Horn: In the Belly of the Night

by Jonathan Wright

"I talked to a man who says you blew up a bar in Texas."

Miss July. Not your ordinary stalker. Who is she? She knows too much. Talks too much. Horn can't afford that. Not in his line of work. Can't afford the distraction she offers. Can't afford to trust her. Can't afford to love her.

Besides, he's got work to do. Ordinarily Horn wouldn't consider crossing over to the other side. It's suicide, with red flashing lights. But Fat Freddy, Booger, and Cruiser have disappeared, and there's no one else to stand up for them… no one cares when the victims are the disenfranchised. Someone has to avenge their deaths…

Someone has to keep Miss July safe, even if only from herself. But can he concentrate on the denizens of the netherworld, when the mystery woman calls to him with a need that could be his undoing?

77 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Jonathan Wright is a British journalist and literary translator. He studied Arabic, Turkish and Islamic civilization at St John's College, Oxford. He joined Reuters news agency in 1980 as a correspondent, and has been based in the Middle East for most of the last three decades. He has served as Reuters' Cairo bureau chief, and he has lived and worked throughout the region, including in Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Tunisia and the Gulf. From 1998 to 2003, he was based in Washington, DC, covering U.S. foreign policy for Reuters.
Wright came to literary translation comparatively late. His first major work of translation was Taxi, the celebrated book by Egyptian writer Khaled al-Khamissi. This was published by Aflame Books in 2008 and republished by Bloomsbury Qatar in 2012. Since then, he has translated several works including Azazeel and The State of Egypt.

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Belly of the Night is a story that is equally horrific and erotic. In fact, Mr. Wright does a very good job of interweaving the two genres. Although I’m not a fan of erotic BDSM stories, the inclusion of this element had a place in the storyline. Its protagonist, Joe Horn, is a man who has struggled with a horrible fear for over thirty years. He went to Vietnam a young, wet behind the ears recruit and encountered a foe that instilled a terror in him that set the tone for the rest of his life. Despite the fact that unknown supernatural forces has prevented him from aging, Horn has an old soul, tormented by the horrors he saw and continues to fight against. He lives on the streets, staying one step ahead of the dark things that escape from the other side of the veil between our world and twisted dimensions of malevolence. He is a fighter of these evil forces, leaving him with few options for a normal life. His sexually dominating tendencies act as a way for him to deal with this ever-present dread and the feeling that death is always waiting for him and others.
Although the horror is the major element, there is also a love story between Horn and a young, very beautiful reporter, Sarah. Horn knows that he shouldn’t go anywhere near her, but he cannot resist his attraction and feelings of love for Sarah.
Steamy scenes really heat up this short tale. The sexual interludes between Joe and a succubus who Joe has somehow made embolden to him, and eventually with Sarah, are well-written, showing Horn’s soul-deep fear and his struggle to stay in control of this fear, but also his very human, very male sexual desires. Joe is always the one who is the master, the dominant in these sexual interactions, meeting his needs for control. Fortuitously, he has found the perfect submissive in Sarah.
As an admirer of classic horror, I was very appreciative of the Lovecraftian elements in this story. The horrors that come from beyond that are ancient and terrible, and far beyond the everyday person’s comprehension abound in this tale. Yet, this story lacks the fatalism of standard Lovecraftian fare, because Horn is there to fight those monsters and to protect the innocent in any way that he can, and often at his own physical harm.
Written in a noirish and atmospherically dark, yet compelling fashion, but laced with welcome moments of humor, I found In the Belly of the Night to be a very engaging, enjoyable read. I hope to read more adventures of Horn by this talented author.

Reviewed for Bitten by Books

[JC Alpha Male]

I am the author. I will never get rich writing this stuff. But it's fun anyway...