Mike Duke

This novella was not at all what I expected when I first picked it up. I expected just an extreme horror blood and torture fest. Which I sometimes enjoy. But this little story has a psychological twistiness that I didn't see coming and really found fascinating. The very beginning was tough to read, but as I got along further into the story, I realized that these beginning scenes were not just there to be gratuitous. It was setting up the rest of the tale in a way that made it more visceral.

The characters are completely mesmerizing, I am obsessed with finding out the backstory on Jake. Thankfully there is another novella dedicated to that exact thing so I will definitely be reading that soon.… (mais)

Mike Duke weaves a tale of visceral horror, made worse by wholly believable characters who the reader can both empathize and identify with. While bordering on the stereotypical, the initial scene and character set ups comfortably draw the reader in and are well written. If you did not know you had chosen a horror story, you could be reading the beginning of any well written story in any adult genre by any story telling master.

But you do know.

So you know there is something there.

And once you have been lulled into enjoyment, it gets you. It gets you as surely as it gets them.

Because it’s there waiting in the dark.

And the worst part is, these monsters are real.

No, not just that. The monsters really exist and the story could really happen.

Mike Duke creates characters and setting and plot so believable that his addition of creatures that actually exist will terrify you long after you run screaming from the story.



For an added bonus, please further traumatize yourself by reading the author’s Afterward. I am actually quoted and paraphrased in a couple of places, but other than that, Mike Duke allows us into the twisted things behind his creation of this frightening piece.… (mais)

Editorial

In his novel Where the Gods Sleep, Mike Duke combines epic cosmic horror and disturbing occult horror. The result is a cosmic horror novel of incredible depth and intensity. While Duke is not an extreme horror writer, and this is not an extreme horror novel, Where the Gods Sleep does contain a notable level of physical and psychological brutality. Fans of Mike Duke know his signature intensity is generally edgy and often disturbing to some readers, but is never gratuitous.

Readers have called this story “vivid,” “action-packed,” “engrossing,” and “exciting.” One-Legged Reviews calls it “a love letter to the world of Cosmic Horror.” I call it a masterpiece, but since I had the honor of being its editor, I’m not supposed to review it.

Available in Kindle and Paperback… (mais)