Freaks: A Novel

Hunted by monsters. Wanted for questioning. Late for class.

For four high-school friends in a small Arkansas town, surviving the daily torment of three relentless bullies is hard enough. But when they accidentally open a portal to another dimension, their problems become considerably more dangerous. Terrifying creatures from another world begin invading their town, and suddenly the bullies are the least of their worries.

As the chaos spreads, the four teenagers discover they've acquired extraordinary—and mysterious—superpowers. Embracing the very name their tormentors once used to ridicule them, they become the Freaks.

Now, with their families and friends in mortal danger, the Freaks must learn to control their newfound abilities, battle creatures that shouldn't exist, and stay one step ahead of a secret government task force that seems determined to capture them.

Saving their town might be impossible. Surviving high school was already hard enough.

Brett Riley is the author of Comanche, a Western horror novel; Lord of Order; and the Freaks series, comprising Freaks, Travelers, and Rubicons, in that order. His fiction spans Western horror, speculative fiction, and supernatural thrillers, often featuring extraordinary characters confronting dangerous and unpredictable worlds.

A professor of English at the College of Southern Nevada, Riley grew up in southeastern Arkansas and earned his Ph.D. in contemporary American fiction and film from Louisiana State University. His short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Folio, The Wisconsin Review, and The Baltimore Review.

Riley lives in Henderson, Nevada, where he continues to write and teach.