“Powerful…I love it… Richard Chizmar writes clean, no-nonsense prose…sets his tales in no-nonsense, middle class neighborhoods I can relate to…and writes terrific stories served with a very large slice of Disquiet Pie.”
— Stephen King
“Chizmar’s stories are hard-hitting, spooky, suspenseful, poignant, harrowing, heartbreaking and most of all very well-written. Excellent work!”
— Robert McCammon
“Like Ray Bradbury, Richard Chizmar has a sweet, nostalgic streak. The past in his stories is always a warm, perfect place. The present, however, belongs more to Robert Bloch, as wonder gives way to horror. The twists are worthy of the old Twilight Zone. Enjoy.”
— Stewart O’Nan
“It’s an idyllic little world Richard Chizmar has created. Boys fish in the shallows of a winding creek. A father tosses a baseball with his young son in the fading light of a summer day. There’s the smell of fresh-cut grass. And then, well…just beneath the surface? There are those missing pets whose collars turn up in a shoebox. Or the disturbing photos the dead can leave behind. Or the terrible thing you might find yourself doing when a long lost brother suddenly returns, demanding money. Chizmar does a tremendous job of peeling back his world’s shiny layers, revealing the rot that lies underneath. His stories feel like so many teeth: short and sharp and ready to draw blood.”
— Scott Smith
“Richard Chizmar’s voice is authentic and powerful, and the stories he tells in A Long December are a joy, by turns dark and darkly funny, always compelling, always evocative. He hooks you fast and his words will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished reading, the mark of a special talent.”
—Michael Koryta
“Exceptional stories that lay our hearts, lives and fears bare with brutal, beautiful economy.”
—Michael Marshall Smith
“Richard Chizmar’s talent is a fierce, poignant marvel. His exquisite stories shatter.”
—Richard Christian Matheson
“Richard Chizmar is the kind of writer I love—his prose is sharp, simple, and to the point. He grabs your attention in the first paragraph, and never lets go, and, even better, his writing never gets in the way of his story. It flows so smoothly it’s as if you’re experiencing it rather than reading it. Another writer told me years ago that whenever he wrote what he thought was a showstopper of a sentence or paragraph, he would stop writing, admire his work, then immediately cut it. ‘The last thing you want the reader to do is stop to admire the writing,’ he said. ‘All that does is pull them out of the story you’re trying to tell.’ This, of course, is not advice you’ll ever hear from MFA writing programs, but for those of us battling in the trenches every day, it was great advice. Chizmar is a master of this form, and hats off to him!”
—John Saul
“A wonderful, masterful collection—terrifying stories full of heart and soul…and darkness. Sure to please even the most jaded reader.”
—Brian Keene
“Chilling and thought-provoking tales that quietly uncover horror in the most ordinary of lives.”
—Kelley Armstrong
“Richard Chizmar has a very special talent for creating a homely, believable world—the kind of world that you and I live in every day. But he gradually invests that world with a creeping sense of unease, and then he throws open those suburban front doors and brings us face to face with all the unthinkable horrors that have been hiding behind them.”
—Graham Masterton
“…a highly talented dark suspense writer with a wide range of subject matter and a knack for clear, straightforward, but evocative prose that may remind you of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Ed Gorman.”
— Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
“Richard Chizmar is a master delineator of two phenomena—the human condition and the inhuman condition. Some of his people may be monsters, but Chizmar has the rare talent to make you see his monsters as people. His work eloquently and expertly expands the dimensions of the genre…and should concern anyone interested in exceptional writing talent.”
— Robert Bloch
“…a writer of great accomplishment. His work, always effective, is notable for its clarity and originality of concept. Chizmar has a great gift for the sinister.”
— Peter Straub
“Richard Chizmar will soon distinguish himself as a major writer of American suspense fiction.”
— Ed Gorman
“Richard Chizmar is the kind of writer who gives the genre of dark fiction the dignity it deserves. He is not only a superb writer, but a seductive storyteller as well. He dangles hidden secrets in front of our faces, and then dares us not to follow him as he pulls away. We do follow, we have to follow. With vivid characters, confident prose, dialogue so realistic that the pages nearly speak it aloud, and carefully constructed plots, Chizmar makes us follow those hidden secrets he dangles before us, just out of reach, and at the end of the journey, we are always amply rewarded.”
—Ray Garton
………………………
About the title novella, A Long December…
“A fresh, compelling take on the serial killer theme. Suspenseful, well structured, expertly characterized.”
