Cold, Black & Infinite

Stories of the Horrific & Strange

By: Todd Keisling

Narrated by: Dave Robison

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

2023 BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEE
THERE IS NO LIGHT, THERE IS NO BOTTOM

Down here in the dark lies a vast and twisted landscape where the wicked, wistful, and profane coalesce. This is where the lonely and lost face their demons, where anxious paranoias are made manifest, and where mundane evil wears a human face. For listeners, the sixteen stories found within Cold, Black, & Infinite serve as a harrowing glimpse into the nightmarish imagination of Todd Keisling, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Devil’s Creek and Scanlines.

Visit a town where the residents are slowly being replaced by mannequins in “We’ve All Gone to the Magic Show.” Go for a drive and discover your favorite radio host is still transmitting from beyond the grave in “Midnight in the Southland.” Laugh at Karen’s misfortune when she learns necromancy isn’t the best way to raise a child in “Afterbirth.” And uncover the true motivation behind one man’s historical betrayal in “Gethsemane.”

Featuring three previously unpublished stories and an introduction by Bram Stoker Award- winner John Langan, Cold, Black, & Infinite establishes Keisling as a leading voice in contemporary indie horror.

Cast your doubts aside and take the plunge. Touch the abyss. It’s waiting.

Contains mature themes.

©2023 Todd Keisling (P)2024 Precipice Books

Unique premises with subtle and clever execution

This was my first Todd Keisling book but won’t be my last. As someone who reads a lot of short story collections—most of which are horror themed—there is an art to putting together a strong story collection. Not every author gets it right. But Todd Keisling does.

John Langan writes an insightful and helpful introduction and clues you in to the kind of writer you’re about to experience. I found Keisling’s tales to be exactly what Langan promised: a bit of Ligotti, Bradbury, Barker, King, and more. One of the most impressive aspects, to me, was how successfully Keisling pulls you in with the first few lines to every story. It’s difficult to weave opening sentences together in a way that piques the reader’s interest and sets up certain ideas and themes, yet in this collection Todd Keisling does so effortlessly and it always goes down smooth.

The last bits to mention are how satisfying his endings are and what, if any, my complaints would be. As noted before, I consider myself well versed in the (sub?) genre of short horror collections—especially modern/newer ones. Perhaps because of this I found most of these tales resolving how I figured they would after the first few pages or so, but this is not a major issue. Instead I think it’s a testament to how well they are crafted and how gifted Keisling is as a storyteller. As I said, I was not familiar with his work before other than being aware some of his novels are quite popular. But now I’m sold and will be checking out his other work. I hope you give this collection a try because it’s one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve encountered in a while. Cheers.