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Eight Cylinders Kindle Edition

3.9 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

"A high-octane horror that rips the reader along while delivering genuine chills on a road to redemption paved with death and danger." "A Mad Max blowout straight from Hell!"

Sebastian “Seb” McAlister has run out of luck in Vegas. Cornered by a trigger-happy gang and shot through the stomach, he makes a desperate escape in his supercharged Hellcat. Fate guides Seb safely out of Sin City and into the desert, but as his wheels fade into the horizon, he fades into darkness.

He awakes among a tiny community in the middle of nowhere. A mountain range circles the hodgepodge of shacks like prison walls looming high. And the warden that resides in those mountains is big, ugly, and deadly—a creature straight out of
a Lovecraftian nightmare.

If Seb hopes to escape that wayward way station, he’ll need enough cunning to outwit a force beyond comprehension… and a fast car. With a little luck and a ragtag group of would-be monster mashers racing alongside him, Seb just might have a shot of making it through the mountains alive.

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Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

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From the Publisher

Crystal Lake Publishing logo

Where Stories Come Alive

Since its founding in August 2012, Crystal Lake has quickly become one of the world’s leading publishers of Dark Fiction and Horror books. In 2023, Crystal Lake officially transitioned into an entertainment company, joining several other divisions, genres, and imprints, including Torrid Waters, Sinister Smile Press, Crystal Lake Comics, Crystal Lake Games, Crystal Lake Kids, Crystal Cove Press, and many more.

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Doctor Frankensdice: Monster Mayhem
White Death
Demon Drink
Customer Reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars 53
4.1 out of 5 stars 47
4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Price $4.99 $3.99 $4.99 $3.99 $3.99 $4.99
Category Novel Novella Novella Anthology Novel Novel Novel
Blurb Tucker Gibsen finds himself embroiled in a decades-old grudge between two modern-day witches, putting his life, and the lives of those he cares for most, in danger. Perfect for fans of spooky, supernatural stories with a holiday twist, A Very Scary Christmas is a heart-pounding addition to the Scareville series that will have readers on the edge of their seats. Enter the world of terrifying urban legends where the lines between myth and reality blur into a nightmare of unexplainable horrors. Join Clara Cogsworth, a bold young inventor with a heart full of imagination and a satchel full of gears, as she defies the odds to enter the world’s most prestigious invention competition—The Great Monster Maker Championship. White Death plunges readers into the chilling and treacherous world of the Great Plains in 1888, where a deceptively warm winter day quickly turns into a fight for survival. Black Wattle’s residents are plunged into a nightmare of infection and blood-curdling transformations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Set in the mountainous desert just outside Sin City, Jason Parent's Eight Cylinders is a wild mix of Fury Road, Dante's Inferno, and Lovecraftian horror. Whip-fast and oozing darkness ‒ monster lovers won't be able to resist this slick little read."Lee Murray, award-winning author of Into the Mist

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"In Eight Cylinders, Jason Parent serves up memorable characters, fast-paced action, and monstrous terrors. It's hard-boiled, high-octane horror that rips the reader along while delivering genuine chills on a road to redemption paved with death and danger."James Chambers, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of On the Night Border

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Eight Cylinders is a Mad Max blowout straight from Hell. The action piles on and on,until it reaches a boiling point where an all-or-nothing gambit is their only shot to beat the Devil. A thrill ride from start to finish."Rex Hurst, author of WHAT HELL MAY COME

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"...the plot mov[es] forward at an ever-accelerating pace, and this is what makes it work. I can heartily recommend Eight Cylinders to anyone looking for a thrill ride of a story. Warning: graphic violence, and bad language."Andrew J Heller from Readers' Favorite

From the Author

Interview with the author:

What makes this horror novel special?

"The blurbs might say it better, but Eight Cylinders is simply an unrelenting thrill ride that blends action, excitement,and Lovecraftian horror. A fast, breezy, and always fun read."

Tell us more about your lead character.

"Sebastian McCalister isn't a good man. But what he lacks in lawfulness, he makes up for in loyalty, charisma, decisiveness, and stubbornness of will.There isn't much of a place for him in polite society, but in the small community of misfits in which he finds himself, he just might be the leader the others have been waiting for. The question is: where will he lead those who choose to follow?"

Why should readers give this book or your work a try?

"This work, and much of my horror, comes with a certain snarkiness or dark playfulness that comes through my voice whether I want it to or not. If you're the type of reader who likes to chuckle when you see someone murdered in a grotesquely unique way, I might be the author for you. My horror moves fast, hits hard, and plays harder. I hope it's silently clever without ever being pretentious, and I believe Eight Cylinders hits that mark. At the least, it's just a whole lot of fun."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08L16XL9K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crystal Lake Publishing
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 13, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 126 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
35 global ratings

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Action packed Sci-Fi thriller with elements of horror
4 out of 5 stars
Action packed Sci-Fi thriller with elements of horror
When our main character Seb flees for his life from a shoot out he finds himself trapped with a rag tag bunch of survivors in the blazing heat of a strange community, from which there is no escape. He can't remember how he got there but he is determined to get back out. Is this hell? Is it purgatory? While not my usual type of read, I have previously enjoyed several titles by Jason Parent, and decided to give this one a chance. It reads like an action packed Sci-Fi thriller but there are elements of horror too. Dead people don't necessarily stay that way and a multi tentacled creature that oozes an acid like substance make for a creepy time. While Seb is not exactly a good person I was rooting for his success, with Tracy Chapman stuck in my head You got a fast car I got a plan to get us out of here! I received a complimentary copy for review.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2020
    This book is for you, monster lovers! A crazy octopus mixed with a fast car adds up to a fun read that you won't want to put down.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2025
    **⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐**

    If you're looking for an audiobook that will keep you at the edge of your seat, *Eight Cylinders* is your full-throttle experience. This story is as fast and exhilarating as a car roaring down an open highway, with twists and turns that’ll make your heart race.

    The narrator does a phenomenal job, their voice smooth and rich, just like a well-oiled engine—powerful, seductive, and impossible to turn off. The characters? Well, they’re the kind of people you want to drive across the country with, laughing, arguing, and getting into all kinds of trouble along the way. And trust me, the tension? It’s hotter than an engine overheating in the desert.

    But here’s the thing: This audiobook isn’t just about the ride—it’s about the connection. You’ll feel every mile, every spark, and every moment that builds up to a thrilling climax. Seriously, it’ll leave you breathless.

    So buckle up, because *Eight Cylinders* will take you places you didn’t expect... and you might just be a little in love by the end. 😉
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020
    The story makes no pretenses about it's desire for fast-paced action, dropping you immediately into a gunfight in the opening scene. After losing his best friend to a bullet, Seb barely makes it out of the firefight alive, bleeding profusely as he speeds down the interstate in his Charger. Trusting his directions to a magic eight ball, he eventually passes out and awakes several days later in a barren desert surrounded by mountains on all sides. Seb can't understand why the motley crew living there would want to stay, but, in another near-death experience, he quickly learns that there is something living in the mountains and underground that doesn't want them to leave. Something tentacled and massive on a mind-bending scale.

    Being a novella, and judging from the cover, I expected this story to move quickly. And boy does it! I would guess approximately 50% of the book is characters driving fast, shooting guns, and desperately trying to avoid the giant tentacles. It's a lot of fun and the story has a lot of interesting elements, but unfortunately many aren't fleshed out enough and raise more questions than answers (how did they get there, what is this place, where did the monster come from, what's going on with time, who the heck is the young/old scabbed up girl Mary, etc). And then it ends up a twist that, again, is intriguing but perplexing.

    If a Lovecraftian/Mad Max mashup sounds good to you (as it did to me), then this is probably for you! I don't for writing that does into the weeds on technical details, and it started to do that a little with the cars and guns. Plus there's SO much more I want to know about this world that the author has created. Maybe there will be a sequel? Either way it's a fun ride and certainly worth the 100 pages and quick hour's read.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2021
    Eight Cylinders is just one of several in the Jason Parent portfolio. Parent has authored books in many genres, including: science fiction, horror, thriller, and speculative fiction, among others. I reviewed another of the author’s books, Apocalypse Strain (a horror/thriller), in 2020 and found it to be quite an interesting read. Eight Cylinders (speculative fiction) is quite different from that book in many ways, though not any less interesting. I have chosen a mini-review format for this book for two reasons: it is a novella (right around 100 pages), and because it is so short almost any pieces of information I will get into spoiler territory; so the less I talk about the book directly, the better.

    Sometimes I find it hard to get into novellas, and the reason for that (usually) is due to the fact that there just is not much depth to the story. I enjoy stories with layers, and that is hard to do in 200 pages or less. Most of the novellas I have really enjoyed fall into two categories: they follow a really compelling character and the reader gets to be immersed in the intimate details of the story (see: Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma and Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor), or it is 99% action and the reader is thrown right in and stays along for the ride (see: The Raven by Jonathan Janz). (Interestingly enough, The Murderbot Diaries, which I just finished, end up falling into both categories, which is quite rare). Long story long: Eight Cylinders falls into the latter category. This book floors it right out of the gate, and the story goes from 0 to 100 in 3 seconds flat and does not slow for a second.

    If I had to describe this book in 3 words it would be: Cars. Guns. Monsters. All of which are super fun aspects in a story, in my opinion, especially if you intend on taking your readers on a short-term thrill ride. I am not really a car guy, but it is easy to see that Parent is – and that passion really comes through in this book, which, in turn, peaked my interest as a main part of the narrative.

    The storyline is also very mysterious and strange. There is a lot of underlying suspense and tension, which I really love because it keeps the story honest. The fact that there is some mystique around the plot lends some balance to what is an otherwise over-the-top action novella. I love the way it ended, too, as it kept with the tone of the book quite well.

    Overall, Eight Cylinders was a fun and interesting read. It is a quick-burst, gratuitous-action short film written down in novella form. If that description is of interest to you, a recommend picking this one up
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2020
    Jason Parent delivers a neckbreak story merging horror, action, and neo-noir. This book had the action and aesthetic of a supernatural Mad Max story merged with a deep fog of mystery.
    My only complaint is that I wanted more!
    Jason's work is riveting and compulsively readable. Check this one out.
    One person found this helpful
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