Darkfall

A STORM IS COMINGChristmas. And an entire office block of revellers has disappeared into thin air.A STORM IS COMINGDI Jack Cardiff and his investigating squad are about to discover the Hell that is 'Darkfall'; where bricks, plaster and stone have a life of their own, where the inexplicable and the insane become horrifyingly real.A STORM IS COMINGAnd for those trapped in the block and cut off by the violent weather, a terror beyond imagination is about to descend from the howling tempest. “A slam-bang paranormal thriller, Laws is one of the most inventive writers on the scene” The Times“Makes the reader distinctly uneasy about touching any walls or doors when the thunder rumbles” Penthouse“One of Britain's masters of terror” Vector“A powerhouse of a book that hooks you immediately and never lets go. Exciting, relentless, gory and hugely entertaining” Million Magazine“Truly barnstorming supernatural horror from a writer of tremendous pace and energy. A veritable roller-coaster ride” Northern Echo“A brilliant horror novel. An imaginatively potent brew of visual and visceral terror” Starburst“Stephen Laws, the real thing. For me he's the classic horror writer. His work operates as a salutary reminder to the rest of us, rooted as it is in the traditions of the genre: back to basics in the truest sense, it draws its strengths from his deep knowledge of the forerunners who first broke this ground, while remaining totally contemporary and always surging forward. Neat trick if you can do it; and Laws is one of the few who can” Dark Asylum“Laws' work typifies a new generation of horror writing: (It) inhabits the world as we know it, and is all the scarier for it” Maxim“This book follows in a line of compelling sickeners. Not for Laws the small and nagging horrors of the individual mind; his scary monsters come with global aspirations and implications. A rattling yarn” The Journal

From Publishers Weekly

On Christmas Eve, dozens of office parties are taking place throughout an enormous high-rise. The ominous storm on the horizon does nothing to diminish the revelers' spirits-until a deafening thunderclap sounds and all the residents in the building vanish. All, that is, except the slightly intoxicated superintendent manning the boiler room. Laws's enthralling story, first published in the U.K. in 1992, moves at lightning speed in the first act, but once the story is established, it turns into a fascinating Clive Barker-esque nightmare where the walls, doors and floors come to life and absorb human tissue, creating a whole new life form. Like the best metaphysical horror stories, the book offers its own sweeping cosmology, explaining everything from haunted houses to the Bermuda Triangle. The themes-what it means to be human, our relationship with the world around us and even a fairly pedestrian idea like our overreliance on electricity-never break free of the Hollywood-ish story structure, but this is escapism after all, and fine escapism at that. Whether intentional or not, this absorbing tale is also a spot-on allegory for the quiet horrors of cubicle life: in a sprawling, byzantine office building, the walls themselves are the enemy. Both cube dwellers and horror aficionados will be pleasantly spooked by this impossible-to-put-down read.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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