When Chase Daniels looks out his window and sees a little girl in umbrella-print socks disemboweling a Rottweiler, he’s sure he’s just done a bad batch of meth. But when the same girl breaks down the door and flashes Chase and his friend Typewriter a bloody smile, what feels like a bad trip becomes all too real. FIEND (Crown Publishers; July 9, 2013), the debut novel from blazing new talent PETER STENSON, is a gripping, foul-mouthed, drug-fueled take on the end of the world as we know it.And we're giving away a copy!
As Chase and Typewriter emerge from their days-long drug binge, they find the streets of Minneapolis a bleak wasteland dotted with hellish versions of their neighbors: skin peeling off their faces, teeth bared and chomping for the taste of human flesh, a sickly sinister giggle signaling their arrival. It’s the apocalypse, and while Chase is in for the fight of his life, it’s also his first and last opportunity to finally save the day.
The ultimate antihero, who lists meth right alongside weapons, food, and shelter as his survival essentials, Chase sets off to rescue (and win back) his ex-girlfriend KK. Their romance is the only kind you could expect for two addicts who met in the psych ward: an endless cycle of ultimatums, recoveries, and relapses. Now at the end of the world, Chase is seizing his last chance for happiness with his true love.
Mixing the gritty authenticity of Breaking Bad with the surrealism of The Walking Dead, Stenson has cooked up a zombie novel remarkable for both its credibility and heart. Stenson spent his youth struggling with drug addiction and FIEND spares no gory details when it comes to using. This nightmarish fantasy of the zombie apocalypse is also a powerful firsthand portrait of addiction—nothing, not even the walking dead, can distract Chase and his band of meth-head survivors from their next score.
As Chase, Typewriter, KK, and her tagalong new boyfriend fight to stay alive and find someone to cook the next batch of crystal, they realize the drugs that have been slowly killing them for years are the only thing keeping them alive. All remaining survivors are addicts, the speed coursing through their veins somehow warding off the zombie virus. Their struggle to “keep their heads straight” with meth while staying alert enough to think clearly and defend themselves is a gut-wrenching look at how addicts prioritize drugs over everything—including their own survival. However this singular focus may be just what the group needs to survive.
Stenson’s blistering prose is truly addictive—in turns darkly funny, gruesome, and bitterly honest, FIEND is one hell of a zombie novel, a thrill ride through an apocalyptic wasteland of drugs, guns, addicts, and the undead.PETER STENSON received his MFA from Colorado State University in 2012. His stories and essays have been published in The Sun, The Bellevue Literary Review, The Greensboro Review, Confrontation, Post Road, Fugue, Harpur Palate, The Pinch, Blue Mesa Review, and elsewhere. He is also a recovering addict and has been sober for 10 years. He lives with his wife and daughter in Denver, Colorado.
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