DARKFALL

On Christmas Eve, dozens of office parties are taking place throughout an enormous high-rise. The ominous storm on the horizon does nothing to diminish the revelers' spirits—until a deafening thunderclap sounds and all the residents in the building vanish. All, that is, except the slightly intoxicated superintendent manning the boiler room. Laws's enthralling story, first published in the U.K. in 1992, moves at lightning speed in the first act, but once the story is established, it turns into a fascinating Clive Barker-esque nightmare where the walls, doors and floors come to life and absorb human tissue, creating a whole new life form. Like the best metaphysical horror stories, the book offers its own sweeping cosmology, explaining everything from haunted houses to the Bermuda Triangle. The themes—what it means to be human, our relationship with the world around us and even a fairly pedestrian idea like our overreliance on electricity—never break free of the Hollywood-ish story structure, but this is escapism after all, and fine escapism at that. Whether intentional or not, this absorbing tale is also a spot-on allegory for the quiet horrors of cubicle life: in a sprawling, byzantine office building, the walls themselves are the enemy. Both cube dwellers and horror aficionados will be pleasantly spooked by this impossible-to-put-down read. (June 3)

Forecast:Since Laws is little known in the U.S., Darkfall's success depends on positive word of mouth (of which there will be plenty) and enthusiastic reviews. Although Laws isn't about to seize Stephen King's scepter, he has the potential to become one of the horror genre's princes.