SERVED COLD

2019 AUSTRALIAN SHADOWS AWARDS WINNER – Best Collected Work
Includes “In Vaulted Halls Entombed” as seen on the Netflix Original Series LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS

16 provocative and intensely chilling tales blending horror, fantasy, and the weird.

“At turns creepy and visceral, Baxter delivers the horror goods.” – Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World

Collected together for the first time ever, these sixteen provocative and intensely chilling tales by multi-award-winning-author Alan Baxter venture into the depths of the darkest and most shadowy places where unspeakable horrors are the predators and we the willing prey.

Prepare for an always terrifying, frequently heartbreaking journey in multiple stages, each piece echoing Baxter’s unique voice that effortlessly blends horror, fantasy and the weird, cementing his place as a modern master of the dark fantastique, and resulting in an unforgettable volume of fiction.

This collection includes 16 stories, several of which received a number of accolades:

“Served Cold” which was a Finalist for the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novella and a Finalist for the 2016 Australian Shadows Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction.
“In Vaulted Halls Entombed” which was adapted for the Netflix Original series LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS and won the 2015 Australian Shadows Paul Haines Award for Long Fiction.
“Crying Demon” which was a Finalist for the 2018 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story.
“The Ocean Hushed The Stones” which was a Finalist for the 2019 Australian Shadows Award for Best Short Story and received an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 12.
“Yellowheart” which was a Finalist for the 2019 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novella.

It is available in paperback and ebook, published by Grey Matter Press, September 2019.

 

Table of Contents

Introduction by John F.D. Taff

Served Cold
Exposure Compensation
Exquisite (Original)
Crossroads and Carousels
Simulacrum Of Hope
How Father Bryant Saw The Light
The Goodbye Message
The Ocean Hushed The Stones (Original)
Crying Demon
In Vaulted Halls Entombed
Her Grief In My Halls
They All Come Through London in the End
Waters Strangely Clear
Dream Shadow
Ways To Live And Die
Yellowheart (Original novellette)

ISBN 978-1-950569-04-5

Available in paperback and ebook wherever books are sold.

PRAISE FOR SERVED COLD

“a powerful collection, featuring sixteen stories, three of them new and quite chilling.” – Ellen Datlow in Summation 2019, The Best Horror of the Year, volume 12

“In Served Cold Alan Baxter shows off his impressive versatility and range with a host of stories that mix old school terrors with very now concerns. At turns creepy and visceral, Baxter delivers the horror goods.” – Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World

“I got his short horror story collection SERVED COLD, and it’s really terrific. Great stories about regret and abandonment…horror fantasy with great character work.” – Gail Simone, best-selling author of DC’s Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman, and more

“Alan Baxter is a chameleon. I’m convinced he can write comfortably in any genre… There’s a story to suit everyone’s appetites here… A whole world of horror to explore in one book” – Sadie Hartmann in SCREAM Magazine

“Step into the ring with Alan Baxter, I dare you. He writes with the grace, precision, and swift brutality of a prizefighter. Served Cold is a stellar showcase for his talents. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading him yet, start here!”
 – Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and The Pandora Room

“Alan Baxter is one of the best horror writers in the business, and this is an exceptional collection. You’ll think of these stories every time you’re alone and the shadows don’t behave, but by then, it’ll already be too late.” – Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Turtle Boy, Kin, and Sour Candy

“Baxter delivers 16 stories here and all were outstanding… This is a must-own/must-read collection. Baxter has upped his game, which means when he does that, all the other players must do it as well. I’m truly blown away by what I’ve read and I really can’t recommend this enough.” – Kendall Reviews

“As a whole, Served Cold presented a number of strong stories and further cements my good opinion of Alan Baxter. He’s an author whose new releases I’ll be watching out for.” – High Fever Books

Served Cold is a powerful collection of Alan Baxter’s writing at its best. These stories never shy from the darkness or the weird and yet are, at their core, deeply human. As readers, we identify with his characters even – or maybe especially – when we would rather not. Be it twisted desires or impossible choices, the harshest of consequences or the depths of despair, in these stories Baxter shines a light into the darker corners of what it means to be human.” – Joanne Anderton, award-winning author of The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories

“…trust me when I tell you, this is a great collection… Served Cold is a fantastic collection of top-drawer short stories that blew me away.” – The Haunted Pen

“Cutting straight to the chase, this is the best collection of short fiction I have read this year. No mean feat in a year that saw the release of books chock full of short stories from both Paul Tremblay and Joe Hill. Alan Baxter has put such a fantastic variety on display here, highlighting monsters of all types, shapes, and sizes as well as finding a myriad of different ways to examine humanity.” – Brennan Lafaro

“The most obvious comparison is the work of Stephen King, but there’s Edgar Allan Poe, and Baxter has his own unique style. This collection is an accomplished performance from a master horror writer.” – Clare Rhoden in Aurealis Magazine