by Marc Laidlaw
First published 1999
Derek Crowe sees dollar signs when he discovers ancient texts about mystical mandalas. The New Age entrepreneur knows his audience wants spiritual comfort, not terrifying truth. He rewrites the occult manuscripts, transforming warnings about malevolent entities into feel-good promises of enlightenment. His sanitized book becomes a bestseller among seekers hungry for easy answers. But Crowe has made a fatal error. The original texts contained warnings for good reason. The mandalas are not symbols of peace but gateways to something vast and predatory. These forces have remained hidden from humanity, known only to a few occult masters who understood the danger. Now Crowe's alterations have torn away the protective barriers. The entities he portrayed as benevolent guides are actually ravenous beings that view humans as nothing more than food and playthings. His commercial success becomes a nightmare as the true nature of the mandalas reveals itself. The horror he has released cannot be contained or controlled.
Genres: horror, supernatural, thriller, occult
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: horror-elements, unreliable-narrator
352 pages · Paperback · Leisure Books
Content warnings: body-horror, gore, graphic-violence