“I’ve never seen anyone capture sordid human nature so clearly. I was completely drawn in, totally immersed. I felt ill much of the time.” – Russell Kirkpatrick, on Slights
Stephanie is a killer.
After an accident in which her mother dies, she has a near-death experience, and finds herself in a room full of people – everyone she’s ever pissed off. They clutch at her, scratch and tear at her. But she finds herself drawn back to this place, again and again, determined to unlock its secrets. Which means she has to die, again and again.
And she starts to wonder whether other people see the same room... when they die.
Slights is a deeply intense, disturbing read. Death is not the end, but this is not comforting, heartwarming or safe. The misery memoir craze of the last few years has overshadowed horror fiction’s impact with (allegedly) real-life experiences. Now it’s time for horror and fantasy fiction to fight back.
More praise...
“Slights is a rusted blade of a book, cutting away at the reader’s comfortable expectations until only bitter bones are left; a delightful middle class suburban fright.” – Jay Lake
“Slights is a forceful, harrowing read, and is not only the best horror novel but one of the best books I have read in 2009. Be warned, this is a dark read and certainly isn’t for everyone... but I loved it. Absolutely recommended, for those with a strong constitution. Rating: 9 Damn Near Perfection.” – The Book Smuggler
“Slights is dark. Really, really dark. Throughout the book we are treated to suicide attempts, murder, visions of the worst sort of room 101 style hell, and at all times an unrelenting trawl through all that is bad about the human psyche. At the same time, Warren has crafted a believable world populated by real, three-dimensional characters. The novel is well paced as a whole, and the way the reader is drip-fed information, well interspersed around acts of unthinkable brutality, works particularly well. Slights [is] a book you have to finish whether you want to or not, as well as being hugely and genuinely disturbing. You have been warned...” – SciFi Now
“Slights is the misery memoir to end all misery memoirs. A novel about murder, incest, child abuse, drugs, deprivation, self-cutting, police corruoption, digging up human bones in the garden and not tidying up around the house. It’s also about ghosts, and becoming addicted to near-death experiences. It is, on occasion, gut-wrenchingly funny; and sometimes simply gut-wrenching in its desire to see what boundaries can be pushed until they’re broken.” **** – Jon Courtenay Grimwood, SFX
“Dark and sinister with a huge sense of raw dread running throughout its page count, Slights is an astonishing, gripping and terrifying book that will have spines tingling and teeth clenched in fear up and down the country.” – Zone Horror
Kaaron Warren is an Australian author of horror, science fiction, and fantasy short stories and novels. She is the author of the short story collection The Grinding House, which won the 2006 ACT Writing and Publishing Awards. Her short stories have won both the Ditmar and Aurealis Award.
