'Nocturnal' by Scott Sigler is a fast-paced SF horror novel that blends the best of both genres with a police procedural and a decades-old mystery. The story follows Bryan Clauser, an experienced SF homicide detective, as he starts having dreams of a series of gruesome murders that turn out to be real. Alongside his partner, Pookie Chang, Bryan investigates these murders, which are somehow connected to the trials of a bullied 13-year-old kid. The plot accelerates through the pages, revealing twists and turns, complex character relationships, and a deep conspiracy that stretches through the city's underbelly to the highest offices.
The writing style of 'Nocturnal' is described as blending cop detective drama with monster fantasy. The author delves into character psyches, providing insight into their motivations and emotions, creating a dark and urban sci-fi setting with elements of horror that keep readers engaged. The novel features a mix of brutal murders, occult symbols, terrible nightmares, and a conspiracy that adds layers of excitement and dread to the narrative.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains high levels of violence, gore, and themes of trauma, making it unsuitable for sensitive readers.
From The Publisher:
Scott Sigler reinvented the alien-invasion story in his bestselling novels Infected and Contagious… rebooted the biotech thriller in Ancestor…now, in his most ambitious, sweeping novel to date, he works his magic on the paranormal thriller, taking us inside a terrifying underworld of subterranean predators that only his twisted mind could invent.
Homicide detective Bryan Clauser is losing his mind.
How else to explain the dreams he keeps having-dreams that mirror, with impossible accuracy, the gruesome serial murders taking place all over San Francisco? How else to explain the feelings these dreams provoke in him-not disgust, not horror, but excitement?
As Bryan and his longtime partner, Lawrence "Pookie" Chang, investigate the murders, they learn that things are even stranger than they at first seem. For the victims are all enemies of a seemingly ordinary young boy-a boy who is gripped by the same dreams that haunt Bryan. Meanwhile, a shadowy vigilante, seemingly armed with superhuman powers, is out there killing the killers. And Bryan and Pookie's superiors-from the mayor on down-seem strangely eager to keep the detectives from discovering the truth.
Doubting his own sanity and stripped of his badge, Bryan begins to suspect that he's stumbled into the crosshairs of a shadow war that has gripped his city for more than a century-a war waged by a race of killers living in San Francisco's unknown, underground ruins, emerging at night to feed on those who will not be missed.
And as Bryan learns the truth about his own intimate connections to the killings, he discovers that those who matter most to him are in mortal danger…and that he may be the only man gifted-or cursed-with the power to do battle with the nocturnals.
Featuring a dazzlingly plotted mystery and a terrifying descent into a nightmarish underworld-along with some of the most incredible action scenes ever put to paper, and an explosive, gut-wrenching conclusion you won't soon forget-Nocturnal is the most spectacular outing to date from one of the genre's brightest stars.
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About the Author:
Scott Sigler is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels-including Alive and Alight-six novellas, and dozens of short stories. He is also the co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his YA Galactic Football League series. He lives…
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