Thursday, April 29, 2010

Robotic Chimp Heads... Yes, that's what I said...

From its global headquarters in Boston, the mysterious Occlusionist Movement is preparing to control the world with its Digital Eucharist, while in the serpentine bowels of the city an ancient demon is unleashed, eager for revenge against the man who imprisoned it years ago--Hiram Grange! On the heels of the release of Hiram Grange & the Twelve Little Hitlers, Rob Davies' intelligent and uproarious novella, Hiram Grange & the Digital Eucharist, has challenged the boundaries of adventure horror fiction. Eucharist is the third installment in the Scandalous Misadventures of Hiram Grange series. About Rob Davies:

ROBERT DAVIES writes stories about lobster girls and laser beams. Mimetic fiction is for wimps. Raised on a steady diet of weird paperbacks, Infocom games, and comic books, Rob has always wanted to be a writer (Well, actually, he first wanted to be a dinosaur, but that didn’t work out so well). When not writing, Rob likes to travel around the world, searching for the ideal pint and the perfect bookstore. He lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, with his wife Sara and two cats, Lilith and Tiamat. His favorite Horseman is Pestilence.

Visit Rob online at www.robertedavies.com. Cover Art and illustrations by Malcolm McClintonLayout, design, copyediting, and woodcut embellishments by Danny Evarts

What are People Saying?

"Join Hiram Grange as he negotiates with a little voodoo help an unfamiliar and scary Boston. Along the way he struggles with Black Magic rituals, creatures summoned from the Abyss, his own inner demons, and the mysterious enslaving power of the Digital Eucharist. At stake: Saving the world from the  Occlusionist Movement. The writing is consistently authentic and compelling. An absolute  must read for fans of fast-paced, action-packed occult thrillers."

--Gene O'Neill, Stoker-winning author  of JADE and DEATHFLASH

"The Digital Eucharist is a trip in every sense of the word...dark, funny, humanistic, and surreal. While others are producing stories and characters in a familiar cookie-cutter format, the minds behind Hiram Grange are blazing a trail as unique and wonderful as the world they are working within. Hiram Grange is Absinthe for the fastidious horror reader."  

-- Michael Knost, Bram Stoker Award-winner of WRITERS WORKSHOP OF HORROR

"Vivid, engaging, and darkly humorous – Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist is another spectacular entry in the Hiram Grange series that you can't afford to miss."

-- Jason M. Tucker – Author of MEAT CITY & OTHER STORIES


Thursday, March 25, 2010

"This isn't just a series of books; it's a force to be reckoned with..."

Anton Cancre over at Horror News, had glowing praise for Scott Christian Carr's, Hiram Grange and the 12 Little Hitlers:

"What I am coming to adore about Hiram is his fragility, the simple realization that this is the last person anyone would want to depend on for their salvation. It makes him more human, more real to me. Within these pages, Scott shows us Hiram at his most vulnerable. An incredibly weak, insecure and utterly shattered person upon whom a practically unbearable weight is placed and he simply cannot face it all. So he dives face first into any drug he can get into himself, begging for the oblivion his mother chased and eventually found staring down the barrel of his Webley.

In anyone else's hands the pathetic fallacy in which Hiram mental state is regularly reflected in the music playing wherever he went could very well come across as a cheap, clumsy and ineffective trick, but he handles it with such grace and subtlety that it is nothing less than magic."

Anton also recognized the work of the artistic team that lent their talent to give the Hiram books their unique look and feel:

"The marvelous cover and interior artwork by Malcolm McClinton that has become, in my mind, inseparable from H.G., is once again present. This time out, the images are slightly skewed, twisted and stretched in a way that reflects Hiram's state of mind quite nicely. I should also mention the often unremarked upon woodblock illustrations of Mr. Danny Evarts, something ubiquitous with Shroud publications. Slight and unobtrusive, as they should be, but always placed in a way that adds to the writer's work without drawing attention to themselves."

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Malcolm McClinton Unveils Digital Eucharist Art

When we joined forces with Malcolm McClinton to put a face on Hiram Grange we were pretty sure that we had already hit the jackpot.  Malcolm had brought years of professional illustration experience with him, and his unique style dovetailed nicely with the whole Hiram concept.

However, as Malcolm created each new piece of art for the Hiram series, we quickly realized that he was an integral part of the creative team and his talented art significantly helped us cement the image of Hiram and his associates in our mind.

In his latest work, Malcolm has created a series of horrific masterpieces that transcend the amazing work he has done for the character to-date.  Shroud Publishing is very proud to share samples of Malcolm's illustrations and cover for Rob Davies' book, Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist.


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Horror News: Hiram is "powerful, moving and freaky..."

Anton Cancre from Horror News, just posted an in-depth review of Jake Burrows' Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned (get it on Amazon now).

Here are a few things he had to say:

"This is someone who sees the hilarity, horror and tragedy in the absurd. Someone who knows that paralyzing, gut-busting laughter isn't that far removed from gibbering and chuckling, curled into an empty-eyed ball in the corner of a padded cell. This knowledge elevates the tale into a powerful, moving and freaky ass piece of art."

"Jake Burrows has given a potential caricature depth and an accessible emotional center that I did not expect..."

"...One of the more tense and taught openings to a horror novel I have read in a long time..."

"Come the bright, unwavering light of dawn, H.G. and the VotD made for a damn fine and totally entertaining read that moved me in unexpected ways. I can't wait to find out what lies in store for our intrepid anti-hero once he washes the puke out of his hair."

Then there is praise for Malclom McClinton's original artwork:

"Then there is the cover art and interior paintings by  Malcolm McClinton. In these stark, simple images, he manages to perfectly capture the frailty and pathos that drives Hiram in the face of the utter insanity of the moment. The addition of illustrations like these is what has put Shroud to the forefront of my mind when it comes to small press releases, second only to some of the better releases by Necro. Art like this makes it much easier to justify the added cost that comes with any small press purchase."

Read the entire insightful review here.

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