On the Hierophant Road

by James Chambers

Overview

Far ahead down this strange and winding road await fourteen visions of alternate realities. Worlds of the distant past and the far future. Worlds where people forget they possess the power to fly, where artists' creations overtake their creators, and where the bond of human and machine defines existence. Worlds where magic changed history, reality runs fluid, and planets imprison terrible secrets. Worlds within worlds where technology makes people into ghosts who possess bodies, where refugees from another dimension shatter everyday life, and where answers to the mysteries of existence lie on the far side of an all-encompassing darkness.

From a forgotten sitcom about walruses to the truth behind an interplanetary war, from the steampunk streets of New Alexandria to an enigmatic flood world where people surrender themselves to things that live beneath the water, each of these stories marks a single stop....on the Hierophant Road. Featuring the all-new novella, "Long the Night and Low the Flame."

"Chambers enthralls with this disquieting and eclectic collection of bizarro tales which span the galaxy, the ages, and the human psyche, On the Hierophant Road reasserting his role as a veritable master of new pulp."

-Lee Murray, two-time Bram Stoker Award(R)-Winner and author of Grotesque: Monster Stories

"...the work really sings when its weirdness is married to narrative tropes readers know well. Readers searching for something unexpected will find a lot to admire in this ambitious, inventive collection." -Library Journal

"These tales are united by their slightly askew proximity to reality with just enough detail to immerse readers in the well-built worlds and sympathetic protagonists, both of which drive each story. All are satisfyingly unsettling, with tones ranging from existential terror to an uneasy sense of awe. For fans of the new breed of dark-speculative-fiction writers who actively play with genre confines to create reads that are inventive, thought-provoking, and creepily fun..." -Publishers Weekly starred review, Becky Spratford

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947879379
Publisher:	Raw Dog Screaming Press
Publication date:	10/14/2021
Pages:	234
Sales rank:	1,088,010
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

Editorial Reviews

09/20/2021

Chambers (The Dead in Their Masses) delivers an uneven collection of 14 speculative tales, some of which expertly execute original ideas while others fizzle out. Recurring motifs include individuals returning to fantastical places of their youths and families navigating mythical or supernatural circumstances. The opening tale, “The Price of Faces,” is the collection’s strongest, a masterwork of science fiction and body horror that explores the ramifications of altered identity. “Brides of Fire,” in which a maiden is pressured to be married before she becomes a sacrificial bride to a volcano, also stands out, expertly weaving character development, atmosphere, and supernatural elements. On the other hand, “The Flying Rock,” about a man who takes his children to a forest where they encounter “butterfly-ladies,” and “The Kind Old Fellow,” about a saintly elderly homeless man accused of murder, both become lost in expository worldbuilding and melodramatic dialogue. And the humor of “He Who Burns,” about a man trapped in a warehouse with a dragonlike salamander, will have readers either laughing out loud or rolling their eyes. Despite these weak links, there’s plenty here for speculative fiction fans to enjoy. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

07/23/2021

Chambers's (The Dead in Their Masses) new collection of stories (blending science fiction, horror, folklore, myth, and magic) proposes that there are places beyond the world we know: places where humans can fly, where having a singular body is condemnable, where comic book characters plot to overthrow their creators. Chambers hands readers a map to these unknowable worlds and points the way into the shadows; he is a capable guide. There's confident worldbuilding throughout, even in the collection's shorter tales, and Chambers nails the many narrative styles deployed in the stories; the work really sings when its weirdness is married to narrative tropes readers know well. The collection is at its best in stories like "Meet the Tuskersons," a strange "whatever happened to…?" story about the only human star of an all-walrus family sitcom, and "He Who Burns," a bit of crime fiction that pits a grizzled alchemist against a fire elemental where cleverness—not magic—saves the day. VERDICT Readers searching for something unexpected will find a lot to admire in this ambitious, inventive collection.—Cody Daigle-Orians, Hartford, CT

Library Journal