Balak: A Novel of Cosmic Horror (Paperback or Softback)

Two years ago, Claire Challis’s four-year-old son disappeared without a trace. Now, on a cold winter morning, a neighbor’s child vanishes outside her apartment. The subsequent police investigation turns up no clues.

Claire encounters a strange priest. An ancient church that seems to be the site of unspeakable rituals. A shadowy figure that seems to appear and disappear at will. And now, Claire finds herself at the center of a web of intrigue—and in fear for her life. Still, she is determined to learn the truth behind the abductions and learn once and for all the fate of her missing son.

As she delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, Claire realizes that her quest may lead her not to the truth she seeks, but to a place of madness, horror, and agony beyond her wildest imaginings.

This revised edition of Stephen Mark Rainey’s first novel, Balak (originally written in 1992), offers a cleaner version of the text and includes some alterations to unify it with numerous other works that define the author’s unique, four-decade-old mythos.