Dark Father

by Tom Piccirilli

The creatures of the night must swell their ranks with living, breathing flesh...

Samuel and Daniel never knew their father, and their mother is only a dim memory. The brothers live together in the huge old family house, sharing a strange alliance ... and a monstrous secret.

But now, the sudden appearance of a passionate young woman sparks anger between them. The horrifying visions the boys share are becoming more urgent, more terrible. And the townsfolk are disappearing, one by one...

The brothers' evil legacy is writhing up, emerging from the primeval earth. For the kingdom of the undead is gathering its powers, and their father is finally coming home...

Genres: Horror

280 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Thomas Piccirilli (May 27, 1965 – July 11, 2015) was an American novelist and short story writer.

Piccirilli sold over 150 stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, erotica, and science fiction fields. He was a two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for "Best Paperback Original" (2008, 2010). He was a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He was also a finalist for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, a final nominee for the Fantasy Award, and the winner of the first Bram Stoker Award given in the category of "Best Poetry Collection".

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rather disliked this earlier work of Piccirilli's. It felt like it had very little coherent plot, and even the lurking evil behind the whole book was ill-defined. To be sure, the book is filled with a dark, brooding atmosphere, but the author fails to tie all the pieces together into something that works well for the reader.

Anyone looking to get into Piccirilli's works would be better served in reading his later books, including The Deceased, The Dead Letters, The Night Class, and especially November Mourns.

[Horror Guy · Rating 1 out of 5]

"His mind spilled faster and more easily than greasy bowels pass diarrhea. He couldn't help but spit his shit..."-Dark Father

Nice of Piccirilli to provide a description of his writing process in the book.

[EmBe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aus einer älteren Sammelrezension zu Büchern des Blitz-Verlags extrahiert.
"Söhne des Bösen" sind zwei junge Männer, Erben eines Vermögens, und einflussreich. Ihre Mutter war verrückt, und um ihre Geburt rankt sich ein Geheimnis. Es stellt sich jedoch bald heraus, dass beide, der eher sanfte und gutartige wie auch der ausschweifende und launenhafte, Kräfte haben, die sie mit den Dämonen und Untoten des nahen verfluchten Friedhofes kommunizieren lassen. Als eine nichtsesshafte junge Frau als Gast aufgenommen wird, und zwischen ihr und dem "guten" Bruder Liebe entsteht, spitzt sich die Situation zu. In der kleinen Stadt beginnen dämonische Kreaturen ihr Unwesen zu treiben und der andere Bruder führt sie an...
Piccirilli weiß das Grauen gekonnt zu inszenieren, und vermag die Spannung zu steigern. Auch ist er ein guter Erzähler, aber mich hat der Roman doch etwas ratlos zurückgelassen. Zu sehr sind Love-Story und die Horror-Elemente nicht aufeinander abgestimmt. Es gibt auch zu viele Handlungsstränge und das Ende ist für mich nicht befriedigend gewesen.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know how to describe Dark Father because to be perfectly honest, I have no idea what in the hell I just read.

Oh sure there is a plot involving the undead and ancient familial curses passed on from one generation to the next and of course the one family member who is eager to break the chains of past sins, but dear lord, Piccirilli really layers on the poetic and literary writing. So much so that whatever story is here ends up buried beneath countless pages of deliberately dense allusions or purposely obtuse imagery. I’m all for literary horror (Adam Neville does it to amazing success, Nick Cutter does it with great results), however what I’m not for is murky writing just for the sake of being “different”.

I think Piccirilli had massive talent and knew how to sling words and descriptions around with skill, yet he constantly sabotaged his work with relying on that skill set instead of trying to tell a coherent story (having already tried A Lower Deep I know this isn’t restricted to just Dark Father).

People love this kind of book and that’s perfectly fine, however just give me straight up horror with literary moments. Not the other way around.

[Nina Sakura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkly evocative, this novel manages to provoke though and fear simultaneously. Well written and disturbing, the characters and story swirl together in a rich tapestry of horror, both human and supernatural. This is the first book by a great author and one can see all the nuances and touches that he used right here in the first book he had written. Truly disturbing and worth tracking down.

[susie hawes · Rating 5 out of 5]

strong visuals, great sensory words that evoke imagery and draw you into the story. lyrical sentences, good, solid writing and tense, believable ending.