Friends of the Macabre,
It’s my sincere pleasure to inform you that the pre-order option for OUR HOLY LEVIATHAN is now available. This gorgeous hardcover book is a limited run of just 26 copies, each one signed and lettered, and features black and white illustrations by K.L. Turner. A truly beautiful book, as only Weird House Press can manufacture, and I’m most grateful to have yet another novel published by this formidable press.
This novel is, indeed, “a whale of a tale”, and contributes a new monster (MACCBA) to the darkest legions of the mysterious sea. It’s inspired by, and dedicated to, the following:
Herman Melville
Edgar Allan Poe
W.H. Hodgson
H.P. Lovecraft
Without these seaworthy luminaries of the Weird, “Our Holy Leviathan” would most certainly not exist. Pre-order Here: https://weirdhousepress.com/products/our-holy-leviathan-by-tylor-james
BACKCOVER DESCRIPTION:
“. . . a winged thing arises from the depths and flits its giant, savage form across the moon . . . drips sea from its veined wings like falling diamonds . . . then swoops and descends into the ocean to linger beneath the surface . . .”
Caught in a freakish storm, Brian Hodgson washes ashore on Maccba Island—a backwards isle populated by a friendly, yet bizarre Irish society that worships a legendary ‘leviathan of sea and sky’. Brian is a dogmatic skeptic, and dismisses their pious devotion as nothing more than silly superstition. His persistent nightmares, however, suggest an undercurrent of truth, and he begins to suspect he may be the recipient of a dark prophecy.
The islanders act as if they live in the nineteenth century—wearing bonnets, breeches, and frock coats, eschewing all electricity, and sailing on The Gorgon, a mighty galleon ship built for whaling. Brian finds it all strange, yet quaint, and goes so far as to adopt the islander’s antiquated habits.
The mysterious fate of Hans Gansevoort (the isle’s lighthouse keeper), a macabre ‘Church of Maccba’, the mysterious appearance of onyx statues, and other nebulous intrigues draw Brian deeper into the legend of Maccba, until, at last, he discovers the horrible truth—the creature exists, and he will have to face it at sea if he is to save himself, the woman he loves, and an infant girl offered up for sacrifice.
QUOTES OF PRAISE FOR MR. JAMES’ TALES:
“Tylor James is a writer on a journey, a decidedly dark one to be sure—one that swerves and meanders from the Gothic to the weird to the supernatural and beyond. His work has the nostalgic wash of sentiment seen in Bradbury, with the bleak ruminations of Lovecraft, and the dissective precision and questioning of Poe.”
— Joshua Rex, author of Haunted Victorian America, and The Innamorta
“To read Tylor James’ fiction is to feel all the dread and elation of getting lost in a carnival house of mirrors. Shadows, grotesque figures, swirls of melody and light; if you manage to find your way out, you’ll want to turn around and run right back in.”
— Jacqueline Holland, author of The God of Endings
“Tylor James is a modern shaman, weaving dark miracles by firelight. A writer to watch, this consummate storyteller evokes both terror and awe in poetical reworkings of classic horror themes. An author who cares about his craft . . . and hears the wisdom of shadows.”
— William P. Simmons (bestselling author of The Halloween Boy & Other October Horrors)