Waking Nightmares
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The Shadow Saga [5]
|
Christopher Golden
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Ace (2011)
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Rating:
| ***
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View our feature on Christopher Golden's
Waking Nightmares
.
Peter Octavian, once a vampire, now a powerful mage, has been living a quiet life in San Francisco. But when the barrier that used to prevent demons and monsters from entering the world have fallen, Octavian is compelled to do what he can to hold back the darkness.
Review
'The pacing is always pedal-to-the-floor, the main characters are larger than life and the demons and other assorted monstrosities give Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos a run for their money' Barnes & Noble Online 'Something wicked this way comes in Christopher Golden's WAKING NIGHTMARES. An intriguing thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, it highlights the nightmare that has been unleashed in Hawthorne and which the police are ill-equipped to handle. In a race against time, Keomany and Peter, along with several other secondary characters, must discover the source before Hawthorne is consumed and the terror spreads beyond the town limits to the rest of the world. Readers get glimpses into several lives as they are affected by the circumstances and must piece together the puzzle along with Peter and Keomany to determine the nature of the threat. A thrilling page-turner, WAKING NIGHTMARES is a great addition to the spring/summer reading collection' Romance Reviews Today ' A thrilling horror tale' scifibulletin.com 'Whether a reader has been waiting for Peter Octavian's return or just wants a good horror adventure, WAKING NIGHTMARES is a satisfying read' assignmentx.com
About the Author
Christopher Golden
is the author of more than twenty novels, including the critically-acclaimed
Strangewood
, and six nonfiction projects. He has worked in the comic book field for both Marvel and Dark Horse, and his short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. He received the Bram Stoker Award for his nonfiction work,
Cut: Horror Writers on Horror Film
. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two sons. Visit his website at www.christophergolden.com
Table of Contents
“Horror-fantasy epic is a difficult beat to hit—but Christopher Golden’s sprawling saga of vampires, demons, and dark sorcery is nothing less.”
—Mike Carey, author of the Felix Castor novels
“Christopher Golden was writing kick-ass urban fantasy before the genre even had a name. The Peter Octavian novels are smart, fast-paced, lyrical, and vicious.”
—Jonathan Maberry, author of
The King of Plagues
Praise for
Of Saints and Shadows
. . .
“Golden’s book is the template for a score of books that have been published in the years since its publication. Many of those books have been bestsellers. Reading
Of Saints and Shadows
again, I was amazed how many elements now familiar in the vampire and thriller genres appeared in
Saints
first. Golden’s imagination and expert plotting wove these elements into a startlingly original book, as exciting to read now as it was when it first appeared on the rack.”
—Charlaine Harris, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
Dead in the Family
. . . and for the Peter Octavian novels
“A delightfully different take on vampires . . . sure to stand out in the current crop of urban fantasy.”
—Kelley Armstrong, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
Waking the Witch
“Christopher Golden has reinvented the vampire myth into nonstop action, suspense, and fascinating dark fantasy. [He’s] an imaginative and prodigious talent who never lets genre boundaries hold him back.”
—Douglas Clegg, author of the Vampyricon trilogy
“One of the best horror novels of the year. Filled with tension, breathtaking action, dire plots, and a convincing depiction of worlds existing unseen within our own.”
—
Science Fiction Chronicle
“Harrowing, humorous, overflowing with characters and plot contortions, abundantly entertaining.”
—Douglas E. Winter,
Cemetery Dance
“[Golden’s] work is fast and furious, funny and original, and I can’t wait until his next book.”
—Joe R. Lansdale, author of
Devil Red
“Golden combines quiet, dark, subtle mood with Super-Giant monster action. Sort of M. R. James meets Godzilla!”
—Mike Mignola, creator of
Hellboy
“A breathtaking story that succeeds in marrying gore and romance, sex, and sentiment. A brilliant epic.”
—
Dark News
(Paris)
“The most refreshing books in the vampire genre since Anne Rice wrote
Interview with the Vampire
, [Golden’s novels] are completely in a class by themselves.”
—
Pathway to Darkness
“Passionate . . . excellent . . . Golden has written one of the best . . . a deep probe into the inner workings of the church and a surprise explanation for vampires. Brilliant.”
—
LitNews Online
Look for all
the Peter Octavian novels
from Ace Books
OF SAINTS AND SHADOWS
ANGEL SOULS AND DEVIL HEARTS
OF MASQUES AND MARTYRS
THE GATHERING DARK
WAKING NIGHTMARES
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
WAKING NIGHTMARES
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY Ace mass-market edition / April 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Christopher Golden.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eISBN : 978-1-101-47758-8
ACE
Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
http://us.penguingroup.com
This book is respectfully dedicated to all of the
fantastic friends and readers who simply would not
stop asking when Octavian would return.
I hope you enjoy this homecoming as much as I have.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Enormous thanks to my wonderful editor, Ginjer Buchanan, who has always left a light burning in the window for Peter. Thanks to everyone on the Ace team, to Tom Sniegoski for the morning chats, and to Tim Lebbon, Amber Benson, and Ashleigh Bergh for keeping me in line. Most of all, my endless love and thanks to my wife, Connie, and our crazy kids, Nicholas, Daniel, and Lily Grace.
CHAPTER 1
OCTAVIAN
climbed out of the professor’s car, hoping they had come to this grimy corner of Montreal on a fool’s errand, that there would be no monsters tonight. Fighting monsters took time—magic or spirits or demons even longer—and he had promised to return to The Red Door before Nikki took the stage tonight.
Don’t make me break my promise,
he had warned the professor. The man had nodded anxiously and tried to reassure him, but Octavian did not feel reassured.
He stood on the sidewalk in the golden light of the setting sun and looked up at the windows of the third-floor apartment. They were dirty, like everything else in this neighborhood, and the glint of the waning daylight only made the glass opaque and almost sinister.
“So this girl is a student of yours?” Octavian asked.
The professor slammed his car door and thumbed the button on his keychain that made the car chirp, its doors locking automatically. He looked even more pale and nervous than usual.
