Snow

by Paul Kane

In the frozen wilderness, Angela is running: away from the man who’s trying to kill her; away from a lonely upbringing; and away from terrible family secrets… When she discovers something else hidden from prying eyes – horrors unthinkable, inconceivable. Monstrous things that might just save her life. Join bestselling and award-winning author Paul Kane (Sleeper(s), Blood RED) as he once again puts a dark modern spin on another well-known fairy tale in Snow.

Genres: Horror

70 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2016

About the author

Paul Kane has been writing professionally for almost fifteen years. His genre journalism has appeared in such magazines as Fangoria, SFX and Rue Morgue, and his non-fiction books are the critically acclaimed The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy and Voices in the Dark. His award-winning short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic (as well as being broadcast on BBC Radio 2), and has been collected in Alone (In the Dark), Touching the Flame, FunnyBones, Peripheral Visions, Shadow Writer, The Butterfly Man and Other Stories, The Spaces Between and GHOSTS. His novella Signs of Life reached the shortlist of the British Fantasy Awards 2006, The Lazarus Condition was introduced by Mick Garris - creator of Masters of Horror - RED featured artwork from Dave (The Graveyard Book) McKean and Pain Cages was introduced by Stephen Volk (The Awakening).

As Special Publications Editor of the British Fantasy Society he worked with authors like Brian Aldiss, Ramsey Campbell, Muriel Gray and Robert Silverberg, he is the co-editor of Hellbound Hearts for Pocket Books (Simon and Schuster), an anthology of original stories inspired by Clive Barker's mythos - featuring contributions from the likes of Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola, Kelley Armstrong and Richard Christian Matheson - The Mammoth Book of Body Horror (Constable & Robinson) - featuring Stephen King, James Herbert and Robert Bloch - and the Poe-inspired Beyond Rue Morgue (for Titan).

In 2008 his zombie story 'Dead Time' was turned into an episode of the Lionsgate/NBC TV series Fear Itself, adapted by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II-IV). He also scripted The Opportunity which premiered at Cannes in 2009, The Weeping Woman - starring Fright Night's Stephen Jeffreys - and Wind Chimes (directed by Brad '7th Dimension' Watson. He is the author of the novels Of Darkness and Light, The Gemini Factor and the bestselling Arrowhead trilogy (Arrowhead, Broken Arrow and Arrowland), a post-apocalyptic reworking of the Robin Hood mythology gathered together as the sell-out Hooded Man omnibus. His latest novels are Lunar (which is set to be turned into a feature film) and the short Y.A. book The Rainbow Man (as P.B. Kane). He currently lives in Derbyshire, UK, with his wife - the author Marie O'Regan - his family, and a black cat called Mina. You can find out more at his website www.shadow-writer.co.uk which has featured Guest Writers such as Neil Gaiman, Charlaine Harris, Dean Koontz, John Connolly and Guillermo del Toro.

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It was only their nature -they were only doing what they had to in order to survive. Like she herself had survived. Thrived, even."

Some crimes are unforgivable, some punishments unforgettable. A bloody good short story that makes me want to read more Paul Kane.

Once again I'd like to thank Randy from Horror Aficionados for his constantly updated list of free stories.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this one on audio and enjoyed it. The narration fit the story extremely well and the narrator did a fine job with her cadence and tone which set the story up nicely and added an extra dimension to the tale. For a short listen, I really enjoyed it.

I must admit I was a bit confused in the beginning of this one and did not realize it was a whacked out retelling of the Snow White classic. It did finally come together and went all kinds of crazy very quickly. This is one messed up fairy tale for sure.

Red on white. The globe has been shaken.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern retelling of the Snow White legend (which Paul touches on in his smart introduction), this sees Angela being taken to woods on the edge of town by her evil step-mother Ruth’s brother, Uncle Robert, who plans to kill her. Managing to escape, though wounded, she tumbles into a hole caused by old mine workings and realises she’s not alone in the dark. Paul has a good sense of atmosphere and location, both of which are used well and he sketches in Angela’s family background to give us an idea as to why she happens to be where we first find her. Characterisation is deft, if a little broad and the whole thing has a nice sense of darkness about it especially with the ‘dwarves’, who reminded me of the Crawlers from “The Descent” - I wanted to see more of them. It’s written at a brisk pace and, if anything, that would be my only complaint - I wanted him to slow down a little and explore a bit more at times. Well written and engaging, I enjoyed this and would recommend it.

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining dark modern retelling of Snow White. Very enjoyable for what it was. I would have liked a bit more on Angela’s time with the Dwarves/ miners but all in all it was a good novella.

[Kayleigh Marie Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn in by the cover first, it's absolutely beautiful. It's a short read and very enjoyable.