Podcast: James Han Mattson on Exploring Social Issues Through Horror Fiction

Podcast: James Han Mattson on Exploring Social Issues Through Horror Fiction

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James Han Mattson talks to Cheryl about how he explored social issues and racial relations in his literary horror novel, Reprieve.

About the author:

James Han Mattson was born in Seoul, Korea and raised in North Dakota. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has received grants from the Copernicus Society of America and Humanities North Dakota. He has been a featured storyteller on The Moth, and has taught at the University of Iowa, the University of Cape Town, the University of Maryland, the George Washington University, Murray State University, and the University of California – Berkeley. In 2009, he moved to Korea and reunited with his birth family after 30 years of separation.

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Buy a copy of Reprieve here.

Reviews

A House of Horrors: Read an Extract from Reprieve by James Han Mattson

Review | Extract

13 October 2021

A House of Horrors: Read an Extract from Reprieve by James Han Mattson

    An Edge of Your Seat Thriller: Read Our Review of Reprieve by James Han Mattson

    Review | Our Review

    11 October 2021

    An Edge of Your Seat Thriller: Read Our Review of Reprieve by James Han Mattson

      Publisher details

      Reprieve
      Author
      James Han Mattson
      Publisher
      Bloomsbury
      Genre
      Fiction
      Released
      05 October, 2021
      ISBN
      9781526635563

      Synopsis

      Most people didn't make it to Cell Six, he said. Most called out the safe word – reprieve – after the first Cell. It was that intense.

      When Bryan, Jaidee, Victor and Jane team up to compete at a full-contact escape room, it seems simple. Hold your nerve through six terrifying challenges; collect all the red envelopes; win a huge cash prize.

      But the real horror is unfolding outside of the game, in a series of deceits and misunderstandings fuelled by obsession and prejudice. And by the end of the night, one of the contestants will be dead.

      A startlingly soulful exploration of complicity and masquerade, Reprieve combines the psychological tension of classic horror with searing social criticism, and seamlessly threads together trial transcripts, evidence descriptions, and deeply layered individual narratives to present a chilling portrait of American life.

      James Han Mattson
      About the author

      James Han Mattson

      Books by James Han Mattson

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