Moonless Nocturne: Tales of Dark Fantasy & Horror Noir

by Hank Schwaeble

Overview

A riveting collection of short stories from Bram Stoker Award-winner Hank Schwaeble that range from classic noir with a supernatural twist to futuristic techno-horror—and running the nightmarish gamut of everything in between—this chilling set of ten tales offers an exquisite and impressive showcase of the author's talents that are sure to entertain and intrigue readers of all stripes. With an Introduction by the iconic F. Paul Wilson, Moonless Nocturne is a gourmet platter of both red meat and rare delicacies not only for aficionados of horror, mystery, thrillers, and suspense, but any connoisseurs of fantastic fiction.

Inventive and original, this collection has already been optioned for TV/film by Lonetree Entertainment and is certain to appeal to fans of King, Barker, Matheson and Jackson.

It's not the dark that should scare you, it's all the things that lurk there...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781953134455
Publisher:	25 & Y Publishing
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.85(d)

Editorial Reviews

2022-12-13
A collection offers chilling stories by a Bram Stoker Award–winning horror author.

The 10 tales in Schwaeble’s evocative volume draw from the sinister nature of situations and how that darkness influences the characters closest to them. In his introduction, the author writes of his interest in the “slow-burn kind of fright, the kind that is often scary in retrospect more than in the reading,” and this is evident right from the opening yarn, “The Yearning Jade.” This Chicago-set noir stars private detective Milo Chance, who is hired by a shadowy woman to find a highly coveted, mystical, but gravely cursed artifact. The author masterfully combines the supernatural with the psychological in “Household,” a haunted house tale narrated from a distinctly unique perspective, as the property itself details the melodrama of the residents living inside it and its manipulative puppeteering role. The disturbingly dystopian yet intellectually titillating “Everything not Forbidden” contains creative, futuristic worldbuilding. The tale paints a horrific backdrop where an artificial intelligence company’s version of “supreme consciousness” is being developed to perfect humankind. Two of the most effective stories are quite short: “Shifty Devil Blues” is a take on the Faustian bargain complete with a dirty demon and a clever customer who hopes to outsmart him; “Payday” involves two young boys, a gigantic plant, and a slimy creature in a forest that becomes the perfect vehicle for repeated revenge. The impressive titular novella is the collection’s lengthiest tale, offering a supernatural mystery set at the dawn of the space age. The story features a hard-boiled private eye, a murder, and a cameo by Carl Sagan, boasting about a (fact-based) project to detonate a bomb on the moon. This versatile volume encompasses a wide swath of time periods, atmospheres, and settings while remaining true to the suspense/horror form. One entry, “Deepest, Darkest,” introduces readers to Jake Hatcher, the special military operative and combat veteran who headlines Schwaeble’s long-running noir/supernatural thriller series. This twisty action-adventure story is set in Africa, much like the cinematic closing tale, “Zafari,” in which a community of hungry zombies is the target of a rowdy troupe of heavily armed hunters. Strong writing, imaginative themes, and a gifted, gloomy sense of what frightens readers most permeates this assortment of dark fantasy, noir mystery, SF, horror, and suspense stories.

A devilishly tempting, contemplative volume of haunting tales.

Kirkus Reviews