AUTHOR FAVOURITES: RIVER RUNS RED by JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE

 JEFFREY J. MARIOTTE is the bestselling, multiple-award-winning author of more than fifty novels ranging across genres, including ‘dark thrillers,’ supernatural thrillers, horror and latterly westerns. He has also produced comic books, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction and video games. As well as his own original work, he has written novels and comics based on licensed properties such as CSI, Star Trek, Spider-Man, Superman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Conan the Barbarian and more.

Jeff is a three-time winner of the Scribe Award for best novel, presented by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, a co-winner of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and a recipient of the Inkpot Award for his contributions to the fields of science fiction and fantasy from the San Diego Comic-Con. He's been a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, the International Horror Guild Award, the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, the Peacemaker Award from the Western Fictioneers, and, in the comics’ field, the Harvey and Glyph Awards.

Jeff’s THE FOX AND THE SNAKE was, for me, one of the highlights of SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST WESTERN STORIES, an anthology of western short stories edited by Richard Prosch, introduced by Paul Bishop. In my blog about SIX GUN JUSTICE PODCAST WESTERN STORIES I write: ‘Mariotte wastes not a word in this taut, superbly-written tale. Once more, the cinematic qualities of the writing brought movies to mind, perhaps a Sam Peckinpah-directed end-of-the-west elegy with a script by Elmore Leonard. (Full review here: https://andrewmcbrideauthor.blogspot.com/2021/11/andrew-mcbrides-review-of-six-gun.html )

Jeff tells me he has three particular favourites of his own novels, one of which is

RIVER RUNS RED.

 He says ‘I'm a desert rat from way back - I love the big empty spaces, the rugged landscapes, the thorny plants and poisonous creatures, the visible effects of water, where it exists... In RIVER RUNS RED I got to explore that landscape in depth, and also pay tribute to some of my favourite writers who feel the same way that I do about the desert Southwest, particularly EDWARD ABBEY, CHARLES BOWDEN, and WALLACE STEGNER… I felt that the characters were rich and true and I loved spending time with them.’

 About RIVER RUNS RED:

As teenagers, Molly, Byrd and Wade faced inconceivable evil in an underground labyrinth near the Rio Grande in Texas. Reunited as adults, they discover that their terrifying experience was only the beginning. Now they and a CIA agent return to these sinister caves as combatants in a supernatural war. They have to stop the rising of an ancient malevolent force that wants to erase the world and start over. Their paths wend through raging rivers, mysterious murders, long-buried gods, and secrets worth dying—or killing—for, on the way to a final, mystical battle, with the fate of worlds hanging in the balance.

RIVER RUNS RED is the first of The Border Trilogy books, the others being MISSING WHITE GIRL and COLD BLACK HEARTS.

Espionage was also blended with the paranormal/ supernatural in the 1978 movie THE FURY

Amy Irving and John Cassavettes in ‘THE FURY’

And in the TV series THE X FILES

Horror, the occult and the supernatural have been associated with caves and labyrinths since THESEUS fought THE MINOTAUR and probably before. Many movies have – literally – plumbed these depths, from QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1967)

to INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)

to THE DESCENT (2005.)

REVIEWS of RIVER RUNS RED:

DAVID MORRELL, (creator/ author of RAMBO): ‘RIVER RUNS RED is a fascinating blend of espionage and the occult with several jaw-dropping plot twists and one of the best action sequences I've read in a long time.’

OTHER REVIEWERS:

‘…Blends unforgettable characters with horror on a truly epic scale.’

‘A fast paced thriller with a supernatural twist… a character-driven story of epic proportions, an intense experience... This was my first read from Jeff Mariotte and it certainly won’t be my last.’

‘A pretty wild X-Files-esque supernatural thriller… a very entertaining beginning to Jeff Mariotte’s Border Trilogy.’

‘Great writing.’

‘Fast paced supernatural horror… Exciting and fun to read.’

‘Mariotte has a strong grip on characterization and page-turning suspense. This is a novel I wish I had written!’

Find RIVER RUNS RED here: https://www.amazon.com/River-Runs-Red-Jeffrey-Mariotte-ebook/dp/B07VMTQCNC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

and here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Runs-Red-Jeffrey-Mariotte-ebook/dp/B07VMTQCNC