Broken Eye Books is publishing the serial novel Carnivàle by WC Dunlap, a surreal and post-apocalyptic political horror show.
In the midst of a post-apocalyptic dust bowl sits the Village of Junk. Villagers roam like zombies through the routine of life without living, persisting on pure biological instinct. They shit, they eat, they fuck, they die. But each year, the Carnivàle rolls into town, bringing false hope and broken promises.
For some, it is a respite from the doldrums of poverty, an evening of rancorous hedonism—when hunger, sickness, and depression are lulled by carnal indulgence. But for the Virgin and the Whore, it is an opportunity to take the helm of the most sinister show on earth. They’ve prepared all year to submit themselves to the trials of the Carnivàle, ready to risk their souls for the opportunity to rule. But one does not simply lose at the Carnivàle. This year’s Carnivàle will be the ultimate test of the human spirit, all of them.
“This story was inspired by the insanity of participating in an electoral system with fervent fanaticism,” says WC, “compromising our values and placing faith in candidates whom we viciously defend when ultimately the decision is not ours at all. And then the candidates rarely deliver what they promised. It’s the stuff of a surreal dystopia, so I attempted to write one.”
The story begins in September 2019 over at Eyedolon.
In the midst of a post-apocalyptic dust bowl sits the Village of Junk. Villagers roam like zombies through the routine of life without living, persisting on pure biological instinct. They shit, they eat, they fuck, they die. But each year, the Carnivàle rolls into town, bringing false hope and broken promises.
For some, it is a respite from the doldrums of poverty, an evening of rancorous hedonism—when hunger, sickness, and depression are lulled by carnal indulgence. But for the Virgin and the Whore, it is an opportunity to take the helm of the most sinister show on earth. They’ve prepared all year to submit themselves to the trials of the Carnivàle, ready to risk their souls for the opportunity to rule. But one does not simply lose at the Carnivàle. This year’s Carnivàle will be the ultimate test of the human spirit, all of them.
“This story was inspired by the insanity of participating in an electoral system with fervent fanaticism,” says WC, “compromising our values and placing faith in candidates whom we viciously defend when ultimately the decision is not ours at all. And then the candidates rarely deliver what they promised. It’s the stuff of a surreal dystopia, so I attempted to write one.”
The story begins in September 2019 over at Eyedolon.
WC Dunlap draws her inspiration from the complexities of a Black Baptist, middle-class upbringing by Southern parents and all that entails for a brown-skin girl growing up in America. Equally enthralled by the divine and the demonic with a professional background in data & tech, she seeks to bend genres with a unique lens on fantasy, fear, and the future.
Her writing career spans film, journalism, and cultural critique. You can find her most recent work under “Wendi Dunlap” at PodCastle, in the Lovecraft-inspired anthology Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird, and the inaugural edition of the award-winning FIYAH literary magazine. Her website wcdunlap.com is coming soon.
She holds a BA in Film and Africana Studies from Cornell University. She is the proud mother of a young adult son and two British Shorthair familiars. Follow WC Dunlap on twitter @wcdunlap_tales.
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.
Support weird. Support indie.
Her writing career spans film, journalism, and cultural critique. You can find her most recent work under “Wendi Dunlap” at PodCastle, in the Lovecraft-inspired anthology Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird, and the inaugural edition of the award-winning FIYAH literary magazine. Her website wcdunlap.com is coming soon.
She holds a BA in Film and Africana Studies from Cornell University. She is the proud mother of a young adult son and two British Shorthair familiars. Follow WC Dunlap on twitter @wcdunlap_tales.
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.
Support weird. Support indie.
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