TATTERDEMON [Kindle Edition]

Steve Vernon (Author)

Book Description

In 1691 the town of Crossfall taught the witch Thessaly how to die. They beat her, they shot her, they hung her - but nothing worked. When they finally tried to bury her alive Thessaly set the field against them. The first man died as a gust of wind harrowed the meat from his bones. A root,flung like a dirty javelin, cut a second man down. Many more deaths followed. The Preacher Fell impaled the witch upon her very own broom but she dragged him down into the field to wait for three more centuries.

Three hundred years later Maddy Harker will murder her bullying husband Vic. She will bury him in the field as she buried her abusive father years before that. The very same field where the revenant spirit of Thessaly Cross lies waiting.

In three days Vic will rise again - a thing of dirt, bone and hatred.

Men will call him the Tatterdemon.

And hell - and Thessaly - will follow.

PRAISE FOR STEVE VERNON:

"This genre needs new blood and Steve Vernon is quite a transfusion." - Ed Lee

"Steve Vernon was born to write. He's the real deal and we're lucky to have him." - Richard Chizmar

"Armed with a bizarre sense of humor, a huge amount of originality, a flair for taking risks and a strong grasp of characterization - Steve's got the
chops for sure." - Dark Discoveries

"This book is EVIL!" - Keith Blackwood

Product Details

• File Size: 603 KB
• Print Length: 371 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Crossroad Press & Macabre Ink Digital; Crossroad Press Digital Edition edition (May 8, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0081UEXPE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,050 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing horrific story of zombie scarecrows! June 30, 2012

By wistfulskimmie - Wistfulskimmies Book Reviews Blog

Format:Kindle Edition

This is the story of an ancient evil. Three hundred years previously Thessaly Cross was condemned to death for being a witch. Despite many attempts to kill her, she remained alive. Eventually Preacher Fell decided to bury her alive. Then she set the field on the townspeople, many were killed that day and in desperation the Preacher impaled himself on her broomstick and she pulled him down into the soil with her. Fast forward three hundred years and Maddy Harker is fed up of being constantly abused by her husband Vic, so she murders him with a frying pan. She buries him in the field where Thessaly's remains lay. Three days later he comes back, a monster born of hatred, soil and bone. Now the town is in trouble as Vic proclaims himself the Straw King, the Tatterdemon, commanding an army of zombie scarecrows. Thus begins the ancient battle of evil versus good, and all the while Thessaly is plotting and waiting....

I am a little worried about this review. Not because I hated the book, far from it, I loved it. I am worried anything I say will not do it justice! To me reading it felt like a classic Stephen King (think The Stand) with some vintage Richard Laymon thrown in. I was gripped from page one. The battle of good against evil is a timeless one but the idea of zombie scarecrows was both different and brilliant. It was tense in places, gory in others but it also had a lot of tongue in cheek humour thrown in. Some scenes really cracked me up. I have read Steve's work before and he never fails to disappoint, this being no exception. Trust me when I say this is a this is out of the ball park and a home run!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll never catch me out in a field again June 30, 2012

By Irene

Format:Kindle Edition

Welcome to Crossfall, where 300 years of festering hatred has just boiled over. Nearly everyone in this book has a nasty little secret that they are waiting to share with you, so come on in. The characters are dark, gritty, and in your face. Everything a horror lover could ask for, be it voodoo,murder, or bodies in the freezer are neatly wrapped for you in this well told tale.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Go In the Fields Again!!! December 6, 2012

By Mallory Anne-Marie Haws TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this almost solely on the review posted at [...]... . The cover art, the blurb, and the review all convinced me, plus I had already read one of Mr. Vernon's novels and know how good is his writing. [...]

Review of Tatterdemon by Steve Vernon
5 stars
A graphic, gory, violent-ridden horror novel, "Tatterdemon" stood my hair on end. Wildly creative, with a good premise, the story is stomach-churning but I consider it worth the read. A subtle trace of wry humour kept me chuckling in the midst of the terrors, sorely needed because these entities are pretty near implacable. Certainly the title character-who was no great shakes when alive-is similar to a Juggernaut. Think you know scarecrows? Think again: fields aren't just for sowing crops. Sometimes they're for harvesting scarecrow entities from the corpses of anything: human, animal, what have you-throw it into the mix (into the soil) and it comes back ambulatory and deadly.
Set in Nova Scotia, "Tatterdemon" is the story of the community of Crossfall and its environs, a fated locale if I ever read of one (think Roanoke Island, with killings instead of disappearances). All I know is, I never want to live there!

More About the Author

Hi! I'm Steve Vernon and I'd love to scare you. Along the way I'll entertain you. I guarantee a giggle as well.

If I listed all of the books I've written I'd bore you - and I am allergic to boring.

Instead, let me recommend one single book of mine.

Pick up SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME for an example of true Steve Vernon storytelling. It's hockey and vampires for folks who love hockey and vampires - and for folks who don't!

For more up-to-date info please follow my blog at:
http://stevevernonstoryteller.wordpress.com/

And follow me at Twitter:
@StephenVernon

yours in storytelling,

Steve Vernon