Oracle
On sale
19th March 2024
Price: £20
Genre
‘Totally, brilliantly original.’ Stephen King on HEX
‘Creepy and gripping and original’ – George R.R. Martin on HEX
The latest spine-chilling horror thriller from the Hugo award-winning author, Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Adam Nevill and Stephen King.
On a foggy winter morning two children discover the impossible: the wreck of an eighteenth-century ship stranded in a field.
One enters the hatch on the deck and is never seen again. And she isn’t the last to disappear . . .
Soon a government agency begins to investigate, determined to uncover the ship’s secrets before a media storm erupts. They enlist Robert Grim, a retired specialist of the occult, to unravel the mystery, who soon realises the ship could be a harbinger of an ancient doom awakened under the sea.
In a maelstrom of international intrigue and pure terror, Grim must race against time as he comes face to face with an open doorway to the apocalypse.
Praise for Thomas Olde Heuvelt
‘A compulsive page turner mixing supernatural survival horror and pulp adventure’ Paul Tremblay
‘Hallucinatory, eerie and terrifying’ Catriona Ward
‘A haunting contribution to the literature of folk horror’ Ramsey Campbell
‘Reminiscent of vintage Stephen King’ John Connolly
‘A great writer, the next genre superstar’ Paul Cornell
‘Takes the horror/thriller genre to a whole new level’ Sarah Lotz
‘Horrific, poignant, creepy, brilliantly written‘ Jeff VanderMeer
‘Creepy and gripping and original’ – George R.R. Martin on HEX
The latest spine-chilling horror thriller from the Hugo award-winning author, Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman, Adam Nevill and Stephen King.
On a foggy winter morning two children discover the impossible: the wreck of an eighteenth-century ship stranded in a field.
One enters the hatch on the deck and is never seen again. And she isn’t the last to disappear . . .
Soon a government agency begins to investigate, determined to uncover the ship’s secrets before a media storm erupts. They enlist Robert Grim, a retired specialist of the occult, to unravel the mystery, who soon realises the ship could be a harbinger of an ancient doom awakened under the sea.
In a maelstrom of international intrigue and pure terror, Grim must race against time as he comes face to face with an open doorway to the apocalypse.
Praise for Thomas Olde Heuvelt
‘A compulsive page turner mixing supernatural survival horror and pulp adventure’ Paul Tremblay
‘Hallucinatory, eerie and terrifying’ Catriona Ward
‘A haunting contribution to the literature of folk horror’ Ramsey Campbell
‘Reminiscent of vintage Stephen King’ John Connolly
‘A great writer, the next genre superstar’ Paul Cornell
‘Takes the horror/thriller genre to a whole new level’ Sarah Lotz
‘Horrific, poignant, creepy, brilliantly written‘ Jeff VanderMeer
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Reviews
A mystery of unprecedented magnitude. This thrilling story spirals into an age-old battle between land and sea
Robert Grim is back. With the same cynical worldview and a blatant contempt for authority. Only a true cult hero deserves such a comeback from the ashes
Oracle is a combination of styles and genres. The prose is cinematic, and you would expect the story to propel towards one single roaring climax. But Oracle contains at least six of those grand finales
Exceptionally good. There is no other Dutch author of speculative fiction or thrillers who can match Olde Heuvelt. This book is breathtaking: you feel the storm roaring through the pages
When reading Oracle readers can expect appealing heroes and a remarkable reading experience in a world in which past and present intertwine. You won't forget this book anytime soon
Olde Heuvelt manages to take lovers of suspense on an extraordinary ride again and again
Oracle is cleverly construed and firmly anchored in today's world. Olde Heuvelt leads the life of a literary rock star
Oracle is a solid story against a familiar Dutch backdrop. The misty fields, de threat of dyke failures, the ever raging North Sea. Olde Heuvelt draws up extremely convincing characters though subtle, natural dialogue
The long-awaited new novel from the Dutch author of HEX is an ambitious, capacious work [...] containing everything from psychological suspense to cosmic horror. With moments of wonder as well as terror, it looks likely to be one of the highlights of this year's horror scene
Echo is horrific, poignant, creepy, brilliantly written-expect to see it on bestseller lists and year's end best lists, and hopefully awards consideration. Don't sleep on this one
Totally, brilliantly original
HEX is creepy and gripping and original
Reminiscent of vintage Stephen King
Heuvelt builds an entire nightmarish mythology (borrowing, with permission, a bit of mythological business from Neil Gaiman) without ever losing sight of how horrifying even a small chunk of body horror can be. It's his attention to detail, as well as the thread of dark mischief that underscores the whole thing, that makes Heuvelt's writing so compelling. Who knew the weather forecast could be so spooky?