Gerard Houarner – författare

Once and now, a little girl who plays with ghosts and spirits is lost in the desert…No family, no friends, just memories of an old life in a world of cities and cars, and a head full of visions and dreams that don't belong in the world.She likes to tell stories.She stinks of camel.Once, she will say, "e;The scorpion was not always a creature of pain, just as each of us was not always what we have become."e;Many times, she wonders what she is worth to the living who sell her, buy and steal her, to the spirits and ghosts and djinn and ghuls she plays with, to the Caravan of the Dead she comes to belong to, to the dead who wake her and are awakened by her.Once and now, she wonders what others are willing to pay for her stories…

Max walks in two worlds. He resides in the borderland between the world of shadowy government conspiracy and the world of vengeful ghosts and evil gods, between living flesh and supernatural spirits – between life and death. For Max is the ultimate killer, an assassin powered by the Beast, an inner demon that enables him to kill – and to do it incredibly well.But the Beast inside Max is very real and very much alive. He is all of Max's dark desires, his murderous impulses, and he won't ever let Max forget that he exists. The Beast is Max. So it won't be easy for Max to silence the Beast, though he knows that is what he must do to reclaim his humanity. But without the protection of the Beast, Max the assassin will soon find himself the prey, the target of the spirits of his past victims.Also Included – a never before published Max novelette : Tree of Shadows – only available in this Crossroad Press digital edition.--Houarner's work is great, and I recommend you acquaint yourself with it – Fangoria--The raw power and depth of Houarner's imagination combine to give him the ability to truly transform the reader – Dark Echo--Houarner blends a compelling combination of elements from Clive Barker and Andrew Vacchs – Brian Hodge – Hellnotes.

Prolific horror author Houarner (The Oz Suite ) assembles a disturbing collection of 13 reprints and 12 originals. Most of the tales highlighting his twisted supernatural assassin, Max (featured in 2001's The Beast That Was Max ), are brief, but "e;Like Smoke Rising from the Burning Ghats"e; offers detailed descriptions of a young boy in Calcutta becoming something monstrous, and the novella "e;Dancing with the Skeletons at the Feast of the Dead"e; is almost symphonic in its depiction of brutality in a small Mexican village. The other stories are no less dark: in "e;Let Me Tell You a Story,"e; a babysitter manipulates her charges into committing acts of evil, while "e;The Shape"e; is a harsh tale of mental illness and abuse. The bleakness might turn off some readers, but fans of intense, psychology-driven horror and sharp writing will be more than satisfied.