Freakslaw
The seductive, carnivalesque literary horror novel
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
Discover the dazzling new queer literary horror novel about chosen family and the risks it takes to become the person you want to be.
‘The glittery punk offspring of Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love and Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus.’ Chelsea G. Summers, author of A Certain Hunger
A travelling funfair of seductive troublemakers arrive in a repressed Scottish town. What could possibly go wrong?
It’s the summer of ’97 and the Scottish town of Pitlaw is itching for change.
Enter the Freakslaw – a travelling funfair populated by deviant queers, a contortionist witch, the most powerful fortune teller, and other architects of mayhem. It doesn’t take long for the Freakslaw folk to infiltrate Pitlaw’s grey world, where the town’s teenagers – none more so than Ruth and Derek – are seduced by neon charms and the possibility of escape.
But beneath it all, these newcomers are harbouring a darker desire: revenge.
And as tensions reach fever pitch between the stoic locals and the dazzling intruders, a violence that’s been simmering for centuries is about to be unleashed…
Praise for Freakslaw:
'A transgressive, inventive dark fantasy' Guardian
'Crackling with desire, hedonism, angst, violence and sex' Heat
'As frightening as it is seductive' Herald
'I'd kill to run away with this circus' Michelle Tea, author of Modern Tarot
‘A queer punk masterpiece' Leon Craig, author of Parallel Hells
'A strong spiritual successor to Katherine Dunn's Geek Love' Heather Parry, author of Orpheus Builds a Girl
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scottish author Flett debuts with a grotesque tale of a freak show carnival out for blood. In the summer of 1997, the Freakslaw traveling carnival sets up camp in the Scottish town of Pitlaw, seeking revenge for the murder of witches there 400 years before. Among the carnies is teenage witch Nancy, whose first diabolical act is to put a hex on teenage punk rocker Ruth MacNamara, who desperately wants to leave Pitlaw. Under Nancy's magical influence, Ruth dances euphorically with the carnies and has sex with one of the show's strongmen. Meanwhile, amusement ride operator Zed falls for teen Derek Geddes. Derek's violent and heavy-drinking father, Boyd, hates the carnival, and after Nancy attacks a friend of his, more violence ensues. The recurring plot device of characters being coerced into sex grows repetitive and will disturb some readers, though the prose is often arresting ("What's really called for is proper sacrifice. Slaughter. A red mist raining down like early-morning dew," Nancy muses). Fans of Katherine Dunn's Geek Love should snap this up.
