Carnival of the Dead


Book Description

A mad fairground Impresario and Illusionist, Maximillian La Fayette, is obsessed with the infamous Carnival of the Dead.He has made it his life's work to recreate this spectacle of horror, using Voodoo to Raise the Dead and encourage them to cavort in a gruesome Masked parade.He has chosen the Island of Los, with its deserted Fairground and convenient ancient Plague Pit, as the perfect venue.It falls to Ben, who's quite handy at stage illusions himself, to prevent this from happening.




Carnival for the Dead


Book Description

Carnival for the Dead is a suspenseful spin-off from the Nic Costa series, David Hewson's detective novels of love and death in Italy. In Venice the past was more reticent. Beyond the tourist sights, San Marco and the Rialto, it lurked in the shadows, seeping out of the cracked stones like blood from ancient wounds, as if death itself was one more sly performance captured beneath the bright all-seeing light of the lagoon. It’s February, and Carnival time in Venice. Forensic pathologist Teresa Lupo visits the city to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her beloved bohemian Aunt Sofia. But from the moment she is greeted off the vaporetto by a masked man dressed in the costume of The Plague Doctor, Teresa starts to suspect that all is not well. The puzzle deepens when a letter reveals a piece of fiction in which both Sofia and Teresa appear. Even more strange, are the links to the past which gradually begin to surface. Are the messages being sent by Sofia herself? Her abductor? Or a third party seeking to help her unravel the mystery? The revelation is as surprising and shocking as Sofia’s fate. And Teresa herself comes to depend upon the unravelling of a mystery wrapped deep inside the art and culture of Venice itself.




The Carnival of Death


Book Description

Decadence and murder found on the dark side of the big city pales in comparison to the freak show found by undercover US narcotics agent Bob Clark in The Carnival of Death. Clark's investigation begins with cocaine and leads to cold-blooded murder--the discovery of one, and then another, headless corpse. Who is behind the slaughter? Are the killings tied to the drug traffic? Or is a deeper, darker, and even more sinister conspiracy unfolding in the carnival? There are plenty of distractions--bright lights and beautiful girls--but Clark better find the murderers of the midway fast. Because the next head that rolls could very well be his own. Also includes the mystery "The Death Flyer," in which a man and woman find themselves trapped on a ghost train and bound for a deadly crash ... unless they can find a way to derail fate and cheat death--on the fly. Experience the spinning wheels, the pleasure-seeking crowds and the screams of horror as the The Carnival of Death takes you on a roller-coaster ride of suspense. "Highly recommended." --Midwest Book Review "Roars to life." --Library Journal




GYPSY BLOOD


Book Description

Half-Gypsy, Carnival carries his dead Poppa inside him as a perpetual adviser as he works as fortune-teller and occult troubleshooter, banishing demons and succubi with a carefree confidence born only of youth. His life journey takes a distinctly different turn when he meets Maya, an alluring female vampire. This novel details a dark version of the modern world, in which demons appear unbidden and where having a talent and using it successfully can mean either life or death. GYPSY BLOOD is a fast-paced, dark, funny and terrifying novel - like nothing that you have ever read before. The whole thing rolls like an avalanche of skateboards building to a climactic battle royal e between Carnival, a two-timing lady vampire, a she-demon with a mother complex, a social-climbing blood god, the collective spirit of the city and a mercenary mariachi band in a rickshaw. This is a fantasy for those folks who HATE fantasy! "If you have got a taste for over-the-top stories in the campy mode of the EVIL DEAD movies, then this is definitely a book that you should look into." - The Goreletter "If Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch had a three-way sex romp in a hot tub and then a team of scientists came in and filtered out the water and mixed the leftover DNA into a test tube, the resulting genetic experiment would most likely grow up into Steve Vernon." - BOOKGASM "Gypsy Blood is for fans of dark fantasy who think they've seen it all. Where else are you going to find a novel that opens with life and death battle with a succubus, rolls into a vampire's palm reading session, which segues into a bathtub summoning ceremony and climaxes with a non-stop showdown between a blood demon, a city incarnate, and a mercenary band of mariachi armed with a homemade propane-powered kamikaze rickshaw and assorted armaments?" - Hellnotes "True originality is rare but you will find it every time that Steve Vernon puts his fingers on the keyboard." - Jeff Strand (author of PRESSURE)




Dark Carnival


Book Description

'Let us now praise Ray Bradbury' THE TIMES Bradbury's first story collection is a must-read for any fan of the genre, spinning stardust and cobwebs in its wondrous wake. It contains twenty-seven stories, from science fiction's master storyteller.




Killing the god


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Carnival and Power


Book Description

This book shows how Carnival under British colonial rule became a locus of resistance as well as an exercise and affirmation of power. Carnival is both a space of theatricality and a site of politics, where the playful, participatory aspects are appropriated by countervailing forces seeking to influence, control, channel or redirect power. Focusing specifically on the Maltese islands, a tiny European archipelago situated at the heart of the Mediterranean, this work links the contrast between play and power to other Carnival realities across the world. It examines the question of power and identity in relation to different social classes and environments of Carnival play, from streets to ballrooms. It looks at satire and censorship, unbridled gaiety and controlled celebration. It describes the ways Carnival was appropriated as a power channel both by the British and their Maltese subjects, and ultimately how it was manipulated in the struggle for Malta’s independence.




The Golden Bough


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Carnival Caricatures


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The Golden Bough


Book Description