Gothic, by Philip Fracassi (ebook)

"Nobody is safe in a Fracassi story." - Laird Barron

About the Book:

On his 59^th birthday, Tyson Parks—a famous, but struggling, horror writer—receives an antique desk from his partner, Sarah, in the hopes it will rekindle his creative juices. Perhaps inspire him to write another best-selling novel and prove his best years aren’t behind him.

A continent away, a mysterious woman makes inquiries with her sources around the world, seeking the whereabouts of a certain artifact her family has been hunting for centuries. With the help of a New York City private detective, she finally finds what she’s been looking for.

It’s in the home of Tyson Parks.

Meanwhile, as Tyson begins to use his new desk, he begins acting... strange. Violent. His writing more disturbing than anything he’s done before. But publishers are paying top dollar, convinced his new work will be a hit, and Tyson will do whatever it takes to protect his newfound success. Even if it means the destruction of the ones he loves.

Even if it means his own sanity.

"Not since The Shining has the descent of a writer into madness been so masterfully rendered on the page.” – Ross Jeffery, Bram Stoker-nominated author of Tome

“A high creep factor chiller with a sinister edge that had me reading well past my bedtime. Frightening and fun, and deliciously original!" — James A Moore, author of the Blood Red trilogy and Cherry Hill.

"Fracassi, coming off a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his horror short-story collection Beneath a Pale Sky, is on a roll. A violent and original entry into both the cursed-object and writer-descending-into-madness tropes, with palpable fear leaping off the page, similar to The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones and Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt." - Library Journal

"Deeply steeped in the genre, Gothic invites comparisons to the works of Stephen King, particularly to and CHRISTINE. But Fracassi's style is more than strong enough to stand on its own. He writes with a gruesome sense of humor and a willingness to explore dark themes that horror lovers will appreciate." - Aurealis Magazine

"Philip Fracassi‘s Gothic is a deliciously dark play on the mad writer trope, fit to burst with jump scares, body horror, and gore galore. Gothic is a satisfyingly dark read, weaving together well-worn tropes, character archetypes, and gory goings-on into an original story that hits plenty of horror high notes... once it gets going, it’s a wonderfully twisted novel, marking Fracassi as an exciting voice in the genre." - The AU Review

"In Philip Fracassi's latest, he perfectly captures the feeling of slow, creeping dread, causing a sick fascination with seeing how everything plays out. Gothic's twisted events and false-summit conclusion will keep readers glued to their seats in anticipation of what lies ahead." - Booklist

"As pulpy as it is subversive, as epic as it is intimate, Philip Fracassi's GOTHIC is a Pandora's box (or desk) jam-packed with ghoulish delights. Somehow, Fracassi has given us a fully contemporary, unpredictable novel that also feels like the Paperback from Hell I was always looking for in the used stacks." - Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings

“Philip Fracassi’s Gothic rides the bloody razor line between pulp and literary horror. Relentless, brutal, with memorably vivid scenes of sheer, shocking terror; it’s a throwback 80s horror boom novel in the best possible way.” - Matthew M. Bartlett, author of Gateways to Abomination and Where Night Cowers

“Fracassi takes the familiar traps—love, obsession, power—and gives them new teeth. It’s dark fun twisted tightly around a story of human frailty...He’s doing for the desk what King did for the car.” – Jeff Terry, THE JEFF WORD

"Fracassi's page-turning thriller offers unapologetic horror raised to the next level with strong characterization, great pacing, and visceral details that ensure we experience unspeakable dread alongside the book's protagonist. I think I went a little insane while reading it." --Norman Prentiss, author of Haunted Attractions with your Other Father and The Apocalypse-a-Day Desk Calendar

"Stylish, atmospheric, and chilling, GOTHIC is an affectionate ode to the horror greats, and an effective reminder that Philip Fracassi is destined to become one of them. One of my favorite reads of the year so far."- Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Kin and Sour Candy

""GOTHIC is the literary equivalent of the abyss gazing right back at you from the hellish depths of its pages. Don't lean in too close, lest you fall into this nightmarish novel and never find your way out again." - Clay MacLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters

"A diabolical novel! Fracassi pens this one with furious, devilish glee. Readers--and writers--of horror fiction will love it." - Ronald Malfi, author of Come with Me and Black Mouth

"A dark and delirious journey into the unraveling of a mind, Gothic is the accursed 21st century bastard child of the 70s horror boom and John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness. Deadly, compelling, and pulls no punches." – Brian Evenson, author of The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell

"Downright chilling. I loved every word. Fracassi is coming into his own and I'm ready to follow him on any journey he takes." - Glenn Rolfe, author of August's Eyes

Philip Fracassi is the Bram Stoker-nominated author of the story collections Behold the Void (named “Collection of the Year” from This Is Horror) and Beneath a Pale Sky (named “Collection of the Year” by Rue Morgue Magazine). His novels include A Child Alone with Strangers, and the upcoming Boys in the Valley. Philip’s work has been translated into multiple languages, and his stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, and Black Static. The New York Times calls his work “terrifically scary.”