Horror, Prose, Thriller  |  English sample translation available

Captive is one of the few novels combining horror and thriller penned by a Czech author and published by one of the most prestigious Czech publishing houses. Renčín has won three Aeronautilus awards for authors of science-fiction, fantasy and horror and is a prolific writer. His most recent novel was inspired by true events and is Renčín’s best thriller to date. The reader is plunged into the stifling atmosphere of solitude, wild nature and evil, beyond human comprehension. Secondary school teacher Marin suffers from nightmares and strange memory lapses. He feels as if an invisible swamp was dragging him down and begins to have uncontrollable fits of rage. Then the spectre of a dead girl who he feels he recognises appears in his bed. When reading the novel you might be reminded of the works of Stephen King, which have a similar eerie atmosphere.

Praise

“Captive by Pavel Renčín stands out in the Czech Republic due to its unusually vicious darkness.”

— Blesk

“During the short time that it’s been around, Captive has managed to attract an unexpected amount of attention […] We need many more books like this.”

— Jáchym Šidlák, Sarden