The Resort

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“A chilling tale.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Bentley Little is a master of horror on par with Koontz and King. . . .
The Return
is so powerful that readers will keep the lights on day and night.”

—
Midwest Book Review

 

“Memorable . . . bizarre . . . disturbing . . . fascinating . . . a must-have for the author's fans.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Little's often macabre, always sharp tales are snippets of everyday life given a creepy twist.”

—
Booklist

 

“With this haunting tale, Little proves he hasn't lost his terrifying touch. . . . Graphic and fantastic . . . will stick with readers for a long time. Little's deftly drawn characters inhabit a suspicious world laced with just enough sex, violence, and Big Brother rhetoric to make this an incredibly credible tale.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Wonderful, fast-paced, rock-'em, jolt-'em, shock-'em contemporary terror fiction with believable characters and an unusually clever plot. Highly entertaining.”

—Dean Koontz

“Bentley Little's
The Walking
is the horror event of the year. If you like spooky stories you must read this book.”

—Stephen King

 

“
The Walking
is a waking nightmare. A spellbinding tale of witchcraft and vengeance. Scary and intense.”

—Michael Prescott, author of
In Dark Places

“The overwhelming sense of doom with which Bentley Little imbues his . . . novel is so palpable it seems to rise from the book like mist. Flowing seamlessly between time and place, the Bram Stoker Award-winning author's ability to transfix his audience . . . is superb . . . terrifying. [
The Walking
] has the potential to be a major sleeper.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

 

“This is Bentley Little's best book yet. Frightening, thought-provoking, and impossible to put down.”

—Stephen King

“With his artfully plain prose and Quixote-like narrative, Little dissects the deep and disturbing fear of anonymity all Americans feel.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“A singular achievement by a writer who makes the leap from the ranks of the merely talented to true distinction with this book. This one may become a classic.”

—DarkEcho

“Inventive. Chilling.”

—
Chronicle

“A spooky novel with an original premise.”

—SF Site

“Little is so wonderful that he can make the act of ordering a Coke at McDonald's take on a sinister dimension. This philosophical soul-searcher is provocative.”

—
Fangoria

“
The Ignored
is not average at all.”

—
Locus

 

 

“Grabs the reader and yanks him along through an ever-worsening landscape of horrors. . . . It's a terrifying ride with a shattering conclusion.”

—Gary Brandner

“
The Revelation
isn't just a thriller, it's a shocker . . . packed with frights and good, gory fun. . . . A must for those who like horror with a bite.”

—Richard Laymon

“I guarantee, once you start reading this book, you'll be up until dawn with your eyes glued to the pages. A nail-biting, throat-squeezing, nonstop plunge into darkness and evil.”

—Rick Hautala

 

“Frightening.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“Must reading for Koontz fans. Bentley Little draws the reader into a ride filled with fear, danger, and horror.”

—Painted Rock Reviews

 

“A thinking person's horror novel.
The Mailman
delivers.”

—
Los Angeles Times

 

“By the time I finished, my nerves were pretty well fried, and I have a pretty high shock level.
University
is unlike anything else in popular fiction.”

—Stephen King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNET
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand,
London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Books Australia Ltd., 250 Camberwell Road,
Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2
Penguin Books (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads,
Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand

 

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

First published by Signet, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

First Printing, September 2004

Copyright © Bentley Little, 2004

All rights reserved

eISBN : 978-1-101-09808-0

 

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

 

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

 

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT QUANTITY DISCOUNTS WHEN USED TO PROMOTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. FOR INFORMATION PLEASE WRITE TO PREMIUM MARKETING DIVISION, PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC, 375 HUDSON STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10014.

 

 

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

For David Hernandez,
cocreator of
“Death Is Not an Option”

“Where
is
this place?” Lowell wondered aloud, but Rachel, tiredly fanning herself with the AAA map as she sat next to him, did not respond, and the kids in the back were too busy fighting to even listen.

They'd left the Biosphere after lunch and had been driving ever since. The sun was bright overhead, neither sunglasses nor the windshield visor able to keep out its potent rays, and Lowell had long since shut off the air conditioner to keep the car from overheating. There'd been no signs for the resort at all, nothing in over thirty miles, and he was starting to worry. These single lane roads that crisscrossed the desert all looked the same and were all poorly marked, and it was more than possible that they had taken a wrong turn somewhere and were quickly on their way to some ill-tempered cattle baron's ranch or some crazy survivalists' compound.