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Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock
For Alex, fulfilling a promise to his dying father to scatter his ashes at the family cabin is like a journey back in time, and he hopes to find some part of him there to awaken him from his numb existence. But in a world on the verge of ecological collapse and increasing poverty, and with his own health declining rapidly, any journey is perilous. And the mountain he remembers holds dangers he never would have imagined.
"This book will fire you up in all the right ways. Unless you're a gun-toting racist bully, then stay the hell away from it. You'll eat your sins on every page of this blood-soaked tale of eco-horror, family trauma, and transformation so bizarre you'll never see a forest the same way again. Now that I think about it, if you're into acts of bigotry you should definitely read Michael Tichy's debut novella: It's a warning that your time is coming."
--Charles Austin Muir, author of the Splatterpunk Award-nominated This Is a Horror Book
"Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock starts off as a slow dirge and explodes with a
vengeance into a psychedelic environmentalist kaiju story. Unexpected, lovingly crafted, and
alive with rich verdant detail."
-Joe Koch, author of The Wingspan of Severed Hands and Convulsive
"This book will fire you up in all the right ways. Unless you're a gun-toting racist bully, then stay the hell away from it. You'll eat your sins on every page of this blood-soaked tale of eco-horror, family trauma, and transformation so bizarre you'll never see a forest the same way again. Now that I think about it, if you're into acts of bigotry you should definitely read Michael Tichy's debut novella: It's a warning that your time is coming."
--Charles Austin Muir, author of the Splatterpunk Award-nominated This Is a Horror Book
"Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock starts off as a slow dirge and explodes with a
vengeance into a psychedelic environmentalist kaiju story. Unexpected, lovingly crafted, and
alive with rich verdant detail."
-Joe Koch, author of The Wingspan of Severed Hands and Convulsive
- GenresHorror
74 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2022
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 16, 2023
Morphs very believably from a portrait of grief from within a very difficult familial relationship into psychedelic splatter March of the Ents??? OK!
September 27, 2022
Behind every tree, beneath every rock by Michael Tichy.
I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this. It’s one of those books where you read one chapter and have to finish the rest very quickly. The story is too gripping to walk away and you can’t abandon it and return later. I read it twice because the first time was rushed, half panic and anxiety over what was happening, in a good way.
It’s crafted so smoothly, with genuine natural skill and that’s just the writing and quite beautiful prose.
As for the actual tale being told, wow. It’s unsettling for a number of reasons. It’s brutally honest and doesn’t hold back. It’s harrowing, raw, real somehow, compelling and almost hypnotic and it’s the kind of story that feels as if it could be true, or something close too.
Folklore and horror is hard to pull off. I’ve read plenty and some have been great, others less so. Yet this is on a whole new level. Folklore, horror, thriller, mystery. It manages to be all four things and more.
The book has Wicker Man vibes too. The plot isn’t similar at all but it gave me the same anxiety and chilling sensation when I read it. That creeping feeling that travels up your spine, when the hairs on your arms rise…that kind of disquiet fear.
The characters were very real too, complex like all people and their motivations made perfect sense.
You don’t forget the story either. You can’t. You find yourself thinking about it at odd times.
I read a lot and the vast majority I really enjoy, but the characters and plots often leave my brain the moment I finish a book. This sticks, it gets under your skin, which is actually quite appropriate.
If you want pure undiluted fear, with excitement too. Read this book. You will not regret it.
Michael Tichy has proven his worth a million times over with this dark, sinister and exceptional tale.
I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this. It’s one of those books where you read one chapter and have to finish the rest very quickly. The story is too gripping to walk away and you can’t abandon it and return later. I read it twice because the first time was rushed, half panic and anxiety over what was happening, in a good way.
It’s crafted so smoothly, with genuine natural skill and that’s just the writing and quite beautiful prose.
As for the actual tale being told, wow. It’s unsettling for a number of reasons. It’s brutally honest and doesn’t hold back. It’s harrowing, raw, real somehow, compelling and almost hypnotic and it’s the kind of story that feels as if it could be true, or something close too.
Folklore and horror is hard to pull off. I’ve read plenty and some have been great, others less so. Yet this is on a whole new level. Folklore, horror, thriller, mystery. It manages to be all four things and more.
The book has Wicker Man vibes too. The plot isn’t similar at all but it gave me the same anxiety and chilling sensation when I read it. That creeping feeling that travels up your spine, when the hairs on your arms rise…that kind of disquiet fear.
The characters were very real too, complex like all people and their motivations made perfect sense.
You don’t forget the story either. You can’t. You find yourself thinking about it at odd times.
I read a lot and the vast majority I really enjoy, but the characters and plots often leave my brain the moment I finish a book. This sticks, it gets under your skin, which is actually quite appropriate.
If you want pure undiluted fear, with excitement too. Read this book. You will not regret it.
Michael Tichy has proven his worth a million times over with this dark, sinister and exceptional tale.
April 2, 2024
Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock balances body horror and eco-revenge with the transcendental fusion of nature and humanity.
When chronically ill Alex returns to his family’s cabin to scatter his father’s ashes, he triggers an incendiary conflict with a meth-dealing hate cult leader - who was once a family friend. When Alex refuses to abandon his land, the mountain chooses him as its champion.
Tichy’s prose is intimate and meditative; he places us within a suffering body, simultaneously evoking claustrophobia and alienation, then lets us feel every purifying breath as the character is healed.
Given the genre of this book, it came as no surprise that the forest setting is depicted vividly - so vividly you almost feel like you’re part of it. Tichy’s human characters are no less richly-drawn; without over-revealing backstory, he conveys the existence of a terrible inner void with the potential to drive its hosts over the edge. Through comparisons between the emotionally troubled Alex, his traumatized veteran father, and the sadistic racist Ben, Tichy explores the line that separates flawed men from evil ones: “This man is nothing like their father, just a ghoul afflicted of the same disease. Explanation is not excuse.”
Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock is equal parts philosophical and visceral.
Another pleasant surprise was the mountain avenger’s penchant for corny action hero puns. This book truly has everything.
When chronically ill Alex returns to his family’s cabin to scatter his father’s ashes, he triggers an incendiary conflict with a meth-dealing hate cult leader - who was once a family friend. When Alex refuses to abandon his land, the mountain chooses him as its champion.
Tichy’s prose is intimate and meditative; he places us within a suffering body, simultaneously evoking claustrophobia and alienation, then lets us feel every purifying breath as the character is healed.
Given the genre of this book, it came as no surprise that the forest setting is depicted vividly - so vividly you almost feel like you’re part of it. Tichy’s human characters are no less richly-drawn; without over-revealing backstory, he conveys the existence of a terrible inner void with the potential to drive its hosts over the edge. Through comparisons between the emotionally troubled Alex, his traumatized veteran father, and the sadistic racist Ben, Tichy explores the line that separates flawed men from evil ones: “This man is nothing like their father, just a ghoul afflicted of the same disease. Explanation is not excuse.”
Behind Every Tree, Beneath Every Rock is equal parts philosophical and visceral.
Another pleasant surprise was the mountain avenger’s penchant for corny action hero puns. This book truly has everything.
September 30, 2022
Every scene is painted with aching care, and Tichy makes us feel every lash of pain and fear. Inventive and well-paced, BEHIND EVERY TREE is a stunning debut.
June 5, 2023
Excellent novella. I’d love more backstory about Alex’s life and this world. Very enjoyable read.
October 3, 2022
A great quick read with a very relateable protagonist (at least to me) and a supernatural element that appeals on a number of levels. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews