Cooper *05 pens a dark fantasy novel

 

The author: Cooper grew up fascinated with horror fiction. At Princeton, he earned a Ph.D. in English; his dissertation became the basis for his first book, Gothic Realities: The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture. He teaches at the University of Louisville and chairs the board of the Louisville Film Society, and also is the author of Dario Argento (about the Italian film director) and co-editor of the textbook Monsters.

 

The book: When he was 17, Brian McCullough returned home to find his parents dead, lying in their blood in the basement, and his 10-year-old sister in her bedroom. With a gun in her hand, she shoots herself. The tragedy leaves McCullough speechless for a year. Five years after the murders, he is still living in the same house. A journalist begins a book on the tragedy and finds a struggle between two local churches. There are strange things happening in this dark fantasy novel set in a small town in Georgia: Pets are going berserk and dead bodies with no eyes or tongues begin to appear.

 

From chapter one: “The lobby of the Sleep E-Z Motel had two small round tables with three chairs each. A narrow, rectangular table with only three legs leaned against the wall, supporting two coffee makers and an open box from Dunkin’ Donuts. Taped to one of the two coffee makers, a piece of paper boasted in kid-print lettering, ‘Sorry — NO DECAF!’”

 

Review: “Though the storyline is engrossing with gore aplenty, it’s really the characters, who are anything but cardboard, who will keep you wanting to turn the pages,” wrote Target Audience Magazine. “I’d highly recommend it for hardcore horror fans, who have an aversion for all things maudlin — and, its well-drawn characters, action, and suspense will be the gory icing on the bloody cake!”

 

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