On the surface, Kit Power seems like a successful horror writer – three-time BFA finalist, two-time Splatterpunk winner, and author of the celebrated My Life in Horror essay series.
But that affable facade hides a terrible secret: he never read the works of Brian Keene on initial publication.
Podcaster. Philanthropist. Stoker winner. World Horror Grandmaster.
Brian. Fucking. Keene.
With this book, Power starts to un-fuck that. And he’s taking you along for the ride.
With a foreword by splatter legend Eric LaRocca, what follows is a horror enthusiast’s first-read peek at each of Keene’s full-length fiction pieces from The Rising (2003) to Alone (2011), covering the Leisure Books years and much, much more.
But it’s also Power’s story: the firsthand account of a young writer finding his voice as he examines the work of one of the greats who went before.
And, finally, it’s Keene and Power together. This volume concludes with an exclusive, heartbreakingly intimate interview you’ll never find anywhere else.
So, keep a popcorn box full of eyes out for The Thirteen and join Power as he takes you…
Exploring The Labyrinth
Dark bleatings, my curious tribe! I wrote a little piece about Gifts Between Us (by C.C. Adams) last week, and now I’m writing about Kit Power’s new book here, and I have to make the same disclaimer: I work for the press that published this book, so I feel iffy about writing a full review in case people think I’ve got a bias. BUT I don’t. I do not get a cut of the royalties, and moreover, in this case, I’m already a Kit Power super fan. I have jumped to buy every single thing he’s published, every time he has a new book out, since his first ever book. I’m not kidding – the first time I met him in person, I sputtered something like “can you please sign these” and then handed him his entire catalogue.
So, with that out of the way, let me tell you a little bit about it. At the time I’m writing this, Exploring the Labyrinth is sitting at #1 in the Amazon US New Releases chart, and for good reason, in my humble opinion. This is a non-fiction book containing essays that explore the first chunk of Brian Keene’s writing career. The essays were written following Kit’s first read of each of the books he discusses, so they’re fresh takes on older works.
Brian Keene, for those not in the know, is very well-known in the USA in particular, for being one of the pins that holds the horror genre together. He’s a horror author with a prolific output, a podcaster, and is also heavily involved in numerous conventions. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him, but everyone I know that personally knows Brian has nothing but lovely things to say about the guy (and he naturally comes up in conversation often). The people who participated in this book release with blurbs speaks to the support of both Brian and Kit (Bev Vincent, Lee Murray, Dave Jeffery, Tim Lebbon, C.C. Adams, Dave Watkins, Gemma Amor, (there are still more coming) and that’s not to mention the beautiful foreword by fellow horror legend, Eric LaRocca.
I haven’t read as much of Brian’s work as Kit has, but his book makes me want to re-read what I have read, and pick up what I haven’t. His essays are sharp, analytic, insightful, and more than anything, a lovely celebration of Brian’s work.
If you’d like to take a little look at this marvellous book, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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