Innes Richens

The Soulless Man Innes Richens

If we're not careful, we miss the stories that already exist. These are the wilder ones, the uncertain ones. These are the stories that have long been forgotten but are held in the earth and the stones, in the woods and the streams. If we pass near enough they may catch us for a while, leaving us as if just waking with only the bones of them now dim in the dark soil.




On a hot summer's night, Dan falls asleep and dreams the land has returned to winter. On a cold hilltop a tall, awkward figure climbs towards the summit. It is as old as the valley, as tall as the trees, as forgotten as the first tales and its arrival starts the chase.




Over the long summer Dan begins to experience the waking stories that are buried in the land and under the waters, hidden beneath buildings. With his friend Sash, he spends the hours after college in the valleys, fields and lakes but as the summer deepens he knows he must make a decision, one that will steer the course of his life. As the moment to decide approaches, the chase intensifies until he must turn and face that which emerges from the land.