2013 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella (nominee)
Eyepennies is a horror fiction novel inspired by the music and life of Sparklehorse, aka Mark Linkous who recorded and performed under that name. He died in March 2010 and that was the impetus for this novella.
Eyepennies is the first of a series of TTA Novellas which will range from in length from 20 to over 40 thousand words in length.
Here are some comments on Eyepennies from Ellen Datlow, Tim Lebbon, Alison Littlewood and Stephen Volk.
“A musician emotionally scarred by a near-death experience is haunted by his past, his present and his future in this chilling, slow burn of a ghost story. Read it!” Ellen Datlow
“Mike O’Driscoll is without doubt one of our best writers. I often wish he wrote more, because when he does produce something new – such as the excellent Eyepennies – it’s truly an occasion for celebration” Tim Lebbon
“A musician struggles to come to terms with his existence following a near-death experience, in a world where reality is something elusive and the darkness is always waiting. A beautifully written, evocative novella” Alison Littlewood
“A beautiful story suffused with the entangled mysteries of pain and life, as radiant as it is dark: the best kind” Stephen Volk
and here is Steve Rogerson's view from Suite 101
"O’Driscoll delivers these emotions with a subtlety that surprises. He lulls you in and leaves you drained, as all good horror writers should. But he does this without big dramatic scenes and with a skilful underplaying – even the most horrific of scenes, that with Mark in the farmyard with a gun, is done through Mark’s eyes, and Mark cannot appreciate the true nature of what he is doing.
If the rest of the novellas in this series are half as good as this, I look forward to them eagerly."
//suite101.com/a/book-review-eyepennies-mike-o-driscoll
The inspiration for Eyepennies came from a song, by American singer-songwriter Mark Linkous, on the album It’s a Wonderful Life. Linkhous had depression and and was close to death at least once. His suicide was in 2010. The song is on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7cXtu3-u6c.
Genre: Horror
Eyepennies is the first of a series of TTA Novellas which will range from in length from 20 to over 40 thousand words in length.
Here are some comments on Eyepennies from Ellen Datlow, Tim Lebbon, Alison Littlewood and Stephen Volk.
“A musician emotionally scarred by a near-death experience is haunted by his past, his present and his future in this chilling, slow burn of a ghost story. Read it!” Ellen Datlow
“Mike O’Driscoll is without doubt one of our best writers. I often wish he wrote more, because when he does produce something new – such as the excellent Eyepennies – it’s truly an occasion for celebration” Tim Lebbon
“A musician struggles to come to terms with his existence following a near-death experience, in a world where reality is something elusive and the darkness is always waiting. A beautifully written, evocative novella” Alison Littlewood
“A beautiful story suffused with the entangled mysteries of pain and life, as radiant as it is dark: the best kind” Stephen Volk
and here is Steve Rogerson's view from Suite 101
"O’Driscoll delivers these emotions with a subtlety that surprises. He lulls you in and leaves you drained, as all good horror writers should. But he does this without big dramatic scenes and with a skilful underplaying – even the most horrific of scenes, that with Mark in the farmyard with a gun, is done through Mark’s eyes, and Mark cannot appreciate the true nature of what he is doing.
If the rest of the novellas in this series are half as good as this, I look forward to them eagerly."
//suite101.com/a/book-review-eyepennies-mike-o-driscoll
The inspiration for Eyepennies came from a song, by American singer-songwriter Mark Linkous, on the album It’s a Wonderful Life. Linkhous had depression and and was close to death at least once. His suicide was in 2010. The song is on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7cXtu3-u6c.
Genre: Horror
Used availability for Mike O'Driscoll's Eyepennies