{"product_id":"the-croquet-player-9780803298422","title":"The Croquet Player","description":"Something is horribly wrong in the remote English village of Cainsmarsh. An elderly woman stiffens in dread at her own shadow; a terrified farmer murders a scarecrow; food prepared by others is eyed with suspicion; family pets are bludgeoned to death; loving couples are devoured by rage and violence. A spirit-corrupting evil pervades the land, infesting the minds of those who call Cainsmarsh home. Is this vision real, or a paranoid fantasy generated by an even darker, worldwide threat? And is the call to resist the danger itself a danger? These are questions that disturb the calm of an indolent croquet player who happens to hear the tale of the unlucky village. H. G. Wells's ambiguous story of horror is a modern classic, a prophetic, disturbing glimpse of the primitive distrust and violence that gnaw at the heart of the modern world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe prodigious literary visions of H. G. Wells (1866-1946) are cornerstones for today's science fiction and fantasy. His novels include \u003ci\u003eThe Sleeper Awakes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIn the Days of the Comet\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Last War\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe War in the Air\u003c\/i\u003e, all available in Bison Books editions. John Huntington is a professor of English at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Logic of Fantasy: H. G. Wells and Science Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e and the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe H. G. Wells Reader: A Complete Anthology from Science Fiction to Social Satire\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bison Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50413092831506,"sku":"9780803298422","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ced13ca3-6cba-434c-8851-4abda002209f.jpg?v=1729346054","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-croquet-player-9780803298422","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}