A LONG DECEMBER IBD

Sinopsis

In 1996, Richard ChizmarâÇÖs debut short story collection,áMidnight Promises,áwas a finalist for the World Fantasy Award.áPublishers Weeklyácalled it 'a sterling collection' while singling out 'The Silence of Sorrow' as 'an understated masterpiece.'Two years later, Subterranean Press published a mini-collection from Chizmar entitledáMonsters and Other Stories.áIn his introduction, acclaimed genre critic Edward Bryant said, 'When all is said and done, this book should leave you in utter silence, giving you time and opportunity to contemplate what you just read. Tough storytelling from a tough writer, but a writer who is not calloused. Chizmar possesses a finely honed gift of empathy. With utter grace and loving kindness heâÇÖll put you right inside the life (and soul) of the monster.'Now, nearly two decades later, Chizmar assembles thirty-five stories, including a previously-unpublished novella, and presents us witháA Long December.áThis massive new collection features more than 150,000 words of ChizmarâÇÖs very best short fiction and includes 8,000 words of autobiographical Story Notes.Eerie, suspenseful, poignant, the stories ináA Long Decemberárange from horror to suspense, crime to dark fantasy, mainstream to mystery.As New York Times bestselling author Scott Smith (A Simple Plan, The Ruins) notes: 'ItâÇÖs an idyllic little world Richard Chizmar has created. Boys fish in the shallows of a winding creek. A father tosses a baseball with his young son in the fading light of a summer day. ThereâÇÖs the smell of fresh-cut grass. And then, well...just beneath the surface? There are those missing pets whose collars turn up in a shoebox. Or the disturbing photos the dead can leave behind. Or the terrible thing you might find yourself doing when a long lost brother suddenly returns, demanding money. Chizmar does a tremendous job of peeling back his worldâÇÖs shiny layers, revealing the rot that lies underneath. His stories feel like so many teeth: short and sharp and ready to draw blood.'