Summary
Summary
Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts. The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells's most brilliant and horrible creation. The Dark Game. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
Author Notes
Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows "the best horror novel of 2012." The Library Journal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin, "reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Peter Straub's Ghost Story " Since then Jonathan's work has been lauded by writers like Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Tim Waggoner, Bryan Smith, and Ronald Kelly. Novels like The Nightmare Girl , Wolf Land , Savage Species , and Dust Devils prompted Thunderstorm Books to sign Jonathan to an eleven-book deal and to give him his own imprint, Jonathan Janz's Shadow Side. His novel Children of the Dark received a starred review in Booklist and was chosen by their board as one of the Top Ten Horror Books of the Year (August 2015-September 2016). Children of the Dark will soon be translated into German and has been championed by the Library Journal, the School Library Journal , and Cemetery Dance . In early 2017, his novel Exorcist Falls was released to critical acclaim. Jonathan's primary interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children, and though he realizes that every author's wife and children are wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to be true. You can learn more about Janz at www.jonathanjanz.com .
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A promising premise-fictional characters inspired by indiscretions in their authors' pasts coming to life and preying on their creators-is undermined by the meandering pace of this horror novel's events. World-renowned author Roderick Wells has invited 10 writers to his Indiana mansion to participate in a six-week contest from which (he promises) only one will emerge "the next Legendary Author." When he autocratically demands that they all write horror stories ("Everything begins with horror," he proclaims), the authors begin channeling emotions aroused by "terrible secrets" from their pasts-betrayals, derelictions, even murders-into characters who acquire enough physical substance to begin picking them off in and-then-there-were-none fashion. It eventually becomes clear that the participants were chosen for their secrets as much as for their writing prowess, but not until readers endure chapter upon chapter of the writers flagellating themselves for their psychic wounds. A pyrotechnic finale that reveals the true reason for Wells's contest shows a vitality and focus unfortunately lacking from earlier chapters. Janz (The Sorrows) fails to make this anything more than a clever idea. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In his latest pulp horror gem, Janz (The Siren and the Specter, 2018) channels early Stephen King to twist the story of a secluded writers' retreat into something unique and thought-provoking. Bestselling author Roderick Wells hosts a contest for 10 aspiring writers; only one will emerge to a life of fame and fortune. The catch: the authors can have no contact with the outside world and can't tell a soul where they are going. The characters rule this story. The unease with the situation, their guilt over past transgressions, and their ruthless desire to eliminate the competition relentlessly and violently build the tension. Along the way, Janz introduces supernatural monsters, but with a brilliant literary twist, bringing the horror to a climax that will have readers worried about all of the books they read for years to come. This novel is a treat for horror fans, yes, but it will have wider appeal as it manages to both scare and comment on the joy of reading. Many will be drawn into this fast-paced thriller, readers who love the pulp horror of Brian Keene, the dark twists of Sarah Pinborough, or the terrifying and emotional storytelling of Paul Tremblay.--Becky Spratford Copyright 2019 Booklist