Croatoan

“Keen characterization fuels a taut horror tale that simmers with tension.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Taylor evokes a frightening metamorphosis during the voyage, with John’s physical countenance undergoing startling changes—‘His body bulged like a wineskin stretched too far. Flesh rippled. Bones cracked. A new limb tried to push through his back before collapsing into muscle again’—even as he gains surreal powers that risk Kit’s own life. New terrors are unleashed on nearly every page, as Taylor gradually nudges Kit toward his greater destiny. The reckoning he must face thrums with horror, but Kit’s journey is ultimately one of sacrifice and purpose, rooted in a heritage rich with ancient secrets and meaning.”


—BookLife Reviews (Publishers Weekly)



The sea takes what it wants, and it always collects its due…

Kit Cabot stows away on the clipper Apollyon for one reason: to save his uncle, Captain John Cabot. Ever since John carried a strange red pearl out of a sea cave, something in him isn’t right—his eyes gleam with a red-black swirl, his words hit like a physical blow, and the name he murmurs, Croatoan, makes hardened sailors go quiet.

As the crew whispers mutiny and the lash sings on deck, Kit and his few allies hunt the pearl’s origins, only to learn it isn’t a jewel at all but a window—an invitation—and something on the other side has noticed them. Storms close in; the coast grows treacherous; and John’s humanity thins to a terrible calm.

To save his uncle—maybe even his soul—Kit must decide how far he’ll go, and what he’ll become, in a battle where obedience means doom and defiance is the only prayer left.

Croatoan is the second doorway into The Oblivion Cycle, where the boundaries of flesh dissolve, belief becomes contagion, and identity slips away one heartbeat at a time.