In
celebration of James Herbert and his legacy of horror genre the James Herbert
estate and Pan Macmillan announced last year the inauguration of the James
Herbert Award, a yearly award aiming “to discover and publicise a new generation of
horror authors working today and celebrate the boldest and most exciting talent
in the genre.” The first shortlist of the James Herbert Award
has been announced last week, with the selected titles raging “from the darkly fantastical and
post-apocalyptic to desolate rural mysteries, gut-wrenching body horrors and
modern re-imaginings of classic Horror tropes, the six shortlisted titles
represent a darkly diverse journey across a genre that is as popular with
readers as it is disturbing in its imaginings.”
“The Girl with all the Gifts” by M.R. Carey (Orbit)
Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her 'our little
genius'.
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When
they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his
people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes
that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.
Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the
world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favourite
teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up.
Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.
“The Troop” by Nick
Cutter (Headline)
It begins like a campfire story: Five boys and a grownup went into the
woods...
It ends in madness and murder. And worse...
Once a year, scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the
Canadian wilderness for a three-day camping trip - a tradition as comforting
and reliable as a good ghost story and a roaring bonfire. But when an
unexpected intruder stumbles upon their campsite - shockingly thin,
disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry - Tim and the boys are exposed to
something far more frightening than any tale of terror. The human carrier of a
bioengineered nightmare. An inexplicable horror that spreads faster than fear.
A harrowing struggle for survival that will pit the troop against the elements,
the infected...and one another.
Part Lord of the Flies, part 28 Days Later - and all-consuming - this tightly written, edge-of-your-seat thriller
will take readers deep into the heart of darkness and close to the edge of
sanity.
“Cuckoo Song” by Frances
Hardinge (Macmillan)
When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very
wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents
whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember,
but the pages have been ripped out.
Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and
terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not
herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying
Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her
family - before it's too late . . .
Cuckoo Song is a darkly atmospheric novel from Frances Hardinge, winner of the
Branford Boase award.
“The Loney” by Andrew
Michael Hurley (Tartarus Press)
The
discovery of the remains of a young child during winter storms along the bleak
Lancashire coastline leads Smith back to the Saint Jude’s Church Easter pilgrimage
to The Loney in 1976. Not all of the locals are pleased to see the Catholic
party in the area, and some puzzling events occur. Smith and Hanny, the
youngest members of the party, become involved with a glamorous couple staying
at a nearby house with their young charge, the heavily pregnant Else. Prayers
are said for Hanny at the local shrine, but he also inadvertently becomes
involved in more troubling rites. Secrets are kept, and disclosed.
After
the pilgrimage, a miracle—of one kind or another—occurs. Smith feels he is the
only one to know the truth, and he must bear the burden of his knowledge, no
matter what the cost.
“Bird Box” by Josh
Malerman (Harper Voyager)
Most people ignored the outrageous reports on the news. But they became
too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the
street. Then the Internet died. The television and radio went silent. The
phones stopped ringing. And we couldn't look outside anymore.
Malorie raises the children the only way she can; indoors. The house is
quiet. The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed
over the windows. They are out there. She might let them in. The children sleep
in the bedroom across the hall. Soon she will have to wake them. Soon she will
have to blindfold them. Today they must leave the house. Today they will risk
everything.
“An English Ghost Story” by Kim Newman (Titan Books)
A dysfunctional British nuclear family seek a new life away from the big
city in the sleepy Somerset countryside. At first their new home, The Hollow,
seems to embrace them, creating a rare peace and harmony within the family. But
when the house turns on them, it seems to know just how to hurt them the most -
threatening to destroy them from the inside out.
A stand-alone novel from acclaimed author Kim Newman.
The winners will be announced on March and will
receive a cheque of £2000 and a specially designed commemorative statuette.
Congratulations and good luck to all the
nominees!
