“Strange is the night where black stars rise. And strange moons circle through the skies. But stranger still is Lost Carcosa.”
Kyle Hawkes has made a career chasing ghosts on camera, exploring haunted ruins and
unraveling old legends. But when an unaired episode of his paranormal series leaks online, it triggers a chain reaction that unearths a scandal the Vatican buried decades ago.
From the alleys of London to the catacombs beneath Rome, Kyle and his partner Ella are hunted by a ruthless cabal obsessed with summoning the King in Yellow. Their only hope lies in tracking down Father Zacharias, a long-missing exorcist who once stood before the Masked God—and lost his mind.
As myth bleeds into reality and reason yields to terror, they must confront an ancient power whose secrets offer unspeakable power… and utter madness.
“Night fell, and the hours dragged on, but still we murmured to each other of the King and the Pallid Mask.”
“Strange is the night where black stars rise. And strange moons circle through the skies. But stranger still is Lost Carcosa.”
Kyle Hawkes has made a career chasing ghosts on camera, exploring haunted ruins and
unraveling old legends. But when an unaired episode of his paranormal series leaks online, it triggers a chain reaction that unearths a scandal the Vatican buried decades ago.
From the alleys of London to the catacombs beneath Rome, Kyle and his partner Ella are hunted by a ruthless cabal obsessed with summoning the King in Yellow. Their only hope lies in tracking down Father Zacharias, a long-missing exorcist who once stood before the Masked God—and lost his mind.
As myth bleeds into reality and reason yields to terror, they must confront an ancient power whose secrets offer unspeakable power… and utter madness.
“Night fell, and the hours dragged on, but still we murmured to each other of the King and the Pallid Mask.”
Kyle Hawkes’ stomach went cold. He scrambled to his feet, arms raised. “God damn it, let him go! I’m telling the truth. I don’t know where he is!”
The Baron remained still. “I’m afraid I don’t believe you. I think you need to know how serious we are.”
He motioned to Matthias. The hard-faced man sheathed his blade and made his way to a bank of gears along the far wall. When he turned the wheel, a clanking of metal teeth retracted the center of the floor. A second turn lifted a steel flagpole from below.
Sandro carried Alec, squirming and naked, to the heart of the room. He held the Brit over the emerging pike. Kyle noticed the end topped with a tapered spear-point. Rising right under him.
He rushed toward them, but didn’t get far. The men in cloaks intercepted, holding him back. All he could do was scream. Helpless.
Kyle watched as the giant squeezed Alec in his massive hands. Matthias cranked the wheel farther. The end of the pole inched upward, toward Alec’s underside. He kicked his legs, flailing to break free.
The tentacle loosened from his throat.
His face swelled in relief. His skin flushed. Sweat coated his cheeks and forehead. But the respite was temporary. The point kept moving under him, edging closer to his exposed ass. Sandro’s grip held him in place as the steel rose high enough to tickle the skin behind his testicles.
“Help me, damn it!” Alec pleaded, his eyes screaming. “For fuck’s sake, tell them what they want to know!”
Kyle struggled against the men holding him, straining in desperation. His voice was hoarse, breathless. “It’s true. Zacharias approached me in London. He wanted to talk. I thought he was crazy. I told him to get lost. That’s all I know. I swear to God!”
“Not good enough,” Vassago said.
Again, he waved to Matthias. More cranking. The pole rose farther. Alec howled. The spear-point penetrated him.
Kyle squeezed his eyes shut. Balled his fists. Heart thundering.
Sharp metal broke Alec’s skin. Blood drooled from his anus, sliding down the shaft. He whimpered. His flesh jiggled, contorting itself in unnatural ways. Still Matthias kept cranking. Merciless, emotionless.
The pole drove deeper. Alec writhed in Sandro’s vise-grip. His eyes bulging, tears and sweat streaming off him. Agony unimaginable, an endless storm of screams and sobs and desperate gasps of breath.
Kyle’s head was spinning, awash in fear and hatred and pain. He forced himself to think. Through all the horror, he remembered. That night in London. The folded paper. Still there in his wallet. He reached behind, fumbling for his back pocket. “Please, this is what he gave me.”
He pulled the billfold out, spilling the contents on the flagstones and fishing out the slip. He held it up like a trophy, pleading for someone to take it.
Vassago seemed intrigued, finally. “Get it.”
This time it was Belariya who answered. The Baroness glided away from her husband’s side and crossed the length of the floor, plucking the card from his fingers. She didn’t even read it, just delivered it right to Vassago.
“It’s all I have,” Kyle said. “He found me, and I brushed him off. He seemed unbalanced. He gave me this, but it doesn’t say much of anything.”
Vassago looked it over. He chuckled, all the creepier in the midst of such brazen cruelty. He handed it back to his wife, who finally read it.
“Rome. Ironic, isn’t it?” she said.
The Baron folded his hands in front of his chest. “Quite so. All these years, we’ve been there so many times.”
Belariya studied the writing. “This address is a shop near the Palatine. Probably one of the souvenir stands that line the outside of the Forum.”
Kyle smacked his hand against the stone. “I swear, that’s everything I have. Every fucking thing.”
Vassago eyed him again, either unsure about his candor or just enjoying the torture. He lifted his finger to his lips, tapping as he stared down. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. On a matter of such great importance, we really must be certain.”
He looked back at Matthias. “You may continue.”
The henchman once again cranked the cog and wheel mechanism.
Kyle barely saw through the tears. Eyes burning, he had to keep pushing, there might still be a chance to save Alec. “Please, stop. That’s enough. I’m telling the truth. I’ve given you everything!”
Vassago remained unmoved. “In a moment we’ll know if that’s true.”
Matthias cranked yet again. The men behind him forced Kyle back down to his knees. He pulled and yanked and struggled, but there was nothing he could do. When he finally exhaled, he was spent.
It only got worse. Alec screamed incoherently, vulgarities and the most pitiable heart-wrenching cries imaginable. Every turn pushed the pole higher. Already lodged in his lower regions, Kyle saw it warp his flesh as it drilled deeper into his middle, ripping through his innards.
Matthias hauled the wheel harder now, as if even he felt the end coming. The wicked pole tunneled all the way into Alec’s chest. A horrible squish followed, ejecting a spray of blood and feces from his ruined ass with each new crank. Reeking sludge spilled all over the floor.
Alec’s voice wavered. Shrieking until blood and flecks of organ meat mixed with ejected phlegm. His limbs shivered at his sides, convulsing as the center of him shattered. But the wailing didn’t even stop then, not until the stake broke through his throat. It erupted out of his mouth in a red geyser that finally blocked his windpipe, crushing the last of his screams.
Kyle tried to reach for him; not to help, he knew it was too late. One last moment of human contact, that was all he could offer.
The ruined body twitched and rattled, a few last moments clinging to life. Then everything seized. Alec reached out too, stretching his arm toward Kyle. Beyond desperation. He held on, until his flesh melted in a drooping heap, skewered and slathered in grime.
Kyle let the tears roll down his face, whispering goodbye. Even though it did no good, he also said a silent apology.
Even then, the monster Vassago wasn’t done.
Stepping down from his place at the head of the yellow circle, he finally approached. Belariya floated alongside. Matthias joined them, as did hulking Sandro. They all stood over him, staring down as Kyle trembled on his knees.
He forced himself to stare back, but even their gaze was chilling. Their eyes blank, almost reptilian, devoid of feeling. Any trace of humanity vanished from them.
He wiped the tears and snot from his puffy face.
Vassago smiled. “Now I believe you.”
Thank you Reedsy and Frank Cavallo for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I am beyond words - this novel is EXACTLY the Lovecraftian cosmic horror that I have been looking for. It is so cinematic and infused with enough intriguing mysteries along the way that leave you wanting more - and after that ending, I want more!
The story starts with a gruesome opening scene in medias res, where we see a character literally impaled from his anus all through his mouth, and it immediately sets the tone of the novel: No character is safe and the stakes are high. From then on, we double back to follow the story linearly through the eyes of our protagonists, Kyle and Ella, anchoring us in this world while reality comes undone around them and threatens to plunge all into madness in preparation for the coming of the King in Yellow.
Cavallo delves in the tradition of Lovecraft and borrows heavily from Chambers’ novel of the same name. While the latter is unfamiliar to me apart from the quick search in the wiki that is derived from the book, I think Cavallo has done Chambers’ work tremendously justice from what I’ve read. It expands on the lore rather than merely referencing it, and true to the premise, we see the entity show up in a very unexpected but welcome way at the end. The structure of the novel is so well paced and built on previous reveals that one is never lost in this lore-filled story. We are always in the safe guiding hands of the author, and it makes the story such an easy read.
Narratively, while seemingly a simple story of heroes fighting against acolytes to prevent an inter-dimensional big bad from crossing over to our own, Cavallo manages to weave enough mystery and intrigue into the it that makes you yearn for more. His writing style is perfectly suited for this genre that you’re always in suspense for the next moments, and the twists are always unexpected but satisfying.
Speaking about the twists, they are so good! Every set-up is paid off, every build-up is revealed at the perfect moment. Every moment that was revealed, I definitely did not see it coming, which makes for such a satisfying read. That name reveal and that relationship reveal - chef’s kiss. That’s how Cavallo keeps you hooked, because at certain points of the story, I wonder why a character behaves a certain way, and when the missing piece of the puzzle is revealed, their actions finally make sense.
I hope that this novel attracts as wide of a readership when it releases, because selfishly, I want a continuation of the story and fingers crossed, an adaptation into a limited series. There is a lot that can be done here, as I’m sure there is appetite out there for true Lovecraftian horror (see The Ritual by David Bruckner, Annihilation by Alex Garland and anything made by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead). I hope that I have done enough with this review to help this novel forward.