Dark Black

In this haunting debut collection of short stories, Sam Weller, authorized biographer of the legendary Ray Bradbury, blurs the boundaries between the weird, the outre, the paranormal, the Gothic, and old school punk rock. Dark Black features 20 tales, at turns chilling, melancholy, hilarious, and nightmarish. A marine biologist at the end of his career embarks on his greatest field study to find the mythical sea beast he believes he witnessed as a young man, long ago. A writing professor discovers the Clutter murder house, made infamous in Truman Capote's 1966 classic, In Cold Blood, is available on a vacation rental site. He books the home to finish his latest book with unexpected results. A group of kids use a Ouija board to contact their beloved, deceased friend. A punk rock musician writes a groundbreaking album, collaborating with the ghost of a musical legend. A college student with subtle telekinetic abilities attempts to use her powers in the midst of a horrifying school shooting. Sam Weller worked side by side with Ray Bradbury for over a decade. No surprise, then, that Dark Black is deeply inspired by Bradbury's dark and enduring 1955 collection, The October Country, mashed-up with modern influences, such as anthology television program “The Black Mirror” and “American Horror Story.” Dark Black’s 20 short stories are made up of evanescent ghosts and inner demons, lost souls and lost love. Featuring striking, original color artwork by renowned artist and printmaker Dan Grzeca, known for his concert prints for The Black Keys, Sharon Van Etten, U2, among others, Dark Black is art object as book, in this case of haunting new American Gothic fiction.

Publisher’s Weekly

Weller (The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury) delights with this debut collection of 20 weird and whimsical horror stories. Weller expertly balances overt scares with subtle introspection. The atmospheric detail and steadily maintained tension make this collection a page-turner.

some of which deserve to be read aloud, crackling-campfire style; others meant to be savored slowly and quite gloriously alone. By turns haunting, mysterious, wickedly funny and deeply insightful, Dark Black is a truly mood-flipping, mind-tripping collection.

“It’s no surprise that Sam Weller, a renowned scholar of Ray Bradbury, would be such a beautiful storyteller in his own right. What IS a thrill is the depth and breadth of Dark Black’s tales

and Weller knows just when to unleash them."

"Reading Dark Black is like watching a night snowfall gather over a small-town street lamp: it's gentle, gorgeous, haunting, and often eerie. But there are things hiding in the dark too

while in other pieces he gives us the goods straight-up. And he has a knack for the mysterious and lyrical ending, coming sooner than you expected, catching you off-guard and wanting more."

"Haunted and haunting, these are stories of a past long gone and yet still with us. Stories of windswept plains towns, of a lost country, full of nostalgia and dread, romance and horror. At times, Weller plays with form (the experimental essay, the rock-band profile) to tell classic tales in new ways

About the Author

Sam Weller is two-time Bram Stoker Award winning writer and the authorized biographer of the legendary Ray Bradbury. Weller’s book, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury, was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and winner of the 2005 Society of Midland Authors Awards for “Best Biography.” The companion book, Listen the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, was published by Hat & Beard Press in 2017. Weller has written for The Paris Review, NPR's All Things Considered, Slate, Huffington Post, and many others. He has given over 400 presentations around the world on the life and legacy of Ray Bradbury and on the mystery of the creative process.

Reviews

News