Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In her first new book in seven years, Tananarive Due further cements her status as a leading innovator in Black horror and Afrofuturism
"Due masterfully maintains suspense all the while delineating her characters with a psychological realism that makes the unbelievable credible."
--Washington Post Book World
"Tananarive Due's characters quietly move into your heart and take up residence. You love them, you fear for them, and they scare you half to death."
--Nalo Hopkinson, author of Skin Folk
"An eerie epic . . . I loved this novel." --Stephen King on My Soul to Keep
American Book Award-winning author Tananarive Due's second collection of stories ranges from horror to science fiction to suspense. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.
In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, or other universal struggles set against the supernatural or surreal. All of them are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deep characterization. In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.
Synopsis
In her first new book in seven years, Tananarive Due further cements her status as a leading innovator in Black horror and Afrofuturism
"I make no secret of the fact that I am both a lover of short fiction as well as a huge Tananarive Due fan. Her writing never fails to remind me that some of the most deliciously twisted imaginations in literature are possessed by some of the sweetest humans on the planet."
--LeVar Burton
"These stories are absolute gold . . . Reading Tananarive Due is like putting your hand on a power cable carrying high voltage; her fiction hums with an electrifying mix of joy and violence. She's a virtuoso of genre and an oldschool scholar of suspense, and every new book is a cause for excitement."
--Joe Hill, author of The Black Phone
"I enjoy reading the kind of novel that seduces me right into it and makes me forget about work or sleep.
My Soul to Keep does that beautifully."
--Octavia E. Butler, author of
Kindred American Book Award-winning author Tananarive Due's second collection of stories includes offerings of horror, science fiction, and suspense--all genres she wields masterfully. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.
In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, each set against the supernatural or surreal. All are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deeply drawn characters.
In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.
Synopsis
In her first new book in seven years, Tananarive Due further cements her status as a leading innovator in Black horror and Afrofuturism
"Holy hell: These 14 stories from author and film historian Due might scare even the most dauntless horror fans to death. These tales of fright are both intellectually keen and psychologically bloodcurdling, no surprise from an award-winning writer whose command of the Black horror aesthetic rivals Jordan Peele's in originality and sheer bravado . . . The hairbreadth between acute tragedy and the blackest of humor are child's play for the author in 'Haint in the Window, ' which masterfully nods to Octavia E. Butler in the story of a bookseller facing elements out of his control. The five tales in The Gracetown Stories give a sense of Stephen King's fictional Derry or Jerusalem's Lot . . . A patchwork of stories that somehow manages to be both graceful and alarming, putting fresh eyes to the unspeakable."
--
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
"In these 14 powerhouse stories, Due probes history, the grim present moment, and not so far-flung futures, delivering an expansive collection that still hits close to home . . . There are no false notes; every piece is a study in tension, showcasing Due's mastery at balancing action, suspense, and emotion. Centering Black characters and often Black experiences, this is a standout in both Black horror and the genre more broadly."
--Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"I make no secret of the fact that I am both a lover of short fiction as well as a huge Tananarive Due fan. Her writing never fails to remind me that some of the most deliciously twisted imaginations in literature are possessed by some of the sweetest humans on the planet."
--LeVar Burton
"These stories are absolute gold . . . Reading Tananarive Due is like putting your hand on a power cable carrying high voltage; her fiction hums with an electrifying mix of joy and violence. She's a virtuoso of genre and an oldschool scholar of suspense, and every new book is a cause for excitement."
--Joe Hill, author of The Black Phone
"I enjoy reading the kind of novel that seduces me right into it and makes me forget about work or sleep.
My Soul to Keep does that beautifully."
--Octavia E. Butler, author of
Kindred American Book Award-winning author Tananarive Due's second collection of stories includes offerings of horror, science fiction, and suspense--all genres she wields masterfully. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.
In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, each set against the supernatural or surreal. All are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deeply drawn characters.
In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.
Synopsis
In her first new book in seven years, Tananarive Due further cements her status as a leading innovator in Black horror and Afrofuturism
"Tananarive Due is the master of Black horror, even teaching a class where Jordan Peele guest-lectured. So her new collection,
The Wishing Pool, out in mid-April, is a major treat, full of major scares. Due excels at twist endings but also brilliantly creates an atmosphere of creeping dread in which you know something terrible is coming.
The Wishing Pool is helpfully divided into four sections, and each feels like a movement in a symphony. There are classic tales of horror, then a series of stories set in a Florida town where the swamp tends to swallow people up; the final two sections shift to science fiction about post-apocalyptic futures. (These last sections include pandemic stories, written before 2020, which hit harder now.) Due shows just how much territory she can cover in one short book and just how versatile terrifying tales can be."
--
Washington PostAmerican Book Award-winning author Tananarive Due's second collection of stories includes offerings of horror, science fiction, and suspense--all genres she wields masterfully. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.
In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, each set against the supernatural or surreal. All are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deeply drawn characters.
In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.
Synopsis
"In these fourteen powerhouse stories, Due probes history, the grim present moment, and not so far-flung futures, delivering an expansive collection that still hits close to home . . . There are no false notes; every piece is a study in tension, showcasing Due's mastery at balancing action, suspense, and emotion. Centering Black characters and often Black experiences, this is a standout in both Black horror and the genre more broadly." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"
"The Wishing Pool is a master class in horror fiction and sci-fi written by one of the very best in the genre."--NPR's Weekend Edition, included in Joe Hill's book recommendations: "The best spooky reads for summer, according to a horror writer"
AMERICAN BOOK AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR TANANARIVE DUE's second collection of stories includes offerings of horror, science fiction, and suspense--all genres she wields masterfully. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.
In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, each set against the supernatural or surreal. All are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deeply drawn characters.
In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.
Synopsis
AMERICAN BOOK AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR TANANARIVE DUE's second collection of stories includes offerings of horror, science fiction, and suspense--all genres she wields masterfully. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.
In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, each set against the supernatural or surreal. All are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deeply drawn characters.
In addition to previously published work, this collection contains brand-new stories, including "Rumpus Room," a supernatural horror novelette set in Florida about a woman's struggle against both outer and inner demons.