Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, edited by Tim Marquitz – Table of Contents, Ordering Info, Excerpts, Guest Blog/Interview Links, and Reviews
Out of print – print copies only available from resellers, such as on Amazon . I will be republishing my contribution to this anthology, “Goldilocks Zone,” in a short fiction collection in Fall 2019.
“The light has failed: the era of man is at its end.
“Born of darkness, the creatures of myth, legend, and nightmare have long called the shadows home. Now, with the cruel touch of the sun fading into memory, they’ve returned to claim their rightful place amidst humanity; as its masters.
“Fading Light collects 30 monstrous stories by authors new and experienced, in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, each bringing their own interpretation of what lurks in the dark.”
(Click on the cover art by Jessy Lucero to see it in full-sized, tentacly glory!)
Fading Light, edited by Tim Marquitz, is an anthology of dark fiction (horror, fantasy, sf) published September 1st, 2012, by Angelic Knight Press (later republished in its current incarnation by Ragnarok Press), and includes my short story Goldilocks Zone.
Praise for Fading Light
“With its stellar lineup of authors and the great premise that gives them room to weave their magic, Fading Lightaccomplishes what far too many fail to: it stands out from the pack as something unique, terrifying, and wholly readable from first pages to last.” – Bryan Hall, author of The Southern Hauntings Saga and Containment Room 7.
“Fading Light is a perfect example of a well constructed anthology. A great unifying theme, talented authors, and more than two dozen short stories to sink your teeth into. Reading this reminded me of boyhood nights spent curled up in front of the television watching The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, or The Outer Limits, which I’m sure was exactly the point. Enjoy it on a stormy night…but be sure to leave the lights on and the doors locked.” – Michael Sullivan, author of the Riyria Revelations.
“Tim Marquitz has collected an extraordinary array of bleak and thrilling stories from some of the best writers in the game and a crop of marvelous newcomers with Fading Light. Read it before the darkness arrives and the world ends!” – Ed Kurtz, author of Bleed and Control.
Where to Buy Fading Light
Amazon.com (print resellers only)
This anthology is out of print; my short story in this volume will be republished as part of a short fiction collection in Autumn 2017.
Reviews
“Tim Marquitz has put together a beautiful anthology “firmly rooted in the imagery of H. P. Lovecraft and the stark atmosphere of Stephen King’s The Mist.” — Frank Michael Serrington
“What makes this great writing, in my humble opinion, is that these stories look into the dark side of human nature. Sure there are monsters: krakens, aliens, zombies, black water from the center of the moon, spirits kidnapped from the center of the sun, huge whale-like angels… but these stories are about humanity. The overreaching theme is the loss of the sun, the earth being plunged into darkness, and what emerges from that perpetual midnight. More often than not the real monster is inside of us.” — Candice, Goodreads.com
Interviews
These are interviews with responses from many of the contributors to Fading Light.
Fading Light Multi-Author Interview #2, part 1 on The Nocturnal Library’s blog.
Fading Light Multi-Author Interview #2, part 2 on The Nocturnal Library’s blog.
Fading Light Multi-Author Interview #3 on Bastard Books’ blog.
Interview with Editor Tim Marquitz on Fantasy Book Review’s blog. (No longer available.)
Fading Light Multi-Author Interview #4, part 1 on Fantasy Book Critic’s blog.
Fading Light Multi-Author Interview #4, part 2 on Fantasy Book Critic’s blog.
Guest Blogs, Excerpts, Etcetera
Tom Olbert: Contemporary Horror and the Anthology — guest post by contributor Tom Olbert on Fantastic Book Review’s site. (No longer available.)
Teasers and short excerpts for the Fading Light short story “Final Rights” by Peter Welmerink are on his blog here, here, and here.
Contributor Peter Welmerink guest blog on Fantasy Book Review on writing longform fiction vs. writing short stories. (No longer available.)
Contributor Adam Millard guest blog on This Is Horror on reasons for reading at least one H.P. Lovecraft story.
Contributor Edward M. Erdelac guest blog on Fantasy Book Review hailing H.P. Lovecraft’s birthday. (No longer available.)
Table of Contents
“Parasitic Embrace” by Adam Millard: A volcano erupts, sending an ominous ash-cloud across the ocean. The ash-cloud is the least of our worries. Contained within the hellish plume are millions of micro-parasites that have been dormant, waiting to find their host.
“The Equivalence Principle” by Nick Cato: Steve Burke is a man suffering from a severe case of agoraphobia. He treats himself with a homemade cocktail of natural herbs and over the counter pain killers. But what he has spent most of his life avoiding becomes real in the ways he’d always feared.
“A Withering of Sorts” by Stephen McQuiggan: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Goldilocks Zone” by Gary W. Olson: Amita has had a trying evening––and it’s just getting started. People are becoming monsters, buildings are slipping into sludge, gravity is turning optional, and assorted parts of her body are mutating. A voice in her head tries to explain, but somehow, understanding only makes it stranger.
“They Wait Below” by Tom Olbert: The world is near dying. An ecological inspector stationed on a deep sea oil rig suspects something is very wrong with the rig’s crew. His investigation into the mystery leads him to an ancient cosmic evil that has slept for eons, waiting for its chance to return.
“Buck” by Mark Pantoja: This is a tale of humans trying to survive on our Earth which has been infected with an extraterrestrial ecology. It isn’t personal, it is just life. This story is about revenge––a sad and hollow revenge.
“Blessed Be the Shadowchildren” by Malon Edwards: The Sun is dying––mortally wounded by an asshole god and his jealousy. There’s hope (and love) in the slow, dark death promised. Hope hangs on fifteen-year-old Levi and Lali reaching the warm arms of the Bright Lady before a horde of pursuing Biloko devour them––intestines first.
“The Beastly Ninth” by Carl Barker: The Sorcerer Napoleon is free, having escaped from his island prison and returned to France, to begin re-raising Hell. The only man standing in his way is Lord Arthur Wellesley, and this time, the Duke of Wellington has a few tricks of his own.
“Late Night Customer” by David Dalglish: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Rurik’s Frozen Bones” by Jake Elliot: It is Scandinavia, 819AD. The Vikings rule the North Atlantic through both warfare and trade. A beast hunts the cold waters between Sweden and Denmark, a monster unchallenged by the bravest of sailors.
“Wrath” by Lee Mather: Steven hasn’t touched a drink in months and now the time is right to take his son back from his brother’s custody. What he hadn’t counted on was the end of the world. Steven stopped believing in God a long time ago, but seeing is believing––will belief be enough to deter God’s wrath?
“Friends of a Forgotten Man” by Gord Rollo: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Altus” by Georgina Kamsika: The Altus is a free-diving submersible whose helmswoman aims to break depth records. She finds more than she bargained for at the bottom of the sea. Something monstrous lurks in the darkness with her and her submarine.
“Angela’s Garden” by Dorian Dawes: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“The Long Death of Day” by Timothy Baker: For John and the love of his life, a terrifying shadow threatens to tear them apart. The world is at its end, and a blanket of darkness has spread between the Sun and Earth, turning day into deep gloom. With it, something monstrous writhes within the unnatural night, intent on devouring our dying planet.
“Out of the Black” by William Meikle: 300-years after the great dimming, the energy resources begin to run out. A man is sent from the underground city to the surface to scout for survival-necessary ore. All he finds is a dead world and a great blackness; a blackness that will not be kept out.
“Degenerates” by DL Seymour: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Dust” by Wayne Ligon: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Der Teufel Sie Wissen” by TSP Sweeney: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Born of Darkness” by Stacey Turner: After clouds block out the sun, Jeb struggles to keep his family safe and his faith intact. With his wife’s unexpected pregnancy and two strangers seeking refuge, things go from bad to worse. How do you tell who follows the path of light when you can no longer see who’s immersed themselves in darkness?
“Lottery” by Gene O’Neill: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Where Coyotes Fear to Tread” by Gef Fox: The world is shrouded in darkness and people have started acting strangely. Only two people can save the world from an ancient evil rising out of the Tennessee River––a ne’er-do-well redneck named Lester and his ex-girlfriend, Carla. Carla might be up for the challenge, but all Lester wants to do is get the hell out of Knoxville.
“The Theophany of Nyx” by Edward M. Erdelac: A fissure opens in the moon’s crust and swallows Earth’s first lunar colony whole, resulting in a thick cloud of dark dust that drifts into our planet’s atmosphere, blotting out the sun. Night falls across the entire world and vegetation begins to die. After eons of exile, something driven from the Earth in its primordial past is at last returning…
“Double Walker” by Henry P. Gravelle: Psychoanalyst, Dr. Maria DOBBS has a new client who believes his shadow has murdered his parents and others. She attempts to decipher whether he is a clever killer feigning insanity, an unwilling victim of an electrical storm jolting his senses, or the victim of a lifestyle placing his emotions in turmoil. Will she discover the truth before it is too late?
“Light Save Us” by Ryan Lawler: It has been months since Ted last saw the Sun. Hideous beasts lurk in the darkness outside the compound, waiting for the lights to fail. Ted works hard to keep the lights running, but the longer he fights, the more inviting the darkness becomes.
“Dark Tide” by Mark Lawrence: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
The following are bonus stories, available only for NOOK and Kindle:
“Roadkill” by CM Saunders: Jimmy and Tito make up one of the freelance ambulance and recovery crews patrolling the notoriously dangerous roads and highways of Brazil. Their job is not to the common man’s taste, but the money is worthy, and they’ve become very good at it. Everything worked great until the night they stumbled across an accident victim who refused to die.
“Torrential” by Regan Campbell: The author has opted to keep this story a surprise.
“Night Terrors” by Jonathan Pine: Dr. Mark Jacobs is a well-meaning physician just trying to do his best for his patients. But after a chance encounter, he ends up taking his work home with him in a way he could never imagine. Now he will have to face his own night terrors.
“Final Rights” by Peter Welmerink: The world has been cast into the cold embrace of Nuclear Winter, the Earth withering towards a dreary demise. The once-glorious daylight hours, now a perpetual dusk as the last bastions of humanity hold beneath the brightly-lit, but slowly dying vestiges of the larger cities. On the perimeters of our cloud-cloaked countryside, light succumbs to deep shadow–where a myriad of mutated beasts hungrily await civilization’s light to wink out.
“Evensong” by Alex Marshall: Demons rule the outside––but devils stalk within. These are the hidden halls of Agartha–perhaps the last of Earth’s buried strongholds where, for countless centuries, Morya’s folk have been enslaved. But now, rebel-soul Morya and her lover Seth have a chance to escape the hated Seers; a chance to breathe clean air and see the sun’s fading splendor for themselves…if only they dare…