About this item
Highlights
- From award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Kosoko Jackson comes his adult speculative debut, a stand-alone novel blending time travel and globe-hopping adventure, art history, and dark fantasy about magical paintings and the lengths people will go to collect them, destroy them...or be destroyed.A picture is worth a thousand nightmares.Art has always been an escape for struggling painter Lewis Dixon.
- Author(s): Kosoko Jackson
- 400 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Fantasy
Description
Book Synopsis
From award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Kosoko Jackson comes his adult speculative debut, a stand-alone novel blending time travel and globe-hopping adventure, art history, and dark fantasy about magical paintings and the lengths people will go to collect them, destroy them...or be destroyed.
A picture is worth a thousand nightmares.
Art has always been an escape for struggling painter Lewis Dixon. But other than his mom, who has recently passed away, no one has ever praised his work. If he is being honest, there's really no one in his life. So he is shocked when the British Museum shows an unusual interest in his art. This is his chance to show the world what he's capable of...he just has no idea that he might also be saving the world at the same time.
As Lewis soon learns, he has not been invited to participate in a curated show, but rather a test: to see if the fugue-like exhilaration he experiences when painting is actually magic, a power that allows him to enter nine very special paintings--paintings made by his great-grandfather. Spread across the globe, these paintings have unbelievable eldritch abilities...and not necessarily beneficial ones. In terms of power, these are the most valuable works of art in the world, and there are those out there who would do anything to possess just one.
And Lewis, upon passing the test, has been asked to destroy them all.
Partnered with an alluring agent in museum's employ, Noah Rao, Lewis must travel to Japan, Australia, Nigeria--and the past--plunging himself into a world of black markets, gothic magic, ancient history, and cursed objects to save those unlucky enough to call any of the paintings their own--or to free the world from those who would misuse the power of the paintings. In doing so, he will need to discover if he has what it takes to truly be an artist, the confidence to finally open himself up to someone who could give his lonely life meaning, and the strength to enter and navigate a reality where magic is everywhere.
Review Quotes
"Kosoko Jackson storms into the horror genre with The Macabre--a thrilling and chilling story that explores the power of art... in all its wonder and terror."
-- Rob Hart, USA Today bestselling author of Assassins Anonymous
"Evocative, eerie, and beguiling. The Macabre expertly blends the best of both horror and fantasy. I loved this read." -- Alexis Henderson, author of An Academy for Liars and The Year of Witching
"An absolutely captivating and electrifying novel, layered in rich meaning and brimming with lush prose. In Kosoko Jackson's The Macabre we are confronted with magic and art, painting and meaning. I am completely under its spell."
-- Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Vanishing Daughters
"The Macabre is tensely written, dripping with menace and mystery. Jackson paints each page with themes of grief and the difficulties in letting go, revealing the darkest places these emotions can lead." - -- Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter
"The Macabre is an expert blend of the sublime and horror, told in a way that entices both art lovers and those prone to ghoulish flights of fancy. And if you're both--look out! Jackson weaves this tale with a crucial precision not unlike the brush in a painter's hand. You'll never feel more breathless after reading this book." -- Vincent Tirado, author of We Came to Welcome You
"I'm so honored that my Unseen World books were an inspiration for Kosoko Jackson's The Macabre. Readers who crave sharp and vivid magic that explores the uncanny connection between eldritch horror and great art will be captivated by this layered and imaginative novel." -- Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians
"Kosoko Jackson pulls you into this vividly written mashup of horror and fantasy and doesn't let you go. Wonderfully executed, three-dimensional characters take you on an emotional journey, unraveling the mystery of living art page by page, painting by painting." -- Charlie N. Holmberg, Wall Street Journal bestselling author
"The Macabre is a feast of dark artistry. Fast-paced. Luscious world-building. Jackson wields emotional depth, tight plotting, and genuine terror, to craft a masterpiece." -- Erin E. Adams, author of Jackal