Tempting Providence and Other Stories by Jonathan Thomas

Starting at: $20.00

  • Foreword by Sherry Austin
  • 2010
  • ISBN 978-0-9844802-0-3
  • EPUB and MOBI e-books available

 "I am bowled over by the brilliance of Tempting Providence—Thomas is not just a 'master of the macabre' but a downright first-rate, wonderfully skillful and major short-story writer, period."—Barton L. St. Armand, Poe and Lovecraft scholar, author of The Roots of Horror in the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, H.P. Lovecraft: New England Decadent, et al.

"For a charming trip through supernatural horror, read Providence writer Jonathan Thomas's latest book, "Tempting Providence and Other Stories.'' There's lots of the lure and repulsion of the local in this work."—Robert Whitcomb, This New England Blog

"Providence is a state of mind and writing ability. Thomas shows that he has both and I look forward to his future offerings."—Barry Hunter, The Baryon Review

“'Tempting Providence' by Jonathan Thomas ... replays the old trope of fishermen and their lures with a nicely Lovecraftian twist. I was beguiled not only by the memories of Providence but also by the impeccable awareness of the hero, understanding the significance of the temptations and reacting with appropriate caution. It is always satisfying to meet an author who believes in establishing credible characters even though they may be stuck in incredible circumstances."—David Marshall, Thinking About Books

“Myth and archetype, as well as the influence of masters of the Gothic tale, seep in from the groundwater in Jonathan Thomas’s world, but the landscape is wholly his own. The stories amuse, challenge, and unsettle.”—From Sherry Austin’s Foreword

“I found [‘Tempting Providence’] by Jonathan Thomas unexpectedly charming (if it’s permitted to describe a horror tale as charming), not least in its evocation of old Providence . . . It certainly brought back memories of my own wanderings around the city in the ’60s, the same ‘wistful daydreams’ his hero engages in, the sense that, if only HPL hadn’t died so young, he might still be renting rooms in one of the neighborhood houses and enjoying a sundae or an evening stroll.”—T. E. D. Klein
 
 
'Thomas is an intelligent and talented writer of weird fiction ... this collection is well worth reading. Recommended for readers who enjoy their weird fiction a trifle more cerebral than average.'—Neale Monks, SFCrowsnest
 

Jonathan Thomas follows up the critical and popular success of his collection from 2008, Midnight Call and Other Stories, with this new and substantial volume of weird tales long and short. The title story is a marvelous evocation of Providence yesterday and today, with much for the ghost of H. P. Lovecraft to dislike in the way his city has evolved. Providence is the setting for several other tales—tales that introduce us to such anomalies as a Lord of the Animals who seems to have an inexplicable sympathy with our four-footed friends, and a man whose quest for an extremely rare psychedelic album leads to something much stranger . . . In these twelve stories, Thomas fulfills the promise of his earlier work and shows that he has become one of the leading figures in contemporary supernatural horror.


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This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 25 April, 2010.