Living in a society conditioned to fear him, young Antoine Santiago rides the New York subway and communes with the dead. With a love of history inherited from his late father, the city's storied past is now the only friend to this loner obsessed with a long-forgotten legend about the life and tragic death of a fabled giant ape.
Armed with a bargain-basement occult instruction manual and a backpack of bananas, Antoine summons the spirit of the Great Gargantuana-a kaiju-sized primate that haunts the F Train-and vows to reunite her with the only friend she knew before meeting her end on Brooklyn's elevated tracks: Lettie, the feisty daughter of her captor, who's now living as an elderly shut-in.
One miraculous evening these three outsiders, shunned by a modern, gentrifying society that barely acknowledges their existence, converge for an alarming and otherworldly adventure of unimaginable monsters, paranormal activity and improbable friendships in this tale of NYC's not-so-hidden magic and the cherished found families forged in the shadow of the Big Apple.
REVIEWS FOR GARGANTUANA'S GHOST:
"A heart-wrenching tale of old loves and fresh wounds; of what it means to find hope and strength in the dying embers of a life, or the loneliness of youth. A fresh, welcome take on what horror can mean." - Philip Fracassi, author of A Child Alone with Strangers
"Gargantuana's Ghost is a delightful surprise, a story unlike any I've read. At turns nostalgic, heartbreaking, tense and terrifying, Patrick Barb has managed to do something completely unique. A treasure." - Laurel Hightower, author of Crossroads and Below
"An urban fantasy grounded in the reality of human cruelty, Gargantuana's Ghost is as unexpected as it is poignant. Barb infuses his unique characters with so much beauty, pain, and hope." - J.A.W. McCarthy, author of Sometimes We're Cruel and Other Stories
"With a Kong-sized beating heart at its center, Patrick Barb has created an enchanting story. His deft hand takes us on a journey by way of subway and steamships, through jungles both urban and exotic, to the realms of loss and love." - C.B. Jones, author of The Rules of the Road
"With its staccato pacing, alternating perspectives, and brutal earnestness, Gargantuana's Ghost harnesses the rhythms of life in New York City. But more than just a paean to a great city, Patrick Barb has created a work of fantasy that grounds itself, not in spite of, but through its fantastical elements." - Aubrey Sitterson, comics writer on The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling and No One Left to Fight
Proudly presented by Grey Matter Press, the independent home of multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated dark fiction titles.
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