Strange things exist on the periphery of our existence, haunting us from the darkness looming beyond our firelight. Black magic, weird cults and worse things loom in the shadows. The Children of Old Leech have been with us from time immemorial. And they love us...
Donald Miller, geologist and academic, has walked along the edge of a chasm for most of his nearly eighty years, leading a charmed life between endearing absent-mindedness and sanity-shattering realization. Now, all things must converge. Donald will discover the dark secrets along the edges, unearthing savage truths about his wife Michelle, their adult twins, and all he knows and trusts. For Donald is about to stumble on the secret...
...of The Croning.
From Laird Barron, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of The Imago Sequence and Occultation, comes The Croning, a debut novel of cosmic horror.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Laird Barron is the author of two collections: The Imago Sequence and Occultation. His work has appeared in many magazines and anthologies. An expatriate Alaskan, Barron currently resides in the wilds of Upstate New York.
“Powerfully written and imaginative, I literally couldn’t put it down!”
—Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., author of The Orphan Palace
“Already a master of the horror short story, he shows himself equally skilled at novel-length work.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“The Croning deserves a place in the bookcase next to T.E.D. Klein’s The Ceremonies, Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby and Fritz Leiber’s Our Lady Of Darkness and that is the highest recommendation that I can give.”
—CrowsNBones.com
"The scariest writer on the planet has to be Laird Barron."
—Paul Goat Allen, The Barnes & Noble Book Blog
"Laird Barron has, in a remarkably short period of time, emerged as one of the leading writers of contemporary weird fiction."
—S. T. Joshi
“If you think there aren’t any new Richard Mathesons or Harlan Ellisons out there, you need to read Laird Barron.”
—Stewart O’Nan, bestselling author of A Prayer for the Dying
“Laird Barron is one of those writers who makes other writers want to break their pencils. I’m serious. His work is that good. Worse than that, he’s an original (damn him!), and the finest writer to join the ranks of the dark fantastic in a long, long time.”
—Norman Partridge, author of Dark Harvest and Lesser Demons
“For my money, Laird Barron is far and away the best of the new generation of horror writers.”
—Michael Shea, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Polyphemus
“Powerfully written and imaginative, I literally couldn’t put it down!”
—Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., author of The Orphan Palace
“Already a master of the horror short story, he shows himself equally skilled at novel-length work.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“The Croning deserves a place in the bookcase next to T.E.D. Klein’s The Ceremonies, Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby and Fritz Leiber’s Our Lady Of Darkness and that is the highest recommendation that I can give.”
—CrowsNBones.com
"The scariest writer on the planet has to be Laird Barron."
—Paul Goat Allen, The Barnes & Noble Book Blog
"Laird Barron has, in a remarkably short period of time, emerged as one of the leading writers of contemporary weird fiction."
—S. T. Joshi
“If you think there aren’t any new Richard Mathesons or Harlan Ellisons out there, you need to read Laird Barron.”
—Stewart O’Nan, bestselling author of A Prayer for the Dying
“Laird Barron is one of those writers who makes other writers want to break their pencils. I’m serious. His work is that good. Worse than that, he’s an original (damn him!), and the finest writer to join the ranks of the dark fantastic in a long, long time.”
—Norman Partridge, author of Dark Harvest and Lesser Demons
“For my money, Laird Barron is far and away the best of the new generation of horror writers.”
—Michael Shea, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Polyphemus
