{"product_id":"9780765392718","title":"Hammers on Bone","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eHammers on Bone\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Cassandra Khaw\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCassandra Khaw bursts onto the scene with \u003ci\u003eHammers on Bone\u003c\/i\u003e, a hard-boiled horror show that Charles Stross calls \"possibly the most promising horror debut of 2016.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eA finalist for the British Fantasy award and the Locus Award for Best Novella!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Persons is a private investigator with a distasteful job from an unlikely client. He’s been hired by a ten-year-old to kill the kid’s stepdad, McKinsey. The man in question is abusive, abrasive, and abominable. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe’s also a monster, which makes Persons the perfect thing to hunt him. Over the course of his ancient, arcane existence, he’s hunted gods and demons, and broken them in his teeth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Persons investigates the horrible McKinsey, he realizes that he carries something far darker. He’s infected with an alien presence, and he’s spreading that monstrosity far and wide. Luckily Persons is no stranger to the occult, being an ancient and magical intelligence himself. The question is whether the private dick can take down the abusive stepdad without releasing the holds on his own horrifying potential.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Cassandra Khaw's explosive, evocative prose is a treat to read. Khaw's ability to transform the mundane into the deeply phantasmagorical is nothing short of magical. Prepare to take a long leap into the gory, the weird, and the fantastic in the hands of a fresh new voice in fiction.\" —Kameron Hurley, Hugo Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eMirror Empire\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Geek Feminist Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Khaw brilliantly combines the self-aware, on-point tone of their gumshoe narrator with the invasive rhythm of the language of pulsing terrors. The drearily everyday is infused with Lovecraftian dread in a marvelously horrifying, tightly built novella that spins a satisfying tale while doing honor to both of its core sources.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, \u003c\/i\u003estarred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A glorious fusion of the classic noir detective thriller with Lovecraftian horror, like the squamous tentacular lovechild of Raymond Chandler and H. P. Lovecraft hatching from a five-dimensional egg to slouch down these dark streets in search of human minds to flay. Seriously? Possibly the most promising horror debut of 2016, a suitable light in these dark times.\" —Charles Stross\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eHammers on Bone\u003c\/i\u003e is sly and amusing and sharp and I wound up digging the hell out of it.\" —Scott Lynch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Khaw has a definite flair for the grotesque.\" —\u003ci\u003eRT\u003c\/i\u003e Book Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[An] incredible novella... Hammers on Bone transcends its genre – thanks in no small part to its private-investigatorand-monster protagonist and its very London setting – to become a timeless (and disturbing) parable about monsters.\" —\u003ci\u003eLocus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Khaw paints a bleak yet potent alternate reality in which monsters—friend or foe—are devastatingly real. Persons strikes a perfect antihero stance that is emotionally fragile despite his supernatural power. \u003ci\u003eHammers on Bone\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant blend of two venerable genres as well as a deeply affecting tale on its own.\" —Shelf Awareness, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eHammers on Bone\u003c\/i\u003e is an easy read on a hard subject.\" —BleedingCool\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Khaw mixes noir tropes straight out of a Dashiell Hammett novel with lush, atmospheric horror making for a vibrant, visceral read.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe B\u0026amp;N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sizzling prose over a steamy noir beat with horrific monstrosities throughout. A helluva read.\" —Daniel José Older, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eShadowshaper \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMidnight Taxi Tango\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Hammers on Bone\u003c\/i\u003e is a delectable surprise, a discomfiting nightmare in novella shape, its eyes looking back at you to ask: who are the real monsters, little reader?\" —Book Smugglers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Absolutely fantastic monsters-meet-gritty-noir story.\" —Mike Laidlaw, creative director for Dragon Age\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Atmospheric Lovecraftian noir with a really tremendous eye for detail… If you like Dashiel Hammett and Lovecraft, this is a very effective blend.” —Aliette de Bodard, Nebula Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe House of Shattered Wings\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This is jolly good. You really ought to read this.\" —Jonathan L. Howard, author of the Johannes Cabal and Carter \u0026amp; Lovecraft series\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"So hardboiled you could crack demon heads with it, this twisting and turning Lovecraftian PI mystery is a delight. Cassandra Khaw — fast becoming one of the hottest names in fantasy fiction — has a light, assured touch and an inimitable style. I’ll read anything they write.\" —Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eA Man Lies Dreaming\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Violent Century\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cassandra Khaw blows the dust off Lovecraft's prose to resurrect the Elder Gods in a white-hot, eyeball-popping adventure.\" —Ferrett Steinmetz, author of \u003ci\u003eFlex\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Khaw is one of the most exciting writers I've seen emerge in the past two years. [\u003ci\u003eHammers on Bone\u003c\/i\u003e] is Lovecraftian in all the best ways.\" —Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of \u003ci\u003eCertain Dark Things\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"One hell of a delicious, hardbitten, unflinching experience.\" —Alyssa Wong, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author of \"Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShort-listed Locus Awards - Nominee (2017)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780765392718\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Tordotcom","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40627997999310,"sku":"9780765392718","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_957825c2-24bc-4205-8697-e32b5ca83916.jpg?v=1638753912","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780765392718","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}