Penguin Kaltblut

Since that night, they claimed in the mountain villages that it still thunders today, and if you listen closely, there is a dark pulse in the rocks. Blaster Stubber is a taciturn loner. He has always struggled with the residents of his hometown in the mountains, with their stubbornness, their strict adherence to tradition, and their prejudices. But since he left his child behind and disappeared after the tragic death of his great love, they have also turned against him. They say he is a cold man, and possibly even responsible for his son's strange illness. Stubber reveals little about himself and keeps the residents at a distance. After an explosion accident, all eyes are once again on him. But in this small town, he is not the only one with carefully guarded secrets. In his atmospheric and thrilling debut, Wolfgang Maria Bauer tells the story of the love between two outsiders and the crushing power of a small place in the mountains. A gripping literary reading experience full of impact and laconic beauty. Winner of the Debut Salon of the Erfurt Autumn Reading. Nominated for the Glauser Prize 2026. A novel like a flash of lightning: stirring, stunning, and with radiant power. Magnificent, every line. Impact, coldness, tenderness, guilt, struggle, incredibly strong.