Fear dons many masks in these dark tales of brushes with the uncanny.
Fear dons many masks in these dark tales of brushes with the uncanny.
When the Blight overwhelms the earth, humanity’s only defense is to stay awake from dusk until dawn. Tonight, Sean will learn how lethal insomnia is in this new world.
In “Fatal Insomnia” and other stories in Silhouette of Darkness, author George Wilhite explores the horror in unusual places. Enter this dark realm and experience first-hand “a writer that makes a much-needed contribution to this genre, giving us weird fiction/neo-pulp fiction fans something to sink our teeth into that brings to mind that lost age of fiction.” (Bitten by Books)
Excerpt
Sean had seen the monstrosity once, more than a year ago, out of the corner of his eye as he ran for shelter, but when The Blight appeared in the doorway, even he was not prepared for it.
The Blight was a whirlwind, its original vortex obscured by all the victims sucked into it, forced to become elements of its profane evolution. In the doorway, a mass of human flesh swirled in a grotesque dance. Some entire bodies were visible, but most of the souls harvested by The Blight were reduced to severed limbs, organs, eyeballs, faces frozen in living death.
Tank, that indestructible, no fear badass, stood silent and pale, his mouth and eyes gaping open.
The Blight bellowed, sounding like a hundred elephants trumpeting.
It hurled Tank backwards. The house rattled with intense violence. Soaked in sweat, heart pounding, Sean saw in Paula and Jed’s expressions the same fear he was sensing. Would this be the night The Blight would rip our house to shreds?
A new horror appeared in the doorway. From within the whirlwind emerged a black scaly appendage. Sean gaped in revulsion. The Blight’s tongue? The others stood a few paces behind Tank.
The tongue-like tentacle snaked around Tank’s ankle.
“We have to do something!” Sean crept towards the door.
Jed walked forward as well.
Each step was a struggle due to the wind gusting through the doorway. Sean was glad Paula stayed behind. Someone might as well survive if Jed and I just offered ourselves up to this thing.
The Blight made a sucking sound. Dark gelatin oozed from the appendage, covering Tank. Sean retched as the stench of rotten meat filled the room. Tank dissolved, his blood oozing all over the floor. An instant later, what was left of Tank was whisked into the night.
From “Fatal Insomnia”
Professional Reviews
Five Star Review from Matthew Keith Reviews
In Silhouette of Darkness, George Wilhite has brought together a group of twelve short stories, all written in a dark, modern, and intriguing tone. For me, this collection was Stephen King meets Quentin Tarantino.
In every story, the plot is immediate. You are thrown into the middle of an ongoing dialogue or sequence and become immersed in the story line, the experience equivalent to leaping into the rapids of a rushing river.
I enjoyed every story without exception. In most of them, I was left wanting to know more (a good thing). Would the Blight would win out? Would it encompass the entire world? How far would the frost that was killing Julie's crops spread? Was Dad really the bad guy or was Adam? Who and what was the Fly Man? Real? Imagined?
Even the stories that ended with a degree of closure left me wanting more, because they were written so well and were so interesting.
For anyone who is a fan of horror stories with more twists than your high score on Bop It, I very highly recommend Mr. Wilhite's book and, because the quality of his writing is so outstanding, would also recommend any of his other novels.
This was my first experience reading George Wilhite's work, but it absolutely will not be my last.
I give Silhouette of Darkness a very solid 5 out of 5 stars.
