Fear Me

by Tim Curran

Shaddock Valley. A maximum security prison that houses the worst of the worst: drug gangs, psychopaths, rapists, gangters, and outlaw bikers. In a place like that, a skinny little kid like Danny Palmquist doesn't stand a chance. It doesn't take long before the hardtimers move in on him.

Then they begin to die horribly.

In locked cells.

When the lights go out at Shaddock Valley, the nightmare begins. When Danny Palmquist goes to sleep, something else wakes up.

Something primeval.

Something bloodthirsty.

And if you mess with Danny Palmquist, it will find you. And in the darkness, nothing can save you.

Genres: Horror, Novella, Fiction, Adult, Lovecraftian, Monsters, Supernatural

203 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

Tim Curran lives in Michigan and is the author of the novels Skin Medicine, Hive, Dead Sea, Resurrection, The Devil Next Door, and Biohazard, as well as the novella The Corpse King. His short stories have appeared in such magazines as City Slab, Flesh&Blood, Book of Dark Wisdom, and Inhuman, and anthologies such as Shivers IV, High Seas Cthulhu, and Vile Things.

For DarkFuse and its imprints, he has written the bestselling The Underdwelling, the Readers Choice-Nominated novella Fear Me, Puppet Graveyard as well as Long Black Coffin.

Find him on the web at: www.corpseking.com.

Reviews

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danny Palmquist is fresh meat at Shaddock Valley maximum prison. Skinny and quiet, he is a target for rapists and other inmates. Unfortunately for those inmates, they soon learn Danny is someone to fear. They are ripped apart in a locked cell by something not human. You would think these dummies would learn to leave Danny alone, but nope. Soon the whole prison is screaming and painted red.

Excellent quick read for extreme horror fans!

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I am a fan of Tim Curran and his work this book "Fear Me" did not quite strike the sweet spot in reading. There are no two ways about it. One has to love a good savage prison yarn. The problem I encountered, upon completion, this novella felt like a fix up job. Two thirds through the book "Fear Me" gives the impression that it starts over, recapping all the activity prior. The narrator's voice appears to change. Perhaps this was an early trunk novel. Maybe Mr. Curran did not like his original resolution and then years later re-wrote the ending.

For the most part all of the characters seemed stereo typical, as both groups and as individuals. In particular Danny Palmquist, the new inmate in this maximum security prison, never rang true. The kind at heart protagonist Romero, a guy serving a life sentence, knows all of prison's downfalls and secrets and takes the newbee under his wing.

The plot is quite outlandish with the totally unbelievable "Lovecraft" accutriments. Yet any book with this much blood, gore and violence can't be all bad.

This hardcover is marked copy PC of 150 copies and is signed by Tim Curran.

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This novella was so good, I don't know where to start.

This scary story takes place in a prison. Something is killing prisoners in their locked cells. How could this be? You will need to read this book to find out.

Extremely creepy and realistic with Lovecraftian overtones-this tale blows away the competition. If you enjoy being scared by a story, looking around or jumping at every small noise while you're reading, and generally being covered with goose bumps, then this story is for you.

*This novella is no longer available as a stand-alone, but is available in this volume which contains 3 AWESOME novellas: Fear Me, The Underdwelling and Puppet Graveyard. It's currently available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Bones-Bu...

Highly recommended, 5*.

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This novella was so good, I don't even know where to start.

This scary story takes place in a prison. Something is killing prisoners in their locked cells. How could this be? You will need to read this book to find out.

Extremely creepy and realistic with Lovecraftian overtones-this tale blows away any competition. If you enjoy being scared by a story, looking around or jumping at every small noise while you're reading, and generally being covered with goosebumps, then this story is for you.
Highly recommended, 5*.

[Jim Lay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read from one of my favorite authors. Although not perfect -- I wish it had been a full length novel, for one-- it was still an awesomely scary read.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaddock Valley. A maximum security prison that houses the worst of the worst: drug gangs, psychopaths, rapists, gangsters, and outlaw bikers. In a place like that, a skinny little kid like Danny Palmquist doesn't stand a chance. It doesn't take long before the hardtimers move in on him. Then they begin to die horribly. In locked cells. When the lights go out at Shaddock Valley, the nightmare begins. When Danny Palmquist goes to sleep, something else wakes up. Something primeval. Something bloodthirsty. And if you mess with Danny Palmquist, it will find you. And in the darkness, nothing can save you.

A hardcore prison thriller that's so grimy, suffocating and tense that it makes you feel like you're trapped in a room full of bloodthirsty psychopaths dying to get a taste of you with nowhere to run. From the everyday horrors of corrupt prison systems and unlawful treatment from authorities, to the more extreme horror of being surrounded by the world's most hardened criminals and locked up with something even beyond their grim imaginations, it's clear from the get-go that something is just begging to go horribly wrong. One thing's for sure, this book will definitely make you think twice before doing something to get yourself locked up.

[Todd Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shank, Batman! From the first page to the last this hardened criminal prison horror novella will make you feel like you're the third bunk in a cell with two very different cons. Romero is a seasoned con with his new cellie, Danny Palmquist, that he calls Cherry. Romero tries to warn Cherry that he's due to be made another con's girlfriend, but the new meat con says he's got protection from his brother. I'll stop there, but those reading certainly won't, as this is one hair-raising, vicious, visceral read. Loved every freaking word!

If you haven't read anything by Tim Curran, as far as novellas go, you can't go wrong here. This one is perfect in my book. Atmosphere, tension, nasty monster, gore, horror--it's all here. Five stars all the way. Highly recommended.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was strike three for my relationship with Curran, the third very much recommended book by him that I again did not care for... Some good horror elements, but there's something that's off for me. This time maybe it's the excessive use of short sentences ("Romero was hard.", "The kid did.", "End of the line.", "Romero knew.") I'm well aware that in context of a narrative not every sentence has to be complete, but it's all the time... Then the 3rd person omnipresent voice uses the same "hard prison", bad language as the characters themselves and that's really distracting (sometimes, telling about what a character is thinking or relating a conversation without actually quoting it, it works fine, but otherwise it's really off...). A final problem is that there's not one character that is likable or one that you even could sympathize with. The story is built on an OK "b-movie-horror" idea, but that one is stretched as far as it goes even over these quite few pages.

[Paul Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romero just knew there was going to be trouble as soon as he laid eyes on his new cellmate Danny Palmquist, fresh meat that someone was going to take advantage of in a bad way, not his problem but he still felt a cold, peculiar gnawing feeling in his guts. This kid was prey and give it 48 hours, he’d be someone’s punk old lady, big trouble would latch on to him soon enough and he was bottom of the food chain at Shaddock Valley prison.

Danny is not quite the inconvenient calamity he appears, he was transferred from another prison after some mysterious deaths to inmates in locked cells but Romero is soon stuck with some tough choices, does he let the wolves take the kid or does he intercede knowing it’s going to inevitably cost him his life. Danny has a dark, violent secret when threatened and soon inmates are screaming in their locked cells, ripped apart by the seemingly impossible. Tension’s run high, the prison is about to explode and Romero’s right in the thick of it.

A fast paced horror novella that adds a brutal violence the likes of which have not been seen before in this or any prison. Add believable characters in a setting ruled with no mercy but with a horrific supernatural element and you have an excellent short read. This is the first book I’ve read from Tim Curran and it definitely won’t be the last.

[Jeff French · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The atmosphere of the place had never been exactly balloons and parades, but now it was worse." Atmosphere is something Curran does very well. This novella is creepy from the get-go. Curran crafts that eerie atmosphere so it permeates everything. Shaddock prison is a place filled with despicable people, both inmates and guards alike. The book can be gruesome at times. Descriptions of the mutilations do not lack detail. Despite this, the story still manages to have a sense of humour. "One thing you couldn't put in a box were cons.... figuratively anyway." The main character, Palmquist, is an innocent victim in this story. Sadly, there seems to be only one way the conflict would be resolved. The ending is great, harsh, but appropriate to the book.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As if the idea of being stuck inside a maximum security prison wasn’t terrifying enough, imagine if a bloodthirsty monster was locked up in there with you.

In this novella, a prisoner at Shaddock Valley Penitentiary seems to be a meek victim for the more hardened cons, but hides a secret that will lead to much more than just a prison yard shanking. Author Tim Curran does a great job of setting up the oppressive atmosphere in the prison, a hopeless place that brings out the worst in people and the darker side of humanity. But then when prisoners begin dying in the night, the tension gets ratcheted up like crazy. And the way that Curran describes what happens after lights out is pretty chilling. And even though it did get a bit repetitive at times, I appreciated how damn creepy it was.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Curran classic! A creepy and bloody prison creature feature. A very fast and sometimes brutal read sprinkled with Currran descriptive gems such as: "A glistening, whipping helix of gas and flesh and pulsating ropes, pissing steam and gray jelly." Gotta love the visual. Great read and highly recommended!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mini h/c #1

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

В няколкото години, от както се впускам в мрачните селения на литературата на ужаса, името Тим Къран ми е изкачало нееднократно. Както при всичко горещо препоръчвано обаче, се появява онзи почти атавистичен страх от разочарование, насаден от поколения читатели и породен от прекомерно пренавиване.
Съвсем наскоро, на еднамалка, импровизирана сбирка с моите режещопери съмишленици Бранимир Събев, Сибин Майналовски, Донко Найденов и Димитър Цолов, отново бистрехме извечната тема – кой е най-подходящия формат за едно хорър произведение. Учудващо, всички бяхме на мнение, че новелата – това копеленце между повест и роман –най-подходящо за разгръщане на плашещи картини – достатъчно кратка да държи читателя на нокти и достатъчно дълга да остави автора да се развихри.
Тогава отново ми светна името на Къран, защото ако е известен с нещо в жанра, то е, че упорито отказва да се развива към романи (има три, но новелите му са много повече на брой, почти колкото разказите, които е написал).
Та тъй, престраших се и посегнах към Fear me, която от месеци виси на четеца.
И да, наистина, точно за тази история, това е перфектния формат. Минава, удря те с кошмарните си видения и заминава, оставяйки те треперещ и хленчещ. Въпреки това запазва статута си на хм... развлекателно четиво, без да те потапя във философии и да те привързва към герои.
Шадок вали е затвор, в който е събрана утайката на утайката, и като престъпници, и като охранители. Напрежението вътре назрява от години, но никой не е предполагал какво ще породи искрата на бунта.
Ромаро е печено старо куче, когато му докарван нов съкилийник, изглеждащ като перфектната жертва, нещо в него се пречупва, а когато разбира, че италианците са вдигнали мерника на хлапето, наистина го хваща страх да се намеси. Въпреки това го прави. Но и хлапето си има своя тайна, тайна, която няма да остане скрита дълго и носи смъртоносни последствия за всеки, който му посегне.
Покрай кървавата вакханалия, която разиграва на фона на затвора, Къран успява да подхвърли доста обоснована критика към затворническата система на Щатите, както и да покаже една доста реалистична динамика между различните затворницим, както и между тях и надзирателите.
Хареса ми много.

[Weldon Burge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Curran is a revered horror writer, the author of the novels Hive, Skin Medicine, Dead Sea, The Devil Next Door, Resurrection, and Biohazard. His latest novel, Fear Me, has just been published by Delirium Books.

The short novel is set in Shaddock Prison, a maximum security facility housing some of the most vicious, hardened criminals in the country, including the protagonist, Romero. When Romero gets a new cellmate, Danny Palmquist, he assumes the scrawny blonde kid won’t last in the hell that is Shaddock—but, he doesn’t know Danny’s dark secret and his own brand of “hell”. Whenever Danny is hassled or harmed, Danny’s brother takes bloody revenge on his oppressors. Despite the bars and walls, there is no escape from the horror unleashed every night as Danny sleeps. And the deaths are supremely gruesome.

Curran steers clear of prison clichés here, yet successfully immerses the reader in the rigors and inhumanity of prison life. As the lead character, Romero is a believable, complex character, but he is far from the convict with the heart of gold. He intercedes in defense of Danny, although it is likely to mean his own death, even before he discovers Danny’s true nature. But, even then, Romero’s motives are largely self-serving and more out of a sense of fairness than any real concern for Danny’s well-being. In Curran’s deft hands, the characters are well-defined, and the plot—while outlandish and horrifying—is ultimately thrilling and satisfying.

Many of Curran’s stories, while not Cthulhu Mythos pastiches, often contain Lovecraftian undertones. Fear Me is no exception, and is certainly not for the faint of heart—the novel is filled with brutal violence, gore, slime, and ever-heightening suspense until the incredible climactic scenes. This is a must for Curran fans—or anyone who loves a fast-paced horror yarn!


(A version of this review was also published in the August 2011 issue of Suspense Magazine.)

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny is the new kid on the block at Shaddock Valley Prison. His cellmate, Romero, knows he won't last long in the system. However, anyone who crosses Danny seems to end up dead and Romero starts seeing strange things, suspecting there is more to Danny than meets the eye.

I loved this novella, the descriptions of prison life really drew me in and I'm a sucker for a revenge tale. Romero was a great character, someone who tries to do be fair even though he knows it'll cause him trouble.

Another great read from Curran.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good. It was more of an obligatory read rather than something that was part of my official to-read list.
But it came in the collection that included The Underdwelling, and not much of a time commitment, so I blew through it.

Tim Curran can paint a description like few can. In his hands, just the sound of something slithering can wriggle into your brain and keep you in a state of creep.
His descriptions is his strengths and this is what made Dead Sea so amazing.
This story was quite good, and a nice filler read.

[Ken B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim Curran writes very descriptive tales and "Fear Me" is no exception. You can hear movement exactly the way Curran describes it...and that is precisely what makes this story so haunting.


5 STARS

[Pamellia]

My favorite Tim Curran story

[Doug Bolden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a prison. From a movie. Maybe TV, but it would be HBO/Showtime. A place where hope dies. Where gangs separate out based on skin color. Where prisoners are either 6'5" and heavily tatted rapists or 5'6" sex-offenders who are habitually raped. Where guards are ever-present, but apathetic to suffering. Where it swelters in the summer, freezes in the winter. Where rats bite the feet of lice-infested prisoners. Where drugs flow as fast as weapons and regular bone-breaking and/or fatal fights break out. Picturing it? Ok, now you have Shaddock Valley.

Really, once you get past the rape-n-violence infested prison full of racially-themed guys who say words like "fish" (i.e., new guy) and "hack" (i.e., a guard) and "punk" (i.e., a person who is raped though somewhat accepts it out of fear) a lot, the rest of the story is mostly just dandy. You have a tough guy with just enough heart of gold that he sticks his head where he shouldn't. You have a person beaten down by a horrible fate thrust upon him. You have a few straight-from-the-movies baddies who stir up the pot. You have claustrophobia, a sense of impending doom, some nice squelching scenes, full on gore, and nearly-comically inept guards and toughs. Frankly, most of the violence is enough off camera to give it an almost pleasantly distant feel. A shout down the corridor.

It is an interesting exercise in pacing and characterization. Generally I liked it, despite the over-the-top prison environment.

And hell, maybe there are prisons just like that. Not just in the movies, I mean...

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Curran is one of those nobody horror writers in whom I've taken an interest (see also; Brett Talley, Steve Duffy) after reading a terrific short story of his (The Underdwelling).

Fear Me is another in that series of novellas, but is a very different work. The Underdwelling pits an All American Joe against an unknowable and unbeatable force, and takes us with him over the precipice of madness. Fear Me pits a mostly irredeemable convict against worse men of his own strata and then introduces a bona-fide monster into the mix.

I think my disappointment in this was partially fed by Burden Kansas, because that's how you do sociopath vs monster, and partially because the characters didn't feel as real as they did in The Underdwelling. While it's still a cracking read, and goes like the clappers from one cover to the other, it's missing something key. And that's that we aren't bothered whether anyone in the book lives or dies. Everybody is intrinsically unlikeable and it starts to feel like an author’s exercise by the half-way point.

It paints a vivid and believable picture of life in a horrible prison, and in all honesty the application of a dreaded horror into the venue actually does more harm than good. Big scary dudes, broken until they no longer resemble people and who want to rape you are more frightening than any monster.

You will enjoy this book, but you'll be left feeling it could have been better. Which is a real shame.

[Felix Zilich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Когда в тюрьме строгого режима Шэддок-Вэлли появился Дэнни Палмквист, местные ветераны решили, этот пацан - не жилец. Хилый, жалкий, нервный. Но парнишка, бормотавший, что за любую обиду его брат придёт и отомстит, за пару дней заставил срать кирпичами весь тюремный блок. Каждую ночь, после того, как охрана гасила свет, один из обидчиков новичка начинал верещать словно свинья на бойне, после чего его находили равномерно размазанным по всей шконке.

Тюремные ужасы Тима Каррэна - еще одна страшная история на сотню с гаком страниц. Новелетты, надо заметить, странный формат для хоррора. Слишком длинные, чтобы удивить интересной историей и хитрым твистом. Слишком короткие, чтобы найти в ворохе жанровых клише собственный бисер, а потом поиграться с ним при свете луны.

Если Каррэн это вообще умеет.

[Bogdan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is my first work by Tim Curran that I read and it was interesting enough to try some other works by him.

Overall it was a fast read, full of action and plenty on the gore side, with a nasty and mysterious creature and a evolution of the story that maintained my interest quite alive until the very end.

I hoped in a happy one, but it`s not the case here.

The ideea isn`t something too complex, but it works as a entertaining weekend read. And not to mention the vague Lovecraftian touch of the story.

Definitely worth a try!

[Cj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of made me think Shawshank Redemption(prison setting,people who run the prison are jerks, sadistic cons) meets Jeepers Creeper(danny palmquist's special friend lol). Overall a really interesting book. Picked it up and couldn't put it down. I had a feeling it would end the way it did, although it didn't deter me from reading. Definitely going to check out more Tim Curran books.

[Rob Twinem · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the shear scare value in this short novella...it gets the 4 star treatment from me. The arrival of an unusual prisoner, a story to tell, a demon called Damon set loose....blood and havoc reign...visceral and bloody ending...yeah we love it :)

[Cliff's Dark Gems · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal, relentless, ultra-violent prison horror with some satisfying Lovecraftian vibes. This horrifying place contains some terrifying, blood-curdling inmates who would love to murder or rape you at the drop of a hat, and the dialogue is absolutely savage. The novella sure packs a punch for such a short read.
Some of the descriptions felt a bit repetitive at times, but still loads of fun if you have the stomach for it. Great story with an excellent ending.

[Moritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

Not much to say about this one, since it is really short. Nicely executed in-your-face prison horror that gets under the skin and doesn’t hold back. Curran knows his stuff and how to make you uncomfortable.

[Benjamin Uminsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Tim Curran piece, and over-all, I enjoyed it for the most part. I have never read a horror story that exclusively used a prison as its setting... and with the relatively strong prose (I say relatively when compared to Curran's peers who write incredibly violent horror stories... splatterpunk perhaps?), it set the mood nicely for this kind of story.

I'd give the plot closer to three and a half stars, but I found a few things that really detracted from the overall narative and development of the story that compelled me to rate this one a bit lower.

A couple of the chapters really seemed to be out of place, meaning that they felt like they should have appeared at an earlier or later part of the story. For instance, chapter 21 exclusively described Shaddock Valley Prison and also provided a historical context. This chapter was great, but probably should have been somewhere in the first 1-3 chapters. When I happened upon it more than 3/4's of the way through, I was a little bewildered as to why I was getting a physical description of the prison at such a late point and ultimately it disrupted the flow of the narrative.

The "monster" was really terrifying in this story, but I think the story would have been better served if the reader never really got a full description or saw it in all of its hellish glory. Moreover, the menace and dread that was finely conveyed (by only getting glimpses and hearing frightful sounds in the dark) by Curran could have been better sustained for the entire length of the novella had Curran simply left the reader wondering and imagining the worst. Oh well.

On a positive note, I liked Curran's explanation for the monster and its symbiotic bond with its host. It reminded me a little bit of Tryon's THE OTHER, if THE OTHER had been hopped up on splatterpunk methamphetamines and placed in a prison setting. And no that was not a backhanded compliment... I really did like where Curran was coming from with this story.

My other major concern about this one is how description at the macro level of the story was handled. While this was told in a third person POV, I felt that Curran did a good job of developing the characters (particularly Romero) and their relationships to one another (although I think we can all understand that perhaps the emotional range of a hardened criminal may be a bit limited). However, as Curran was moving the story forward with describing the macro relationships of prison groups to one another (guards versus cons, Latinos vs Blacks, etc.) and the macro events (such as the prison riot) the macro descriptions felt a bit flat and glossed over. Had Curran strengthened these areas, I think the overall feel of the narative would have been more real and that much more frightening. This is a minor point though, and I think Curran's excellent descriptions at the micro level really carried the story.

This one doesn't do quite enough to break beyond its "splatter punk" classification, but I would defintely rate this piece highly when compared to other stories of its kind, simply because of its engaging characters and interesting story. But, this one is a gorefest mind you... and if that is what you are looking for, then you are defintely in the right place.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fast read. I read in one day.
This is a tale about a prison where a new inmate is arriving and although he looks that is going to be someone b*tch, the prisoners feel strange around it. He says that if someone hurts him his brother will avenge him. When the first guy tries he suffers an horrible death. From that moment all hell breaks loose.

Tim Curran is one of my favourite writers in horror as you know. He really depicts prison in a way that feel believable. He doesn't shine away from violence, rape etc.

What lacks here is the ending, the "brother" stuff. I hope for more 50 pages of the story depicting this. 7/10

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

The jail setting is what sealed the deal for me to buy this book. Well, that and the fact that Tim can describe a mole and make it sound interesting. The read started out good with a new guy, Palm, being transferred into Shaddock from another prison facility. His new roomie, tries to tell him the lowdown and how this prison works. Palm knows all this, but cannot avoid his place at the bottom of the totem pole. But when someone hurts Palm, that someone gets hurt in return.
The scenes were recycled, some words were used excessively, and the prison hierarchy/way of life was described repeatedly, taking away from the story. The ending was...different. A semi-solid read.