{"product_id":"crepuscular-k-m-balthasar-9798258216250","title":"Crepuscular: An Appalachian Apocalypse","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the Appalachian South, where twilight lingers and belief runs deep, a young woman enters a world that will remake her from the inside out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Utopia begins taking music lessons in Chattanooga, she expects discipline-not revelation. But the Gunn family operates by its own logic. Her teacher demands perfection with near-divine authority. His sister dismantles the foundations of Western thought with a smile. Together, they initiate Utopia into a series of rituals, \"catechisms,\" and confrontations that blur the line between instruction and indoctrination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the center of it all lies \u003cb\u003eVoluptia\u003c\/b\u003e-a secluded mountaintop refuge where an alternative mythology is taking shape: one rooted in reimagined Christianity, maternal power, and resistance to Mammon. What begins as intellectual curiosity deepens into something more dangerous, as Utopia is drawn into a system that doesn't just question belief-it seeks to replace it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs her certainty dissolves, Utopia must confront a growing unease: when does awakening become control? And what is the cost of surrendering one faith for another?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCrepuscular: An Appalachian Apocalypse\u003c\/i\u003e is a work of \u003cb\u003eAppalachian literary fiction\u003c\/b\u003e that blends \u003cb\u003eSouthern Gothic atmosphere\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003emagical realism\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003ephilosophical fiction\u003c\/b\u003e into a haunting, genre-defying narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers of experimental literary fiction and \u003cb\u003ebook club fiction\u003c\/b\u003e, this novel invites discussion on faith and its alternatives, myth in modern life, gender and power, and the fragile boundary between enlightenment and indoctrination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e K. M. Balthasar\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798258216250\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/13\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 340\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.76d","brand":"K. M. Balthasar","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49173198176511,"sku":"9798258216250","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/crepuscular-k-m-balthasar-9798258216250","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}