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Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke to Aaron Cance of 

Some people devour horror all year-round, while others only dip their toes into terror when it’s Halloween.

Bookseller Aaron Cance has a perfect recommendation, no matter which category you fall into: “A ‘Cosmology of Monsters’ is the best possible type of Halloween novel, because it will appeal both to readers of horror fiction, and to readers to don't usually partake in frightful fare.”

The novel follows the Turner family: Harry, Margaret and their three children. They “find themselves in the haunted house business,” Cance said. Their specialty is a venue called The Wandering Dark.

The monsters that lurk in the novel are both real, and metaphorical. The characters are not only dealing with hauntings, but also depression and other harsh realities of life.

“Anyone who has enjoyed horror fiction and film will really love this novel, not only because it's shot through with H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos but it's also laced with pop culture references: everything from ‘Rosemary's Baby’ to ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ from ‘Aliens’ to the fat little digests of Archie comics.”

“It seemed to read much less as horror fiction and more a work of literary fiction that's been cleverly disguised as horror.”

Arts and Culture

The Thread® - Books and Literary News

Ask a bookseller

Tracy Mumford

Author

Prepare yourself, Halloween readers: Bookseller Aaron Cance has the ideal unnerving novel for you. 

Prepare yourself, Halloween readers: bookseller Aaron Cance has the perfect unnerving novel.  


Ask a bookseller: The Printed Garden in Sandy, Utah

'A Cosmology of Monsters' by Shaun Hamill

Your perfect Halloween read

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