Fiction
The Pale Ones
by Bartholomew Bennett
Description
Pulped fiction just got a whole lot scarier…
Few books are treasured. Most linger in the dusty purgatory of the bookshelf, the attic, the charity shop, their sallow pages filled with superfluous knowledge. And with stories. Darker than ink, paler than paper, something is rustling through their pages.
Harris loves to collect the unloved. And in helping people. Or so he says. He wonders if you have anything to donate. To his ‘children’. Used books are his game. Neat is sweet; battered is better. Tears, stains, broken spines – ugly doesn’t matter. Not a jot. And if you’ve left a little of yourself between the pages – a receipt or ticket, a mislaid letter, a scrawled note or number – that’s just perfect. He might call back.
Hangover Square meets Naked Lunch through the lens of a classic M. R. James ghost story. To hell and back again (and again) via Whitby, Scarborough and the Yorkshire Moors. Enjoy your Mobius-trip.
More Information
Rights Information
Audio, translation & international available
Endorsements
“The Pale Ones unsettles in the way of a parable by some contemporary, edgeland Lovecraft. The unnerving images which flicker in a sagging English landscape of charity shops, seaside bed and breakfasts and amusement arcades linger in my imagination ages after reading.”
ANTHONY CARTWRIGHT, author of Heartland, BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime
“What begins as a dark comedy of book collecting gradually accumulates a profound sense of occult dread, which lingers long after the book is finished. It’s a real addition to the literature of the uncanny and an impressive debut for its uncompromising author.”
RAMSEY CAMPBELL, author of the Brichester Mythos trilogy
Reviews
The nameless narrator of Bartholomew Bennett’s first novel, The Pale Ones, is a washed-up thirtysomething whose girlfriend has left him and fled to Japan. Trawling charity shops for valuable books and selling them online, he meets a fellow dealer and is drawn into an ambiguous relationship with the obnoxious Harris. They leave London and head north, ostensibly to collect books from charity shops and split the proceeds. But Harris has a mesmerising hold over people – our narrator included – and takes more than he gives. Bennett’s short novel is notable for the gradual, creeping unease with which he imbues a series of apparently mundane events, bringing to mind the subtle horrors of Robert Aikman's short stories. The leisurely, unsettling narrative includes some startlingly graphic images: “The helix of his left ear partially eaten away by a sore the colour of a waterlogged raisin.” The Pale Ones is an impressive debut.
—The Guardian
Author Biography
Bartholomew Bennett was born in Leicester to an American father and English mother. Since childhood he has been a dedicated reader of all manner of books, but especially tales of the “horror”. He has a First Class Honours degree in Literature from the University of East Anglia and is a longstanding member of Leather Lane Writers Group. He has had various jobs: primarily software developer, but also tutor, nanny, data-entry clerk, call-centre rep, decorator and handy-man. He has also been known to dabble in online bookselling. Currently he lives in southeast London with his wife and two children. And in fact, some of the paper-packed rooms that feature in The Pale Ones bear a remarkable resemblance to locales in his own abode…
Copyright Information
Copyright © Bartholomew Bennet 2018
Inkandescent
Inkandescent are committed to voices underrepresented by mainstream publishing—we discover & celebrate original & diverse literature to challenge the status quo.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Inkandescent
- Publication Date October 2018
- Orginal LanguageEnglish
- ISBN/Identifier 9780995534681
- Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
- FormatPaperback
- Primary Price 8.99 GBP
- Pages128
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
- Copyright Year2018
- Dimensions198 x 129 mm
Thank you for proceeding with this offer.
Inkandescent has chosen to review this offer before it proceeds.
You will receive an email update that will bring you back to complete the process.
You can also check the status in the My Offers area
Inkandescent has chosen to review this offer before it proceeds.
You will receive an email update that will bring you back to complete the process.
You can also check the status in the My Offers area
Please wait while the payment is being prepared.
Do not close this window.
(c) Copyright 2024 - Frankfurt Rights. All Right Reserved