Incarnate

A Novel

By: Richard Thomas

Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Todd Menesses, Dawn Harvey

“A must-read for fans of strange, surreal horror.”—The New York Times

In a frozen tundra, a sin-eater fights for redemption and absolution as monstrous creatures ravage a community already struggling to survive.

Sebastian Pana is a sin-eater, a shaman-like figure who can absolve the dead of their transgressions before they move on to the afterlife. But when a tear in the fabric of reality allows hideous beasts to invade the small arctic town he calls home, Sebastian must wage battle with them the only way he knows how: by unleashing the power of sin itself.

Thus, the stage is set for an epic confrontation between the forces of good and evil, in which a mother monster strives to save the dying land around her—and a young Inuit boy, haunted by Sebastian’s fate, risks everything to forge a new way forward for the desperate vestiges of humanity. As an obliterating darkness descends from the frozen mountains, this profoundly redemptive tale will build toward a climactic showdown in which nature and the supernatural collide with the eternal quest for healing and forgiveness.

From an author who has been compared to Lovecraft, Bradbury, and Gaiman, Incarnate is a masterpiece of contemporary arctic horror—a dark, unsettling story told in a maximalist voice inflected with powerful notes of hope and grace.

©2024 Richard Thomas (P)2024 Podium Audio

Critic reviews

“Thomas excels at summoning nightmarish images, as vivid as they are stark. . . . The most terrifying aspects of the novel, however, stem from its strange, shifting structure, which never quite allows the reader to find firm footing. . . . Fans of Brian Evenson will enjoy—and perhaps cower from—this cold-weather tale.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A stunningly creepy supernatural thriller set in the remote Arctic. It captures the terror of being alone in the frozen darkness with something dreadful. Weird and thrilling!”—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of the Sleepers War and NecroTek series

“A harrowing look into the world of a sin-eater stationed at the end of the world. Richard Thomas manages to harness the northern lights into a brutal story about weathering the frozen tundra as well as the suffering of all mankind. Graceful, cosmic, and heartbreaking, Incarnate is a universe unto itself.”—Gus Moreno, author of This Thing Between Us

Confusing

I have a long commute to work so I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I’m over four hours into this book and still don’t understand anything about the title character.

Evocative imagery

I really enjoyed the voice acting and the writing. The interlinked story structure worked well for me.