Orphans of Bliss

Tales of Addiction Horror

By: Josh Malerman, S. A. Cosby, Cassandra Khaw, Kealan Patrick Burke, Kathe Koja, Gabino Iglesias, Christa Carmen, Samantha Kolesnik, John F. D. Taff, Mark Matthews

Narrated by: Linda Jones

Includes the Bram Stoker Award-nominated story "Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell", by Christa Carmen.

Addiction is the perpetual epidemic, where swarms of human moths flutter to the flames of hell. Because that warm blanket of a heroin high, that joyful intoxication of a pint of vodka, that electric energy from a line of cocaine, over time leaves you with a cold loneliness and a bitter heart. Relationships destroyed, bodies deteriorate, loved ones lost, yet the craving continues for that which is killing us—living, as the title suggests, like an Orphan of Bliss.

Welcome to the third and final fix of addiction horror and the follow-up to the Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, Lullabies for Suffering. A diverse table of contents brought together for an explosive grand finale—an unflinching look at the insidious nature of addiction, told with searing honesty but compassion for those who suffer.

Table of Contents

"You Wait for It, Like It Waits for You" by Kealan Patrick Burke

"One Last Blast" by S. A. Cosby

"What We Name Our Dead" by Cassandra Khaw

"Huddled Masses, Yearning to Breathe Free" by John F. D. Taff

"Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell" by Christa Carmen

"Holding On" by Gabino Iglesias

"Buyer's Remorse" by Samantha Kolesnik

"A Solid Black Lighthouse on a Pier in the Cryptic" by Josh Malerman

"Singularity" by Kathe Koja

"My Soul's Bliss" by Mark Matthews

**Orphans of Bliss now includes the bonus novella Milk-Blood by Mark Matthews

©2022 Wicked Run Press (P)2023 Wicked Run Press

Critic reviews

""Triumphant!" (The Library Journal, starred review)

"Visceral, cutting" (Booklist, Starred Review)

"Powerhouse anthology" (Publishers Weekly)