Dudley's a budding writer, but his day-job is a pain in the butt. What he wants to do is just chuck it all and start doing what he loves best – writing his dark morbid imaginative stories! Then out of the blue, a magazine wants to publish his first short gruesome short story, and interview him for the cover story, plus a film director wants to turn it all into a movie! But first he needs to come up with a follow-up story. Unfortunately, for Dudley, he develops writer's block. What does he do?

British horror-master Ramsey Campbell strikes gold with this one. Vowing to do a change n keep things short in his novels, he take u along for one hell of a ride, riddled with much black humour - the kind only the Brits are good at, and parodies that age old question that haunts all authors .... where do u get ur ideas from? A truly fun read from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Irrespective of who you are, this book will move you. More so if u have lost someone close to you. You will dread reaching the end as u know what lies there, but the journey is a path of healing and renewal.

One hillariously long acid trip. A down-n-out jorunalist and his 2-bit samoan lawyer decide to do an 'Easy Rider', go to Vegas, cover a dirt-bike competetion and taste the American Dream .. all while being stoned out of their mind! You'll laugh out loud, but then realise that some bits may not be too far from the truth. A truly original classic.

What are you afraid off? Flying? Children? A doll? New neighbour? Heck, what about the guy sitting next to you on the bus and sniffing? In the hands of Richard Matheson, paranoia hits an all time high. He doesn't need to conjure up ghosts, monsters or aliens to scare you. Some of his best works are showcased in these short stories. Some chilling, some just disturbing, but all of them will get under your skin ... just because it may just happen.

Ah, the book that spawned Hellraiser. Forget the movie, the book is beter. This is Barker at his prime ... dark, imaginative and utterly freaky. The pace is quick and twisted. The result – one of the most original horror tales in a long time.

How far can an author go before his writing begins to disturb you? Ketchum has found that fine line, and crossed it. Though the tale is pretty straightforward, each bloody, gory, revolting detail is narrated in stunning clarity. Be warned, in this unedited, original version, there are no happy endings. Read it only if you can stomach it.

A brilliant debut novel from one of today's most original writers. Way way better than the movie, and that's saying a lot. The tale of one man's dementia going down his dark rabbit-hole. The style of writing packs a punch and is refreshing, and the perfect mix anthropophobia and sentiments of disestablishment result in an explosive combo. Has to be a recommended read not just for your local book club, but for everyman on the street. Power to the people!

Picked this up at Book Xcess for RM4.90 on impulse and i gotta admit its one of the best impulse buys i've made. Ken Bruen's an Irish writer, his writing's crisp and no-holds-barred, nary a single line is wasted. (Each chapter is only 2 pages or more!) A quick read but very gritty and satisfying. Comparable to Block & Hammett. This is the first in a series of Brant & Roberts police stories. Looking forward to more.

Bradbury's someone u either love or loathe. If u loathe him, he's forever the evergreen oldman stuck in a time warp, building stories with no beginning, no end, and no plot. If u love him, he's a painter - each metaphor a brush stroke that paints rainbow dreams on ur mind's canvas, and becomes part of your life. U have to pick up one of his books and read them to find out which faction u belong to.

Sometimes funny, sometimes violent, the chapters hit you short and quick. Its modern british noir at its best. The Bloodlines Press book has uncovered many new talents.

After such a long wait, I was so excited to get my hands on a new Barker book, i sprung for the nice hard cover edition, with the "old" pages and "burnt" cover edges. Unfortunately, that remains the best part of the book - how it looks. The "plot" of the story is wafer thin, the narration is tedious and repetitive, and the horrors few and far between. Halfway thru, i just wanted to be done with it and literally - as the main character keeps begging - to put it aflame. But alas, the book still looked good sitting on the shelf. Now i need to dig up the "Books of Blood" series and remind myself that, once upon a time, Clive Barker was an avant garde horror writer.

GOSH! This is probably the only book i've read this year that i would rate 5 STARS! Its an excellent debut for a new writer and its just "un-putdownable". Its main protagonist - Judas Coyne - is basically a heavy / death metal legend contemplating retirement, loves to work on old cars and collects macarbe souvenirs. The latest souvenir, a black suit arriving in a Heart Shaped Box, will literally spin his "safe" world on its heels and spirals quickly into a haunting that casts death's shadow on Judas and everyone around him. Its a brilliant story, i especially loved its rock references of the 70s and 80s, well written and fast paced. It starts off with a bang and never lets up. Heart Shaped Box is not so much shock-horror, but more a creepy-thriller and boy does it work. At the end of the book, you'll just forget that the author has a famous writer-dad by the name of King. Pick it up if you love a good scare, i promise you won't regret it.

This book really surprised me. Written in 1949 (it's old!), clocking in at just over 200 pages and costing me pittance from a discount book store, i actually enjoyed it! It's written a la pulp fiction / noir and centers around a small-town cinema operator - Joe Wilmot - and his odd love-hate relationship with his older wife Elizabeth. They run the show together but a bigger movie chain starts to move in on their turf, and both scheme to find a way out by way of insurance money! To tell more would not do justice to the twisting plot and the black comedy of the seedy US showhouse era of the 50s. And boy does the plot twist and turn, u really never know what to expect next. After reading this, now wonder all the current pulp fiction writers pay homage to Jim Thomson - he was truly a genius amongst a dying breed.

I've only read Clegg in short story anthologies, and thought he was pretty good. I picked up this coz it was short and the back cover had blurbs from the usual suspects - Straub(!), Koontz, Saul, Mccammon, Little, etc. Being the first Clegg novel i read - it bombed. The idea of the Afterlife had been done a million times over, and this book really does not offer anything new. It borders more on sci-fi than horror, the plot wafer-thin (u can see it coming a mile away), and the story just trudges along at a slow leisurely pace. By the time you expect it to pickup, it fizzles out and ends. And what a lame ending it was. You don't feel anything for the victim or the villain (if u can even call it that), and - mind you, the book has got parts which are strictly ADULT - ends up feeling amateurish. Might pickup another Clegg book to give him another shot, but it won't be anytime soon.

I read a Dean Koontz book years ago. It was so unappealing, it took me a long while to pick up another. Odd Thomas came highly recommended. And it knocked my socks off! Odd, the main character's real name, is a small-town cook and a simple 20 year old. His only fault is he sees dead people. Yeah, that's an OLD line, but it somehow works here. Narrated in the first person, it chronicles the life of Odd, a day before when he senses a bloody massacre will occur. And his attempts to thwart it. The writing is not ambitious, but effective. And it's not so much horror, but more a thriller. You feel what Odd should feel, and a touch of melancholy rides between the lines. There r 2 scenes that stand out the most for me - Odd returning to meet his parents, and the poignant ending. Highly recommend it, and looking forward to the next 3 editions of Odd tales.

I like Lawrence Block, especially the Scudder series. Hitman, a standalone, chronicles the life (in short vignettes) of John Keller, ur average New Yorker who's ur decent apartment neighbour who once in a while takes a flight to assassinate people. He's likeable, polite, and wields his own brand of right and wrong. When he comes to the crossroads of whether his "job" is getting the better of him, quirky things begin to happen. This includes a psychiatrist, a dog, a romantic fling, and a hobby. The story is very much noir / blck humour and quirky enough to keep u hooked. The sessions with the shrink alone is worth the price of the book! Highly recommended.

During an Indian Summer of '63, 3 teenagers decide to sneak out to see a Vampire show meant only for adults. Laymon gives a blow-by-blow account of the three best-buds and their scary adventures leading to it. Despite a loose story-line, and a drawn out narration that details every little step and turn that they make, (have no idea how these kids walk so much in one day and still be standing, much less running at the end of the day), the book just manages to hold you in. My only gripe is the burgeoning hormones of these teenagers and fantasies tend to be tiresome once too often, and the ending is not one of his better ones. Ok to pass the time tho.

In Tuesdays with Morrie, Albom wrote about dying. Here he gives his flipside on what happens after, a la Scrooge-style, just to give us some fodder for thought. There's nothing religious or spiritual here, or anything that will cause groups to break out in discussion. Taken in small doses, it's more of a personal reflection and how u interpret the elements presented in the book. Best read when ur relaxed, its more effective. But if ur not into melodrama, don't touch this.

Karin Slaughter is a new thriller writer that's been coming up on my radar quite often. This is her debut, and it proves to be a very tight thriller. Fast paced, and told from varying perspectives, it charts the small-town sleuthing pair of Sara Linton (paediatrician/city coroner) and her ex-husband Jeffrey (chief of police) as they track down what seems to be a serial killer/rapist. There are some other characters thrown in to speed things up and the plot does have its twists. However, if ur a true thriller fan, you'd spot the "evil one" halfway thru the book. Slaughter writes without holding back any punches in detail, so be warned that the crimes are very violent in nature and can be quite disturbing. But a good read nonetheless, and the dynamic duo lives on for a few more books.