A Lush and Seething Hell

Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

By: John Hornor Jacobs

Narrated by: Almarie Guerra, MacLeod Andrews

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales—both never-before-published in print or audio—that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition.

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.

In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South—which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.

Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.

Loved both Stories

I thought this was brilliant, top to bottom. Great writing (beautiful prose), deep, mysterious, dark plotting. Wonderful narration, in both parts of the book. I would read more horror by this author in a moment.

Great horror and a great performance

Finding horror novels that are well written, fresh, and gives actual nightmares are hard to come by for me. This book , and the person narrating make it a gem that should be read by anyone who appreciates horror.

Impressive

This is such good storytelling. Both stories. I wished the first was longer, and there were times I wish the second was shorter but not often. The pace is slow and steady, peeling layer after layer methodically and carefully enough to keep you interested and trying to figure out where it’s going. I enjoyed them both.

Half great

The first of the two stories is awful: I nearly gave up on the book halfway through it. It wasn’t even obvious that it was a horror story until about the last five minutes. In addition to the story being uninteresting, the narrator was using the same voice for all the characters, so a lot of the time I couldn’t even tell who was speaking, which made it harder to follow.

However, the second story was magnificent. 11/10. Had it been the only story, this would be a shorter but five star book. I recommend skipping straight to the second novella.

Gripping from start to finish

Strong voice, immersive characters, and gripping prose that keeps you hooked from the very first page