Carnal

Martin James thought he knew pain. As a tattoo artist and body piercer in New Orleans' shadowed underbelly, he's made an art of extremes... cutting himself deeper, always going further, chasing sensations that would terrify ordinary souls. His addiction to alcohol, meth, heroin, and the razor's edge has cost him everything except Meredith, the one person who refuses to abandon him despite three years of broken promises. But Martin has never encountered anything like Liber de Carnifice... The Book of The Torturer.

Bound in ancient leather and written in a language that shouldn't exist, the book calls to him from a forgotten corner of a late-night bookshop. When Martin begins reading its impossible words, understanding them on some sub-conscious level, he discovers cutting techniques described with disturbing intimacy, as if the anonymous author has been watching his most private moments. The book promises transcendence. It delivers something far worse.

©2026 Rob Duncan (P)2026 Rob Duncan