They Hunger

Guaranteed to grab you by the throat, Scott Nicholson's heart-stopping new novel reaches blood-chilling heights in They Hunger.

In the rugged wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains, the treacherous Unegama River holds more than its share of mortal dangers. But something deadlier than any force of nature is about to be awakened. Something both unnatural and immortal. Driven from their ancient hunting grounds, they have dwelt in their cave for hundreds of years.  .  .hiding, waiting--and hungering. Now, a group of whitewater rafters has made the mistake of passing through their hunting grounds, and for these awakened creatures of the night, their thirst for blood is about to be unleashed.

And they are going to feed.  .  .

Praise for the Novels of Scott Nicholson

"The enjoyment of it is akin to reading Stephen King's It and The Talisman."

--Asheville Citizen-Times

"Combines the atmospheric uneasiness of such classic fear novels as The House on Haunted Hill and The House Next Door."--Cemetery Dance

Horror novelist Nicholson (The Farm) offers in his latest a thrilling, romance-free twist on the ever-more-popular subject of vampires, bringing to mind the tagline from Robert Rodriguez's neo-camp bloodsucker flick From Dusk Till Dawn: "Vampires. No Interviews." Far up in the Appalachian Mountains, fanatical antiabortion bomber Ace Goodall and his female accomplice are fleeing the FBI on a path along the Unegama River. Not far away, a group of white water rafters is looking to take on the Unegama, a dangerous run, as part of a publicity stunt for a high-end camping gear company. But it isn't long before class V rapids are the least of their worries, as they're set upon by subhuman, leather-winged, bloodthirsty creatures who seem impervious to the panicked humans' efforts to kill them. Amid the bloodletting, Nicholson dregs up some genuinely dark, creepy moments; his unnamed vampires inspire visceral horror each time they sweep down from the sky. Unfortunately, Nicholson's human characters are less inspiring; though perfectly functional, they never rise above stereotypical monster fodder: the former navy SEAL, the lonely widower with nothing to lose, the single-minded religious maniac, the duplicitous company shill. That said, this vampiric Deliverance moves quickly and assuredly, offering some fine scares along the way. (Apr.)
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