The End in All Beginnings
by John F. D. Taff
THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS is a collection of horror that’s a literary tour de force through the emotional pain and personal anguish of the human condition. Praised as one of the best collections of heartfelt and gut-wrenching horror written in recent history, it’s a disturbing trip through the ages exploring the painful tragedies of life, love and loss.
Each of the five masterfully written novellas included in THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS examine complex themes running the gamut from the loss of childhood innocence, to the dreadful reality of survival after everything we hold dear is gone, to some of the most profound aspects of human tragedy.
As one of the best storytellers of the modern age, John F.D. Taff takes readers on a skillfully balanced emotional journey into nostalgia, through personal pain and beyond the everyday terrors that are uncomfortably real over the course of the human lifetime. His straight-forward, nuanced writing style is at times darkly comedic, often deeply poetic and always accurate in the most terrifying of ways.
Evoking the literary styles of horror legends Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker, in THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS also pays homage to modern genre masters Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling and Clive Barker, solidifying author John F.D. Taff as modern horror’s new King of Pain.
PRAISE FOR THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS:
“THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS is accomplished stuff, complex and heartfelt. It’s one of the best novella collections I’ve read in years!” – JACK KETCHUM, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The Box, Closing Time and Peaceable Kingdom
“Taff brings the pain in five damaged and disturbing tales of love gone horribly wrong. This collection is like a knife in the heart. Highly recommended!” – JONATHAN MABERRY, New York Times bestselling author of Code Zero and Fall of Night
“Taff is a standout talent. Look no further than this collection for evidence that not only is horror not dead, there are new proponents of the craft capable to carry it into the future.” – KEALAN PATRICK BURKE, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The Turtle Boy, Kin, and Jack & Jill
FEATURING THE NOVELLAS:
“What Becomes God” begins as a nostalgic trip into childhood, exploring love, friendship and the loss of innocence as two young boys whose days spent playing in the sun are interrupted by the looming specter of disease and death must face the sacrifice that belief demands of them.
“Object Permanence” unleashes a psychological nightmare when a man held in a mental institution and experiencing horrific hallucinations escapes to return to his hometown to confront the source of evil that has plagued him for years.
“Love in the Time of Zombies” examines the lives of two men fighting to survive in a rural Midwestern town at the end of the world where they soon realize that death doesn’t always bring relief from the love…and the terrible price it demands.
“The Long, Long Breakdown” tells the story of personal anguish and isolation of a father struggling to protect his teenage daughter from the terrifying forces threatening their lives and attempting to end their familial bond in post-apocalyptic Miami.
“Visitation” offers a journey of profound self-discovery as a man anguished over the death of his wife takes a trip to a distant planet on the promise of experiencing a long-awaited reunion with the love of his life only to find that the true nature of the human condition is far more devastating.
PRAISE FOR GREY MATTER PRESS:
"In less than two years, Grey Matter Press has managed to establish itself as one of the premiere purveyors of horror fiction currently in existence via both a series of killer anthologies--SPLATTERLANDS (2013), OMINOUS REALITIES (2013), EQUILIBRIUM OVERTURNED (2014)--and John F.D. Taff's harrowing novella collection THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS (2014)." - FANGORIA
**Review
"Imagine a series of round robin stories penned collaboratively by Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, Harlan Ellison and Rod Serling, and you'll be in the general neighborhood [of THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS]: lush, poetic, ceaselessly imaginative, seriously affecting, multifaceted modern horror fiction. - FANGORIA
"Just under half a century ago, I discovered a personal "tell" that let me know when a performance had touched me deeply. The last time it happened I just finished John F.D. Taff's collection of horror novellas, THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS. Taff provides carefully nuanced, skillfully balanced components--storytelling, nostalgia, horror, human emotion--to work from beginnings to ultimate ends...sometimes death, sometimes things far worse, and sometimes something magnificent." - MICHAEL R. COLLINGS, *HELLNOTES*
"Taff's deceptively simplistic prose offers deep emotional and dramatic insights into how human beings live with the burdens of the past and the inevitability of death. "What Becomes God" is a slice of Stephen King/Ramsey Campbell. "Object Permanence" is a slowly revealing Twilight Zone-like story. The setting of "The Long, Long Breakdown" is reminiscent of J.G. Ballard. "Visitation" follows in the footsteps of the works of Philip K. Dick. THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS offers genre readers much to appreciate." - HORROR NEWS NETWORK
"Will definitely be in the running for one of my favorite reads of the year. This collection will not only appeal to horror fans, but could interest readers of just about any genre. Whether you are looking for introduction to the world of horror or are already a seasoned horror fanatic, you will definitely want to give THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS a read!" - THE HORROR BOOKSHELF
From the Author
PRAISE FOR GREY MATTER PRESS:
"In less than two years, Grey Matter Press has managed to establish itself as one of the premiere purveyors of horror fiction currently in existence via both a series of killer anthologies--SPLATTERLANDS (2013), OMINOUS REALITIES (2013), EQUILIBRIUM OVERTURNED (2014)--and John F.D. Taff's harrowing novella collection THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS (2014)." - FANGORIA
"The dark, all-encompassing theme seems to be the trademark of Grey Matter Press. When asked for a referral for a good short story collection I often state without hesitation to the very press that has enchanted my reading attention." - Dave Gammon, HORROR NEWS
Each of the five masterfully written novellas included in THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS examine complex themes running the gamut from the loss of childhood innocence, to the dreadful reality of survival after everything we hold dear is gone, to some of the most profound aspects of human tragedy.
As one of the best storytellers of the modern age, John F.D. Taff takes readers on a skillfully balanced emotional journey into nostalgia, through personal pain and beyond the everyday terrors that are uncomfortably real over the course of the human lifetime. His straight-forward, nuanced writing style is at times darkly comedic, often deeply poetic and always accurate in the most terrifying of ways.
Evoking the literary styles of horror legends Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker, in THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS also pays homage to modern genre masters Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling and Clive Barker, solidifying author John F.D. Taff as modern horror’s new King of Pain.
PRAISE FOR THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS:
“THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS is accomplished stuff, complex and heartfelt. It’s one of the best novella collections I’ve read in years!” – JACK KETCHUM, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The Box, Closing Time and Peaceable Kingdom
“Taff brings the pain in five damaged and disturbing tales of love gone horribly wrong. This collection is like a knife in the heart. Highly recommended!” – JONATHAN MABERRY, New York Times bestselling author of Code Zero and Fall of Night
“Taff is a standout talent. Look no further than this collection for evidence that not only is horror not dead, there are new proponents of the craft capable to carry it into the future.” – KEALAN PATRICK BURKE, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The Turtle Boy, Kin, and Jack & Jill
FEATURING THE NOVELLAS:
“What Becomes God” begins as a nostalgic trip into childhood, exploring love, friendship and the loss of innocence as two young boys whose days spent playing in the sun are interrupted by the looming specter of disease and death must face the sacrifice that belief demands of them.
“Object Permanence” unleashes a psychological nightmare when a man held in a mental institution and experiencing horrific hallucinations escapes to return to his hometown to confront the source of evil that has plagued him for years.
“Love in the Time of Zombies” examines the lives of two men fighting to survive in a rural Midwestern town at the end of the world where they soon realize that death doesn’t always bring relief from the love…and the terrible price it demands.
“The Long, Long Breakdown” tells the story of personal anguish and isolation of a father struggling to protect his teenage daughter from the terrifying forces threatening their lives and attempting to end their familial bond in post-apocalyptic Miami.
“Visitation” offers a journey of profound self-discovery as a man anguished over the death of his wife takes a trip to a distant planet on the promise of experiencing a long-awaited reunion with the love of his life only to find that the true nature of the human condition is far more devastating.
PRAISE FOR GREY MATTER PRESS:
"In less than two years, Grey Matter Press has managed to establish itself as one of the premiere purveyors of horror fiction currently in existence via both a series of killer anthologies--SPLATTERLANDS (2013), OMINOUS REALITIES (2013), EQUILIBRIUM OVERTURNED (2014)--and John F.D. Taff's harrowing novella collection THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS (2014)." - FANGORIA
**Review
"Imagine a series of round robin stories penned collaboratively by Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, Harlan Ellison and Rod Serling, and you'll be in the general neighborhood [of THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS]: lush, poetic, ceaselessly imaginative, seriously affecting, multifaceted modern horror fiction. - FANGORIA
"Just under half a century ago, I discovered a personal "tell" that let me know when a performance had touched me deeply. The last time it happened I just finished John F.D. Taff's collection of horror novellas, THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS. Taff provides carefully nuanced, skillfully balanced components--storytelling, nostalgia, horror, human emotion--to work from beginnings to ultimate ends...sometimes death, sometimes things far worse, and sometimes something magnificent." - MICHAEL R. COLLINGS, *HELLNOTES*
"Taff's deceptively simplistic prose offers deep emotional and dramatic insights into how human beings live with the burdens of the past and the inevitability of death. "What Becomes God" is a slice of Stephen King/Ramsey Campbell. "Object Permanence" is a slowly revealing Twilight Zone-like story. The setting of "The Long, Long Breakdown" is reminiscent of J.G. Ballard. "Visitation" follows in the footsteps of the works of Philip K. Dick. THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS offers genre readers much to appreciate." - HORROR NEWS NETWORK
"Will definitely be in the running for one of my favorite reads of the year. This collection will not only appeal to horror fans, but could interest readers of just about any genre. Whether you are looking for introduction to the world of horror or are already a seasoned horror fanatic, you will definitely want to give THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS a read!" - THE HORROR BOOKSHELF
From the Author
PRAISE FOR GREY MATTER PRESS:
"In less than two years, Grey Matter Press has managed to establish itself as one of the premiere purveyors of horror fiction currently in existence via both a series of killer anthologies--SPLATTERLANDS (2013), OMINOUS REALITIES (2013), EQUILIBRIUM OVERTURNED (2014)--and John F.D. Taff's harrowing novella collection THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS (2014)." - FANGORIA
"The dark, all-encompassing theme seems to be the trademark of Grey Matter Press. When asked for a referral for a good short story collection I often state without hesitation to the very press that has enchanted my reading attention." - Dave Gammon, HORROR NEWS