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Ken Stark
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Arcadia Falls: A Horror Novel Kindle Edition

by Ken Stark (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
Something is desperately wrong in Arcadia Falls...
And it's like nothing anyone has ever seen before.

A horror novel from the multi-award-winning author of the STAGE 3 SERIES and GAIA'S GAME, Ken Stark.
First Edition, v2. May 2022

2018 Readers' Favorite Book Award - Bronze Medal: Young Adult - Horror
2018 Breakthrough Fiction Award - Young Adult
2018 NIEA Awards - Finalist
2018 Top Shelf Awards - Finalist
2017 New Apple Awards - Solo Medalist: YA Horror

★★★★★ "Creep into Old Town but carry a big stick. Then run for your life—or stay and fight! Be sure, though, to bring one thing. Bring your nerve, yes, weapons will come in handy too, but DO NOT forget the most important thing. Bring your friends. Bring your crew of lionhearted misfits. And if you survive you might just discover what you only WISH you could forget. Arcadia Falls gets a double-barrel blast: two times two plus a star."

★★★★★ "Excellent characters, brilliant suspense, incredible action."

★★★★★ "The characters could live next-door. The plot is unique. The story is unforgettable."

★★★★★ "This author knows how to create terror. It leaks from the pages and seeps into your subconscious."

THE FIRST BOY VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE AND WITH JUST AS LITTLE FANFARE.
Even the second disappearance amounted to little more than a few passing remarks and another name skipped over in the classroom roll call.

As far as Riverside High and the rest of Arcadia Falls were concerned, it seemed as if nothing had happened at all.

Tyler John was no different.
He had barely given the matter a second thought.
But then a wrong turn sent him on a path straight into the dark heart of the mystery.
And the deeper he peered into the shadows, the more he realized that something was looking back.

Now, the hunter has become the hunted and time is running out.
With nowhere else to turn, it's up to Tyler and his handful of friends to stop the evil thing that's been preying on Arcadia Falls. If they fail, they might just be the next ones to vanish.

GET YOUR COPY!

OTHER BOOKS by KEN STARK:

THE STAGE 3 SERIES
Stage 3: ALPHA
Stage 3: BRAVO
Stage 3: CHARLIE
Stage 3: DELTA
Billy the Kid (A Stage 3 Short Story)

HORROR NOVELS
Miracle Man: The Rise of an Anti-Christ
Gaia's Game
Arcadia Falls

SHORT STORIES
Born of the Dark
Dead Weight
Horrible Little Nasties
Who's Going to Feed Johnny?
Jitters
Killing Joe Prince
Read more
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  1. Print length
    377 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    November 30, 2017
  4. Reading age
    16 - 18 years
  5. File size
    1.5 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

★★★★★ "Excellent characters, brilliant suspense, incredible action."
★★★★★ "Stark brought his own unique flair to the zombie genre with the Stage 3 series, and he doesn't disappoint with Arcadia Falls. He creates a threat straight out of your worst nightmares. It's more than just nightmare creatures, though. It's also the effect they have on the community they're terrorizing. Such a horrific idea and Stark executes it so well."
★★★★★ "Twists and turns show that author Ken Stark is at the top of his game in this genre."
★★★★★ "What a great read, a real page- turner from beginning to end. Think you're too old to get the bejeesus scared out of you? Think again. This author knows how to create terror. It leaks from the pages and seeps into your subconscious."
★★★★★ "Stark's writing is superb, and his descriptions bring the tale to vivid life both visually and emotionally, allowing the reader to truly experience the story while reading."
★★★★★ "Stark does a wonderful job of delivering his story in a fun, yet chilling fashion. His use of words is powerful and able to produce vivid imagery throughout the pages. Such talent is mandatory in a novel of this nature."
★★★★★ "The big action is all Stark bombastic and hard charging, as we would expect from this author."
★★★★★ "... his imagination is clearly well-versed in what makes us shy away from dark corners and shadows in the night, and that can't be bad. He's also very funny, which is nice to find in a horror writer."
★★★★★ "The characters could live next-door. The plot is unique. The story is unforgettable."
★★★★★ "Ken Stark provides a chilling page-turner as a group of high school students are sucked into the mystery of Arcadia Falls. People are disappearing, but Stark adds a bizarre twist. Not only do they disappear, but all memories of the victims are erased in the minds of family members and friends. It's as if they never existed."
★★★★★ Just don't turn off the lights with this one as Stark brings new meaning to the line from an old Scottish poem, "things that go bump in the night."
★★★★★ "This a horror novel of the Stephen King variety - one that gives us fully rounded characters along with a fully rounded monster. Ken Stark has a knack for churning out scary stuff and a way of writing for young people that eludes many authors."

From the Author

This book is the result of a special request from a younger reader who asked me to write 'something scary, with a monster, and some kind of mystery'. So while Arcadia Falls is designed to scare the snot out of every reader, I kept the harsh language to a minimum in consideration of this diminutive muse. Of course I appreciate any and all reviews, good or bad, but I respectfully request that your review not contain any spoilers that might deprive new readers of discovering the true nature of the 'monster' for themselves. I thank you most sincerely, and I truly hope that you enjoy the nightmare....

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B077VVQVL4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Digital Services (November 30, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 30, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 377 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B0B92RBLMH
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

About the author

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Ken Stark

Ken Stark

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Multi-award-winning horror writer Ken Stark was born in Saskatchewan, but has called Vancouver home for most of his life. He was raised on a steady diet of science fiction and disaster movies, so it seems right that his first published book series be about the zombie apocalypse. In his spare time, Ken tries to paint like Bob Ross and play poker like Doyle Brunson, but results suggest that he might have got it all backwards.

Website: www.kenstark.ca

Twitter: @PennilessScribe

Facebook: PennilessScribe

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
84 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book suspenseful, with one review noting it's a chilling story from start to finish. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer highlighting the spot-on visual descriptions and imagery. Customers praise the readability, character development, and team-building elements, with one review mentioning how the characters form lasting bonds of friendship.

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18 customers mention "Suspenseful"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thrilling and suspenseful, with one review noting it's a chilling story from start to finish that holds readers enthralled to the end.

"...Great characters, brilliant plot, and wonderful writing. His words paint a vivid picture of the horror that awaits us in Arcadia Falls...." Read more

"...Five stars for all-out fun, twists and turns both figuratively, plus winding into spider-stuffed tunnels, and high-school days and jocks and nerds..." Read more

"...Once past the setup, however, suspense builds fast...." Read more

"...Honestly, I had no clue. The author kept the suspense going, feeding the reader small morsels at a time and holding back the little and big reveals...." Read more

11 customers mention "Writing quality"11 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting the spot-on visual descriptions and imagery, while another appreciates the great descriptions of Old Towne.

"...Great characters, brilliant plot, and wonderful writing. His words paint a vivid picture of the horror that awaits us in Arcadia Falls...." Read more

"...Ken’s storytelling is masterful. His dialog is a *blast!* to read...." Read more

"...Wow what a book. Ken’s knack of writing is mind blowing, with a mixture of humor and horror combined you will fall in love with this book..." Read more

"...packed zombie tales; Ken Stark has demonstrated a fantastic display of authorial prowess in "Arcadia Falls."..." Read more

8 customers mention "Readability"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable and brilliant.

"Arcadia Falls is Ken Stark’s best novel yet. I can’t wait to see what else this author has in store for us...." Read more

"...again, he is a talented writer and a diverse one at that in this winning read." Read more

"...Mr. Stark does a fabulous job at keeping you riveted through the twists and turns as the teens expose the town's unsettling past...." Read more

"A brilliant book where horror has been allowed to fester and grow in a small community due to fading memories brought upon the inhabitants by these..." Read more

7 customers mention "Character development"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one mentioning how the characters form lasting bonds of friendship.

"...Great characters, brilliant plot, and wonderful writing. His words paint a vivid picture of the horror that awaits us in Arcadia Falls...." Read more

"...The author did such a wonderful job with the characters and landscape that I felt as if I was watching a movie...." Read more

"...The story flows seamlessly, and the characters come together to form lasting bonds of friendship through the adversity they face together...." Read more

"...With humor and romance tossed in, Stark’s characters are engaging and believable...." Read more

4 customers mention "Team building"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the team-building elements in the book, with one mentioning how the characters come together for a greater good.

"...The story is filled with camaraderie, teamwork, action, adventure, and yes, the quest...." Read more

"...Stark conveys the importance of listening and team building by showing us first how the teenagers open up to each other and then trust a few adults-..." Read more

"...However, between them, they have intelligence, courage, and teamwork not only to solve the mystery but to put an end to what has plagued this quiet..." Read more

"...5 stars for all-out fun & teamwork!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Phroggee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Arcadia Falls is Ken Stark’s best novel yet. I can’t wait to see what else this author has in store for us.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Arcadia Falls is Ken Stark’s best novel yet. I can’t wait to see what else this author has in store for us. Stark has written some of the most believable teens I’ve ever read. Normally, when I pick up a novel with teenage characters I worry. A lot of authors seem to have never met a teen and tend to write them as whiny, annoying, and/or unintelligent. As a parent, I find this highly insulting. If that’s how you see teens, you’re not involved enough with them.

    Mr. Stark’s teens were intelligent, filled with legitimate worries about their lives and friends, and acted and behaved in a believable fashion. In fact, I read through the first several chapters and began to forget they had a “horror” awaiting them. I found myself completely engrossed in their lives. The angst of sitting next to your crush, talking to her or him, and having to live with whatever weird came out of your mouth, Mr. Stark captures all those feelings brilliantly. When the “horror” finally arrived, I found myself surprised because I’d been so caught up in their day to day lives.

    I’d love to thank Mr. Stark for adding in adults and making those adults open and understanding. The “adults who never believe kids” trope has been overused and abused. I must believe that there are other adults besides myself that would listen to kids even if they don’t believe them. Even if it’s for the sole purpose to find out why the kids believe what they do. I often see authors use this as the easy way to push kids into their own adventure. I loved that Stark used these adults to assist the teens but still let the teens run the show.

    Stark brought his own unique flair to the zombie genre with the Stage 3 series, and he doesn’t disappoint with Arcadia Falls. He creates a threat straight out of your worst nightmares. It’s more than just nightmare creatures, though. It’s also the effect they have on the community they’re terrorizing. Such a horrific idea and Stark executes it so well. (No, I won’t give more away. You’ll have to read it.) Stark finds the familiar in something and then twists it into something different and makes it his own, but with Arcadia Falls he takes it a step further and creates something, unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

    Great characters, brilliant plot, and wonderful writing. His words paint a vivid picture of the horror that awaits us in Arcadia Falls. I can’t recommend this novel enough.
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  • Travis B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Arcadia falls gets a double-barrel blast: 2 times 2 plus a star. 5 stars for all-out fun & teamwork!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Back in school, naked in class, sittin’ red-faced at your desk, hands over your… But nope, this isn’t a dream. Ken takes you there, puts you smack dab. If you're a nudist you might not be utterly terrified about being naked in class but there’s something else, something eerily petrifying with this high-school, small-town nightmare. Ken’s story cements you in like a spider’s cocooning web. But at least you're not alone. In the company of good friends, the best, an albeit incongruent bunch of misfits, you all decide to go for it.
    Brainiacs sitting at the lunchroom table together, a new clan built upon a crescendoing happenstance of something otherworldly. Yet how can it be and why? Even with technology, the INTERNET and Google Earth, how in the world… But it’s there. Right smack in the middle of what we thought was our complete town. And I found myself there, chased in by perhaps the unreasonable fear of the teenage mind, and perhaps a scary black van. And then my curiosity took over. Looking at it all, paint peeling, a curtain moving here and there, crumbling road and wood turning to ash, a forgotten town that’d fallen into a desuetude understatement. It shouldn’t be possible, but then there it is. And it took something from them. They know that know.
    Ken’s storytelling is masterful. His dialog is a *blast!* to read. And his method of setting the reader into the story is a whole new dimension in itself. When I read Arcadia Falls, I am there. I’m Tyler and I just received a kiss from the most beautiful girl in school and she really, really likes me. And there’s something else about her. She knows things. Then our crew knows things thanks to our erudite exchanges. Our team, which becomes even more incongruent later on, jives. It’s a cuckoo clock with freshly oiled gears, each clicking away beautifully at its particular purpose. Each person in our crew, be it seventy years old, or eighteen going for the doctorate of thinkology, has their own special talent. And each’ll take it in with them when they discover the truth…or so think they had.
    This adventure is akin to riding a 1000-foot waterslide filled with hot bullets and hairy red-eyed spiders. Want to hold a makeshift flamethrower and blast the buggers to bits? From the newest, oldest member of the crew, want some history lessons that’ll send a cold metallic hand into your heart and jostle it, then squeeze the air from your lungs? Want to uncover the real, veritable piece of the pie, the plague, the unthinkable and the unremembered? Then tiptoe yourself right into Ken’s novel, if you dare. Creep into Old Town but carry a big stick. Then run for your life—or stay and fight! Be sure, though, to bring one thing. Bring your nerve, yes, weapons will come in handy too, but DO NOT forget the most important thing. Bring your friends. Bring your crew of lionhearted misfits. And if you survive you might just discover what you only WISH you could forget.
    Arcadia falls gets a double-barrel blast: two times two plus a star. Five stars for all-out fun, twists and turns both figuratively, plus winding into spider-stuffed tunnels, and high-school days and jocks and nerds and hot-girl brainiacs, and creepy crawly fuzzy things with red eyes, and ultimately, teamwork leading to “blood-is-thicker-than-water” friends for life.
    One person found this helpful
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  • K. Springs
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Pump of Adrenaline
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.

    Synopsis:

    Arcadia Falls may seem like a typical small town, but it has a dark secret. People vanish with little fan fair. There may be a passing remark and a name skipped over when the teacher takes attendance. Then, after a few days, the person is barely remembered, if at all. Tyler John was no different until a wrong turn sent him into a part of town no one realized was there. Whatever is that lives there knows that he is figuring out their secret, and now he and his unlikely band of friends find themselves facing horrors out of nightmares. If they lose, it will be as though they never existed.

    Review:

    In most horror stories, death at a monster’s claws and fangs seems the worst way to die. Your friends would mourn your loss and perhaps seek to avenge your death. But what happens if the monster can make you not exist? In Arcadia Falls, something is taking people, and the memory that they lived fades so that even loved ones don’t remember. A wrong turn puts Tyler John into the heart of the mystery.

    Ken Stark’s story starts off a bit slow, and I found some formatting errors in the paperback. Once past the setup, however, suspense builds fast. The inclusion of many supporting characters may have been a bit much, but Mr. Stark somehow gets the reader invested in them. Some horror leaves me with a cold feeling going up my spine. This was more a pump of adrenaline.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Gerard Spicer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping full length novel of supernatural horror.
    Reviewed in Australia on June 22, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A gripping full length novel of supernatural horror. Teenagers are going missing in a small US town. Not just missing, but their families and schools forget about them,as if they never were born. This plays out in a way that to me is totally original,with sparkling dialogue, fun & a sense of underlying dread. . Written for adults it moves towards YA. I enjoyed this read and will definitely buy more of Ken's books.
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  • Heidi Haswell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wunderbarer Horrorroman,
    Reviewed in Germany on September 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Kept me sitting on the edge of my chair right from the beginning. Not only for young people, as this book brings back memories of old school days.
    Tolles, spannendes Buch, gut zu lesen für fortgeschrittene Englischschüler/innen, die diese Branche mögen. Wer sich gern noch an die Horrorfilme der 80er/90er Jahre erinnert, deren Hauptakteure junge Menschen waren, wird dieses Buch lieben.
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  • Squeaky Joe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and suitable scary
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    A boy disappears without trace. Then someone else. But the reaction in the community of Arcadia Falls is odd, because no-one seems to notice. No-one except Tyler John, and even he might not bat an eyelid if it weren’t for the night he wanders into the Old Town. Can Tyler persuade his friends to help him track down whatever it is that’s stalking Arcadia Falls and dragging people off into the shadows? And can he do it before it’s too late?

    Written for teens and young adults, this a horror novel of the Stephen King variety – one that gives us fully rounded characters along with a fully rounded monster. Ken Stark has a knack for churning out scary stuff and a way of writing for young people that eludes many authors. His central character is totally believable in what he says and does, which is always a good start. Though Mr Stark uses too many exclamation marks for my liking, his imagination is clearly well-versed in what makes us shy away from dark corners and shadows in the night, and that can’t be bad. He’s also very funny, which is nice to find in a horror writer.

    A well-written and suitable scary book that will delight all horror fans.
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  • Misfit Malice
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
    Reviewed in Canada on December 25, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Reminds me of the fun I used to have when I read a Stephen King back in the 70's and 80's, minus the overabundant amount of details about the private life of the characters that King is known to write about. And, despite the young age of the protagonists, the author doesn't fall on the cliché side that can be often rebarbative for an old coot like me (I'm 51). The story is original, well written with a really good mystery side. I strongly recommend it!
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  • G.P. Gadbois
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable Characters
    Reviewed in Canada on August 4, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Mr. Stark's ability to hook you begins on page one and continues until the end. The characters are genuine, the danger real, and the horror and suspense, well--let's just say, I pray I never come face-to-face with one of his monsters. Although I am not a fan of horror, mostly because I scare easy, I truly enjoyed the story and recommend it.
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