Black Tea E-Book

Samuel Marolla

• Herausgeber: Acheron Books
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Includes three horror short stories: Black Tea (Ellen Datlow Honorable Mention 2014), Crocodiles and The Janara, by the Italian horror writer Samuel Marolla. English translation by Andrew Tanzi, English editing by the Bram Stoker Awards winner Benjamin Kane Ethridge, introduction by Bram Stoker Awards winner, Gene O'Neill (entitled: A box of lovely dark chocolate). Samuel Marolla's stories are different as for atmosphere, setting and use of the supernatural, and they offer a complete overview of the author's writing. The three stories are linked by a thin common thread, which after passing through the palate, runs through all the senses. The Black Tea horror has the flavour of a mysterious tea, of a haunted wine and of an alchemical cocktail of milk and blood. Something undoubtedly unique, original and terrible.

Leseprobe

Samuel Marolla

Black Tea

and other tales

Acheron Books n.1

Publishing Director: Adriano Barone

ISBN epub: 9788899216009

ISBN mobi: 9788899216016

Italian editing by Adriano Barone

Translation from Italian by Andrew Tanzi

English editing by Benjamin Kane Ethridge

Cover by Diramazioni.it

Introduction by Gene O’Neill

Ebook Publishing by Matteo Poropat

Copyright “Black Tea and other Stories” © 2014 Acheron Books

Copyright “A box of lovely dark chocolates” (Introduction) © 2013 Gene O’Neill

Samuel Marolla was born and lives in Milan (Italy). He’s a genre writer and a businessman.

His genre stories (both fiction and comics) are published by several Italian publishers.

In 2014 he founded the digital publishing company Acheron Books, in order to broadcast the Italian genre fiction worldwide.

His website is www.samuelmarolla.com.

Introduction

A box of lovely dark chocolates

by Gene O’Neill

I usually shudder when a friend recommends an unfamiliar writer to me to read. For a couple of personal reasons. I already have a TBR stack that totters upward clear to the ceiling. But perhaps more important, approaching a book by an unknown writer is indeed like opening a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.

But when the recommendation includes a request for an introduction, the unsettled feeling has an added dimension. Because in this day of so much self-published work, unedited on the internet, it’s more than just possible that this particular box of recommended chocolates might not contain all the best and freshest ingredients. The candy maker perhaps not even a journeyman. I’d never read or even heard of Mr. Samuel Marolla.

So it was with some trepidation that I began the first story, “Black Tea,” in Mr. Marolla’s collection. Only a few minutes into the first story, I realized my fears were without merit. The candy maker was indeed skilled, more than a journey man, perhaps even a master craftsman.

Mr. Marolla’s prose is richly textured, sensory details concretely described. In fact, at some point near the end of the three long stories, I realized the literary quality reminded me quite a bit of the American writer, Thomas Ligotti. But sometimes a Ligotti story can be so dense and convoluted, it is difficult to access. Also another quibble is that a Ligotti story is often short on plot, focused mostly on voice, tone, and mood.

These stories by Mr. Marolla are completely accessible and definitely have intriguing plots. So after finishing the last story, I decided that Mr. Marolla shared a characteristic with one of my favorite writers, Ted Klein. Mr. Klein often uses a slow buildup, rich in sensory detail, the plot slowly evolving. But, as the intriguing plot is revealed, there is an increasing sense of almost unbearable ominous foreboding. These three stories by Samuel Marolla share these Ted Klein characteristics.

Each story contains a special surprise, like a tasty nougat in the heart of a chocolate:

Black Tea: A surreal and disturbing central image.

Crocodiles: A recipe for an unusual blood-red wine.

The Janara: Ah, the rules, the rules, we must all follow the rules.

So, I found this box of candy to be made of the tastiest ingredients, covered in only the finest, richest, and very dark chocolate. All this blended by a master craftsman. BLACK TEA and other tales by Samuel Marolla has my enthusiastic recommendation. I will watch for his byline in the future.

-- Gene O’Neill, THE BURDEN OF INDIGO

Black Tea

The "principal lodger" ofJean Valjean'sday was dead

and had been replaced by another exactly like her.

I know not whatphilosopherhas said: "Old women are never lacking.

Les Miserables, Victor Hugo

The man walked through the shadows, over crimson carpets, past the mesmerizing patterns plastered on the walls. The air was sultry with no windows or other apertures, just a never-ending progression of forking, dead-end hallways, scattered with dust-laden mirrors, stairs leading nowhere, vaulted arches groaning under concrete masses. The wallpaper concealed other doors leading to cubbyholes and more empty rooms. Dark shelves held up old trinkets thick with dust. The plank ceiling was moldy. Sunlight had been foreign to this place for years.