Praise for The Bright Lands

“Fram has delivered a powerhouse of a debut that is certain to be one of the year’s most bracing thrillers. Unapologetic in its queerness, cruelty and heart, The Bright Lands will sink its teeth into you.”

—P. J. Vernon, author of When You Find Me

“The Bright Lands is a chilling and fast-paced supernatural thriller that also manages to be a heartbreaking meditation on shame, repression, denial and regret. This strange and beautiful novel is a stunning debut and I’m already hungry for whatever Fram does next.”

—Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters

“John Fram’s gripping debut announces a remarkable talent—this prose is tight, stylish, and explosive, depicting a Texas that is by turns lusty and menacing, supersaturated and bleak. As propulsive as it is pitch dark, The Bright Lands will seep into the shadowy contours of your most unsettling, unforgettable dreams.”

—Kimberly King Parsons, author of the National Book Award–nominated Black Light

“The Bright Lands is many things: a stylish, gripping thriller that’s compulsively readable; a tale of horrors, both everyday and otherworldly, that’s at turns disturbing and erotic; and a provocative treatment of gay shame gnarled by toxic masculinity. But most of all, it’s a terrifically self-assured debut from a gifted novelist with much to say.”

—Sam Lansky, author of Broken People

“Expertly plotted, sharply written, and seriously thrilling, The Bright Lands doesn’t read like a debut novel except for the freshness and energy of John Fram’s voice.”

—Stan Parish, author of Love and Theft

“John Fram’s novel marks the debut of an already accomplished novelist. The Bright Lands is a dark tale luminously, and compellingly, told.”

—John Banville, Man Booker Award Winner

“Absolutely enthralling. Written with the rhythm of the game Fram writes of. A mystery to get the skin crawling even as you unbury the secrets of those trying to solve it. Despite its nature, there is a warmth to this thriller, and you’ll feel like you’ve come home...a home that still haunts you.”

—Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

“John Fram’s The Bright Lands is darker than you think. What begins with a Friday Night Lights supernatural thriller soon lures the reader into an insidious labyrinth of human cruelty and voracious supernatural evil. Unsettling, and compelling as hell.”

—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of The Pandora Room

“I am stunned—I haven’t been able to step away from this book since I started it. An earnest, thoughtful exploration of the monstrosity inherent in our American myths surrounding masculinity and sexuality, The Bright Lands is a kind of horror I’ve never seen before. Fram’s done something exquisite here.”

—Sarah Gailey, author of Magic for Liars

“The Bright Lands is Gothic and Faulknerian: smooth, original, haunting. And very sexy.”

—Edmund White, author of A Boy’s Own Story

“Deliciously dark and subversive. You’ll be shocked by what gathers beneath the lights of this all-American town.”

—Kelly J. Ford, author of Cottonmouths

“Absolutely enthralling.”

—Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box