Joe R. Lansdale's Prisoner 489 (illustrated by Santiago Caruso) was published by Dark Regions Press in November 2014.
Information about Joe R. Lansdale:
Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in eighteen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Hotep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror." He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about Prisoner 489:
Bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale (Cold in July, Hap and Leonard series, Bubba Ho-Tep) makes a return to horror with the dark and intense new novella Prisoner 489 fully illustrated by world-renowned artist Santiago Caruso.
On an island with a prison for the most evil and powerful criminals in the world, a new prisoner is strapped to the electric chair for execution. After multiple surges of electricity and nearly knocking out power to the entire island, the prisoner is finally dead. The staff buries him in the prison graveyard with a simple marker baring three numbers: 489.
After the body is buried, a violent storm rocks the islands and a staff member goes missing. The crew rushes into the storm, searching for their lost comrade. They find that the burial site of prisoner 489 has been unearthed, and the body that was inside has gone missing. With a horrific finding and strange noises around them, a powerful threat is closing in. It’s a threat that they thought was impossible, and it will force them into a battle for their lives.
Click here to visit the book page on the Dark Regions Press website.
A REVIEW OF JOE R. LANDSDALE'S PRISONER 489
Joe R. Lansdale needs no introduction to horror and thriller readers, because he's a well-known author and a good storyteller who has written excellent novels and stories. His latest novella, Prisoner 489, is proof of his writing skills, because it's an atmospheric and well written horror story about men who have to find a way to kill an extremely dangerous being or be killed themselves.
In my opinion Prisoner 489 is one of the best horror novellas of the year. It's a perfect example of a modern yet classic supernatural horror story that features a remote place and men who have no where to run. It contains all the necessary elements to thrill a horror reader who expects to read a good story.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
The events take place on two islands that are cut off from the rest of the world. There's a prison on the larger island and it has been designed to hold dangerous and different kind of prisoners that can't be held safely anywhere else. Bernard, Wilson and Toggle live on the smaller island. Wilson tends to the garden and Toggle takes care of fixing things. Bernard is their foreman and has taught them all that they know about their jobs. There's a graveyard on the island where executed prisoners are buried. Their graves are marked only with numbered thin white slats. The latest executed prisoner, prisoner 489, arrives to the smaller island in a bit different way than the previous bodies, because his body is in a metal coffin that's wrapped in chains (the staff had to do certain things to ensure his death, because executing him was extremely difficult). When he's buried to the graveyard, he rises from his grave during a rough and violent storm...
Bernard is an interesting character, because he has lived a long time on the island and has had a bit different kind of a life. Joe R. Lansdale focuses on him and writes fluently about his feelings about the island and the other men. I think it's good that the author spends enough time describing what Bernard feels about different things and the conditions on the island, because it adds depth and psychological credibility to the story.
The fight against the prisoner 489 is handled well. The author shows how desperate the situation is for Bernard, because there's no way to run on the island. The whole island has been totally cut off from the mainland. Bernard has to think how to kill the prisoner or he will soon end up dead.
The descriptions of the prison and its walls are fascinatingly macabre and atmospheric. The descriptions of the executions and all things related to them are fantastically sinister and vivid. I think that these decriptions will please hardcore horror fans, because the author doesn't sugarcoat the happenings, but writes boldly about what happens to the prisoners. The author also writes thrillingly about the fates of the staff members when they've spent too much time in the prison.
Reading about what kind of rumours were told about the executed prisoner 489 was fascinating for me. He supposedly spent three years in perfect isolation and didn't eat or drink anything, but managed to survive without any kind of nourishment. I enjoyed reading about what was revealed about him (it was especially interesting to read about what kind of a being he really was and why it was difficult to kill him).
Joe R. Lansdale gradually builds up tension and tightens the atmosphere in a good way. He knows how to write a creepy and entertaining horror story that contains brutality and surprises. I think it's good to mention that because there are a few graphic descriptions of violence and references to sexual activities in this novella, it's not a novella for the squeamish.
This novella offers supernatural horror and - of course - blood and intestines in an entertaining and fluently written format to horror fans. It will delight both hardcore fans and newcomers, who have seldom read horror stories, because it's a well written and entertaining story. I think that Joe R. Lansdale's fans will be pleased with this story.
The artwork by Santiago Caruso looks beautiful. You can see examples of his artwork on the Dark Regions Press website. Please, check them out, because they look great.
Joe R. Lansdale's Prisoner 489 is a thoroughbred horror novella that should to be read by all horror fans who enjoy reading supernatural horror stories, because it's good horror entertainment. It's the best kind of creepy and entertaining supernatural horror available for horror readers.
Excellent and atmospheric horror novella!