Sinister Purposes

In the secluded, Kudzu-covered town of Eden, Georgia, people are dying in droves. Burnings, decapitations, crucifixions, impalings, and the occasional premature burial. The kids whisper about a mysterious, supernatural figure who walks the railroad tracks outside of town, a figure known simply as "The White Man".

Everyone has a theory, but no one can stop the killing. No one can stop the madness from spreading like some malignant disease.

Only one man, Father Aron, knows what's going on. He vows to cure the evil. The only problem with Father Aron: the cure may be worse than the disease.

Long overdue, this is a hefty new collection of connected stories that form a unified, terrifying tale from Gary Raisor, the author of Less Than Human. This one is something special, folks! The cover is by the fantastic Keith Minnion, and there are a half dozen truly disturbing interior illustrations done by up and coming Kariann Childs. This is Gary's fourth book and it is, by far, his most intense.

Despite the uniform Southern gothic setting (remote Eden, Ga.), the "mosaic" novel that Raisor (Less Than Human) has assembled from six of his horror tales varies too much in tone to make a successful whole, though its individual parts display the author's skill as a storyteller. Notable are "The Right Thing," about two brothers who discover something nastier than usual at their swimming hole; "If I Should Die Before I Wake...," in which a grade school teacher becomes the object of crushes and cruel pranks; and "Stigmata," about a man in the depths of depression who takes the cab ride to end all cab rides. Providing continuity and commentary is an old priest, Father Aron, who walks among the living and the unliving (not easy to distinguish in Eden), confused, suspicious and troubled. Those with a taste for the gruesome (flies and eyeballs are common motifs) will be rewarded. (Feb.)
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