The Sun Never Rises
SYCAMORE deluxe limited edition hardcover now available for pre-order
Howdy folks!
Hope your 2026 is off to a good start. I stayed pretty busy all through the holiday season, and the fruits of some of that labour can now be revealed.
I’m so excited to announce that I’ve teamed up once again with Thunderstorm Books (publisher of last year’s The Underwood) to produce a signed deluxe limited edition hardcover of the first Black Lands novel, Sycamore.
If there’s one question I get asked more than any other about the series — besides when the next book is coming out — it’s whether there will be fancy deluxe hardcover editions. I’m glad to finally let the cat out of the bag and reveal that I’ve partnered up with Thunderstorm Books. Paul and I had a blast working together on The Underwood and I knew I wanted to work with him on something else. It’s a dream come true to have Thunderstorm publishing the deluxe editions of the Black Lands series.
Another big thrill was that I finally got to work with one of my favourite artists, Francois Vaillancourt, who did the incredible cover art. Much like Ben Baldwin doing the covers for the trade paperback editions of the Black Lands books, I’m hoping we can get Francois to do all the covers for the deluxe editions. Fingers crossed!
If you’re a book collector, then you know that deluxe hardcovers can be pricey. They’re usually signed by the author (and sometimes the artist), they’re made from higher-end materials, and they often include all kinds of extras. I think of them as the sports cars of books. As someone who wants to make sure that buyers are getting their money’s worth, I try to include as many unique bonus features as possible.
In the case of Sycamore, to make this deluxe edition even more special, I wrote a brand new, 32,000-word novella called “The Sun Never Rises,” which takes place shortly after the events in Sycamore. This novella will be released in a more affordable edition at some later time, but for now, if you want to read about what happens to Felix Renn between Sycamore and the second novel, this is the only place to find it.
I’m even more excited to reveal that the book will have a new introduction by Jeffrey Thomas, creator of the Punktown series (among many others), which has had a major influence on the Black Lands. Jeff and I go way back and I’m fortunate to consider him not just a colleague but a friend. I was so glad when he agreed to write the introduction to Sycamore, and I was completely blown away by what he came up with. It all serves to prove that Jeff is the perfect guide to welcome you into the Black Lands.
Here’s what some very kind and talented authors had to say about Sycamore:
“With Sycamore, Ian Rogers delivers a serpentine narrative involving missing people, mobsters, rogue intelligence agents, and monsters that refuse to stay dead. Private investigator Felix Renn is a masterful creation—arch, world-weary, clever and tenacious. Fans of Jim Butcher and Richard Kadrey will be enthralled with the world of the Black Lands.”
—Nick Cutter, author of The Troop and The Queen
“Indomitable PI Felix Renn is back for another case and I’m delighted to follow him once again into the fray. Rogers’ writing is pure gold.”
—Laird Barron, author of Not a Speck of Light (Stories)
“If Carl Kolchak had a grandson, his name would be Felix Renn. Readers who know Renn from his appearances in Ian Rogers’ eerie Black Land stories will be glad to see him back in this bullet-quick killshot of a novel, and readers who haven’t met Rogers’ supernatural detective yet are in for a real treat. Slot this one on your bookshelf while you can grab it—smart money says it’s the first of many!”
—Norman Partridge, author of Dark Harvest
Pre-order the deluxe limited edition hardcover of Sycamore
The Sun Never Rises
I want to take a moment to talk a bit more about “The Sun Never Rises,” the new novella that will be included in the deluxe edition of Sycamore. Spoiler warning ahead for those who haven’t read the novel.
I wrote this big beast of a story last December, and it was originally supposed to be a short tale tying up some of the dangling plot and character threads from the end of Sycamore. As readers may remember, Felix managed to survive his encounter with both the supernatural mimik and the reanimated corpse that, together, were responsible for a series of gruesome murders in the titular town. After a brief, unplanned trip to the Black Lands, Felix ended up with a kind of paranormal PTSD, a supernaturally-induced fear of the dark. By the end of the novel, Felix had managed to overcome this fear. Or so he thought.
Part of the reason this happened to Felix, and right in the first novel of the Black Lands series, was because I wanted to show two things right away about my PI protagonist. One, that Felix was not some sort of dashing superhero monster hunter who vanquishes his enemies with ease. I wanted Felix to be human and to have human vulnerabilities. Secondly, I wanted to show that the things that happen to Felix in these stories leave marks on his body, mind, and soul. Scars, both internally and externally, as well as other types of trauma that come from encounters with the Black Lands and the entities that reside there. The nyctophobia Felix acquires in Sycamore was an example of this, and even though he was mostly able to come to terms with it by the end of the novel, I knew that some dregs of his fear remained.
That’s where “The Sun Never Rises” comes in.
I knew I wanted to write a story that dealt with the lingering effects of Felix’s fear. I also saw this as an opportunity to write about the nature of fear itself. Felix went through hell in the town of Sycamore, and I wanted to show that there are some kinds of hell you can never escape. You carry them with you.
This is established in the opening line of “The Sun Never Rises:”
The sun went into eclipse but didn’t come out again.
I can tell you, the background setting of this nightmarish tale — a world locked behind an unending eclipse — is the least disturbing thing that happens in the course of the story. I took some pretty big swings with this one, both in terms of Felix as a character and the overall mythology of the Black Lands.
“The Sun Never Rises” is also a great big love-letter to one of my all-time favourite horror films, Phantasm. I can’t say anything more without revealing too much. But I will say, if you’re a fan of that classic cult film, then you should also enjoy this novella.
In terms of the series timeline, “The Sun Never Rises” takes place between Sycamore and the second Felix Renn novel, which will be called Miss Paranormal. My hope is the novella will be available in a more affordable trade paperback and ebook edition before Miss Paranormal comes out. But if it doesn’t come out until later on, that won’t be a problem. I write these stories so they function as standalone pieces. Which is to say, you won’t need to read “The Sun Never Rises” to enjoy Miss Paranormal. That said, I’m looking forward to a wider release of the novella one of these days. I’m really happy with it and I hope readers and fans of the Black Lands series will enjoy it, too.
Slasher Summer
This might be hard to believe, but not everything is about me! (Crazy, I know.)
Over the holidays, I had the privilege to read an advance copy of Slasher Summer, the upcoming novel by my friend E.L. Chen.
I’m normally a slow reader, which makes me a bad candidate for providing a blurb for a book, since these things usually have pretty tight timelines. Suffice to say, I flew through this novel because of both the stellar writing and the captivating mystery and suspense of the story. Here’s what I had to say about the book:
“Slasher Summer is a bloody Valentine love letter to slasher films and asks the question: What if the cast of The Breakfast Club ended up in the world of Scream? It’s a terrifying and exhilarating deconstruction of the subgenre that’s chock-full of the devilishly clever easter eggs horror fans love. Chen knows how to bring the blood and the scares, but she also explores the multi-chambered heart of friendship in a way that is both powerful and poignant. I give this one two severed thumbs-up—and a Lynchian severed ear for good measure!”
Now go forth and pre-order!
Every House Is STILL Haunted
Last month, I saw an article on Deadline mentioning that filmmakers Brian Netto and Adam Schindler (who directed the excellent Netflix film Don’t Move) were set to direct a film adaptation of a novel called Nightwatching starring Mila Kunis. In the course of the article, it was mentioned that Netto and Schindler are slated to direct the film adaptation of my short story, “The House on Ashley Avenue,” from my collection Every House Is Haunted (which will be the title of the film).
I have known that Netto and Schindler are directing the film for a while now (taking the helm from Corin Hardy, who went on to direct a new horror film called Whistle, which is out now — go see it!), but this is the first time I saw the news mentioned publicly.
It turns out I wasn’t the only one who noticed that little nugget of information buried at the end of the article. A number of horror news websites picked up on it and did follow-up articles focusing on Every House Is Haunted. Here’s a few of them.
There’s still lots of details I’m not able to reveal at this time, but I will say the movie has never been closer to getting made, and I am more hopeful than ever that it will finally happen. And on a personal level, I love seeing that great quote from Sam Raimi about my book.
Believe it or not, as amazing as all of this is, it’s still not the big, massive, SUPER exciting news I’ve been teasing for almost a year. I had thought I’d be able to post about it by now, but sometimes the big gears turn slowly. Hopefully, the news drops in the near future and I’ll finally be able to talk about it.
Until then, thanks for your continuing support of my work. There’s lots more to come, so stay tuned.
See you in the Black Lands!