{"product_id":"wake-up-and-open-your-eyes-isbn-9781683695042","title":"Wake Up and Open Your Eyes","description":"\u003cb\u003e“Clay McLeod Chapman is one of my favorite horror storytellers working today.”—Jordan Peele\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“If talking politics with family has become a horror show, this book’s for you.”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom master of horror Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eNoah has been losing his polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of her many conspiracy theories. But when his phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles and his parents locked in a terrifying trancelike state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart—literally—as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend glued to a screen. In Noah’s Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn—but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Surreal, hypnotic, unrelenting, profoundly claustrophobic, and an absolutely scathing sendup of the pitfalls of American divisiveness.”—Keith Rosson, author of \u003ci\u003eFever House\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Barnes \u0026amp; Noble Best Horror Book of 2025 (So Far)\u003cbr\u003eA Vulture Best Book of 2025 (So Far)\u003cbr\u003eA Goodreads Readers’ Most Anticipated Horror Novel of 2025\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e Horror Novel to Look Out For in 2025\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Crime Book of 2025\u003cbr\u003eA Vulture Best Book of 2025 (So Far)\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eLitHub\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Book of 2025\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003ePaste Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Horror Book of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“If talking politics with family has become a horror show, this book’s for you.”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Part satire, part social commentary, part macabre, this visceral, thought-provoking novel is not just horror but a wake-up call.”—Josh Sippie, \u003ci\u003eB\u0026amp;N Reads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Readers may think they know where the book is heading, but Chapman offers more surprises as he ventures further into the apocalypse. There is some of Chapman’s signature humor present, but this work is his most terrifying yet.”—Lila Denning, \u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Chapman spins established possession and zombie tropes into an original tale that will hijack readers’ nervous systems. . . . A compelling, cinematic, visceral, and disturbing tale.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Clay McLeod Chapman is one of my favorite horror storytellers working today.”—Jordan Peele \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The most ambitious novel yet from a writer quietly redefining the emotional contours of contemporary horror.”—Neil McRobert, \u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eWake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e] is likely to be one of the most unforgettable reads of the whole year”—Emily Martin, \u003ci\u003eBook Riot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eWake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e shows the author’s most politically engaged, savage side, and for those of us who are fans of his work, the novel is a welcome addition to his oeuvre and proof that when it comes to changing things around, McLeod is horror fiction’s David Bowie.”—Gabino Iglesias, \u003ci\u003eLocus\u003c\/i\u003e magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A damn roller coaster of a novel, the kind that leaves you shaking and shrieking and smiling. [Chapman] takes all that’s troubling our nation in the current day and, somehow, makes it all the more frightening.”—Victor LaValle, author of \u003ci\u003eLone Women\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The proximity of Chapman’s demons is enough to make one lock the doors, turn off the television, [and] curl into a ball in the dark. . . . A sparkling variety of narration, mad vivid energy, and even brilliantly funny bits.”—Josh Malerman, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eIncidents Around the House\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The Purge ain’t got nothin’ on this.”—Stephen Graham Jones, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best-selling author of\u003ci\u003e I Was a Teenage Slasher\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With\u003ci\u003e Wake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e, Chapman isn’t merely checking the pulse of America—he’s tapping the vein. And trust me, there’s blood everywhere. This book throbs with body horror and familial conflict and, most notably, the sociopolitical nightmare we find ourselves in.”—Chuck Wendig, best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Accidents\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlack River Orchard \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Surreal, hypnotic, unrelenting, profoundly claustrophobic, and an absolutely scathing sendup of the pitfalls of American divisiveness.”—Keith Rosson, author of \u003ci\u003eFever House\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A profoundly terrifying, riveting, intense, nerve-shredding modern horror epic. This is Clay McLeod Chapman at the peak of his craft. Brilliant.”—Rachel Harrison, \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eSo Thirsty\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlack Sheep\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eWake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e is supercharged, gloriously maximalist, terrifying, and disgusting. But mostly it’s tragic, and hits much closer to home than any of us want it to.”—C. J. Leede, author of \u003ci\u003eMaeve Fly\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAmerican Rapture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A searing and deeply unnerving apocalyptic thriller executed with the true nerve of a master storyteller.”—Eric LaRocca, author of \u003ci\u003eThings Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This novel is relentless and utterly merciless. Chapman takes unflinching aim at modern American culture and nobody is safe in this brutal, insightful apocalypse!”—Christopher Golden, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eRoad of Bones\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe House of Last Resort\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Fabulously unhinged, this book is a hilarious and terrifying jamboree of modern-day horrors. Gory, chilling, and exhilarating, the book knows to relish its delicious madness. I haven’t had such a thrill in ages!”—Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of \u003ci\u003eMonstrilio\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Gut-wrenching, grief-soaked, the book perfectly embodies the panic of seeing the people you love transform into monsters. An utterly disconcerting mirror held up to the terror of our present.”—Cassandra Khaw, best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eNothing But Blackened Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A harrowing horror experience. Like watching through a window as the world explodes, realizing too late you should have sought shelter.”—Johnny Compton, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Spite House\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDevils Kill Devils\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eWake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e is a fever-pitched maelstrom of modern-day anxieties and terrors.”—Nat Cassidy, author of \u003ci\u003eMary: An Awakening of Terror\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNestlings\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eWake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e is a pedal-to-the-metal, body horror mash-up of \u003ci\u003eThe Purge\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePontypool\u003c\/i\u003e, and Malcolm Devlin’s \u003ci\u003eAnd Then I Woke Up\u003c\/i\u003e. Chapman has an absolute gift for the unforgettably, mind-saturatingly horrific, and I shall be sending him my therapy bill.”—Ally Wilkes, Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of \u003ci\u003eAll the White Spaces\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWhere the Dead Wait\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eWake Up and Open Your Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e doesn’t just hit close to home—it’s a needle sliding under your skin until you bleed, a rabbit hole stocked with terror all the way down.”—Christina Henry, author of \u003ci\u003eAlice\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe House That Horror Built\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A modern American classic. Clay McLeod Chapman’s panic-inducing, adrenaline-fueled epic digs its fingers into the cracks in twenty-first-century life and pries them open to expose the rot beneath.”—Josh Winning, author of \u003ci\u003eHeads Will Roll\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An eye-opening sociopolitical fever nightmare that you won’t soon forget.”—Ai Jiang, Hugo Award nominee and author of \u003ci\u003eLinghun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is the scariest book I have read in years. It’s a book for our times and I can’t stop thinking about it.”—V. Castro, Bram Stoker Award nominee and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Haunting of Alejandra\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is social horror at its most compelling.”—Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of \u003ci\u003eVanishing Daughters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eClay McLeod Chapman\u003c\/b\u003e writes novels, comic books, and children's books, as well as for film and TV. He is the author of the horror novels \u003ci\u003eThe Remaking, Whisper Down the Lane\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGhost Eaters\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWhat Kind of Mother\u003c\/i\u003e. He also cowrote \u003ci\u003eQuiet Part Loud\u003c\/i\u003e, a horror podcast produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw for Spotify. Visit him at claymcleodchapman.com.\u003cu\u003e\u003cb\u003eDecember 18\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGet your family out of there, Noah. Please. The city isn’t safe anymore.\u003cbr\u003eNone of them are. If you’d been watching the news, you’d know this by\u003cbr\u003enow. Please, honey. Please. For me. For your mother. You need to leave\u003cbr\u003eNew York before it’s too late, before your family gets hurt . . .\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     Mom left another message.\u003cbr\u003e     Noah didn’t even hear his phone ring this time. Her voicemails are digital mosquitoes buzzing about his ear at all hours of the day—and night—hungry for blood.\u003cbr\u003e     This one landed at eleven. Shouldn’t she be in bed by now? Fast asleep?\u003cbr\u003e      Paul Tammany must’ve just gotten off the air.\u003cbr\u003e      “Everything okay?” Alicia props herself up on one elbow in their bed, sensing tension.\u003cbr\u003e      Noah nods, still listening to his mother.\u003cbr\u003e      “Is it her?”\u003cbr\u003e      “Yeah.” The frequency of Mom’s calls has really ramped up since Thanksgiving. Something’s in the air. Or maybe it’s the fluoride in the water. Or the cell towers, all that 5G microwaving her brain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e      I just watched another news story and they said there have been more protests—these riots and I, oh God, Noah, I’m so worried for you . . . So worried about my grandbaby . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      When Noah was just a boy, growing up in Virginia, his mom would take him to the library. She’d let him check out two books. Any two. His choice. Their deal was simple: \u003ci\u003eOne for you and one for me\u003c\/i\u003e. Mom would read one book to Noah at bedtime while he had to read the other on his own. He’d pick a picture book to tackle—the easy reads, Sendak or Silverstein—while for his mother, he’d tug the doorstoppers off the shelf. The cinder-block books. Tolkien. Dickens. King. He can still remember the sound of her voice, a soft southern lilt gamely taking on the personas of every last character, her words filling his bedroom, his mind, his dreams.\u003cbr\u003e      Noah can still hear her voice now.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e      When I think of you up there in that god-awful city, with all those awful people around, I—I don’t know. I wish you’d come home to us. You can’t be safe up there. Kelsey can’t be safe . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      He doesn’t recognize her at all.\u003cbr\u003e      It’s not Mom. It can’t be.\u003cbr\u003e      Technically, yes, that’s her voice. But . . . \u003ci\u003ethe words\u003c\/i\u003e. They don’t sound like her thoughts at all. These are someone else’s words in her mouth. Her mind.\u003cbr\u003e      It’s getting worse. \u003ci\u003eShe’s\u003c\/i\u003e getting worse.\u003cbr\u003e      “Is it bad?” Alicia’s voice is calm. Fair and balanced. Working as an admin at a nonprofit will do that—her uncanny knack for putting out fires with nothing but the serenity in her tone.\u003cbr\u003e      “Pretty bad.”\u003cbr\u003e      “How bad?”\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e      They’re talking about a reckoning, son . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      Noah stares at the ceiling, phone pressed to his ear, his mind’s eye filled with his mother’s distorted visions of a city on fire, of protests right outside their window, complete chaos.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e      I know you don’t believe me and I know you think I’m overreacting, but I—I just wish you would wake up, honey, before it’s too late. I wish, I wish you would open your eyes.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      “Can I hear?” Alicia slides in closer. There’s that curiosity of hers. That mettle. Probably the first thing Noah remembers about meeting Alicia was how she was the one to approach him at that Antibalas show in Williamsburg—what? Thirteen years ago now?—in the back room at Black Betty. She kick-started the conversation, buying the next round. They danced with their drinks held up at their shoulders, those crinkly plastic cups, spilling G\u0026amp;Ts all over themselves. They both carried a hint of juniper all the way back to his apartment, seeped into their skin.\u003cbr\u003e      “You don’t want to hear this,” Noah says.\u003cbr\u003e      “What’s she saying?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e      Somebody ought to do something. Somebody ought to put a stop to these people—\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e      These people.\u003cbr\u003e      “Nothing.” Noah deletes the message before he finishes listening to it. What Alicia hasn’t said, but what Noah’s sensed anyhow, is that she’s starting to ebb. Pull away from him. His family. And she’s pulling Kelsey away with her.\u003cbr\u003e      When Thanksgiving discourse shifted to immigration, who’s creeping into the country, didn’t his parents notice Kelsey sitting across the table? Who just passed the mashed potatoes? Didn’t they realize their granddaughter is half Haitian?\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e      An invasion\u003c\/i\u003e, Noah’s mom called it. \u003ci\u003eWhy can’t they all just stay in their own country?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e What about me? What about Kelsey?\u003c\/i\u003e Alicia asked Noah’s mother at the table, point-blank, in front of Ash and his whole fam, Christ, \u003ci\u003eeveryone\u003c\/i\u003e, having held her tongue as long as the first serving of turkey. \u003ci\u003eWhat do you see when you look at her? Your own granddaughter?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      Mom said, \u003ci\u003eno, no\u003c\/i\u003e, she wasn’t talking about her daughter-in-law or granddaughter. She was talking about \u003ci\u003ethose other people\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e      Noah hasn’t picked up a call from her since; just lets Mom go to voicemail now. Lets her ramble on for as long as she wants, filling up his inbox with her endless messages. He traps them. Suffocates them, like bugs in a jar.\u003cbr\u003e      But it’s not going away. Mom’s not stopping. This has festered for far too long.\u003cbr\u003e      Noah needs to deal with this.\u003cbr\u003e      “I’m gonna call,” he says, already dialing. It doesn’t matter how late it is.\u003cbr\u003e      No answer.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e      Strange\u003c\/i\u003e. Mom always picks up. No matter what she’s in the middle of, she always makes time to talk to her boys. Particularly Noah. \u003ci\u003eMr. Golden Boy\u003c\/i\u003e, Asher always jabs. \u003ci\u003ePampered Prince\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e      So why isn’t she picking up? Why won’t she answer?\u003cbr\u003e      “Maybe she’s asleep?” Alicia suggests.\u003cbr\u003e      “Maybe.”\u003cbr\u003e      Neither says anything for a breath. Alicia holds on to Noah’s eyes. Really takes him in. “Plenty of people are going through this,” she says, breaking the silence. “I read in \u003ci\u003eThe Atlanti\u003c\/i\u003ec—”\u003cbr\u003e      Noah drags his pillow over his face and releases a low groan. “Pleeeease. No more articles about deprogramming your parents . . .”\u003cbr\u003e      It’s far too late for an intervention. That ship sailed last Thanksgiving. Noah already tried dragging Mom and Dad back from the ideological brink of their batshit conspiracy-laden crackpottery. Before packing his fam in the car and plowing through traffic to get to Grammy and Grandpa’s house for Turkey Time, Noah Googled “how to deprogram your parents,” like he was cramming for an exam. He clicked a couple links. Printed a few articles. He even highlighted a couple sentences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e      Debate won’t help. Arguing only makes matters worse. Your loved ones are lost in a conspiracy theory loophole. They are falling down their own personal rabbit holes. Only patience and understanding will pull them out. Talk to them. See their side. Find common ground.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e      Did the writers of these listicles even know folks like Noah’s father? He’s the most stubborn son of a bitch Noah’s ever met. He’s lived with his bullheadedness his entire life.\u003cbr\u003e      But Mom . . .\u003cbr\u003e      Not her.\u003cbr\u003e      Mom is still Mom, isn’t she? Somewhere deep down? Trapped in her own body? There has to be a scrap of sanity left, just a glimmer of common sense buried deep beneath the calcifying wave of conspiracy theories shellacking her brain, one queasy meme after another.\u003cbr\u003e      “You’re not alone,” Alicia says. “That’s all I’m saying.”\u003cbr\u003e      Sure feels like it. This downward spiral may have started years ago, but this last month has been a wildfire of voicemails. Used to be just one a week. Now it’s up to three a day. Noah has felt so isolated from his family—his own mother—ever since she tumbled down the rabbit hole.\u003cbr\u003e      Whatever crawled back up isn’t Mom anymore.","brand":"Quirk Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233825435877,"sku":"NP9781683695042","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781683695042.jpg?v=1767743550","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/wake-up-and-open-your-eyes-isbn-9781683695042","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}