New dark-fantasy, folk-horror novel, Trail of Shadows, by Mike Allen, uncovers the power of spirits and nightmares in Appalachia. Publishing October 7, 2025.
Two-time World Fantasy Award finalist Mike Allen spins a tale of spirit beings, serial killers, and supernatural horrors.
Nathan's freshman year in college delivers alternative rock, relationship adventures, and a plague of waking nightmares. He flees campus for the Appalachian Trail, hoping to leave his personal demons behind. But a scream for help from a boy made of shadows rips his reality to pieces.
The rescue of the boy ends in a blood-soaked struggle that teaches Nathan monsters are real. And that he is one of them. Forgotten powers and hungers from his childhood manifest in claws that can tear apart flesh and spirit.
But wonders soon bring terrors as the revelation of Nathan's true nature exposes his existence to enemies he never knew he had. As he desperately seeks the ancestor who can unlock the secrets of his heritage, a shape-shifting mass murderer stalks close behind. And even worse things await him in the shadows of the spirit realm.
Mike Allen wears many creative hats, at least one of them tailor-made by his wife and partner-in-crime Anita. An author, editor, and publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, Mike has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-nine books, among them this dark fantasy novel Trail of Shadows; his sidearms, sorcery, and zombies sequence The Black Fire Concerto and The Ghoulmaker’s Aria; and his latest horror collection Slow Burn. Unseaming and Aftermath of an Industrial Accident, his first two volumes of horror tales, were both finalists for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Story Collection, and his dark fable “The Button Bin” was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Another collection, The Spider Tapestries, contains experiments in weird science fiction and fantasy. As editor and publisher, Mike has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award: first, for his anthology Clockwork Phoenix 5, the culmination of the Clockwork Phoenix series, showcasing tales of beauty and strangeness that defy genre classification, and for Mythic Delirium, the magazine of poetry and fiction he edited for twenty years. He’s also a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for poetry. His six poetry collections include Strange Wisdoms of the Dead, a Philadelphia Inquirer Editor’s Choice selection, and Hungry Constellations, a Suzette Haden Elgin Award nominee. With Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, based in Roanoke, Virginia. Their cat Pandora assists.
Broken Eye Books is an independent press, here to bring you the odd, strange, and offbeat side of speculative fiction. Our stories tend to blend genres, highlighting the weird and blurring its boundaries with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. More information can be found at brokeneyebooks.com or by contacting Scott Gable <[email protected]>.
Two-time World Fantasy Award finalist Mike Allen spins a tale of spirit beings, serial killers, and supernatural horrors.
Nathan's freshman year in college delivers alternative rock, relationship adventures, and a plague of waking nightmares. He flees campus for the Appalachian Trail, hoping to leave his personal demons behind. But a scream for help from a boy made of shadows rips his reality to pieces.
The rescue of the boy ends in a blood-soaked struggle that teaches Nathan monsters are real. And that he is one of them. Forgotten powers and hungers from his childhood manifest in claws that can tear apart flesh and spirit.
But wonders soon bring terrors as the revelation of Nathan's true nature exposes his existence to enemies he never knew he had. As he desperately seeks the ancestor who can unlock the secrets of his heritage, a shape-shifting mass murderer stalks close behind. And even worse things await him in the shadows of the spirit realm.
Mike Allen wears many creative hats, at least one of them tailor-made by his wife and partner-in-crime Anita. An author, editor, and publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, Mike has written, edited, or co-edited thirty-nine books, among them this dark fantasy novel Trail of Shadows; his sidearms, sorcery, and zombies sequence The Black Fire Concerto and The Ghoulmaker’s Aria; and his latest horror collection Slow Burn. Unseaming and Aftermath of an Industrial Accident, his first two volumes of horror tales, were both finalists for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Story Collection, and his dark fable “The Button Bin” was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Another collection, The Spider Tapestries, contains experiments in weird science fiction and fantasy. As editor and publisher, Mike has been nominated twice for the World Fantasy Award: first, for his anthology Clockwork Phoenix 5, the culmination of the Clockwork Phoenix series, showcasing tales of beauty and strangeness that defy genre classification, and for Mythic Delirium, the magazine of poetry and fiction he edited for twenty years. He’s also a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for poetry. His six poetry collections include Strange Wisdoms of the Dead, a Philadelphia Inquirer Editor’s Choice selection, and Hungry Constellations, a Suzette Haden Elgin Award nominee. With Anita, he runs Mythic Delirium Books, based in Roanoke, Virginia. Their cat Pandora assists.
Broken Eye Books is an independent press, here to bring you the odd, strange, and offbeat side of speculative fiction. Our stories tend to blend genres, highlighting the weird and blurring its boundaries with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. More information can be found at brokeneyebooks.com or by contacting Scott Gable <[email protected]>.
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