The Secret of Ventriloquism

<p class=ql-align-justify>Jon Padgett's acclaimed collection/hybrid novel <em>The Secret of Ventriloquism</em> named the Best Fiction Book by <em>Rue Morgue Magazine</em> now returns in an expanded edition of the original with three new stories. The book features Dave Felton's iconic cover art and frontispiece as well as a Foreword by the legendary Thomas Ligotti.<strong> </strong></p><p class=ql-align-justify><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>With themes reminiscent of Shirley Jackson Ligotti and Bruno Schulz but with a strikingly unique vision Padgett's work explores the mystery of human suffering the agony of personal existence and the ghastly means by which someone might achieve salvation from both. A bullied child seeks vengeance within a bed's hollow box spring. A lucid dreamer is haunted by an impossible house. A dummy reveals its own anatomy in 20 simple steps. A paranoid flyer's worst fears are realized in a way not even he could imagine. A stuttering librarian holds the key to a mill town's unspeakable secrets. A commuter's worldview is shattered by two words printed on a cardboard sign. An aspiring ventriloquist spends a little too much time looking at himself in a mirror. A job-fatigued woman seeks out an invisible identity-blasting hole of alluvium from her past. A spirit of homelessness plans its escape to a possibly mythical mountain. A fog-soaked city heaves its dying breath. And a presence speaks through them all.</span></p>