Killing It

by Mike Bockoven

Overview

From the twisted and imaginative mind of Mike Bockoven, author of the cult classic FANTASTICLAND, comes a wholly original and witty new novel of terror, perfect for fans of FROM DUSK TIL DAWN and SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

Since the late 1980's, The Square had been one of the most important clubs in New York for the alt-comedy scene. But before that it was something much darker and is now a place where evil lingers, waiting for a chance to spill blood.

After a night of killing on stage, four comics find themselves in a desperate situation as the spirits of the past come out to play, and a fight for laughs becomes a fight for survival in the most unlikely of places.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781915523679
Publisher:	Watkins Media
Publication date:	04/15/2025
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400

About the Author

Mike Bockoven writes thriller/horror novels while his kids are in gymnastics class or at piano lessons. He lives with his wife, Sarah, two daughters, Emaline and Tessa and an exceptionally dumb wiener dog names Sherlock. You can find him at his website, mikebockoven.com, on Facebook (facebook.com/Bockovenbooks) and on Twitter @mikebockoven. He is the author of FANTASTICLAND. He lives in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2023

Bockoven (Fantasticland) sets a brutal, gory horror novel backstage at a comedy club. For decades, New York City’s the Square has hosted the best, most outrageous, and funniest personalities in the alt-comedy community. One night, owner Ronald “Jaff” Maul succumbs to an agonizing headache that sends him on a terrifying after-hours reign of terror and violence. Those trapped in the club with him include his wife, Calista; emcee Braden Bond; veteran comedian Jackie Carmichael; political comic Jerrod Seybourn; fledging entertainer Taylor Tracks; talk show host Sammy Platter; and disgraced comic legend Terry Stafford, currently in the news after numerous reports of sexual assault. As Jaff relentlessly stalks this motley crew through the cramped confines of the building, his would-be victims pay a heavy price for survival, little suspecting a supernatural force may be influencing them all. Bockoven skillfully invokes a claustrophobic, desperate, downright disturbing atmosphere, his prose pulling no punches as it describes the ugly fates awaiting so much of the cast. In some ways a reflection of the entertainment industry’s darkest impulses, this is both a convincing slasher tale and an examination of comedy’s uncomfortable underside. Agent: Steve Schwartz, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for KILLING IT

"Darkly Funny." —NPR

"Both a convincing slasher tale and an examination of comedy’s uncomfortable underside." —Publishers Weekly

Praise for FANTASTICLAND

"In clear, conversational prose, Fantasticland creates its world—and then carefully, horribly dismantles it. Mike Bockoven has made something at once merciless, terrifying, and curiously humane; but you should probably not go there after dark." —Zack Handlen, the AV Club

"Utterly horrifying and impossible to put down—for a dozen reasons, but most of all, for how plausible the whole thing feels. Do not read this book after eating." —Rob Hart, author of the Anthony Award-nominated NEW YORKED 

“Fantasticland is one wild ride! Disaster and isolation ratchet up the tension, and a theme park descends into mayhem that is both engaging and thrilling. Put your hands up and plunge in!” —Scott Seeke, author of Uncle Bush's Live Funeral, writer of the Sony film Get Low

"In the FantasticLand park itself, already a surreal mix of historical and pop-cultural structures, characters, and imagery, then mostly flooded and empty under rainy skies, what happens when less-than-fully-formed identities are forced to endure a month with no external contact?
This grim, but not hopeless, novel is the answer." —William Grabowski, Hellnotes.com

"FantasticLand [is] totally up our alley. And with its setting of a theme park that’s been ravaged by a hurricane, it couldn’t be more timely." —Dread Central

From the Publisher