The Hollow Ones

by Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan

Overview

Dive into a heart-pounding thriller where a rookie FBI agent, Odessa Hardwicke, faces an inexplicable crime that shatters her world.

When forced to defend herself against her own partner, a decorated agent turned violent, Odessa is left reeling. Placed on desk leave, she grapples with haunting visions of a shadowy figure escaping her partner's body at death.

Questioning her sanity and future in the FBI, Odessa takes on a routine assignment in New York City, unraveling the belongings of a retired agent. Little does she know, this task will thrust her into a sinister mystery involving Hugo Blackwood, a man claiming centuries of existence. Is he a deranged lunatic or humanity's final defense against unspeakable evil?

From the creators of The Strain Trilogy, Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro and bestselling author Chuck Hogan, comes a chilling and original tale of suspense and literary horror. "The Hollow Ones" is a spellbinding narrative that will enthrall lovers of supernatural thrillers and suspenseful crime fiction alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538761755
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Guillermo del Toro was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1964. He is the director of the films Cronos, Mimic, The Devil's Backbone, Blade II, Hellboy, Hellboy II, Pacific Rim, and Pan's Labyrinth, which garnered enormous critical praise worldwide and won three Academy Awards, and The Shape of the Water, which won the 2018 Oscar Award for Best Picture.


Chuck Hogan is the author of several acclaimed novels, including Devils in Exile and Prince of Thieves, which won the 2005 Hammett Award, was named one of the ten best novels of the year by Stephen King, and was the basis of the motion picture The Town.

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE HOLLOW ONES:


"The central aesthetic decision — merging the classical horrors of Algernon Blackwood with a distinctly contemporary narrative — is both surprising and ultimately successful. The Hollow Ones is a swift, thoroughly imagined entertainment that looks back at the genre's past while hinting, in the final pages, of future installments to come. The possibilities are limitless."—Washington Post

"Fans of Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro — the co-writer with Chuck Hogan — will appreciate the focus on the monsters at the center of the tale. . . The book is a quick read, with propulsive action and just enough explication to keep readers interested. . . del Toro and Hogan ground the story in just enough reality to keep you turning the pages."—Associated Press

"A transporting, pageturning thriller that rips open a brand new universe, filling it with suspense. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan have a dark vision to share — and they've created quite a duo in Hugo Blackwood and Odessa Hardwicke, a Sherlockian partnership for the ages."—Brad Meltzer, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Escape Artist

"If one could combine the world-conjuring magic of C. S. Lewis with the dark energy of Thomas Harris, one would be at least part of the way to understanding what makes THE HOLLOW ONES so special. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan have yet another twisted masterpiece on their hands. An enduring new series combining horror, suspense, and fable."—Stephen Chbosky, NYT bestselling author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Imaginary Friend

"A welcome gift to disciples of Lovecraft-ian fiction. Odessa Hardewick is cast in the mold of Clarice Starling. . . Inventive and macabre."—Kirkus

"Fans of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Pendergast books will be enthralled."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2020-03-30
A rookie FBI agent stumbles into a supernatural mystery when a series of murders erupts in New York, starting with her partner.

Hogan and del Toro have an exceptional track record with supernatural thrillers—see The Strain Trilogy (2009-2011)—so this new series starring a novice FBI agent and a classic occult detective is a welcome gift to disciples of Lovecraft-ian fiction. Odessa Hardwicke is cast in the mold of Clarice Starling, a tough but self-doubting FBI agent still finding her way. She and her jaded partner, Walt Leppo, are first on the scene when a disgraced politician slays his wife and children. In the midst of this gruesome scene, Leppo unexpectedly and abruptly stabs the surviving child, forcing Odessa to shoot him dead, glimpsing a weird specter departing as he breathes his last. The narrative then jumps from the modern day to the Mississippi Delta circa 1962, where African American FBI agent Earl Solomon is on the trail of someone lynching white victims. Intertwined between these storylines is the origin story of our other primary character, John Blackwood, a seemingly immortal investigator modeled after Algernon Blackwood’s John Silence. These disparate threads converge as Odessa, unjustly exiled from the FBI, connects with a dying Solomon, who gives her insight into his odd fellowship with Blackwood. After Odessa delivers an appeal to a cryptic mailbox in Manhattan, Blackwood suddenly materializes, a gaunt, erudite, and awkward consort cursed to chase down a specific breed of evil in this world. The body count rises with a massacre on Long Island while Blackwood teaches Odessa about a twisted cult dating back to Mesopotamian times that affords a select few souls, the titular Hollow Ones, the ability to jump between bodies and find ecstasy in their host’s violent death. Readers of occult fiction from Poe to Richard Kadrey will instantly recognize the creepy vibes and likely enjoy the ride.

An inventive and macabre new spin on malevolent body snatchers.

Kirkus Reviews