A sneak peek from The Other
And up in the barn, moving from the open door, out of the sunshine, stepping back into the shadow of the loft and once more laying his glasses down, Russell Perry blinked into the dim void and took four long steps to the edge of the loft. Arms flung wide, he leaped. ‘I’m the King of the Mountain!’ Down and down and down. Hardly soaring, but dropping merely, the smell of fresh-cut hay in his nose, holding his breath and dropping into the cool dark nothingness, rushing as though late for an appointment, hurrying to where, only a blur at first, then more clearly, clearer than anything he had ever seen, astonishingly clear, reaching for him with cruel beckoning fingers, waiting to catch him as he fell, he saw in the blackness the glinting silver prongs, sharp, sharp, and fire-cold…’Eeeyaiee!’ As the steel tore through his chest, shattering flesh and bone, his scream sent the mice scurrying with fright, and hot blood, all red and frothy, with little ruffles like ghastly lace, spurted into the yellow hay, and in another moment Winnie and Mr. Angelini had come running from the pump, and, at the landing, her parasol quivering, Ada stood, her body rigid, her head slightly averted, listening as the cry reached her ears, with it, on the breeze, the lazy thrum of a harmonica, while the fingers of her trembling hand pressed ever more fiercely against the sharp points of the golden crescent moon pinned at her breast.
—sneak peek sample from the upcoming The Other by Thomas Tryon, releasing October 2nd. Apologies for the slight spoiler, but it is only on page 56 of a 250-page book so we hope you’ll forgive us, plenty more death and surprises in store. We wanted to share because we saw it as a good example of horror writing. And why else does one read horror novels if not for the frisson of some blood and gore? And below is a photo of the author, who before writing was a Hollywood actor, most famous for playing the title role in Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal.
