Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 14 to 18
- Grade: 9 to 12
Description
Tree planters on the run from parasitic insects. A physicist who has become the target of a murderous airline. Teenagers trapped in a museum with an eldritch horror. An escaped pit fighter thrust into a desperate stand at a sagging mountain fortress. And a luckless cowboy sailing across a sea of grass to the bloody resurrection of an elder god. Welcome to Joel McKay's It Came From the Trees and Other Violent Aberrations, a collection of five page-turners as strange, disparate and bloody as their titles suggest.
So, grab a stiff drink, turn the lights down low, settling into your favorite reading nook and enjoy this brief but memorable collection of tales from one of the newest voices in Canadian pulp fiction.
About the author
Contributor Notes
Joel McKay is an economics nerd by day and fiction writer by night. He is a former journalist and public relations executive and leads an economic development organization that serves Northern British Columbia. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work as a writer and economic developer. He began writing fiction seriously in 2020. He calls Prince George, B.C. home where he lives with his wife and two daughters.
Excerpt: It Came From The Trees and Other Violent Aberrations (by (author) Joel McKay)
I looked over my shoulder. The cab was rocking back and forth. The rain was coming down in sheets, but I could only make out movement in the truck each time the wipers made a pass. It was like a stop motion movie. Eric's heavy arms flailed, his head lolling back and forth like one of those bobble-head dolls you set on your dashboard. He started to yell, his words jumbled between grunts and heavy burps. Then something cracked and a black liquid splashed against the inside of the windshield. I remember thinking how odd it was that the wipers were on the outside of the truck at that moment when they were needed inside so we could see what was going on. But then that black liquid started to churn and move, a thousand tiny black beetles finding their legs.
Editorial Reviews
"I'm a big fan of horror content and books, and this book was no disappointment. The author displays a mastery of his craft." - Anthionette Gwen
"Chilling, atmospheric, and engaging author Joel McKay's It Came From the Trees and Other Violent Aberrations is a must-read horror and pulp fiction collection." - Anthony Avina
