The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado

A collection of decadent, darksome Southwest tales by Manuel Arenas, author of Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies.

In The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado, Manuel Arenas relates a series of Southwestern Gothic tales told from the perspective of the Latin diaspora. Ranging in time from the conquest of New Spain to modern-day Arizona, they feature diabolic missions, spectral monks, shapeshifting sorcerers, fantastical creatures, and grim deities, all lurking within the harsh, wondrous environs of the Sonoran Desert. In the title novelette-a supernatural conte cruel-we meet the sardonic Ba'al Adrian Zwartenberg, a sorcerer seeking to resurrect an abandoned beacon of evil-and who delights in horrific revenge for the slightest offense. The poems and stories that follow feature other dark icons from Arenas' Southwestern mythology: Lupe of the mirror black-a tlahuelpuchi (vampiric shapeshifter); the tragic Altagracia (who inherits a family curse); the demonic brujo Dimas Akelarre; and Féretrina, aka Coffin-Belly Mary-an emissary for La Santa Muerte.

Lavishly illustrated by Mutartis Boswell, this volume is a treat for the eye-as well as for the dark soul-of horror and weird fiction enthusiasts.

"Imagine Arkham relocated to the desert southwest and rebuilt on a foundation of Mexican-American mythology, folklore, language, and spirituality. That will give you some idea of what lies in store for you in the pages of The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado..." -Rebecca Buchanan, author of Asphalt Gods and Not a Princess, but (Yes) There was a Pea, and Other Fairy Tales to Foment Revolution

"Manuel Arenas is a unique worker in the Weird, his belletristic verses and romantically dark tales of horror and sorcery resonating in the same subconscious stratum as Poe, Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith. ...his town of Helldorado analogous to ghoul-haunted Arkham, a crossing-point of terrible entities and powerful brujos... On turning the final page, the reader may well be compelled to exclaim in rapture: Ave Tenebrum!"-Scott J. Couturier, author of I Awaken In October: Poems of Folk Horror and Halloween and The Box

"The poetry and fables of Manuel Arenas are like specially gifted party favours on All Hallows Eve. Unwrap them and you are regaled with black humour shot through with light... elegant beauty one breath from decay..." -Galad Elflandsson, Author of The Black Wolf

MANUEL ARENAS is a writer of verse and prose in the Gothic Horror tradition. His work has appeared in Spectral Realms and Penumbra, respectively, as well as various genre anthologies; including The Phantasmagorical Promenade, The Averoigne Legacy, and Knock Knock: Wyrd Folks and Wive's Tales. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, where he pens his dark ditties sheltered behind heavy curtains, as he shuns the oppressive orb which glares down on him from the cloudless, dust-filled sky. His first collection, Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies, was released by Jackanapes Press in 2021. MUTARTIS BOSWELL is an English artist hailing from the rural West of the UK, where he lives with his partner and two kids while creating his weird and atmospheric worlds. He's worked as an artist for Feral House and Dynatox Ministries, and his illustrations have appeared in various weird fiction publications such as Spectral Realms, Occult Detective Magazine, and many others. He also makes underground comix and has been a regular contributor to Satanic Mojo Comix and Dystopian Chronicles. More of his art can be seen at boswellart.blogspot.com and boswellart.bigcartel.com.

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