Tales of Dirt, Danger, and Darkness

Paul Jay Steward, 1998

Paperback, 5½ x 8½, 120 pages

ISBN: 0-9663547-0-2

Published by Greyhound Press

$8.95

Lock the doors. Put the kids to bed. Turn on all the lights. Find a comfortable chair and get ready to read. The Sultan of Suspense, the Grim Reaper of Writing, the Master of Mud, Murder, and Mayhem transports you into the dark world of caves.

Twenty-six stories from the twisted mind of Paul Jay Steward take the reader on a roller coaster ride of hell-filled passages. Paul explores the dark side of caving: from alien encounters under Roswell, to murder and fear in dark, twisting underground passages. Guaranteed to give even the seasoned of cavers the chills. Paul has a story about anything you can possibly imagine that cave happen in a cave.

“Paul Steward’s stories remind me of my favorite New Jersey cavers: occasionally depraved, prone to maniacal humor, wildly inventive, and always without fail, fun to be around.”

—Michael Ray Taylor, Author of Cave Passages: Roaming the Underground Wilderness

“Are you sure Paul Steward isn’t Stephen King? You never see them together. Buy this book and nobody gets hurt.”

—Lou Simpson, Author of Sex, Lies, and Survey Tape

“Reading Paul Steward’s stories leads one to wonder two things: first, whether he can find anyone to cave with him, and second, what happened to those who did? I know I’d be afraid to cave with him. This collection of his stories reaffirms that fear. Steward has crafted a book with its own body count. A fun read for those dreadful days when a caver is trapped above ground.”

—Bob Springston, NSS News columnist

“I don’t know where I went wrong. He was such a nice boy until he started crawling around in caves and writing all those weird stories.”

—Catherine Steward, Paul’s mother

REVIEWS

Click on title for full review.

Amazon.com, April 4, 2006

“The author is your host as he appears throughout the book as if to say, “Welcome to my nightmare.”

—John Eric Ellison, Author of Wind Cave and Descending Circles: Ascending Earth

NSS News, July 1998

“Terrifying, spine chilling and often hilarious . . . Finally there is a book that asks the question, What would your dead, stuck friend taste like if you were forced to eat him to survive?”

—John Tudek, Caver, New Jersey

The Maverick Bull, October 1998

“Paul Steward, of the Central New Jersey Grotto, is in definite need of some psychological help and this book proves it.”

—Chad Fenner, Caver, Texas

Cave Research Foundation Quarterly Newsletter, November 1998 / February 1999

“Tales of Dirt, Danger, and Darkness is a collection of speleo short stories in the macabre sci-fi vein—caving fantasy in the extreme, humor at its most bizarre. . . . I can honestly state that my first cave trip after reading this book was different for the new strange thoughts that occasionally came to mind.”

—Sue Hagan, Caver, Missouri

Descent magazine, UK, December 1998 / January 1999

“This volume is a collection of stories—some tall, some short, some sneaky—but all with one thing in common: they carry a twist in the tale and reveal a sometimes black, twisted sense of humor.”

—Chris Howes, Editor of Descent magazine, UK

Caves & Caving, Winter 1998

“Paul writes with cool understatement, in a style that once you have started reading is hard to resist.”

—Tony Oldham, Author of The Caves of Scotland

Amazon.com, January 29, 2004

“Outrageous, bizarre, and funny, Paul Steward’s book, Tales of Dirt, Danger, and Darkness, transports the reader into realms of terror not often visited.”

—Mary M. Nyman, Author of When the Leaves Fall