Blood Crazy [Mass Market Paperback]

Simon Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

Everything seems normal until, one Sunday, civilization turns to ruins. Adults have become murderously insane, infected with an uncontrollable urge to kill the young, even their own children. This is the way the world ends.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

ublished in January as a mass market paperback, this crude generation-gap shocker from British author Clark (Darkness Demands) will thrill the adolescent audience for which it's unashamedly intended. A wild premise on a "Saturday night in April, every adult human being on this planet" goes mad and begins murdering everyone under 19 ensures almost constant action. Those kids lucky enough to escape their insane, zombie-like elders, labeled "creosotes" or "kaybees" for "crazy bastards," gather in communes in an obvious nod to Golding's The Lord of the Flies. After finding his brother dismembered by their parents, narrator Nick Aten (rhymes with Satan) observes, "adults seem to be actually afraid of their children...whom they feel compelled to destroy before we destroy them." Nick's theory is later confirmed at story-stopping length by another character, who explains the killings in Jungian evolutionary terms. Clark keeps the sex and violence relatively restrained. At one point, as part of "a sadistic new sport called Carrying the Can," Nick crosses an icy river by walking over the heads of a living bridge of standing creosotes. Finally and predictably, Nick faces a deadly confrontation with his relentlessly pursuing father and mother. Rebellious teenagers will enjoy the vicarious revenge on their parents, but the more sophisticated would do better to read Jung. (Sept.)Forecast: Despite this novel's weaknesses, Clark is a rising star in the horror field, and his fans will ensure a sell-out for this deluxe hardcover edition.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Readers will relish Clark's uncomplicated cocktail of chlorophyll and human blood' - Financial Times on The Night of the Triffids 'A master of eerie thrills' - Richard Laymon 'The hottest new purveyor of horrific thrills currently working on these shores' - The Big Issue --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books; Reprint edition (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843948256
• ISBN-13: 978-0843948257
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Simon Clark is the author of the cult apocalyptic novel Blood Crazy: "everyone over the age of 19 has been driven murderously insane... children and teenagers flee for their lives..." His novels include Nailed By The Heart, Vampyrrhic, Whitby Vampyrrhic, Ghost Monster and a bloody fistful of others that earned accolades from magazines around the world. This from Hellnotes: 'Clark's is surely the most outrageous imagination to grace horror since the discovery of Clive Barker' And: 'I actually loved Blood Crazy. Not just liked it, but loved it.' A quote from Beyond.

Simon was raised in a family of story-tellers. One told of a human skull buried under the family's garage. Currently he lives in the North of England where Robin Hood once roamed, and where legends of monsters lurking in ponds and caves abound. 2010 sees the release of his latest novella, Humpty's Bones, from Telos Books.

For news and videos about Simon Clark and his grisly craft be sure to Google his name from time to time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Story!, January 30, 2001

By 

J. Surowiecki (Hanover Park, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Crazy (Mass Market Paperback)

Congratulations to Simon Clark for the first 5 star novel I've read in 2001. I absolutely loved "Blood Crazy". Readers will be in for one hell of a devilish ride with this brilliant story!

Nick Aten is the perfect hero for this tale. An average teenager whose main delights in life are: tinkering with his car, hanging out with his mates and a trip to the Golden Arches. Incidentally, it's amazing how enjoyable a read Mr. Clark makes the trip for a hamburger in this story. Nick really likes going out for his burgers. His character is fleshed out wonderfully.

Everything in Nick's world is as it should be on the planet's last normal Saturday. Come Sunday morning, though, things are completely different. The adults of Doncaster begin the wholesale slaughter of any child under the age of 19. It's total chaos.

What follows is an intense story of survival and self-realization. Nick comes to the aid of a girl named Sarah and her two younger sisters Vicki and Anne. They somehow manage to elude the crazed adults and find refuge with an ever-growing assortment of surviving teens and children. Into this mixture is thrown some interior turmoil, ever increasing Napoleon complexes from would-be teen thugs, the reoccurring appearance of Nick's nemesis Slatter and a population of adults that are growing more organized as each day passes.

And yet, through all of this, Nick handles himself with as much courage and determination as possible. This novel was a fantastic read. I was disappointed to see end.

Sequel, Mr. Clark!! This story is begging for a sequel! It would be wonderful to see where these characters end up in the future and what other obstacles stand in their way.

Horror fans read this one! You will not be disappointed.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary apocalyptic tale., January 20, 2001

By 

Jane Osnovich - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Crazy (Mass Market Paperback)

"Get this message into your head. You, too, have a monster to kill. And this book just might save your life." These are the first three lines of a novel that is nothing short of fantastic. One morning Nick Aten wakes up to find that the world has gone insane. The adults are systematically killing all the children. The story that follows is a story of survival, tragedy and hope. The small number of children and teenagers that have survived the initial attacks are banding together and reforming their own society. They face the dangers of a civilization that is now extinct while the adults continue to hunt and kill them.

Nick Aten, the narrator, is an unlikely hero. He describes himself with the following: "I was born without ambition. My plans were to earn a bit of money, drink more beer and have a good time." His biggest problem, until the world went mad, is a ferocious town bully named Tug Slatter. This is what makes him one of the finest characters I've ever encountered. A regular kid forced to grow up fast in order to survive the new world. All the characters are incredibly realistic, well developed and a testament to the human spirit.

Clark's writing style is crisp, clean and chilling. There is a constant build up of tension and dread. This book contains some of the creepiest scenes I've read in a long time. Not in the slash-em-up style either. Although there are some gruesome scenes in this book, it's never gratuitous. The scenes are there to show you the horror that these kids are facing everyday.

This book is frightening, inspiring and thought provoking. It pulls you in from page one and doesn't let go until the brutal climax. I'm a big fan of apocalyptic horror stories and I I've heard this novel compared to King's "The Stand" and McCammon's "Swan Song". It really shouldn't be because, although those books were excellent, Clark's style and vision are completely original. Expect to be drawn into this book, to feel for the characters (even the evil ones). I give this book a strong recommendation. I'd also like to add a heartfelt thanks to the folks at Leisure Publishing for putting such excellent horror novels back on the market.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Read from Simon Clark, January 15, 2001

By 

Regina Mitchell (Mt. Pleasant, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Crazy (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished this book after three days of intense reading and hours at work with it preying at the back of my mind. And all I can say is, "Wow." I was hooked from page one and am at a loss to describe my feelings for this book.

BLOOD CRAZY is more than just an "end-of-the-world" gore-fest. We get deep into the mind and heart of the main character, Nick Aten (rhymes with Satan); we understand him and sympathize with him, even though we do not always necessarily agree with him. This is what made the book so special to me. The characters were real--none were magically transformed into loveable, friendly people just because the world happened to go insane. The characters, while not always sympathetic, were always real. This, as in Clark's other novels, is what really kept me interested. I cared about what happened to the characters in this book, thought about them while I wasn't reading, and the book will resonate in my head for quite a while, I'm sure.

Don't take this to mean that it was slow-going. On the contrary, the book was highly suspenseful and full of some great action sequences. And I thought the gore content was perfect--just enough to make me squeamish in parts, but never so much that I looked away.

All in all a great read, not to be missed. This is what horror is all about.