Winner of the Ditmar Award for Best Novel, 2010
Winner of the Shadows Award for Best Fiction, 2009
Stevie is a killer.
After an accident in which her mother dies, she has a near-death experience, and finds herself in a room full of people – everyone she’s ever pissed off. They clutch at her, scratch and tear at her. But she finds herself drawn back to this place, again and again, determined to unlock its secrets. Which means she has to die, again and again.
And she starts to wonder whether other people see the same room… when they die.
Slights is a deeply intense, disturbing read. Death is not the end, but this is not comforting, heartwarming or safe. The misery memoir craze of the last few years has overshadowed horror fiction’s impact with (allegedly) real-life experiences. Now it’s time for horror and fantasy fiction to fight back.
--
“I’ve never seen anyone capture sordid human nature so clearly. I was completely drawn in, totally immersed. I felt ill much of the time.”
– Russell Kirkpatrick
“The best horror of 2009″
- Genreville
“Slights is a rusted blade of a book, cutting away at the reader’s comfortable expectations until only bitter bones are left; a delightful middle class suburban fright.”
- Jay Lake
“Slights is a forceful, harrowing read, and is not only the best horror novel but one of the best books I have read in 2009. Be warned, this is a dark read and certainly isn’t for everyone…but I loved it. Absolutely recommended, for those with a strong constitution.
Rating: 9 – Damn Near Perfection”
- The Book Smugglers
“Slights is the misery memoir to end all misery memoirs. A novel about murder, incest, child abuse, drugs, deprivation, self-cutting, police corruoption, digging up human bones in the garden and not tidying up around the house. It’s also about ghosts, and becoming addicted to near-death experiences. It is, on occasion, gut-wrenchingly funny; and sometimes simply gut-wrenching in its desire to see what boundaries can be pushed until they’re broken.” ****
- Jon Courtenay Grimwood, SFX
### Review
"Minutely detailed events and conversations are progressively undercut with singsong variations of "This is what should have happened.... This is what did happen." In the sickening blur of Stevie's narrative, what "really" happens is both uncertain and obvious; the details she commands so confidently are infinitely mutable, but the gruesome consequences slowly become apparent. With outstanding control, Warren manipulates Stevie's voice to create a portrait of horror that in no way reads like a first novel." - *Publisher's Weekly *(starred review and Pick of the Week)
"The best horror of 2009" - *Genreville* (*Publishers Weekly's* genre blog, referring to previous edition)
"I've never seen anyone capture sordid human nature so clearly. I was completely drawn in, totally immersed. I felt ill much of the time." - Russell Kirkpatrick
"Simply gut-wrenching" - John Courtenay Grimwood, *SFX* (June 2008)
"There comes a time when you know, during your reading of a book, that it is going to have a profound effect on you, in terms of its engaging writing and also the message it delivers... *Slights* by Kaaron Warren can be added to this list." - Mark Deniz, *Dark Fiction Review
"*It’s a creepy kind of horror novel, the kind of sublime read that gets under your skin and leads you to distraction... It’s laudably original and Warren’s acerbic writing style is equally poetic and twisted." - Paul Goat Allen, Unabashedly Bookish: The BN Community Blog
"... a brilliantly written book that will not allow you to walk away from it. This is psychological horror at its very best." - Shroud Magazine Book Reviews
"Scarier than Hitchcock, Peckinpah, early Stephen King, Barker *et al*, and with the sort of dark un-PC humour the Coen Brother’s and John Waters would probably kill for."
- *3:AM Magazine*
*From the Paperback edition.*
### About the Author
Kaaron is an award-winning Australian writer of short fiction, and her stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including the British Fantasy Award-winning The Alsiso Project, and the recent Poe and Haunted Legends collections. Other short fiction awards include the Ditmar Award (twice) and the Aurealis Award.
Description:
Winner of the Ditmar Award for Best Novel, 2010 Winner of the Shadows Award for Best Fiction, 2009 Stevie is a killer. After an accident in which her mother dies, she has a near-death experience, and finds herself in a room full of people – everyone she’s ever pissed off. They clutch at her, scratch and tear at her. But she finds herself drawn back to this place, again and again, determined to unlock its secrets. Which means she has to die, again and again. And she starts to wonder whether other people see the same room… when they die. Slights is a deeply intense, disturbing read. Death is not the end, but this is not comforting, heartwarming or safe. The misery memoir craze of the last few years has overshadowed horror fiction’s impact with (allegedly) real-life experiences. Now it’s time for horror and fantasy fiction to fight back. -- “I’ve never seen anyone capture sordid human nature so clearly. I was completely drawn in, totally immersed. I felt ill much of the time.” – Russell Kirkpatrick “The best horror of 2009″ - Genreville “Slights is a rusted blade of a book, cutting away at the reader’s comfortable expectations until only bitter bones are left; a delightful middle class suburban fright.” - Jay Lake “Slights is a forceful, harrowing read, and is not only the best horror novel but one of the best books I have read in 2009. Be warned, this is a dark read and certainly isn’t for everyone…but I loved it. Absolutely recommended, for those with a strong constitution. Rating: 9 – Damn Near Perfection” - The Book Smugglers “Slights is the misery memoir to end all misery memoirs. A novel about murder, incest, child abuse, drugs, deprivation, self-cutting, police corruoption, digging up human bones in the garden and not tidying up around the house. It’s also about ghosts, and becoming addicted to near-death experiences. It is, on occasion, gut-wrenchingly funny; and sometimes simply gut-wrenching in its desire to see what boundaries can be pushed until they’re broken.” **** - Jon Courtenay Grimwood, SFX ### Review "Minutely detailed events and conversations are progressively undercut with singsong variations of "This is what should have happened.... This is what did happen." In the sickening blur of Stevie's narrative, what "really" happens is both uncertain and obvious; the details she commands so confidently are infinitely mutable, but the gruesome consequences slowly become apparent. With outstanding control, Warren manipulates Stevie's voice to create a portrait of horror that in no way reads like a first novel." - *Publisher's Weekly *(starred review and Pick of the Week) "The best horror of 2009" - *Genreville* (*Publishers Weekly's* genre blog, referring to previous edition) "I've never seen anyone capture sordid human nature so clearly. I was completely drawn in, totally immersed. I felt ill much of the time." - Russell Kirkpatrick "Simply gut-wrenching" - John Courtenay Grimwood, *SFX* (June 2008) "There comes a time when you know, during your reading of a book, that it is going to have a profound effect on you, in terms of its engaging writing and also the message it delivers... *Slights* by Kaaron Warren can be added to this list." - Mark Deniz, *Dark Fiction Review "*It’s a creepy kind of horror novel, the kind of sublime read that gets under your skin and leads you to distraction... It’s laudably original and Warren’s acerbic writing style is equally poetic and twisted." - Paul Goat Allen, Unabashedly Bookish: The BN Community Blog "... a brilliantly written book that will not allow you to walk away from it. This is psychological horror at its very best." - Shroud Magazine Book Reviews "Scarier than Hitchcock, Peckinpah, early Stephen King, Barker *et al*, and with the sort of dark un-PC humour the Coen Brother’s and John Waters would probably kill for." - *3:AM Magazine* *From the Paperback edition.* ### About the Author Kaaron is an award-winning Australian writer of short fiction, and her stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including the British Fantasy Award-winning The Alsiso Project, and the recent Poe and Haunted Legends collections. Other short fiction awards include the Ditmar Award (twice) and the Aurealis Award.