Synopses & Reviews
In 1989, Gary Sheldon and his friends created their own saint.
In 2018, they discover it’s become a god.
Gary thought he’d escaped Kingston, Oregon, the town where his parents died and where, one tragic summer, he and a group of outcast teens turned to the supernatural to protect themselves from a deranged drug dealer. But when his wife lands her dream job as a high school principal, he is forced to return to his hometown.
As Gary reconnects with old friends and his son thrives on the football team, the past feels like a distant memory. But unsettling encounters and mutilated animals in the woods reveal that the Deer Saint is still at work. Now Gary must look into his past to find answers: Who is making sacrifices to the Deer Saint? And what do they want with his family?
Review
“A dark tapestry of occult mystery, small-town secrets, and mounting dread….This story will sink its claws in you from the first word.” Tim Waggoner, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author
Review
“The Deer Kings is a grand, gorgeous, and — at times — gory wonder.” Gordon B. White, author of As Summer’s Mask Slips and Other Disruptions and Rookfield
Review
“Deer saints, darkness and the strangeness of family ties; Wagner effortlessly mixes football and folk horror in this terrifying new novel.” Angela Slatter, award-winning author of The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings
About the Author
Wendy’s work ranges from horror fiction to nature writing, with essays, poems, and short stories in over 60 venues. Her horror novel The Deer Kings just launched August 2021 from JournalStone Books, and her third novel, An Oath of Dogs, a sci-fi thriller, was released 2017 from Angry Robot. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Nightmare Magazine and the Managing/Senior Editor of Lightspeed Magazine, and served as the Guest Editor of Queers Destroy Horror! She was also the Nonfiction Editor of both Women Destroy Science Fiction! and Women Destroy Fantasy!.