Fiend
Published on 5. June 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-09-955883-5 (ISBN)
Description
Breaking Bad meets Night of the Living Dead in this manically energetic, stunningly written debut that pits a crystal meth addict against the zombie apocalypse.
When Chase sees the little girl in umbrella socks savaging the Rottweiler, he's not too concerned. As someone who's been smoking meth every day for as long as he can remember, he's no stranger to such horrifying, drug-fueled hallucinations. But the little girl is no illusion. The end of the world really has arrived. And with Chase's life already destroyed beyond all hope of redemption, armageddon might actually be an opportunity - a last chance to hit restart and become the person he once dreamed of being. Soon Chase is fighting to reconnect with his lost love and dreaming of becoming her hero among the ruins. But is salvation just another pipe dream?
Propelled by a blistering voice and featuring a powerfully compelling anti-hero, Fiend is at once a brilliant portrait of addiction, a pitch-black comedy, and the darkest, most twisted love story you've ever read - not to mention one hell of a zombie novel.
When Chase sees the little girl in umbrella socks savaging the Rottweiler, he's not too concerned. As someone who's been smoking meth every day for as long as he can remember, he's no stranger to such horrifying, drug-fueled hallucinations. But the little girl is no illusion. The end of the world really has arrived. And with Chase's life already destroyed beyond all hope of redemption, armageddon might actually be an opportunity - a last chance to hit restart and become the person he once dreamed of being. Soon Chase is fighting to reconnect with his lost love and dreaming of becoming her hero among the ruins. But is salvation just another pipe dream?
Propelled by a blistering voice and featuring a powerfully compelling anti-hero, Fiend is at once a brilliant portrait of addiction, a pitch-black comedy, and the darkest, most twisted love story you've ever read - not to mention one hell of a zombie novel.
Reviews / Votes
Certain to invite comparisons to Hubert Selby and Cormac McCarthy ... one scalding pressure cooker of a novel, and I advise you to buckle up and hold on tight because you're in for one hell of a ride. -- Donald Ray Pollock Fiend is a no-holds barred shocker with finely drawn characters suffering in every way imaginable, and Stenson imagines a lot of ways. Grimtastic. * Sunday Sport * Paranoia sets in, nerves become stretched, the drugs fuelling fantasies and possibilities and the book comes to an end with a sorry sense of hopelessness and despair. I loved this book and can't wait for more from Peter. * SF Books * Keeps you reading by dragging you from one hammer blow to the next. * ImagineFX * This is the real meat. The last zombie novel you'll ever need. -- Warren Ellis, author of Gun Machine and Twisted Little Vein Peter Stenson has done the near impossible in delivering a savage fire-storm of a page-turner while also enabling a hard and earnest look at addiction and love. I tore through Fiend with the crazed fervor of an addict, but like all great stories these characters lingered in my thoughts long after I turned the last beautiful and brutal page. -- Alan Heathcock, author of Volt With a pared down snappy writing style, Fiend opens an exciting new chapter for modern horror. * Big Issue in the North *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
364 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-955883-5 (9780099558835)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Peter Stenson is an MFA candidate at Colorado State University. His stories and essays have been published in The Sun, Confrontation, Post Road, Fugue, Passages North, The Pinch, Blue Mesa Review, Upstreet, and elsewhere.