One of the first things that happened after I signed on with Permuted Press was a rather insane book called Brew. Specifically, the editor/publisher offered to let me read an advance copy of Bill Braddock’s novel for the purpose of providing a cover blurb. I happily accepted the task, and came up with the following blurb:
“BREW hits you like an all-night bender, a drunken and horny joyride through College Town, America. And tonight, this college town also happens to be soaked in splatter. So sit back, pop open a cold one, and enjoy the grue of BREW.” —Jason Bovberg, author of BLOOD RED and THE NAKED DAME
I really got a kick out of this book, finding it to be a refreshing and even “young” take on the genre, setting it in a college town and infusing it with an atmosphere of sex and partying and drinking and eventually rage and murder and gore. Here’s Braddock’s description of Brew, which is available now at Amazon in paperback and ebook:
Ever been to a big college town on a football Saturday night? Loud drunks glut the streets, swaggering about in roaring, leering, laughing packs, like sailors on shore leave. These nights crackle with a dark energy born of incongruity; for beneath all that smiling and singing sprawls a bedrock of malice.
Erupting from this mean soil is Brew, a novel of survival horror that unfolds in a single, apocalyptic night, when hard-partying College Heights swaps beer pong and karaoke for arson, rape, murder, and cannibalism. An embattled cast of unlikely heroes, including a charismatic drug dealer, a disenfranchised army vet, and a smart, tough-as-leather girl, struggles to survive, while Herbert Weston, the brilliant sociopath who engineered the entire catastrophe, strolls the chaos, fulfilling sadistic fantasies.
One minute, everyone’s having a blast, partying it up after another football victory; the next minute, all those crowded bars, balconies, and house parties look like so many acres of hell.
I suggest giving it a shot, if you’re into this kind of crazy fiction. And if my word ain’t good enough for you, here are some other blurbs from luminaries in the horror realm:
“BREW is a keg of dark fun and Braddock pops the thing like a shook-up bottle of Bud. It’s got brains and it’s got heart. The late Richard Laymon would have loved this one. Me? I gulped it right down, with no hangover in the morning.”—Jack Ketchum, four-time Stoker Award winner and author of The Girl Next Door and The Lost
“If you’re going to chow down on people, you need to wash it down with something delicious. BREW is a deeply satisfying treat of a novel. Scary as hell, deep as the pit, and wickedly enjoyable.”—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Flesh & Bone and Assassin’s Code
“Hell is having a party, and Bill Braddock is bringing the BREW.”—Craig DiLouie, author of The Infection and Tooth and Nail
“Bill Braddock’s BREW is a heady mix of high-octane horror, razor-sharp characterization, and full-throttle action. Flesh-eating mayhem has never been so intoxicating!”—Tim Waggoner, author of Like Death and The Harmony Society