In 2019, Daniel Kraus stumbled upon half-finished novel called Pay the Piper in the George A. Romero archival collection at the University of Pittsburgh Library System. After approval from Romero’s estate, Kraus took on the task of finishing the novel as he had done previously with The Living Dead. What Daniel was able to accomplish was a finished spine-chilling, eerie and terrifying novel set in a cursed Louisiana bayou.
Alligator Point, Louisiana, population 141: Young Renée Pontiac has heard stories of The Piper–a murderous swamp entity haunting the bayou–her entire life. But now the legend feels horrifically real: children are being taken and gruesomely slain. To resist, Pontiac and the town’s desperate denizens will need to acknowledge the sins of their ancestors–the infamous slave traders, the Pirates Lafitte. If they don’t…it’s time to pay the piper.
The residents of Alligator Point, who seem a bit stuck in their ways, have grown up to know all about The Piper. Stories told and passed down from generation to generation of a murderous creature that lurks in the dark humid bayou. However, things get real when kids start to go missing or even gruesomely killed.
Pay the Piper is a perfect blend of supernatural forces and horror. Kraus and Romero create vivid descriptions and a bit of Cajun drawl to immerse us in the hot and humid atmosphere of the bayou, where something dangerous lurks in the shadows. As with most of Daniel’s novels, including The Living Dead, we were drawn in from the very first page and did not want to put this book down.
Kraus and Romero’s use of witty dialogue, that is even slightly humorous at times, adds a layer of authenticity to the story without going overboard. The use of a slight accent gives us realism, but overtake the story making it difficult to read. It has just the right amount to make you believe what is happening. We feel as though we have stepped off the front porch directly into Alligator Point.
It can be difficult to take someone else’s story and take it across the finish line, Kraus seems to have once again completed the task at hand. The likelihood of a book written by two different authors sounding like it is from two different authors is a difficult task to overcome and for the most part Daniel has succeeded. Somehow Pay the Piper was able to accomplish sounding like a Romero story while also allowing Kraus to put his stamp on it as well.
Pay the Piper by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus is a horrifying supernatural story where the tension, suspense and all together eeriness is almost palpable. While not the outstanding novel that is Whalefall, fans of either writer should enjoy this addition to the world of horror.
Pay the Piper hits bookstores everywhere on September 3, 2024 from Union Square & Co.
Daniel Kraus returns to the Capes and Tights Podcast on August 28, 2024 to discuss Pay the Piper and more!
