Synopses & Reviews
William Sleator, a master of science fiction, has turned to horror, creating a novel with the creepiness of a genre classic and the mind-twists of his best-selling House of Stairs.I'm lying in some kind of box, and I'm paralyzed, I can't move an arm, a leg, a finger. I have no voice, because my breathing is so shallow it's like I'm hardly aware of breathing at all. I feel very cold. My temperature is so far below normal that if I weren't paralyzed I'd be shivering uncontrollably. I have the disgusting sensation that bugs are crawling under my skin, but I can't move to scratch.
And then everything goes black when they fit a cover onto the box. Now I understand: They think I'm dead, and they're burying me in a coffin. I try to scream, to bang on the lid of the coffin as I hear the nails being pounded in, the coffin shaking with each slam of the hammer. But I can't move; I can't make a sound. They really think I'm dead! And now they're lowering the coffin into the ground. In a moment something heavy and porous falls down on top of the coffin. Earth. They're burying me alive. I'm doing everything in my power to scream and bang but I can't move and I can't make a sound.
, from The Boy Who Couldn't Die
William Sleator [is]...one of my favorite young-adult writers., R. L. Stine, author of the Fear Street series
When his best friend is killed in a plane crash, Ken makes a decision: He will never die. As the only child of rich, indulgent parents, Ken is used to getting his way, and this time is no different. He finds a woman who claims she can make him invulnerable to pain and death for the unbelievably cheap priceof fifty dollars. And her strange ritual works. Ken can't be burned, beaten up, or even bitten by the sharks he dives amongst on his spring break in the Caribbean.
Ken can't die, but he can kill. As long as he's awake, he feels in complete control of his life. But at night the dreams take over, dreams of digging up graves, of knifing perfect strangers...then of trying to murder someone he loves. And no one can stop him, not even himself.
Synopsis
DESCRIPTIONSixteen-year-old Ken lost his best friend in a plane crash and now he wants to be invulnerable--to accident, attack...and death. He finds a psychic who claims she can make him immortal for $50--if he will give up his soul. He agrees, and finds himself able to withstand muggers, a school bully, even a car crash. But one night he wakes from dreams of killing with blood-spattered clothes, and he realizes that the psychic may be exacting a more sinister payment.
Synopsis
Isaac is the new kid in town. His mother, Vera, is in the hospital with a mysterious illness, and the only person left to care for Isaac is his distant grandfather. Friendless and often alone, Isaac loses himself in his collection of optical illusions, including a strange mirror box that he finds in his new house, left behind by the previous tenants. Designed for amputees, it creates the illusion of a second limb.
Lonely Isaac wishes someone would reach out to him, and then someone does—a phantom limb within the mirror box! It signs to Isaac about a growing danger: someone who has murdered before and is out to get Vera next. The only way Isaac can solve the mystery and save his mother is with the help of the mirror box. But can he trust the phantom limb?
About the Author
William Sleator has thrilled readers for many years with his inventive books that blend real science with stories that explore our darkest fears and wishes. Critics call his writing “clever and engrossing” (Booklist) and “gleefully icky” (Publishers Weekly). He divides his time between homes in Boston and Thailand.