Horror News: Adam Nevill's New Novel and Book Deal

Good news to be had for fans of supernatural horror. British author Adam Nevill (Banquet for the Damned, Apartment 16, The Ritual, and Last Days) has recently signed a new book deal with Pan McMillian. 

His next book, titled House of Small Shadows, is due to come out in May. Thanks to the Tor blog, I am able to share with you an initial blurb:

    Catherine’s last job ended badly. Corporate bullying at a top antiques publication saw her fired and forced to leave London, but she was determined to get her life back. A new job and now things look much brighter. Especially when a challenging new project presents itself – to catalogue the late M. H. Mason’s wildly eccentric cache of antique dolls and puppets.

    Rarest of all, she’ll get to examine his elaborate displays of posed, costumed and preserved animals, depicting bloody scenes from World War II.

    When Mason’s elderly niece invites her to stay at Red House itself, where she maintains the collection, Catherine can’t believe her luck. Until his niece exposes her to the dark message behind her uncle’s "art". Catherine tries to concentrate on the job, but M. H. Mason’s damaged visions raise dark shadows from her own past. Shadows she’d hoped therapy had finally erased. Soon the barriers between reality, sanity and memory start to merge. And some truths seem too terrible to be real...

I grew up with younger sisters, and I must say, I’ve always found dolls to be creepy. In Nevill’s capable hands I’m sure they will become terrifying. Also, the May publication date is for the UK version of the novel, so the US released will most likely be a few months later (all of my copies are for the UK editions – I simply couldn’t wait for the US release for any of them).

And the official press release:

Pan Macmillan acquires two new horror novels by British author Adam Nevill

Julie Crisp, Editorial Director at Pan Macmillan, has concluded a world rights deal for two further horror novels by British author Adam Nevill with agent John Jarrold. The deal also involves re-publication of Adam’s first novel, BANQUET FOR THE DAMNED, as a Pan paperback. The new books will be published in 2014 and 2015.

Adam Nevill’s novels APARTMENT 16, THE RITUAL and LAST DAYS have already been published by Pan Macmillan, with HOUSE OF SMALL SHADOWS due for publication in May 2013. THE RITUAL won best horror novel at this year’s British Fantasy Awards and the Guardian recently dubbed Adam ‘Britain’s answer to Stephen King.’

Julie Crisp said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled that on the perfect day for it – Halloween – we’ve acquired the next two books from Adam Nevill. We have a proud tradition of publishing horror at Pan Macmillan and Adam is a shining example of brilliant – and terrifying – British horror writing!’

Adam Nevill said: ‘I am thrilled about this opportunity to keep building a body of work with a terrific publisher, and one with such a significant legacy in the field of British horror fiction. On Halloween too. Perfect timing. In celebration, sacrifices will be made to strange gods.’

For further information, contact Chloe Healy at Pan Macmillan:

c.healy@macmillan.co.uk

00 44 20 7014 6186

@UKTor

I’ve read all of Mr. Nevill’s novels, and overall I was more than pleased, although they were not perfect. A Banquet for the Damned was mostly a solid debut novel, but there were times it dragged out and the main characters could have used a bit more work. However, it offers enough creepiness to make it worth reading, even if it is his weakest work. Apartment 16 suffered from some character flaws (the main female character wasn’t really developed at all) but overall offered an original, creepy tale of an apartment building where something is terribly wrong. There were truly several frightening moments throughout the novel. In The Ritual Nevill takes us to new territory, the Scandinavian wilderness, in a tale of two distinct halves. Nevill’s character work has greatly improved, and what begins as a creature feature becomes something much more. The second half is probably longer than it should be, but it could very well be his best book to date. His latest novel, Last Days, follows a small film crew as they make a documentary on a creepy cult that had met a bloody end. Of course, the bloody end was not really an end at all, and the horrors ensue.

Nevill is definitely a talented, young horror author. He also seems to improve with every novel he’s written, which makes me that much more eager for his next book. If you are a fan of supernatural horror, and you have not read any of his novels, then you are truly missing out.