THE BLACK HUNGER by Nicholas Pullen is an electric, nightmare-inducing 120,000-word horror meets historical fiction debut.

THE BLACK HUNGER
by Nicholas Pullen
Orbit, Autumn 2024
(via The Rights Factory)

This expertly interwoven story follows three wellmeaning men and their dealings with a death-worshipping cult, the Dhaumri Karoti, bent upon the absolute destruction of our world.

Almost fifty years after the grisly murder of a respected general, and the subsequent disappearance of the general’s purportedly delusional wife, John Sackville rots in the dark cell of an English asylum, aware that soon he will be forever changed. He bears two wounds: the one that festers underneath his skin, and the one deep within his heart. In his last testament, Sackville chronicles the story of his life. It is a story steeped in history and myth, scattered across India, Tibet, and Mongolia, and interweaving his secret, passionate affair with the man he has loved since boyhood with his stand against the leaders of the Dhaumri Karoti.

With a rich atmosphere influenced by Stoker and Shelley, this epistolary blend of Gothic and Lovecraftian horror has broad appeal. It is a fright-fest perfect for fans of Clarke’s JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL and Miéville’s THE LAST DAYS OF NEW PARIS. An exceptional harnessing of madness—and one wild ride.

Nicholas Pullen was born and raised in Toronto, and educated at Oxford and McGill. A writer since early childhood, Nicholas now fashions stories out of shadows, madness, and historical truths. Outside of writing, his professional life has been spent working toward Truth and Reconciliation in the Canadian Public Service, as a treaty negotiator with Indigenous Peoples. He speaks fluent French and enjoys scuba diving on shipwrecks in Georgian Bay. A Canada Council for the Arts Grant Recipient, his short fiction has appeared in the Toronto Star (Famous Blue), the Copperfield Review (Hellulandsaga), and Anti-Heroin Chic (Relapse/Grindr).