The Slab is Free

For a limited time only, you can pick up The Slab as a free e-book.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I enrolled The Slab in the Kindle Select program, so people can check it out, as in a library. Part of the deal is that Amazon allows you to offer any Kindle Select book for free, for five days during the 90-day window. My five days start now.

I've always been up front with my readers, so I have to say this. Giving away multiple copies of a book that I worked on for a long time, writing and rewriting and revising and polishing, sweating and giving myself finger cramps, is not an easy thing to do. I'm a professional writer, and part of that deal is that the writer should be paid for the work. And The Slab is a big book, a little over 123,000 words.

But the idea, as I understand it, is that by giving the book away for free for a limited time, lots more people will give it a try than otherwise might have. Some of them will like it, will write reviews, will tell friends. So, ideally, at the end of the five days, the book will be in greater demand than it was at the beginning. I hope that's the case.

Since its initial publication in the illustrated trade paperback, it has received a great deal of praise from many different sources. It has inspired people to go check out Slab City and the Salton Sea for themselves (and in at least one case, inspired another book--my pal Weston Ochse set his horror novel Empire of Salt there after he visited).

Here are some other excerpts from reviews, in case you're not yet convinced:

"If you lived through the aftermath of 9/11, you'll recognize the tense confusion of the period immediately following. If you've loved someone with Alzheimer's, you'll appreciate the full-fledged characterization of someone dealing with its limitations on a day-to-day basis. If you've ever lost a loved one and grieved deeply, and if you've ever had a change of heart about what's right and what's wrong, this book will hit you where you live--and take you on a thrill ride through space and time (and a cave filled with man-eating mushrooms), each in good time." -- Red Tash

"This is a must read for all horror/thriller lovers" -- Brittany Carrigan

"I found The Slab to be an entertaining, thought-provoking and gripping read." -- Paul Dail

Note: there's also a brand new, Slab-Centric interview with me at Paul's blog. Give it a read.

"If you have ever read and enjoyed those epic horror novels from the 70's and 80's (think Dan Simmons work) where you were immersed in a sprawling world of rich characterization, smart plotting, and enough sub plotting where the horror was deliberately episodic and horrifying, The Slab will be the perfect read for you." -- TT Zuma at HorrorWorld.org

"The Slab is one of those books that transports back to a time when you first started to fall in love the genre. It reminds of some of the great horror novels of the '80's. That's not to say the novel feels dated, not by any means. What I'm trying to say, remember those books that had a a roller-coaster fun heart, with a huge cast of characters, that kept you turning each page undr the covers long after your parents told you to go to sleep." -- Ginger Nuts of Horror blog

"Mariotte manages both thought-provoking juxtaposition and lizard-brain satisfaction as he plays out the large cast of characters across this hard and relentless landscape. His serial killers are just original enough to catch readers by surprise and he neatly ties together the threads of random magic, post-traumatic stress syndrome, a subtle supernatural invasion and an upper-class attack on a lower class landscape." -- Rick Kleffel

And, not reviews but blurbs upon the original publication:

"In The Slab, Mariotte grabs the reader's mind bare-handed and drags you through the unraveling of human interactions. It's insightful, potent, powerful--and downright creepy. Not only is The Slab a microcosm of the dark side of human nature, it's also a ripping good thriller." -- Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling author of Terra Incognita, The Saga of Seven Suns, and the Dune books.

"Mariotte is an author with vision. His prose is striking, his plots involving, his characters identifiable. He knows how to move an audience--and how to strike absolute terror in their hearts. If you're not reading his work, you should be. I highly recommend The Slab."
--Scott Ciencin, bestselling author of The Vampire Odyssey

So if for some reason you haven't yet read this classic of contemporary horror, there'll never be a better (cheaper) time.

And, as they say on TV:

But wait, there's more!

If you want to take advantage of the offer but you don't have a Kindle or the free Kindle-for-PC software, forward your Amazon receipt to me at jmariotte@aol.com and tell me how you'd like it. I can supply it in ePub or PDF. And one person who sends me their receipt, chosen by me at random, will receive a free signed copy of the original illustrated trade paperback.

Tell a friend. Spread the word.

And thanks.