Four spectacular authors answer the question of what would
happen if the dead could rise again... and what it will cost
those still alive to see the return.
FOUR SUMMONER'S TALES opens with Kelley Armstrong's "Suffer
the Children". The small village of Chestnut Hill has been
decimated by diphtheria, leaving many grieving over lost
children, husbands, wives, or other relatives. Two strangers
come to town and offer the villagers a bargain... but will
it
cost them everything in return? Kelley Armstrong excels at
character development and world building, even in the
novella format. The story alternates between the viewpoints
of a young girl named Addie and her caregiver, Preacher.
Addie's perspective offers readers a glimpse into the horror
that tragic losses can inflict on even the kindest of souls.
I think it is her perspective even more so than Preacher's
that makes this story so chilling. "Suffer the Children" is
a story that still leaves me with that eerie sense of
foreboding.
"Pipers" by Christopher Golden shows just how far a father
will go when he loses all that he loves. Set along the
United States/Mexican border, "Pipers" gives a new twist to
the concept of border violence. Christopher Golden is one of
my must-read authors and I don't want to say too much more
for fear of revealing the various twists in the story.
However, be forewarned that Zeke's inner anguish will break
your heart.
David Liss' "A Bad Season for Necromancy" features the most
unlikable of characters, Reginald January. Reginald is a con
artist but this time his con may come back to destroy him.
David Liss does a great job at making a seemingly unpleasant
character appear reasonable and yes, even worth cheering for
at times. David Liss combines the politics of the 1700s
with the societal trappings to craft an entertaining albeit
somewhat gruesome tale.
FOUR SUMMONER'S TALES concludes with "Alive Day" by Jonathan
Maberry. The story features Captain Joe Ledger from
Maberry's series but it isn't necessary to be familiar with
the books to appreciate this novella. Ledger's team, Echo
Team, has been sent to Afghanistan in a covert operation to
locate a missing team. What they find instead defies all
explanation. Readers who appreciate military tales mixed
with the supernatural will appreciate "Alive Day". Maberry
incorporates modern day bad guys such as the Taliban with
supernatural entities to craft a disturbing tale.
FOUR SUMMONER'S TALES is a glimpse into the horrors that
lurk within mankind. Armstrong, Golden, Liss, and Maberry
explore the darkness that lies in everyone when offered a
chance to restore the dead to life. Creepy, even a bit
disturbing but very well written!
Four terror-inducing novellas from acclaimed bestselling
authors Kelley Armstrong, David Liss, Christopher Golden,
and Jonathan Maberry beginning with the premise: “A stranger
comes to town, offering to raise the townsfolk’s dearly
departed from the dead—for a price.”
In Kelley Armstrong’s “Suffer the Children,” an acute
diphtheria outbreak kills most of the children in an
isolated village in nineteen-century Ontario. Then a
stranger arrives and offers to bring the children back to
life. He wants money, of course, an extravagant sum, but
more importantly, but for each child resurrected, one
villager must voluntarily offer his life...
In David Liss’s
“The Good-Natured Man,” a con man on the margins of
eighteenth-century British society discovers a book that
reveals the method for bringing the dead back to life. After
considering just how far he would go to avoid bringing his
violent father back, he realizes the real value of this
book. Instead of getting people to pay him to revive their
departed, he will get people to pay him not to...
In
“Pipers” by Christopher Golden, the Texas Border Volunteers
wage a private war against drug smuggling by Mexican cartels
in a modern-day South Texas town, complete with an
indestructible army of the risen dead...
In “Alive Day” by
Jonathan Maberry, a US Army sergeant must dive into the
underworld of modern-day Afghanistan to try and barter for
the release of his team, never dreaming of the horrors that
await him...
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