Unsettling and magnetic…
Manor’s debut in the Shock Pepper series is a darkly inventive plunge into a multiverse of corruption, greed, and moral ambiguity. Unemployed and adrift, Sam Rivender drinks a potion promising ten years of dreamless sleep. Instead, he wakes after three months in a hospital, where a pregnant stranger claims to be his wife and dismisses his memories of the witch as hallucinations. What follows is a surreal, sinister unraveling of truth and reality.
The book weaves together storylines that ripple through the Shock Pepper realm, creating a web of interwoven fates and rising tensions. From the eerie unease of “The Garden of Roses,” where innocence meets lurking menace, to the ruthless scheming of “The Nasty Colleagues,” Manor crafts a vivid, deeply flawed world. Balancing the grotesque and the whimsical, the novel shifts seamlessly from koi ponds turned to horror to shadowy conspiracies. Characters like Sam, drowning in despair, and Priya, searching for her missing child, ground the fantastical in raw human emotion. The intricate storytelling may be overwhelming at times, but it rewards theose who stay with it. A bold, unforgettable exploration of humanity’s darkest corners.
Pub date January 27, 2025
ISBN 979-8303079175
Price $6.99 (USD) Paperback, $0.00 Kindle book
