Heretics [Paperback]

Greg F. Gifune (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2001

Heretics is a 38,000 word novella originally published by Delirium Books in 2001. It remains a very hard to find edition, originally only produced as a 50-copy hardcover and 250-copy trade paperback run. Now the novella has been reprinted as a digital edition so that a wider audience can experience what many insiders state is classic Gifune!

From the original introduction (which has not been reprinted with this edition), Brian Hopkins stated: "Heretics is a coming home story. It’s all about redemption and resolution, about facing the demons that took you from the people and places you once loved. It’s also about alienation, but whereas most writers would have overdone that element of the story, Greg is smart and talented enough to let it work on its own. We see—and more importantly we understand—how Harry, Rip, and Madeline are made the outcasts of Virtue. Ten thousand words telling us this would have failed, but a handful of careful observations and character reflections bring it home with stark clarity. Greg knows his characters and, in turn, so do we.”

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...'Man, this person's going somewhere...' Now I must add to that list one Greg F. Gifune." -- Ray Wallace, Twilight Showcase #29

"...Gifune has assembled a sensitive and entertaining collection..." -- William P. Simmons, Cemetery Dance

HERETICS is a fine collection of dissidents, a grouping of stories that question both the norms of everyday life.. -- Gary Conner, The Haunted Webzine, Nov./Dec. 2001

From the Publisher

When I first read the title novella to this collection, I thought that Greg F. Gifune will be the next big author in the horror genre. There was so much depth there, in both his characters and plot. His fiction transcends the genre of horror and reaches the climax of inspiration -- an inspiration involved within darkness. Mark my words: Greg F. Gifune is a literary master of the macabre....the world has just yet to find out about him.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Delirium Books (August 27, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 1929653182
• ISBN-13: 978-1929653188
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,698,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Called "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, GREG F. GIFUNE is the author of numerous short stories, several novels, screenplays and two short story collections (HERETICS and DOWN TO SLEEP). His work has been published all over the world, consistently praised by readers and critics alike, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and The Midwest Book Review (among others) and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include CHILDREN OF CHAOS, DOMINION, THE BLEEDING SEASON, DEEP NIGHT, BLOOD IN ELECTRIC BLUE, SAYING UNCLE, A VIEW FROM THE LAKE, NIGHT WORK, DRAGO DESCENDING, CATCHING HELL, JUDAS GOAT and LONG AFTER DARK. Greg resides in Massachusetts with his wife Carol and a bevy of cats. He can be reached online at: [e-mail] or through his official web site at: www.gregfgifune.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this. Now., May 27, 2005

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heretics (Paperback)

Greg Gifune, Heretics (Delirium Books, 2001)

Unless you're one of a select few horror fans, you've probably not yet heard the name Greg F. Gifune. As it sometimes is in these situations, this is truly a crime. Gifune has been quietly making a name for himself in the horror community for quite a while now, publishing deeply disturbing tales in a myriad of small-press magazines. Heretics is a collection of a select few of these tales (four, actually), with some unreleased (as of 2001, anyway) material to flesh the collection out. Delirium released it to a storm of acclaim back in the day, and it sold out very quickly. (Gifune's new novel, being released by Delirium in July of 2005, has already sold out its limited editions in pre-orders with insane prices; this should give you an idea of the guy's rep in certain circles.) One can only hope that Delirium either brings it back into print with a much wider release and a whole lot of publicity (not to mention really good distribution) or they sell the rights to someone who'd be willing to publish the collection (Leisure comes to mind immediately) who's already got the publicity and distribution channels in place, because Heretics is a fantastic book, and deserves a much wider readership than it presently has.

Make no mistake, Greg Gifune writes the sort of extreme horror one sees from an author like Charlee Jacob (though Gifune never pushes that envelope out to the edge)-- and it wouldn't surprise me one whit to see Gifune's career explode the way Jacob's did a few years back-- but it's extremity wrapped in a cloak of atmosphere. Gifune isn't just going to go for the gut, he's going to disturb you on deeper levels while he's at it. The title story in this collection, a novella-length piece, is an excellent example of how good he is at it, but the real gem here is a shorter piece called "The Snow Angels." In fifteen all-too-short pages, Gifune goes for the extreme, then doubles back and shows how effective the power of suggestion can be. It's a shocking twist on the way things are normally done, or as shocking as anything in the horror biz can be these days, and it's powerfully effective. "The Snow Angels" alone is worth the cost of admission here; the other stories are icing on the cake. But what icing it is. There's not a single dud here; for that matter, there's not even a place where Gifune's mastery slips. While the majority of the horror-reading public is busy being satisfied with the ponderous tomes turned out by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, et al., like clockwork, and the slightly more hip have discovered Leisure's recent catalog of writers, the in crowd are being blown away on a regular basis by two of the best horror short-story writers of the last century; Greg Gifune is one of them. (For the record, the other is a guy named Dale Bailey. You'll be seeing as effusive a review of his book The Resurrection Man's Legacy and Other Stories from my keyboard in the very near future.)

Gets four and a half because of five through no fault of Gifune's; the editor at Delirium seems to have gotten drowsy towards the end of the book, and there are some really odd typos (there's quite a few underlines, of all things, peppered throughout the final story; one every six or seven pages). But make no mistake, this book is the real deal. A shoo-in for my twenty-five best reads of the year list in 2005. **** ½

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gifune's stories really hit the mark, August 29, 2007

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heretics (Paperback)

As Brian Hopkins accurately states in his perceptive introduction, Greg Gifune is somewhat of a throwback to the so-called "old school" of writing, a writer who cares more about craft than attracting attention. As Hopkins notes, some evidence of this lies in the low profile Gifune keeps, but the most direct demonstration is in the quality of Gifune's stories. Featuring seven short stories and a novella, Heretics presents powerful tales about people on the fringes, outsiders who for whatever reason don't fit in the mainstream, however defined. There's "Ushers of Darkness," where Gifune masterfully turns the tables on his readers, "Creep," a tale of revenge that will appeal to anyone ever taunted by the "in crowd" in school, "Snow Angels," where a father's devotion to his daughter leads to murder and other travesties, and "Restoration," in which a cop's tragic failure to learn from his mistakes leads to eternal damnation. Finally, the title story, "Heretics," is an expertly constructed tale of friendship and betrayal, of promises made and implied. The ending literally sent a chill up my spine.

Although not every tale works as well as those mentioned above--I found the short stories "The Uncertainty of Darkness," "Vessel," and "Past Tense" uninspiring and overly familiar--each is well crafted. Each story shows an attention to detail and to character development that pays off for Gifune as he introduces his more outré elements, lending an air of believability and inevitability to the proceedings.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!, June 26, 2005

By 

Carla "Carla" (Wareham, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heretics (Paperback)

Well I am proud to say that Greg F. Gifune is my Uncle and Godfather. He is not only an awesome guy, but a well established and excellent writer. I have no doubt he will fufill his dreams of becoming HUGE in the horror genre. He is classy, frightening, intelligent and humorous. Heretics was one of the first books of his I read and I could not put it down. This and many others have aspects about them that reach just about everyone in society. If you are up for a thrilling rollercoaster of suspense and horror pick this one up!!!

ALl my love Uncle I am SO proud of you!!

Your "CHICK"!