 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | J. Robert King |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Media type | |
Carnival of Fear is a 1993 fantasy horror novel by J. Robert King, set in the world of Ravenloft, and based on the Dungeons & Dragons game.
In a centuries-old grand carnival in the realm of l'Morai run by the Puppetmaster, the apparent murder of a carnival dwarf leads to a trial to find the killer.
A reviewer from Publishers Weekly comments that King "offers a simple but effective message about the evils of scapegoating in his fantasy-horror tale [...] King's careful progress from a basic murder to a much larger mystery, which ultimately encompasses the entire carnival, gives the book the momentum needed to keep the pages turning." [1]
Horror is a genre of fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten or scare. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which are in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.
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