Addiction Horror

His world ended. Then everyone else's ended, too. John was a beloved science teacher and husband before a car accident turned him into a drug addict. First his job crumbled, then his marriage, as he did nothing to stop it; lost in a haze of chemicals. Then one night a mysterious fire swept through the land, wiping out humankind and leaving behind zombie-like burn victims. John was alone in the world- the next logical step in his self-destruction. Now, one-by-one he meets the few remaining survivors of this new world, including a woman starving herself thin, a combat-obsessed survivalist and...

Addiction starts like a sweet lullaby sung by a trusted loved one. It washes away the pains of the day and wraps you in the warmness of the womb where nothing hurts and every dream is possible. Yet soon enough, this warm state of bliss becomes a cold shiver, the ecstasy and dreams become nightmares, yet we can't stop listening to the lullaby. We crave to hear the siren song as it rips us apart.

From the best-selling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison - a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos. The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair.

Addiction is the perpetual epidemic, where swarms of human moths flutter to the flames of hell. Because that warm blanket of a heroin high, that joyful intoxication of a pint of vodka, that electric energy from a line of cocaine, over time leaves you with a cold loneliness and a bitter heart. Relationships destroyed, bodies deteriorate, loved ones lost, yet the craving continues for that which is killing us—living, as the title suggests, like an Orphan of Bliss.

The intoxication from a pint of vodka, the electric buzz from snorting cocaine, the warm embrace from shooting heroin - drinking and drugging provide the height of human experience. It's the promise of heaven on earth, but the hell that follows is a constant hunger, a cold emptiness. The craving to get high is a yearning as intense of any blood-thirsty monster. The stories inside feature the insidious nature of addiction told with compassion yet searing honesty.

Brian Phillips lies alone in the Lumpton Treatment Center, reflecting on the poor choices that lead him there. But when a deadly virus is unleashed, Brian must flee for his life-aided only by an ominous, otherworldly figure....