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Porcelain
Comedian Jason Hawks carries with him a mountain of emotional issues and an impressive drug habit. When he learns his high school sweetheart went on a shooting spree before turning the gun on herself, he returns home to confront a past that includes a drunken orgy in an abandoned factory and six close friends who never spoke to each other again. Something more sinister is at work than teenage hormones, however, and what Jason learns as he reconnects with his past will either fix him or shatter him further. And it could send an entire city into an abyss of lust-fueled horror.
220 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2018
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Nate Southard
67 books119 followersNate Southard is moody, shy, lanky, bald, and has bad skin. When he isn’t writing, he’s probably cooking Thai food or fried chicken. Seriously, he has something like fifty fried chicken recipes. It’s ridiculous. He recently discovered coffee-flavored ice cream, and it’s ruling his entire world. Did you know if you mix it with chocolate ice cream, you can kinda make mocha ice cream? Nate does!
Nate lives in Austin, Texas.
He sucks at skateboarding.
Nate Southard's books include Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?, Scavengers, This Little Light of Mine, Red Sky, Just Like Hell, Broken Skin, and He Stepped Through. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Nightmare Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, Thuglit, and LampLight. His short story "Going Home, Ugly Stick in Hand" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror, and he earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his story "In the Middle of Poplar Street."
Nate lives in Austin, Texas.
He sucks at skateboarding.
Nate Southard's books include Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?, Scavengers, This Little Light of Mine, Red Sky, Just Like Hell, Broken Skin, and He Stepped Through. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Nightmare Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, Thuglit, and LampLight. His short story "Going Home, Ugly Stick in Hand" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror, and he earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his story "In the Middle of Poplar Street."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 19, 2021
Jason Hawks puts his career as a professional comedian on hold to return home to Cincinnati after learning his high school sweetheart, Andrea, stripping under the name Porcelain, publicly murdered multiple patrons before shooting herself. Reconnecting with old friends he similarly hadn't spoken with in 12 years, Jason struggles to discover an explanation for the horrific act Andrea committed. Haunted by disjointed memories and terrifying hallucinations, Jason forces himself and two of his old friends to relive the events of the final night they'd all been together more than a decade before. Piecing together the pieces of what happened when six freshly graduated young adults had lost control and experienced something both carnal and terrifying, a mystery begins to unravel that threatens both sanity and the world as they know it.
Nate Southard shares a compelling and disquieting tale with this title. Friendships are rekindled and snuffed out on the page as the author drags us through a tangled mess of erotica and supernatural horror that tiptoes the line separating us from unstoppable, madness-inducing cosmic horror.
Fans of Stephen King's IT will feel a certain sense of familiarity with this narrative of adults coming together and unhappily reliving a hardly self-aware sexual awakening they experienced at a much younger age. Unlike the uncomfortable scene described in King's novel, in Porcelain, at least these characters were adults--though barely--when they intimately came together in a dark, terrifying place.
More terrifying than anything else for me, the core horror of this story is derived from the loss of control. Propelled by an insatiable desire for gratification, characters fight to restrain themselves and to fend off the debasement as increasingly louder voices within are urging them to give in. The almost vampiric presence at the heart of the horror is unsettling in its ability to overwhelm the individual's better judgment and will to fight. The corrupting nature of the evil as its influence appears to spread from the original location in the abandoned factory makes for a truly disturbing concept, executed superbly by Southard.
Nate Southard shares a compelling and disquieting tale with this title. Friendships are rekindled and snuffed out on the page as the author drags us through a tangled mess of erotica and supernatural horror that tiptoes the line separating us from unstoppable, madness-inducing cosmic horror.
Fans of Stephen King's IT will feel a certain sense of familiarity with this narrative of adults coming together and unhappily reliving a hardly self-aware sexual awakening they experienced at a much younger age. Unlike the uncomfortable scene described in King's novel, in Porcelain, at least these characters were adults--though barely--when they intimately came together in a dark, terrifying place.
More terrifying than anything else for me, the core horror of this story is derived from the loss of control. Propelled by an insatiable desire for gratification, characters fight to restrain themselves and to fend off the debasement as increasingly louder voices within are urging them to give in. The almost vampiric presence at the heart of the horror is unsettling in its ability to overwhelm the individual's better judgment and will to fight. The corrupting nature of the evil as its influence appears to spread from the original location in the abandoned factory makes for a truly disturbing concept, executed superbly by Southard.
November 5, 2018
Nate Southard is one of the best in the business. I always look forward to reading his new fiction, and this book is a serious page turner. It had me from the beginning, and I could barely put it down. This story speaks of loneliness and friendship, trust and betrayal, lust and shame, despair as well as hope. I couldn't help but think about my own high school friendships and the different paths we've taken. There is nostalgia, and there are things best left behind. This book sinks its fingers into your brain and slithers under the skin. I can't wait to read whatever he's got coming out next.
MLD
MLD
October 23, 2021
Quite good. 3*
The Story is about a guy called Jason, returning to his hometown after an old high school friend goes on a shooting spree. They all share a dark memory of the past; a weird one. I won't say any more as it will ruin the story.
Plenty of weirdness afoot here. I was loving it until the last 1/3 of the book. The ending felt kind of rushed. Aside from that, pretty solid, decent story. Just not an amazing one unfortunately.
If you like erotic weirdness give it a go. You may enjoy it more than I did.
The Story is about a guy called Jason, returning to his hometown after an old high school friend goes on a shooting spree. They all share a dark memory of the past; a weird one. I won't say any more as it will ruin the story.
Plenty of weirdness afoot here. I was loving it until the last 1/3 of the book. The ending felt kind of rushed. Aside from that, pretty solid, decent story. Just not an amazing one unfortunately.
If you like erotic weirdness give it a go. You may enjoy it more than I did.
August 13, 2018
I've followed Nate Southard's writing for quite awhile now, and I've seen him grow from a good writer to a great writer to a just-buy-whatever-he-publishes writer.
In Porcelain, he'll break your heart, make you laugh, and creep the hell out of you. His characters arrive fully-formed, and you will engage with them quickly. And then fear for them.
Check this one out, then check the rest of his stuff too. He has yet to disappoint me.
In Porcelain, he'll break your heart, make you laugh, and creep the hell out of you. His characters arrive fully-formed, and you will engage with them quickly. And then fear for them.
Check this one out, then check the rest of his stuff too. He has yet to disappoint me.
March 8, 2021
This was the first Southard book I’ve read, and it’s great. I cared about the characters, I enjoyed every moment of violence, of sex, of fear. Nate created a truly incredible piece of art in this book.
June 18, 2019
This book just doesn't speak to me. I don't see any part of the story that I can hang any interest onto.
July 2, 2018
The cover quote by Tremblay is a very apt summary: supernatural and psychosexual romp.
I really enjoyed this. Especially the layer of mystery where I had to keep revising my theory of what was going on as more clues were presented. Nate presents a set of likable characters with a good synergy and enough self doubt to make them constantly question that synergy.
I think this story will take second place in my favorite Southard stories (He Stepped Through is one of my all-time favorites by any author).
I really enjoyed this. Especially the layer of mystery where I had to keep revising my theory of what was going on as more clues were presented. Nate presents a set of likable characters with a good synergy and enough self doubt to make them constantly question that synergy.
I think this story will take second place in my favorite Southard stories (He Stepped Through is one of my all-time favorites by any author).
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews