Coffle

by Gemma Files

COFFLE tells the story of Ardenne, an escaped slave who leads other slaves across the blasted danger zone The Patch to freedom in the Rim-towns, if they can survive the journey. Remnants of technology, ancient magic, and the universal desire to live free collide in a thrilling trek to freedom or death.

Gemma Files’ story and Stephen Wilson’s art (cover, three interiors) come together for this high-octane tale of a tragic future and the very human figures that populate it.

The chapbook includes a 6x9 print of the cover art, plus a bookmark with Stephen Wilson art and a Dim Shores checklist. Limited to 200 hand-numbered copies.

Genres: Horror

72 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2017

About the author

Previously best-known as a film critic for Toronto's eye Weekly, teacher and screenwriter, Gemma Files first broke onto the international horror scene when her story "The Emperor's Old Bones" won the 1999 International Horror Guild award for Best Short Fiction. She is the author of two collections of short work (Kissing Carrion and The Worm in Every Heart) and two chapbooks of poetry (Bent Under Night and Dust Radio). Her Hexslinger Series trilogy is now complete: A Book of Tongues, A Rope of Thorns and A Tree of Bones, all available from ChiZine Publications.

Reviews

[Karl]

This chapbook is numbered 138 of 200 copies published. It arrived with a bunch of stickers, a book mark and a cover page without the printing.

[aleph3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coffle narrates a harrowing trek towards freedom across a tainted, post-apocalyptic landscape, with all the awful clarity and momentum of a nightmare. It's also a thoughtful meditation about how people decide to use the tools that history places in their hands. Of all the memorable images in the story, the one of future slave-holders turning to a relic search engine to learn how to put the humans they own to use is the most unsettling, and will not be easily forgotten.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick but good read! My copy is 185 of 200 (hand numbered). The story puts an unconventional spin on the post-apocalyptic zombie tale (at least to me, admittedly not a heavy reader of the zombie genre in general), both in setting and in style. The art included fits the story well. As a first quick dip into Files' world, I'd say it's absolutely good enough to keep me reading her works, and as a first quick dip into Dim Shores' releases, it's absolutely great enough to keep me paying attention for new releases.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

An escaped slave and her followers cross over a devastated landscape to the Patch of freedom. Death is clipping their heels, nightmares and a tragic future.
I love the opening prose to The Patch sequence and the small fight scene that takes place. The overall story just hit me as slow moving and held my interest slightly.
Stephen Wilson's art is magical. The bookmark is killer.

Collector #111

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great description and fantastic language; beautiful set-up that lays the groundwork for a horrible and much-appreciated ending.

(numbered 195/200)

[Danelle Our-Wolves-Den · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review in process

[Rodney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hand-numbered copy 120 of 200

[Lewis Housley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, post-apocalyptic, necromancy, and technomancy...Some of my favorite things!

[Ivana Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cool little book