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Stories of the mysterious and macabre from “Canada's answer to Stephen King” (Helen Marshall, author of Gifts for the One Who Comes After). In this follow-up to his award-winning debut collection, Monstrous Affections, David Nickle stretches the boundaries of horror into a sphere of “uncertainty, of helplessness, of traditions and change.... The stories are sui generis in presentation, veering from the discombobulating nightmare that is ‘Basements'to the squid-laden eco-satire ‘Wylde's Kingdom'to the sci-fi love of ‘Love Means Forever.'When it comes to this book, only two things are certain; the stories never travel where you expect, and David Nickle is a monumental talent” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). “Don't make the mistake of overlooking the talent based on preconceptions of what horror might be—read one of these stories and see if you aren't hooked.... Believe the hype. David Nickle is very good.” —The Globe and Mail “Anyone even vaguely interested in horror or weird fiction owes it to themselves to give David Nickle a look, and Knife Fight and Other Struggles is a great place to start.” —The Winnipeg Free Press “Knife Fight and Other Struggles is a remarkable collection that drops some hi-fidelity weirdness on the scene. Nickle's prose has gorgeous lines of symmetry and a steel spine.” —Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award–winning author “Dynamic imagination, masterful writing of both the everyday and the nightmare, characters that breathe, and a dark sense of humor make [Knife Fight and Other Struggles] a keeper.” —Jeffrey Ford, World Fantasy Award–winning author

From the award-winning “heir to the mantle of Stephen King”: A supernatural entity draws a woman into a terrifying nightmare (The National Post). Some little girls have imaginary friends. Ann LeSage had the Insect. A violent poltergeist that tore a murderous path through her family, it wasn't imaginary—and it definitely wasn't a friend. Now Ann is all grown up—and so is the Insect. And Ann's upcoming marriage to a mysterious young lawyer is about to open up a whole new world to both of them, rife with secrets and laced with traps. Soon, Ann will find herself in a perverse battle against a group of men who want to wrest control of the Insect from her. What they don't know is, if you play with the Insect, you're sure to get stung... “Few writers do psychosexual horror as well as Toronto's David Nickle, and with The'Geisters he's back with another tale of voluptuous terror and the supernatural.” —Toronto Star “This is a book that buzzes in your ears, climbs your crawling skin with multiple barbed feet, feeling with exquisitely sensitive antennae for the next new and terrible revelation.” —The National Post “[The'Geisters] doesn't just explore the attractiveness of terror—it embodies it in a narrative that demands (excites even as it repels) your attention. It's a(nother) strong novel by one of the best, most interesting horror writers working today.” —Bookgasm

“Rich characters and a love of unique twists top off a captivating and sometimes gruesome collection of nightmares” from the award-winning author of Volk (Corey Redekop, author of Husk). Winner of the Black Quill Reader's Choice Award, Monstrous Affections heralded the appearance of a thrilling new writer on the horror scene, praised by the National Post as “a worthy heir to the mantle of Stephen King.” David Nickle's debut collection features “13 terrifying tales of rural settings, complex and reticent characters and unexpected twists that question the fundamentals of reality. All are delivered with a certain grace, creating a sparse yet poetic tour of the horrors that exist just out of sight. Standout stories include ‘Janie and the Wind,'where a battered, abandoned woman does what she needs to survive; ‘Other People's Kids,'a disturbing examination of the razor-thin moment dividing childhood from maturity and the hand holding that razor; and ‘The Pit Heads,'a phenomenal story about the cold remnants of a Canadian mining town and the true cost of beauty. This ambitious collection firmly establishes Nickle as a writer to watch” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). “Brilliant... You'd think that you were reading a book full of what you had always expected a horror story to be, but Nickle takes a left turn and blindsides you with tales that are not of the norm, but are all the more horrific because of the surprise twists, darkness and raw emotion.” —January Magazine, “Best Books of 2009” “David Nickle writes'em damned weird and damned good and damned dark. He is bourbon-rough, poetic and vivid. Don't miss this one.” —Cory Doctorow, New York Times–bestselling author

“Part BioShock, part X-Files, part Sopranos—and 100%, uncut Nickle... a glorious, chaotic delight” from the Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Volk (Peter Watts, author of Blindsight). Post–Cold War, a group of Russians bred from childhood to be psychic spies are called from around the globe to achieve their true purpose: world domination. But some of them have flourished in the lives they have carved out for themselves—often in nefarious ways—and they will not give up their freedom without a fight, even as a new generation of telepathic children, the beautiful dreamers, are coming into power... In Rasputin's Bastards, David Nickle—the acclaimed author of Eutopia, Monstrous Affections, and Volk—offers readers “an enormous tale, bewilderingly complex, but with lots of twists and turns that reward close attention. It is grotesque, violent, and exciting, with a supernatural tinge that is his hallmark” (Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing). “This novel is supernatural eeriness at its best, with intriguing characters, no clear heroes, and a dark passion at its heart. Horror aficionados and fans of Stephen King's larger novels should appreciate this macabre look at the aftermath of the Cold War.” —Library Journal “Stiffly compelling. Once you're done, there's no question: the hours spent enfolded in Nickle's imagination are well spent. You won't ever feel the desire to ask for them back.” —January Magazine “A journey from the depths of the sea, the heart of Mother Russia, to the darkest corners of the soul.” —K. E. Bergdoll, The Crow's Caw

This debut horror novel by the author of acclaimed short story collection Monstrous Affections “establishes him as a worthy heir to the mantle of Stephen King” (National Post). Set in 1911, Eutopia “mixes utopian vision, rustic Americana, and pure creepiness.... Nickle blends Little House on the Prairie with distillates of Rosemary's Baby and The X-Files to create a chilling survival-of-the-fittest story” (Publishers Weekly). Situated on the edge of the woods and mountains of northern Idaho, the tiny settlement of Eliada is an industrialist's attempt to create heaven on earth. But its secrets are soon to be unveiled, as Jason Thistledown, the sole survivor of a mysterious plague in Montana, and Andrew Waggoner, a black doctor nearly lynched by the KKK, delve beneath the façade of the utopian mill town. What they discover is science warped by ideology—and an unearthly monster that preys on the faith of its own true believers... “A story of piano-wire suspense, grotesque horrors, and, above all, visceral insight into the race politics of American horror, and how they are bound up with the American project itself.” —Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing Praise for David Nickle “His stories are dark, wildly imaginative, and deeply compassionate—even when they're laced with righteous anger.” —Nathan Ballingrud, author of Wounds “David Nickle is Canada's answer to Stephen King. His writing charms even as it slices like a blade between the ribs: sharp, subtle, and never less than devastating.” —Helen Marshall, author of Gifts for the One Who Comes After

The sequel to Eutopia is “a nailbiter... that is spooky as hell, a critical and sharp demolition of Lovecraft's own romanticization of eugenics” (Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing). In Eutopia, an orphaned farm boy and a black physician came face to face with monsters both human—American eugenicists—and inhuman—a parasite called the Juke. Volk is “another dive into the horrific... a dazzling horror novel that's unafraid to ask questions and leave some of them unanswered” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). At the dawn of the twentieth century, Dr. Andrew Waggoner and Jason Thistledown made it out of the Idaho town of Eliada alive—but so did the Juke... Now, in 1931 Europe, there are those who seek to resurrect the philosophy of the founders of Eliada. Deep in the Bavarian mountains, research has begun on the creature whose seductive poison can be used in the Nazis'quest for a master race. Still struggling with the aftershocks of their encounters with the Juke, Dr. Waggoner has become the head of a secret society in Paris dedicated to the monster's destruction, while Thistledown is a veteran World War I pilot. Drawn back together to fight the evil that is brewing, they will be forced to confront the diabolical plans of those who will stop at nothing to reshape humanity—and the one being capable of destroying it completely... “The most intellectually provocative horror novel of the twenty-first century.” —Toronto Star “[Volk] cements David Nickle's reputation as one of the leaders of his generation of writers.” —John Langan, award-winning author of The Fisherman

The Bram Stoker Award–winning author “triumphantly returns to the world of Eutopia” in this “dazzling horror novel” of Nazis and demonic forces (Publishers Weekly, starred review). At the dawn of the twentieth century, orphaned farm boy Jason Thistledown and black physician Andrew Waggoner came face to face with monsters both human and inhuman. Alongside American eugenicists seeking to perfect the human race through breeding and culls, there was a parasitic entity named Juke that lived off people's hopes, dreams, and faith, as it consumed humanity from within. Now the year is 1931, and the past that haunts Andrew and Jason is about to bring them together again. Andrew, now living in Paris, continues his tireless work to destroy the elusive Juke. Jason, a veteran pilot of WWI, is embarking on a new career flying mail across North Africa, hoping to forget his encounter with it. But in a remote valley in the Bavarian Alps, Germanic students of those same American eugenicists are desperately trying to uncover the secret of the Juke... and the promise of the Übermensch.

Old vines and older grudges tangle in the Okanagan Valley. An elderly widow, eking out a living collecting detritus, seeks to avenge the murder of her friend. A love-weary security guard clashes with bounty hunters. An ursine meth-cooker faces even stranger creatures on the frozen tundra of Nunavut. As the dead walk and the living despair, a private detective unravels a bizarre mystery. In The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir, the whole spectrum of the noir esthetic is explored: from its hardboiled home in crime fiction to its grim forays into horror, fantasy, and surrealism; from the dystopian shadows it casts in science fiction to the mixture of desire and corruption it brings to erotica; from the blood-spattered romance of the frontier to the stark nihilism of literary realism.

A collection of genre-bending horror stories from the Bram Stoker Award–winning author is “sui generis in presentation... [by] a monumental talent” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). A young man at loose ends finds he cannot look away from his new lover's alien gaze. A young woman out of time seeks her old lover in the cold spaces between the stars. The fleeing worshippers of an ancient and jealous deity seek solace in an unsuspecting New World congregation. In a suburban nursery, a demon with a grudge and a lonely exorcist face off for what could be the last time. And when a knife-wielding big city mayor faces an unexpected challenger... it turns into a struggle that threatens to consume everything. In Knife Fight: And Other Struggles, David Nickle follows his award-winning debut collection Monstrous Affections with a new set of dark tales that stretch the limits of space, time, and genre.

A young woman's personal demon becomes a coveted poltergeist in this horror novel “full of powerful imagery” by the Bram Stoker Award–winning author (Publishers Weekly). When Ann LeSage was a little girl, she had an invisible friend—a poltergeist that spoke to her with flying knives and howling winds. She called it the Insect. Eventually, with some professional help, Ann learned to contain it. But the nightmare never truly ended. As Ann grew into young woman, the Insect grew with her. It became more than terrifying. It became a thing of murder. Now, as she embarks on a new life married to successful young lawyer, Michael Voors, Ann believes that she finally has the Insect completely under control. But there are others vying to take that control away from her. They may not know exactly what they're dealing with, but they know they want it. They are the'Geisters. And in pursuing their own perverse dream, they risk spawning the most terrible nightmare of all.

The year is 1911. In Cold Spring Harbour, New York, the newly formed Eugenics Records Office is sending its agents to catalogue the infirm, the insane, and the criminal—with an eye to a cull, for the betterment of all. Near Cracked Wheel, Montana, a terrible illness leaves Jason Thistledown an orphan, stranded in his dead mother's cabin until the spring thaw shows him the true meaning of devastation—and the barest thread of hope. At the edge of the utopian mill town of Eliada, Idaho, Doctor Andrew Waggoner faces a Klansman's noose and glimpses wonder in the twisting face of the patient known only as Mister Juke. And deep in a mountain lake overlooking that town, something stirs, and thinks, in its way: Things are looking up. Eutopia follows Jason and Andrew as together and alone, they delve into the secrets of Eliada—industrialist Garrison Harper's attempt to incubate a perfect community on the edge of the dark woods and mountains of northern Idaho. What they find reveals the true, terrible cost of perfection—the cruelty of the surgeon's knife—the folly of the cull—and a monstrous pact with beings that use perfection as a weapon, and faith as a trap.

They were the beautiful dreamers. From a hidden city deep in the Ural mountains, they walked the world as the coldest of Cold Warriors, under the command of the Kremlin and under the power of their own expansive minds. They slipped into the minds of Russia's enemies with diabolical ease, and drove their human puppets to murder, and worse. They moved as Gods. And as Gods, they might have remade the world. But like the mad holy man Rasputin, who destroyed Russia through his own powerful influence... in the end, the psychic spies for the Motherland were only in it for themselves. It is the 1990s. The Cold War is long finished. In a remote Labrador fishing village, an old woman known only as Babushka foresees her ending through the harbour ice, in the giant eye of a dying kraken–and vows to have none of it. Beaten insensible and cast adrift in a life raft, ex-KGB agent Alexei Kilodovich is dragged to the deck of a ship full of criminals, and with them he will embark on a journey that will change everything he knows about himself. And from a suite in an unseen hotel in the heart of Manhattan, an old warrior named Kolyokov sets out with an open heart, to gather together the youngest members of his immense, and immensely talented, family. They are more beautiful, and more terrible, than any who came before them. They are Rasputin's bastards. And they will remake the world.