The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies Audiobook By John Langan cover art

The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies

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The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies

By: John Langan
Narrated by: Eric Martin
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John Langan has, in the last few years, established himself as one of the leading voices in contemporary horror literature. Gifted with a supple and mellifluous prose style, an imagination that can conjure up clutching terrors with seeming effortlessness, and a thorough knowledge of the rich heritage of weird fiction, Langan has already garnered his share of accolades.

This new collection of nine substantial stories includes such masterworks as "Technicolor", an ingenious riff on Poe's "Masque of the Red Death"; "How the Day Runs Down", a gripping tale of the undead; and "The Shallows", a powerful tale of the Cthulhu mythos. The capstone to the collection is a previously unpublished novella of supernatural terror, "Mother of Stone".

©2013 John Langan (P)2018 Tantor Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Horror Scary Horror Anthology

Critic reviews

"Fans of highly original modern horror fiction will find this volume a must-read." (Publishers Weekly)
Creative Anthology • Masterful Storytelling • Excellent Narration • Literary Horror • Experimental Formats
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A great mix of artistry and good old fashion horror. Langan plays with form and style while serving up some genuinely creepy and engaging stories.

Intelligent and haunting

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Brilliant, well-written horror short stories that drew me in and didn't let go. Cannot recommend this enough.

incredible horror shorts

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Excellent listen! Every one of these tales was an absolute joy! One of my new favorites.

Recently discovered John Langan and so glad I did!

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short and to-the-point with no fluff. these are the kind of stories that I like.

modern classic horror

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The "Lovecraftian" enthusiasts will definitely be enthralled by this epic collection of short stories and novellas by John Langan, including one of my all time favorites and title horror story: "The Wide Carnivorous Sky". This is by far one of the most creatively genius anthologies of the H.P. Lovecraft "Cthulhu Mythos Circle" or "Lovecraftian Circle"; stories that are rooted in the Cthulhu Mythos or other Lovecraft dimensions, universe's; the nightmares HP Lovecraft called: "Cosmic Horror". There are a surprisingly large number of authors whose majority of work is aimed specifically to the "Cthulhu Mythos" with a handful of their own non-Lovecraftian fiction and attempts of original content; however, of these authors there are not very many that do HP Lovecraft justice: Caitlin Kiernan (probably the best) Laird Barron, Neil Gaiman, and John Langan. These are the most important writers in the Cthulhu Mythos today. Original despite a Lovecraftian fruition, meaning these authors are highly intelligent and creative, genius. If you like horror, thrillers, an occasional Xenomorph, some of epic proportion, the supernatural, science fiction, fantasy and the macabre, this is exactly all that and more. I also highly recommend one of John Langan's stand alone novel "the Fisherman" one of the best horror novels I have read since Ania Ahlborn's "The Bird Eater" and Kings "Dr Sleep".

Papa Laughing-Bear, Hangtown Ca (So Lake Tahoe)

LANGAN = LOVECRAFTIAN EXCELLENCE!

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Fantastic stories and the narration is spot on--reality bins all around you while the narrator continues with slight, ironic detachment that is absolutely perfect for the tone of these masterpieces of horror.

Fantastic collection by a marvelous writer

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John Langan proves that he is a master storyteller with the collection of tales included in The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies. It's a diverse selection of tales, with some common threads of meta-commentary and a love of classic horror woven throughout many of them. This is an exceptional example of what's meant by literary horror when the term gets bandied about. There's a clear appreciation for the written word and it comes across as what feels like an almost meticulous process of selecting just the right words every step of the way.

We begin with a couple of stories that approach the zombie theme from vastly different directions, the second of which, "How the Day Runs Down," was one of the most original and entertaining things I've had the pleasure of reading. While it isn't--on the surface--overtly comedic, there's something about a zombie plague as experienced by Thornton Wilder that manages to amuse the reader/listener to a great extent.

"Technicolor" showcases both Langan's appreciation of the classics and his knack for metatextual analysis within the stories he tells, this time focused on Poe as he plays with the true story of the man's life and then blurring the line between fiction and reality.

The titular story, "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky," is a vampire tale unlike any other I've had the pleasure of reading...and that is a damn shame because I would love to read more stories like this one.

"City of the Dog" and "The Revel" tackle other supernatural creatures with the same deft hand Langan used when approaching zombies and vampires.

"The Shallows" presents a cosmic horror tale that's as eerie and discomforting as anything written by Lovecraft, filled with tension and dread that are palpable to the reader.

"June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris." is a bit more flippant than the other stories included, but when one discovers that it's meant to be a sort of cruel and horrifically humorous tribute to the fantastic Laird Barron, that all starts to make sense.

"Mother of Stone" is the perfect tale to cap off the collection. It draws the reader in and fills them with a disquieting sense that the real world may not be quite what we believe it to be. This is one of those stories that makes you happy to know you're reading fiction, though the investigation at the heart of the tale makes it feel all too real. It felt, much like "The Shallows," like Langan was delving into the realm of cosmic horror, but in a far more practical and plausible fashion...which made the story delightful.

Eric Martin's delivery as the narrator is superb, and fully captures the literary qualities of Langan's work.

The Definition of Modern Literary Horror

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The sound quality on the recording left some things to be desired. There is a fair bit of whistling on sibilents and some pops on promises, so if those bother you you might want to skip it.

If not, Lagan has a very interesting touch with metafictional elements, and over all I very much enjoyed this collection and will seek out more.

Good stories, sound quality not great

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the narrator was the best part. most of the stories were too long and didn't amount to much. very disappointing.

not impressed.

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This narrator does a fantastic job for this fantastic story. Both book and narrator mesh extremely well.

A great read

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