Clock’s Watch by Michael Reyes
Clock the Chaos Mage. A stranger out of time, hidden in the folds of shadow. He is the guardian of Coney Island's supernatural borderlands, and the only thing standing between our reality and the demons that thirst to destroy it.
Tales of dark pulp fantasy and horror.
Clock's Watch:
Chaos creatures attempting to breach our world possess the body of a young mother! Can a strange observer stop the threat from beyond, or will it spill out into Coney Island to devour all that's in its path?!
The Black Balloon:
Spending his final days near Coney Island, Stefano Murphy has been noticing a mysterious character: Clock! Will Murphy's past finally catch up with him, or will a demon Clock is hunting get to him first?!
Narrioch:
In his past as guardian of Narrioch, Clock has foiled the plans of powerful entities... The defeat of Mudiret has bought only a brief respite, and Clock soon finds himself the target of its master's wrath!
The Indigo Mushroom:
Extra-dimensional entities have tampered with our universe, an alien mineral intelligence has arrived on Earth, and Clock's buddy Sal has lost his job! Can Clock stop the vanguard of a mechanical invasion?!
The Cut Worm Forgives the Plough:
A lover's tiff between Danny and his girlfriend reaches the next level when Maria is possessed by a demon! Can Clock reconcile the couple or are the blood and bodies strewn on the dance floor just too much!?
Crockett:
Clock hoped to have put the past behind him, his memories hidden as a perk of his job... But when the Indigo Mushroom calls out to him, Clock must confront a demon from his past or be destroyed by it!
Clock's Watch. An anthology of heroic dark fantasy and terror. Illustrations by Sean Bova, Jay Campbell and MV.
Reviews for Book 1:
I really liked the stories themselves. The various demons and monsters were interesting and
creative. The stories were also wrapped up in a good manner with each one self-contained.
-Sci-fi & Scary
I think if you like Weird Occult pulp, this sort of thing would be right up your alley—I think one
thing that is strongly to Clock’s benefit is that rather than being a throwback in time, setting
stories in the pulp era, Reyes takes the classic weird occult format and places it in the modern
day. So rather than pastiche or homage, Clock feels more like a contemporary, new weird* (but
not New Weird) occult adventure series.
-Cirsova
Reyes’ riotous creativity is almost overwhelming. So much weirdness goes on that, even though
most of it’s explained, it’s difficult to really understand. Oftentimes, that sort of writing just
irritates me, but here it’s incredibly valuable at creating the sense of a deep and dangerous
world that lurks below the boardwalk and inside dirty motel rooms along the Brooklyn shore.
-Fletcher Vredenburgh, Black Gate Magazine
I enjoy this book, it gives me hope that there is someone looking out for us. Maybe there are not
enemies of ours from other worlds or dimensions, but there is evil and enemies around the
country, world, and who knows what else. I think that is the base of this story. We all want
someone who can protect us, we all want someone who can shine a light when it’s dark. There
are times, however, that we can’t be who we need to be for those we care about, for those we
love, so why not have an invisible being who can help us in our time of need.
-Fang-Freakin-Tastic Reviews
One of the things I liked most about these stories is the prose itself. It has such a lovely rhythm
to it and made for a great reading experience. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed these stories. Honestly, this isn’t really something I normally would have expected myself to like as much as I did. I would recommend
Clock’s Watch to lovers of dark fantasy, or folks that maybe want something a little different.
-Way Too Fantasy