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The Storm
It started off like any other day, but for the tourists, staff and workmen at Willerton Castle it will end in terror. Because a storm is coming, a storm like nothing anyone has ever seen. A storm that will herald an attack by creatures this world has never encountered before. Will any of them survive? This new short novel of monstrous horror by the bestselling and award-winning author of Monsters (a British Fantasy Award finalist), the sellout Hooded Man and the award-winning Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell, Paul Kane, comes with an introduction from Rio Youers (The Forgotten Girl, Halcyon) and cover art by Ben Baldwin.
“Paul Kane is a first-rate storyteller, never failing to marry his insights into the world and its anguish with the pleasures of phrases eloquently turned.” Clive Barker —Bestselling author of The Hellbound Heart, Abarat, Mr B. Gone & The Scarlet Gospels)
“Kane finds the everyday horrors buried within us, rips them out and serves them up in these deliciously dark tales.” Kelley Armstrong – Bestselling author of Bitten, Haunted, Broken, Waking the Witch, Spell Bound and Thirteen)
“I’m impressed by the range of Paul Kane’s imagination. It seems there is no risk, no high-stakes gamble, he fears to take…Kane’s foot never gets even close to the brake pedal.” Peter Straub – Bestselling author of Ghost Story, Mr X, Lost Boy Lost Girl, and In the Night Room)
“Paul Kane is a name to watch. His work is disturbing and very creepy.” Tim Lebbon – New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin in the Woods, The Silence and Relics)
“His stories not only, at his best, put him neck and neck with Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, but also in the company of greats like Machen and MR James. You don’t rest easily after reading a Paul Kane story, but strangely your eyes have been somewhat opened.” Stephen Volk – BAFTA winning screenwriter of Gothic, Ghostwatch, Afterlife, The Awakening and Midwinter of the Spirit; author of Whitstable, Leytonstone and The Parts We Play)
“Paul Kane is a first-rate storyteller, never failing to marry his insights into the world and its anguish with the pleasures of phrases eloquently turned.” Clive Barker —Bestselling author of The Hellbound Heart, Abarat, Mr B. Gone & The Scarlet Gospels)
“Kane finds the everyday horrors buried within us, rips them out and serves them up in these deliciously dark tales.” Kelley Armstrong – Bestselling author of Bitten, Haunted, Broken, Waking the Witch, Spell Bound and Thirteen)
“I’m impressed by the range of Paul Kane’s imagination. It seems there is no risk, no high-stakes gamble, he fears to take…Kane’s foot never gets even close to the brake pedal.” Peter Straub – Bestselling author of Ghost Story, Mr X, Lost Boy Lost Girl, and In the Night Room)
“Paul Kane is a name to watch. His work is disturbing and very creepy.” Tim Lebbon – New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin in the Woods, The Silence and Relics)
“His stories not only, at his best, put him neck and neck with Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, but also in the company of greats like Machen and MR James. You don’t rest easily after reading a Paul Kane story, but strangely your eyes have been somewhat opened.” Stephen Volk – BAFTA winning screenwriter of Gothic, Ghostwatch, Afterlife, The Awakening and Midwinter of the Spirit; author of Whitstable, Leytonstone and The Parts We Play)
195 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2020
9 people want to read
About the author
Paul Kane
232 books142 followersPaul 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 25, 2020
This is the best creature feature book I’ve read in a long time. If you’re into slippery slimy monsters and lots of blood and guts this is for you. It takes a couple minor tangents but aside from that the action moves at a breakneck pace. Highly recommended.
April 23, 2020
I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is my first foray into a Paul Kane novel (I’ve heard about his books before just never got around to picking one up) and I was not disappointed. The writing was superb, the characters were well developed (I even found myself having a few I was genuinely rooting for), and the story was fast paced and even gave me goosebumps at certain points. I don’t get scared easily, and I will say that this novel has points where I actually gasped because of how the author weaves the words and makes the descriptions of the creatures but also the actual characters jump off the page right at you like in a 3D movie. I completely enjoyed this novel and will be picking up more novels by the author as soon as I can. Highly recommend.
October 9, 2023
When you pick up a PS book, you know you have got something special. They are works of art, beautifully bound with great attention paid to the artistic detail. It would be pointless to lavish such lushness on a tome without the story inside being worthy of it, so you can trust the team to have uncovered a gem of a quick and satisfying horror read for the spooky season.
Rio Youer's introduction is titled "Creature Feature", and that's a pretty helpful description. The Storm has all the trappings of such horror films: a child having nightmares; an isolated and spooky location; a misunderstood hero; sympathetic victims caught up in the mess, buckets of gore, and - finally - terrifying monsters.
Kane does a great job of bringing all these elements to the fore, whilst also flavouring his creature feature with a recognisable Britishness. The gore scenes are filmic and visceral, but there is also a deeper story at play. Fantastic scene setting really conjures up how a defensive building such as a castle can become a trap instead when faced with a different kind of enemy. I enjoyed the story very much.
Rio Youer's introduction is titled "Creature Feature", and that's a pretty helpful description. The Storm has all the trappings of such horror films: a child having nightmares; an isolated and spooky location; a misunderstood hero; sympathetic victims caught up in the mess, buckets of gore, and - finally - terrifying monsters.
Kane does a great job of bringing all these elements to the fore, whilst also flavouring his creature feature with a recognisable Britishness. The gore scenes are filmic and visceral, but there is also a deeper story at play. Fantastic scene setting really conjures up how a defensive building such as a castle can become a trap instead when faced with a different kind of enemy. I enjoyed the story very much.
February 8, 2024
Now I am not really a horror book reader, but the occasional one catches my eye, and this one did. It is very gory, but beautifully written, each of the chapters which does not centre on the gore centres on the characters, who are, for the most part, loveable, but flawed. Well worth reading, no spoilers here!
May 17, 2022
pretty fun - like a Saturday afternoon monster movie in print
December 14, 2023
A cracking old school creature feature. Recommended!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews