C.H.U.D. LIVES!: A Tribute Anthology, compiled by Eric S. Brown

Release date: April 27, 2018
Subgenre: Science fiction horror anthology, media tie-in

About C.H.U.D. LIVES! A Tribute Anthology: 

 

Today’s top Horror and SF authors pay tribute to C.H.U.D. in this anthology of original fiction.

C.H.U.D. is a genre defying, cult classic film featuring monsters living in the sewers below New York. The stories in this anthology expand the world created by the film and add depth to the C.H.U.D. universe like never before. From stories of apocalyptic horror and all out monster action, to tales of underground parties interrupted by uninvited guests and evening strolls that end in death, this anthology will leave you both smiling and breathless.

Relive the fear as these original stories take you beyond the movie to events that occurred before, during, and after the scenes we remember so well.

Includes C.H.U.D. related stories by Jonathan Maberry, Tim Waggoner, JG Faherty, Mort Castle, Michael H. Hanson, Martin Powell, Ben Fisher, Jason White, Chad Lutzke, Ross Baxter, Philip C Perron, David Bernstein, Nick Cato, Alex Laybourne, Christopher Fulbright, Angeline Hawkes, David Robbins, Robert Waters, Greg Mitchell, Ryan C. Thomas, and Eugene Johnson.

With an introduction by David Drake. Compiled by Eric S. Brown.

C.H.U.D. Lives! also features in-depth interviews with Andrew Bonime (producer) and Parnell Hall (screenwriter), as well as never before seen behind-the-scenes photos from the classic 80s horror film.

Lineup:

• Introduction by David Drake
• Interview with the late Andrew Bonime
• “Dog Walker” by Robert E Waters
• “The Dwellers” by Nick Cato
• “The City Will Eat You Alive” by Ryan C. Thomas
• “Date Night” by David Robbins
• “Strange Gods” by Christopher Fulbright and Angeline Hawkes
• “Lost and Found” by Greg Mitchell
• “They Are C.H.U.D” by Alex Laybourne
• “C.H.A.D.” by Michael H. Hanson
• “Samsa’s Party” by Ben Fisher
• “The Way to a Man’s Heart” by Tim Waggoner
• “Dweller Messiah” by Jason White
• “That’s Entertainment!” by Mort Castle
• “Toxic Disposal” by David Bernstein
• “Monstrous Me” by Martin Powell
• “Step Ate” by Chad Lutzke
• “Zero Hour” by JG Faherty
• “The Deuce” by Philip C. Perron
• “All at Sea” by Ross Baxter
• “You Will Never Leave Harlan Alive” by Jonathan Maberry and Eugene Johnson
• Interview with Parnell Hall (screenwriter) by Eric S Brown

This book is dedicated in loving memory to Andrew Bonime, the producer of the C.H.U.D. film.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

 

Excerpt:

 

T.H.I.S. C.I.T.Y. W.I.L.L. E.A.T. Y.O.U. A.L.I.V.E.

Ryan C. Thomas

“Kirby isn’t a homicide, he’s a missing person. I can’t tie up the whole force just because some guy decided to…walk out on his wife.” – Captain Bosch

The rains had done nothing to wash the graffiti off the sides of the buildings. Ron Kirby stared at it like he did every other day. Disgusted. It wasn’t even legible. Bunch of swirls and symbols that were supposed to be the code names of the neighborhood kids, but it all just looked like alien screed. Damn kids. They were as annoying as the rats that flowed in and out of the dumpsters behind that dirty diner on Cleveland and Kenmore. Food there was atrocious; the burgers were hockey pucks and the coffee was tar. Not to mention it was a cop hangout, and those idiots were just itching to give upstanding citizens like himself a hard time. Only reason to go in there was the cute waitress, but even she got old after a while.

Vandals. Bad food. Corrupt cops. And rats.

It was all getting old, growing tiresome. It all seemed to weigh down on him, this city, this life. Especially his wife, Greta Kirby. She was always whining about something. All week she’d been up Ron’s butt about why he was coming home late. She suspected an affair. He knew it. But the truth was not so tawdry, just depressing. The truth was he’d been laid off from his job in the meat packing district two weeks ago and had yet to find another one. All the jobs at the Chelsea Pier were taken, and the storehouses were over-employed. It would change during the winter, he knew, since there was always someone who got tired of the cold, but that was a ways off. Rent was due now. Rent to keep living in this trash heap of a neighborhood.

He turned from the graffiti, looked up at the sky, looked for a familiar face in the night clouds. God, an angel, someone to hear his pleas. “C’mon, just give me this gig tonight.”

He couldn’t tell his wife he was jobless because she’d just call him a loser. She’d done that enough lately. He was tired of it. All he wanted was a new job, a better paying job, one that would put extra cash in his pocket.

His marriage was strained, sure, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t salvage it. He still loved his wife, after all. Still remembered their wedding day, how young and angelic Greta had looked. Her working two shifts at the laundromat had put so many lines in her face she looked like a road map, but he saw past the aging. He still remembered.

If he could just get this new job, some money, he could buy her something nice. They could start over. She wouldn’t think he was a loser.

 

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