded land turns deadly. But Stone Cold is also very much a horror story, as it seems there are some bad spirits associated with the meteorite that, once freed from where they were trapped for decades, have some evil intentions on Stoner’s team.
Stone Cold could easily have been expanded into a full-length novel, but author Clark has cut away the extraneous material, and the result is a tight, 100-page-work than moves rapidly almost from the start until a good twist at the very end. The author doesn’t stint on providing just enough description as is needed, including a brief discussion on the value of meteorites and sufficient backstory to explain Stoner’s expedition, but the characterizations are rather shallow. The only character who really stands out is the obligatory complainer, who whines about everything before things get really scary (you can probably guess what happens to her shortly thereafter). The shallow characters aren’t really a problem, because Stone Cold is plot driven, rather than character driven, and the author uses the threat of rising water to keep the story going at a rapid, suspenseful pace.
The one area in which Stone Cold isn’t quite as effective is in the description of the supernatural elements themselves. Even by the rather relaxed credibility standards of horror books, the nature and origin of these spirits and their powers are a bit sketchy. But, as the various plot elements fall into place, it becomes clear that the body count is going to rise significantly if the spirits aren’t stopped, and that leads to a very good final confrontation with some very shocking imagery (especially in the rather gruesome manner in which one character meets his demise).
Simon Clark is English but is able to create American dialogue and a setting that seem quite realistic. His language is also quite descriptive with some evocative imagery, especially in the book's final chapters. For example, he describes an impending storm, “Now it sounded as if wailing phantoms rode with the scudding clouds.” Clark’s language and relentless pace get readers in just the right frame of mind for a powerful conclusion. This book is just the right length for readers to finish in one long evening, and a lot will want to. Stone Cold is going to generate some white hot suspense for readers.
Instead of gold or silver, Clark’s treasure hunters are after something far more unusual, a rare meteorite that landed on Earth in the 1940’s and was buried soon after by a scientist who couldn’t haul it away at the time. Since the meteorite was on private land, the scientist couldn’t reclaim it before he died, but he left a journal detailing the location that fell into the hands of a prospector of sorts named Stoner. It seems that meteorites of this nature and size are worth a small fortune, and Stoner now has a limited opportunity to recover the meteorite. The land where the rock is buried is now abandoned because it’s in the process of being flooded due to the construction of a dam. Stoner and his team have only a few days to find it before it winds up at the bottom of a lake.
That buildup might well lead to a fairly suspenseful adventure story by itself, and, indeed, there is a good scene early in the book in which an attempt to cross some now flooded land turns deadly. But Stone Cold is also very much a horror story, as it seems there are some bad spirits associated with the meteorite that, once freed from where they were trapped for decades, have some evil intentions on Stoner’s team.
Stone Cold could easily have been expanded into a full-length novel, but author Clark has cut away the extraneous material, and the result is a tight, 100-page-work than moves rapidly almost from the start until a good twist at the very end. The author doesn’t stint on providing just enough description as is needed, including a brief discussion on the value of meteorites and sufficient backstory to explain Stoner’s expedition, but the characterizations are rather shallow. The only character who really stands out is the obligatory complainer, who whines about everything before things get really scary (you can probably guess what happens to her shortly thereafter). The shallow characters aren’t really a problem, because Stone Cold is plot driven, rather than character driven, and the author uses the threat of rising water to keep the story going at a rapid, suspenseful pace.
The one area in which Stone Cold isn’t quite as effective is in the description of the supernatural elements themselves. Even by the rather relaxed credibility standards of horror books, the nature and origin of these spirits and their powers are a bit sketchy. But, as the various plot elements fall into place, it becomes clear that the body count is going to rise significantly if the spirits aren’t stopped, and that leads to a very good final confrontation with some very shocking imagery (especially in the rather gruesome manner in which one character meets his demise).
Simon Clark is English but is able to create American dialogue and a setting that seem quite realistic. His language is also quite descriptive with some evocative imagery, especially in the book's final chapters. For example, he describes an impending storm, “Now it sounded as if wailing phantoms rode with the scudding clouds.” Clark’s language and relentless pace get readers in just the right frame of mind for a powerful conclusion. This book is just the right length for readers to finish in one long evening, and a lot will want to. Stone Cold is going to generate some white hot suspense for readers.
September 17, 2017
Great Tale
Ben and friends decide to locate a meteorite that fell from the sky but this specific rock has something attached to it that urges people to kill...
Will the effects of the rock win out or will Ben and his friends have enough willpower to retain their sanity?
Quick read but the plot is good all the way to the end.
Ben and friends decide to locate a meteorite that fell from the sky but this specific rock has something attached to it that urges people to kill...
Will the effects of the rock win out or will Ben and his friends have enough willpower to retain their sanity?
Quick read but the plot is good all the way to the end.
August 11, 2025
Another book from my local library and not a bad little novella. Reminded me a little of Graham Masterton at times but maybe that's just the British author writing American horror stories with native horror influences. Very short and probably could have been developed further with a full novel but was worth a read.
March 22, 2020
Fantastic short read
Wow, this great fun. Treasure hunters, ancient myth, meteorites all with Clark's vivid storytelling. I absolutely love the last sentence. Highly recommended.
Wow, this great fun. Treasure hunters, ancient myth, meteorites all with Clark's vivid storytelling. I absolutely love the last sentence. Highly recommended.
October 3, 2013
I find it hard to believe I'm the only person on Goodreads to have picked up this novella off Amazon and read it by now, but I guess somebody has to be the first through the door ...
I'm very much torn by Simon Clark as a writer. He's written one of my favourite ever horror novels (the fantastic Blood Crazy) and one of the worst I've slogged through (the massively disappointing Vampyrrhic). So when I saw this on Amazon, I picked it up on a whim to see which way his more recent works are swinging. Well I'm sorry to report, it's not the way I bend.
Actually, that's a little harsh. This short 100 page novella deals with a group of friends who are trying to make their fortune by finding a rare meteor. But as is the way with all get-rich-quick schemes, there's something nasty to contend with before they can. It all sounds fine on paper, but the execution never really drew me in. Even for a short piece, the pace is very slow out of the gates, and when the horror begins, it's all over too quickly. The characters didn't overly engage me either, leaving me with little to hang onto as the story progressed.
But that's just me. I'm sure fans of Simon Clark will enjoy what's to be found here. But if you're a first time Clark reader, forget this one and grab Blood Crazy. You'll be glad you did.
2 Mars-ian meteorites for Stone Cold.
I'm very much torn by Simon Clark as a writer. He's written one of my favourite ever horror novels (the fantastic Blood Crazy) and one of the worst I've slogged through (the massively disappointing Vampyrrhic). So when I saw this on Amazon, I picked it up on a whim to see which way his more recent works are swinging. Well I'm sorry to report, it's not the way I bend.
Actually, that's a little harsh. This short 100 page novella deals with a group of friends who are trying to make their fortune by finding a rare meteor. But as is the way with all get-rich-quick schemes, there's something nasty to contend with before they can. It all sounds fine on paper, but the execution never really drew me in. Even for a short piece, the pace is very slow out of the gates, and when the horror begins, it's all over too quickly. The characters didn't overly engage me either, leaving me with little to hang onto as the story progressed.
But that's just me. I'm sure fans of Simon Clark will enjoy what's to be found here. But if you're a first time Clark reader, forget this one and grab Blood Crazy. You'll be glad you did.
2 Mars-ian meteorites for Stone Cold.
December 4, 2015
This book is published by Venture Press.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews