“Whether you choose to approach it as a supernatural horror story or a tale of dark suspense, you won’t be disappointed by the experience.”
— Fangoria
It’s been seven years since Eddie Farris killed his father in self-defense. Seven years of trying to put his life back together and the past behind him. But time alone isn’t always enough to escape the memories haunting a person.
In Eddie’s case, the horror of what happened seven years ago might be more than a memory. Someone has arrived in town, a mysterious man who is following Eddie, taunting him, maybe even threatening him. This man can’t be the person Eddie thinks he is. That man has been dead for seven years. Ever since Eddie killed him.
But nothing in the forgotten mining town of Black Hills, Pennsylvania, is quite what it seems, and soon Eddie will discover what happens when a haunted past returns to get what it is owed…
Reviews & Praise:
“A highly readable debut…”
— Publishers Weekly
“This debut demonstrates much promise, utilizing an instantly readable and colloquial style—the sort Big Steve King employed with particular success in those golden early years—and artfully incorporating flashbacks and journal entries with present-day narrative.”
— The Day, New London, CT
“(Freeman) very cannily leaves every paranormal event open to interpretation, resulting in a book that can be looked at in one of several lights far into its final act…Overall, his craft is topnotch, using these motifs and themes to keep the book propelled along a very specific, frightening line. Even the setting of Black Hills, a long-dried-up mining town with a single, mostly empty movie theater, is used to accentuate the somber, self-reflective tone of the story. There’s a tremendous amount to like in Black Fire, and whether you choose to approach it as a supernatural horror story or a tale of dark suspense, you won’t be disappointed by the experience.”
— Fangoria #236
“Black Fire is a lonely, nightmarish journey, a book that will really get under your skin.”
— Christopher Golden, author of Strangewood, Straight On ’til Morning, and The Ferryman
“Read this book and see what direction horror fiction will be going in this new millennium.”
— Rick Hautala, New York Times bestselling author of The Mountain King and Bedbugs
“Dread is a word you don’t hear much these days when it comes to dark fiction, but it’s the one that springs most readily to mind while reading Black Fire. This is a sparking crackerjack of a novel, deftly paced and realized; it’s quirky (in the best sense of the word), witty, suspenseful, and satisfying. But most of all, it’s filled with genuine dread, and that’s been far too rare a commodity in dark fiction recently. Prepare to be made intensely uncomfortable.”
— Gary A. Braunbeck, author of In Silent Graves
“Freeman manages to create a vivid inferno of terror in Black Fire, one that will sear itself into the soft tissues of your mind. This is a provocative, powerful, and startling portrait of a man on the edge of a nightmare, trapped by a bitter and furious past that refuses to let go.”
— Tom Piccirilli, author of The Night Class and A Lower Deep
“Freeman’s formidable storytelling skills weave a compelling spell of mystery and peril. He knows how to engage and keep his readers, and has a deft touch in displaying and dissecting characters to reveal their darkness. He will keep you reading, and looking over your shoulder.”
— Gerard Houarner, author of The Beast That Was Max, Road to Hell, and Visions Through A Shattered Lens
“A vivid, suspenseful story. Black Fire packs a hell of a punch. Freeman’s accomplished mastery of prose deals out suspense and shocks aplenty.”
— Simon Clark, bestselling author of Night of the Triffids and Nailed By The Heart
“Reading Freeman’s narrative is like watching that little valve on the top of a pressure-cooker, and wondering when the lid’s going to blow. You can sense all the energy and nastiness just barely being contained between the
lines of his clean prose. Freeman writes with a sure hand and a grim vision. He has seen the essential pain of childhood and fully realized the horror into which it is transformed. Watch out for this guy…”
— Thomas F. Monteleone, winner of The New York Times Notable Book of the Year Award
“Brian James Freeman writes like a pro. His language is rich and descriptive, and its effect seems effortless: he snags you and draws you in. The story is vivid and alive from the very first page—that’s not an easy trick to pull off—and the promise is kept as the story develops, grows and becomes something very special. He also plays very effectively with timelines—again, not easy!—and the result is an absolute pleasure to read.”
— Tim Lebbon, author of Until She Sleeps and The Nature of Balance
“Dreamlike, suspenseful… with some of the most interesting characters I’ve come across in quite a while.”
— Hugh B. Cave, author of The Dawning and Drums of Revolt
“Black Fire is tense, provocative, and burns with intensity!”
— Brian Keene, author of The Rising, No Rest For The Wicked, and Fear of Gravity
“Visceral and ambitious, Brian James Freeman’s debut novel radiates with energy. Freeman is a writer to keep an eye on.”
— Del James, author of The Language of Fear
Publication History:
Revised Edition coming in 2024
• Cemetery Dance Publications (as Black Fire by James Kidman)
Signed Limited Edition Hardcover: $40
Deluxe Traycased Lettered Edition: $150
ISBN: 978-1-58767-106-7
Publication Date: July 2004
• Leisure Books (as Black Fire by James Kidman)
Mass Market Paperback: $6.99
ISBN: 978-0843953275
Publication Date: May 2004
Revised Edition Coming in 2024
