The Fates by Thomas Tessier (
ISFDB,
Wikipedia), a two-time recipient of the International Horror Guild Award, is his vintage standalone science fiction paranormal horror suspense thriller novel, centred around the mystery of the strange lights and odd cattle mutilations in the farms surrounding a small town and exploring the residents' varying beliefs about what could possibly be the true, terrible cause, free courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press' Venture imprint, who are e-printing it from its 1978 edition originally out from Futura.
Currently free @
Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else that Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)
Description
To some, the lights were beautiful … to others, they were a warning.
When Martin Lasker first sees the mutilated cow on Bondarevsky’s farm, he wonders what on earth could have caused it. But as more and more disasters occur and strange lights start to appear in the quiet town of Millville, Lasker is drawn into the mystery.
Now, he is convinced something larger must be happening.
To the small-town citizens of Millville, the lights all mean something different.
To Marge Calder they are neon lights. To Joe Garfield, they are a warning. To the Pomar children, they are a miracle, Our Lady returned. To Father Lombardy, they are evil made manifest. To Studevant, the Police Chief, they are mindless destruction.
For Lasker, the most important questions are: where these lights could come from, and what could they mean?
But the answers to these questions may be more painful than anyone expected…
In this thrilling scifi-horror novel, Millville and its citizens are subject to a destructive force that will uproot the very core of the town. With The Fates, Tessier brings together mystery, science, and horror in this twisting tale that will chill you to your core.