Gaze Long Into The Abyss

by Dalan Musson

“An intriguing, haunting fever dream at the world’s end.”
—Kirkus Reviews

In Gaze Long Into The Abyss, acclaimed Marvel Studios screenwriter Dalan Musson plunges us into a vivid but desolate world: An apocalypse has snatched away most of humanity; the ragged, remaining few are picking up the pieces. Was it the Rapture as revealed to St. John, or some other calamity of biblical proportions?

The Kid hears his calling: to find the source of the evil, and put an end to it. He seeks out the help of the Old Man – who, in his own time, traveled to the ends of the Earth and back, in his own vain quest to save the world. Together, they set off across a grim landscape populated by survivors turned brigands, bandits, and exhausted warring factions—all of them looking for answers that may have vanished when their loved ones did.

Written in spare, haunting prose that recalls Cormac McCarthy, Gaze Long Into The Abyss is a classic tale of redemption and damnation, told by one of the foremost action-adventure craftsmen at work today.

Praise


“An intriguing, haunting fever dream at the world’s end.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Dalan Musson has imagined a most unusual modern western set on the edge of the end of civilization. In lean, pointed prose, he transports us to a brutal world where everything is in tatters—including our own idea of heroism. Blood will be spilled. Ideals will be destroyed. Yet, what makes his writing exceptional is that in decay and despair, in moments where the brave (or the merely bold and stupid) decide to press on against the odds, Musson unearths the last thing we’d ever expect to find: kindness, empathy, and even a dash of hope.”

—Amy Nicholson, film critic and co-host of the Unspooled podcast

“A crackling debut. Musson’s haunting exploration of faith echoes the best of Cormac McCarthy. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

—Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief