Hekla's Children

by James Brogden

Overview

An ancient evil lurks just beneath the surface of our world in this splendidly dark horror tale inspired by ancient folklore, history, and mythology.
 
A decade ago, teacher Nathan Brookes saw four of his students walk up a hill and vanish. Only one returned—Olivia—starved, terrified, and with no memory of where she’d been. Questioned by the police but released for lack of evidence, Nathan spent the years trying to forget.

When a body is found in the same ancient woodland where they disappeared, it is first believed to be one of the missing children, but is soon identified as a Bronze Age warrior, nothing more than an archaeological curiosity. Yet Nathan starts to have horrific visions of the students, alive but trapped. Then Olivia reappears, desperate that the warrior’s body be returned to the earth. For he is the only thing keeping a terrible evil at bay . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785654381
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	539,106
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

James Brogden is the author of The Narrows, Tourmaline and The Realt. His horror and fantasy stories have appeared in anthologies and periodicals ranging from The Big Issue to the British Fantasy Society Award-winning Alchemy Press. He spent many years living in Australia, but now lives in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire with his wife and two daughters.

Editorial Reviews

01/23/2017
The past is not dead in this time-looped horror tale that tries to elevate the mundane to the legendary but only succeeds in making it tragic. Nine years after three high school students disappeared on a hike, mummified human remains are discovered in the same park. Nathan Brookes, the teacher who chaperoned the missing students, returns to the site to encounter a puzzled archaeologist. Dating the corpse indicates it is 3,000 years old, but it also shows a modern surgical repair. And Nathan has a vision of Bark Foot, a local legend whose description matches the mummy. When Sue, the only student to return from the hike, kidnaps the archaeologist and goes off to meet Bark Foot, Nathan decides to follow her trail, no matter how far into myth it seems to lead. Brogden presents a believable set of characters all struggling to deal with the unforeseen and their own desires. Unfortunately, the central tragedy that twists the plot lacks the grand passion or obsession that would believably warp history into horror. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

The engrossing plot features steadily intensifying dread, a diverse cast of characters, and expert world building. Brogden takes readers on a fast-paced and terrifying ride as everyone tries to solve two mysteries, one modern and one ancient, but both with strong ties to a supernatural evil. This is a horror novel and a standout thriller that can hold its own against the best in either genre today. Give to readers looking for tales of ancient evil like those by Graham Masterton or Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Genuinely scary . . . it will keep readers enthralled. Brogden’s U.S. debut is a wonderfully odd mix of dark Bronze Age fantasy and modern-day thriller, and it works.”  —Kirkus Reviews

“A smart blend of science fiction and horror.” —B&N SFF blog

“Without any kind of doubt - one of the best and most outstanding horror novels of the year, so please, make yourself a big favour and read it as soon as possible. You simply can't afford to miss this novel.” —Rising Shadow

“Brodgen’s writing is what makes this novel move. A step above much of the mainstream, he imbues the fantasy world with a strong sense of a reality which comes across as utterly natural. His characters (who show up during the course of the story and would ruin any surprises) break through any tired tropes and sing with originality and carry with them wounds that define them and their role in this story. Hekla’s Children just might remind readers of Tim Lebbon or Chris Golden.”  —Cemetary Dance Magazine

From the Publisher

2016-12-15
When a vicious, ancient evil is loosed upon the Earth, a motley crew must band together to halt its murderous rampage and return it to its prison.Ten years ago, Nathan Brookes led a group of teenagers on a hike through Sutton Park in the Midlands, and four of them disappeared. One girl, Olivia Crawford, turned up the next day, confused and in shock. Nathan has blamed himself for the incident ever since, and when mummified remains are found in a peat bog near the site, old wounds are reopened. Osteoarchaeologist Dr. Tara Doumani is called upon to examine the mummy, dubbed the Rowton Man, and he's thousands of years old, but shockingly, one of his legs seems to belong to one of the boys who disappeared. Olivia, in desperation, kidnaps Tara to convince her to rebury the Rowton Man, and soon Nathan, Tara, and his old flame Sue Vickers are thrown together. An evil being called the afaugh (who can take over people's bodies) has been released by the mummy's exhumation, and it's very, very hungry. Olivia reveals that the group was taken by a man called Bark Foot to the in-between world called Un, and Nathan realizes he must travel to Un and stop the events set in motion 10 years ago. Un, moored in the Bronze Age, is a brutal world shaped by imagination and mood and steeped in myth and legend. Nathan must return the afaugh to its prison, even if he dies trying. Although Nathan seems to be the focus at first, it's Catharine "Scattie" Powell, who has made her own way in Un, who gives the story its heart and soul. The afaugh's rampage through the modern world is genuinely scary, and the race to stop it will keep readers enthralled. Brogden's U.S. debut is a wonderfully odd mix of dark Bronze Age fantasy and modern-day thriller, and it works. An exciting and bloody read with teeth.

Kirkus Reviews