4 Hours is an apocalyptic horror novella that starts at breakneck speed and never let’s up.
City Flu, the Sweeping Sickness, spreads across the globe in a matter of days. It’s swift, incredibly virulent, and utterly devastating. Beneath Whitehall, a few of the immune gather in a government bunker. Something worse than pandemic is taking place above their heads. Two men are sent to investigate …
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Clever, tense and dark.
“I’d read the author’s first book and was looking forward to this. It doesn’t disappoint. An end of the world tale that is a tense and compelling thriller. The writing is sharp and the story is fast moving. It’s clever in that this and the first book are connected but they are self contained stories in themselves. This is shorter and more focused than the first book but no less enjoyable. Once started, it was hard to stop reading.I think it’s brilliant.”
4 Hours · An Apocalyptic Horror Novella
Carlton Pearcey and Sonny Gallagher are on their own. There isn’t any back-up to call. No well-equipped policemen are waiting on the end of the 999 line. There are no highly trained emergency services personnel poised to come to their aid if things go wrong. Leaving the safety of the shelter isn’t high on anyone’s to-do list. It’s that dirty job which nobody wants to do. They’ve drawn a short stick, one that has got something bitey and horrible on the other end.
Pearcey is a veteran. Cynical and smart. Fear is an old friend. But this is fear and horror of a different order. If the camera shots and security footage are accurate, it may well be an apocalyptic event. The actual Apocalypse. Right here, right now. In London, across the country, across the globe.
Ageing and tired, his biggest weakness may be the creeping compassion that threatens to undermine his cynicism.
Sonny Gallagher has another agenda. Concern for his daughter. Is Annie okay?
In the end, nothing else will really matter for Sonny-Jim Gallagher. He’s going to find his daughter or die trying. Anything that gets in his way better be ready for some serious unpleasantness.
Two clever men who are about to learn that being smart may not be enough. The science of survival has gone out of the window. They’re in a darkening world of fiction made real. They’re against the clock and the unknown.
The clock won’t stop and the unknown knows no bounds. 4 Hours is a novella drawn from the Post-Apocalyptic story started in Collapse.
Writing 4 Hours
4 Hours holds a special place in my heart. I enjoyed writing it and think it’s a damn good story, but those aren’t the main reasons for my fondness. You see, although 4 Hours is the second book I published, it feels like the real start of my fictional journey.
Let’s roll back a book. After recovering from life-threatening illness, I’d set myself a goal to write and publish a novel. That was accomplished when Collapse hit the shelves. I’d not thought much beyond that point and had no firm intention of ever picking up a fictional pen again. Of course, I’d left myself room to return to the world I’d created. There were just no concrete plans in place.
4 Hours was prompted by reader reaction to Collapse. The latter generated a lot of positive feedback. A delightful surprise because I didn’t expect anything. Publishing that book was its own achievement for me, I wasn’t overly worried whether it sold or was well-received.
One of the overly ambitious aspects of Collapse was that it contained numerous characters. I got requests from readers for several of them to make another appearance. So, 4 Hours began to take shape. I wasn’t ready to attempt a sequel, but the idea of a shorter, untold story from that sprawling novel felt like a good project. Something that would be fun and not take years to complete.