They Lost Their Faith
Written by Mark Edwards on October 6, 2026
COSMIC HORROR · FAITH · LOSS · CONNECTION
Heretical Talk
By Beau Lemmerman
Six victims. An entangled legacy. The mystery of Needless.
About the Book
They found something else.
Across six decades, the entangled legacy of six victims will reveal
the mystery of a cursed serial killer called Needless.
The killer’s heretical talk leaves their minds forever scarred and
seeking a path back to the light.
But when the victims go searching for God, they instead find the void
and the monsters that await them in this cosmic horror novel about
faith, loss, and connection.
Chapters
1984 · Umbra Island
A retired trucker and his estranged teen son on a country road trip
must fight for survival against an ancient species of demons living
on the seemingly peaceful, isolated Umbra Island.
2004 · Above the Earth
After becoming an astronaut aboard a satellite station to feel
closer to Heaven, a traumatized survivor of one of Needless’ attacks
bears witness to Armageddon when a nuclear holocaust sets the Earth
ablaze.
1994 · The Dark Dimension
Another surviving victim of a Needless attack, now a quantum
physicist with PTSD, discovers the mathematical equation for a dark
dimension older than the universe, and opens it, unleashing chaos
at his research facility.
1974 · The Confession
A former drug addict turned nun-in-training finds her newfound faith
tested when Needless comes to her for confession and reveals dark
truths of the world she thought she knew.
1964 · The Needless
A biker gang of outcasts called The Needless are the only ones
standing in the way of a shapeshifting, human-skin-wearing demon
preying on their town.
1984 · The Asylum
A young orphaned mental patient teams up with an imprisoned Needless
to stop both a demon in the asylum, and a mad doctor with ties to
both the demons and Needless’ past.
FROM THE BOOK’S PROMOTIONAL DESCRIPTION
Just in time for the Halloween season from debut author Beau
Lemmerman comes Heretical Talk, a new cosmic horror novel where the
poetic brutality of Cormac McCarthy meets the visceral,
reality-bending terror of Clive Barker.
The UK Talk Radio Book Review
Looking for Heaven, Finding Horror
There’s a troubling idea at the heart of Heretical Talk: what if
searching for God brought you closer to something terrible? Beau
Lemmerman builds his cosmic horror novel around people whose faith
has been damaged, and whose attempts to find comfort lead them into
further darkness.
The mysterious killer known as Needless connects their stories.
His victims carry more than memories of violence; his words have
shaken their understanding of the world. An astronaut seeks closeness
to Heaven in space. A physicist discovers a doorway into a dimension
that should have stayed closed. A woman training to become a nun hears
a confession that threatens everything she believes.
The range of settings is intriguing, from an isolated island to a
research facility and an asylum. But the human relationships give
the premise its strongest appeal. A retired trucker and his estranged
son have an already difficult relationship before their road trip
becomes a fight for survival. There is something particularly cruel
about putting people who need a second chance together in a place
where they might not survive long enough to take it.
Spanning several decades, the novel promises a gradual uncovering of
Needless’ past and the connections between those caught in his wake.
It’s an ambitious premise, with room for both disturbing discoveries
and quieter questions about grief, belief and the need to belong.
For readers drawn to cosmic horror, Heretical Talk offers an unsettling
prospect: people reaching for reassurance and finding that something
dreadful is reaching back.
Books Editor
UK Talk Radio
Find Heretical Talk
Explore Beau Lemmerman’s novel on Amazon or visit Baal House Books.
UK Talk Radio
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