TORMENT - A Novel of Dark Horror [Kindle Edition]

Jeremy Bishop (Author)

Book Description

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Jeremy Bishop's first pulse-pounding novel is a horrific tale of post-apocalyptic terror that is one part zombie story and one part Dante's Inferno. The story asks hard questions and generates strong emotions in everyone who reads it--anger, excitement, and most of all: FEAR. This book asks the question that everyone is afraid to answer: Are you ready?

STORY DESCRIPTION:

Small town reporter, Mia Durante, finds herself having brunch with the President of the United States on the day civilization comes to an end. An electromagnetic pulse blinds the U.S. Cars crash. Planes fall. Chaos reigns. Power is restored within minutes, but it's already too late. Russian nukes are falling. U.S. allies around the world are all ready wiped out. The United States will cease to exist inside of five minutes.

After giving the order to launch a full-scale retaliation, dooming the planet, the president, White House staff, Secret Service and those lucky enough to be visiting the white house, are whisked below ground where they board several Earth Escape Pods. As the EEPs launch into Earth orbit, missiles descend.

Less than forty survive the end of the world. When they return, they're greeted by survivors of a different sort. The bloodbath that follows leaves Durante and nine other survivors on the run. They find themselves fighting for survival in a world in which only torment remains and where death is the only escape.

** THE SENTINEL, Bishop's second novel, is available now! Check it out.

PRAISE FOR TORMENT:

"Jeremy Bishop takes a terrifying bite out of the zombie genre with TORMENT. This is a dark and devious post-apocalypting thrill-ride!" -Jonathan Maberry, NY Times Bestselling authr of PATIENT ZERO and ROT & RUIN

"TORMENT is a nightmarish descent through Armageddon. With barely a pause for breath, Bishop drags you out of normality, straight into the depths of a devastated post-apocalyptic landscape. Surreal and extraordinary locations, grotesque characters and outlandish events rise up from the devastated ashes of the familiar in this startlingly original horror novel. Dreamlike, disturbing and never predictable, once you start reading, you won't want to put it down." -- David Moody, author of HATER, DOG BLOOD & the AUTUMN series.

"Jeremy Bishop explodes onto the zombie scene with TORMENT, a thought-provoking gorefest that turns the genre on its head. Both shocking and riveting, this is a debut novel that leaves the reader hungry for more." -- Steven Savile, #1 bestselling author of PRIMEVAL and SILVER

"With originality not seen since Fleischer's Zombieland, Bishop's debut novel will drag you kicking and screaming to the very bloody end. Look out Maberry ... there's a new sheriff in town."
-- Thenovelblog.com

"This is one of those kick-ass icky books that constantly surprised me. I'm looking forward to what Bishop has up his sleeve next." -- Jeff Ayers, Author Magazine

"TORMENT is a fast paced horror story filled with monsters and zombies (but not the kind you might expect in a novel like this). [It's] gory and intense, all things a book like this should be."
-- TheManEatingBookworm

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jeremy Bishop has, by all outward appearances, lived a normal life. He grew up in a nice home, in a friendly seaside town. But, as is often, the pleasant facade seen at first glance conceals a darker side. Throughout childhood and early teen years he encountered malevolent entities that whisked in and out of rooms, moved furniture and haunted his dreams.

He processed these encounters through drawings of monsters and devils, expunging horrible images from his mind. As an adult, he continues to expel the monsters of his childhood through his novels, the first of which, TORMENT, is based on a dream. Enter the mind of Jeremy Bishop if you dare. Share his nightmares. Experience the fear that shaped his life. You may never be the same.

Product Details

• File Size: 689 KB
• Print Length: 332 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004AYCTH4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,182 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not As Good As It Could Have Been February 8, 2011

By Rebecca Hartong

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Torment started out with a really interesting premise and it could have been pretty good if the author had just gone forward with it, but instead he chose to head in...the direction he headed...and, sadly, the book just got worse and worse.

Spoiler alert! Stop reading now to avoid potential spoilers!
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This book was like the bastard offspring of an unholy (snick!) mating between "Alas, Babylon" and "Left Behind". I might have been able to tolerate even that if the people who were making it out of hell were genuinely deserving of it -- like the main character -- instead of being caricatures of "good Christians".

By the time the book ended, I was just irritated. I feel like I got cheated. I wanted a zombie story -- or at least some kind of fun post-apocalyptic romp -- and all I got was a sick morality tale where good people don't get out of hell unless they "accept Jesus"... or something. Even that wasn't especially clear.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Cartoon-ish January 8, 2011

By Jeffrey Swystun

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

A mostly cartoon-ish post-apocalyptic novel with a few original aspects. It finds itself weighed down by questionable science fiction and religious content. Also the reaction to the event by the main characters was virtually unbelievable which eroded an interesting premise. Still there is value there for the cost of the book, if you want a quick read (and can suspend all of your beliefs). Might have been more suited to a graphic novel given the monsters and zombies described.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars At least I only paid three bucks February 12, 2011

By James

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

If I had known how the second half of this book would progress I would have skipped it altogether. I was suckered in by the 'free sample', which gave me just enough to get me interested and pay the $2.99 to find out just what happened next.

If you read nothing else in my review, please note this: IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ZOMBIES, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.

There are two good things about this book. 1, the characterization is adequate if not fantastic. At least I cared about most of the characters in the beginning. And 2, the action does move along and is aptly described.

That said, the ending left me very unsatisfied. "What, that's it?" I spent the first half of the book trying to figure out just how the world ended up the way it was after the nuclear holocaust (I was convinced that I would be given some sort of explanation, even if not a scientifically-sound one), and never would I have actually guessed what the author intended. Taking the possibility of survival completely out of the picture took away any interest I had in how the characters carried on from there. There was no longer any motivation to survive, because essentially, even though they were still moving, the characters pretty much gave up. The quest became spiritual in Mia's mind, and I don't think the way the story started out was a good starting point for a spiritual quest. Her acceptance of the situation and her choice felt tacked on, a question repeated over and over with no advancement, no true reasoning to help her make a decision. I felt that in the end, she simply quit.

But what really got me in the end was the author's 'afterword'. Apparently he felt the need to respond to negative criticism by explaining his motivation behind the book. "Are we ready to die?" he asks, and as a materialist that question will never have the same meaning for me as it does for someone with a dualistic view of reality. Perhaps someone who is genuinely afraid of Hell will find this book more to their liking. I already removed it from my Kindle and will probably delete it from my archive.

More About the Author

JEREMY BISHOP has, by all outward appearances, lived a normal life. He grew up in a nice home, in a friendly seaside town. But, as is often, the pleasant facade seen at first glance conceals a darker side. Throughout childhood and early teen years he encountered malevolent entities that whisked in and out of rooms, moved furniture and haunted his dreams.

At second glance, the seaside town was only miles from where the puritans tortured innocent women and hung them as witches, a history and culture that permeated the area. A closer inspection of the nice house revealed past evils of previous owners--bullet holes in windows and a five foot square, red, white and black Swastika painted on the basement wall--a basement that terrified Bishop and his two brothers, even as adults.

He processed these encounters through drawings of monsters and devils, expunging horrible images from his mind. As an adult, he continues to expel the monsters of his childhood through his novels, the first of which, TORMENT, is based on a dream. Enter the mind of Jeremy Bishop if you dare. Share his nightmares. Experience the fear that shaped his life. You may never be the same.