A Lush and Seething Hell

Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

By: John Hornor Jacobs

Narrated by: Almarie Guerra, MacLeod Andrews

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales - both never-before-published in print or audio - that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition.

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

A brilliant mix of the psychological and supernatural, blending the acute insight of Roberto Bolaño and the eerie imagination of H. P. Lovecraft, The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. Centered on the journal of a poet-in-exile and his failed attempts at translating a maddening text, it is told by a young woman trying to come to grips with a country that nearly devoured itself.

In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South - which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself.

Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.

©2019 John Hornor Jacobs (P)2019 HarperAudio

Loved both Stories

I thought this was brilliant, top to bottom. Great writing (beautiful prose), deep, mysterious, dark plotting. Wonderful narration, in both parts of the book. I would read more horror by this author in a moment.

Great horror and a great performance

Finding horror novels that are well written, fresh, and gives actual nightmares are hard to come by for me. This book , and the person narrating make it a gem that should be read by anyone who appreciates horror.

Impressive

This is such good storytelling. Both stories. I wished the first was longer, and there were times I wish the second was shorter but not often. The pace is slow and steady, peeling layer after layer methodically and carefully enough to keep you interested and trying to figure out where it’s going. I enjoyed them both.

Half great

The first of the two stories is awful: I nearly gave up on the book halfway through it. It wasn’t even obvious that it was a horror story until about the last five minutes. In addition to the story being uninteresting, the narrator was using the same voice for all the characters, so a lot of the time I couldn’t even tell who was speaking, which made it harder to follow.

However, the second story was magnificent. 11/10. Had it been the only story, this would be a shorter but five star book. I recommend skipping straight to the second novella.

Beautiful, sensuous, and eerie.

These two stories are very different, yet equally compelling. Jacobs writes with an empathy and attention to sensory experience that carries the reader through the supernatural horrors he describes. The effect is something between ASMR tingles and shivers of revulsion. Highly recommend.

good but not the best

enjoyed this one but I think it could have been better. the stories held my interest so no regrets for listening to it.

Both stories are amazing!!

The Sea Dreams it is The Sky is probably more famous, but I loved loved loved the masterpiece that is My Heart Struck Sorrow.

I’ve listened to the book multiple times and love the prose and the narration. If you love cosmic horror that is a little more subtle, but seeping in all the edges, and vivid imagery surrounding real/flawed characters… buy this!

2 good tales

The whole thing was quite good. well written with some real gem bits throughout. Well.performed by each narrator and particularly well suited to the story they they read. Well worth the listen.

a mixed bag

the first story is captivating...the characters are very we drawn. it's a unique story...completely unlike any "horror story " that I have read and I read a lot of horror.

the second story has a very cool concept but devolves into a diatribe on woke politics for a large portion. it has some interesting aspects, like the idea of a haunted song but it never really reaches its potential and the end is a bit of a let down as well

So good, cannot recommend enough

Everything about these two stories exemplifies the type of horror that I love. I love cosmic horror, but when things get way out of hand I tend to tune out. This feels so *real* when you read it, it sucks you into belief. Trying to explain why I feel unsettled at parts to people makes me feel like I’m losing my mind, so very much a continuation of the tone of the stories themselves.