Resurrection Cycle

Prolific horror author Houarner (The Oz Suite ) assembles a disturbing collection of 13 reprints and 12 originals. Most of the tales highlighting his twisted supernatural assassin, Max (featured in 2001's The Beast That Was Max ), are brief, but "Like Smoke Rising from the Burning Ghats" offers detailed descriptions of a young boy in Calcutta becoming something monstrous, and the novella "Dancing with the Skeletons at the Feast of the Dead" is almost symphonic in its depiction of brutality in a small Mexican village. The other stories are no less dark: in "Let Me Tell You a Story," a babysitter manipulates her charges into committing acts of evil, while "The Shape" is a harsh tale of mental illness and abuse. The bleakness might turn off some readers, but fans of intense, psychology-driven horror and sharp writing will be more than satisfied.

Max, an assassin driven by terrible appetites and a demonic inner Beast, finds himself mistaken for another, far more ordinary killer hired to fight for one of two rival groups vying for control of a remote, abandoned government base with its own secrets and supernatural power.Caught between two even greater evils, Max and his companions Lee and the twins, Kueur and Alioune, are drawn into a war that will feed terrible human and supernatural appetites.Blending the everyday world and the supernatural in an atmosphere of mystery and violence, Waiting for Mister Cool is an apocalyptic meeting of the X-Files and Tarrantino with Max satisfying his appetites while thrust into a champion's role.

Max is a man. An assassin, to be exact. But within him lurks the Beast, an unholy demon that drives Max to kill and to commit acts even more hideous. Throughout the years, the Beast has taught Max well, and Max has become quite proficient in his chosen field. He is an assassin unlike any other. To put it mildly.But now Max has a son, an unnatural offspring named Angel, born of Max's pain and hunger. Through Angel, the spirits of Max's former victims see a way to make Max suffer, to make him pay for his monstrous crimes. These vengeful ghosts fight hard to trap Angel in their world forever. And while angel battles his father's demons, Max himself must try to escape from the government agents intent on capturing him dead or alive.

Max walks in two worlds. He resides in the borderland between the world of shadowy government conspiracy and the world of vengeful ghosts and evil gods, between living flesh and supernatural spirits between life and death. For Max is the ultimate killer, an assassin powered by the Beast, an inner demon that enables him to kill and to do it incredibly well.But the Beast inside Max is very real and very much alive. He is all of Max's dark desires, his murderous impulses, and he won't ever let Max forget that he exists. The Beast is Max. So it won't be easy for Max to silence the Beast, though he knows that is what he must do to reclaim his humanity. But without the protection of the Beast, Max the assassin will soon find himself the prey, the target of the spirits of his past victims.Also Included a never before published Max novelette : Tree of Shadows only available in this Crossroad Press digital edition.--Houarner's work is great, and I recommend you acquaint yourself with it Fangoria--The raw power and depth of Houarner's imagination combine to give him the ability to truly transform the reader Dark Echo--Houarner blends a compelling combination of elements from Clive Barker and Andrew Vacchs Brian Hodge Hellnotes.