RabidPete's horrific year!

Wow what a fantastic idea for a group, well hello to everyone. I'm gonna take up the challenge! I'm gonna put a little terror twist on my challenge, I'm gonna try and read 50 horror novels/shorts collections by December 31st 2008. Lets see if the evangelists are right, that this stuff can rot your brain and turn you into a drooling lunatic =). I'm starting a little behind because I only read 1 book in January, picked up a little in February and now the clock is ticking.

Jan' 08: 1.Richard Laymon-The Woods Are Dark
Wow this one was a bit of a stinker. No character stability and a terribly forced sex scene (if you've read it you know what I mean) not a good start. 1*(out of five)

Feb' 08: 2.Jack Ketchum-Offspring
Another winner from Ketchum. Not quite up to the standards of Off Season, then again not much is. Ketchum's writing is sublime and I think he would grace any genre. I'm glad he chose horror. ****

3.Skipp & Spector-Deadlines
A collection of short stories with an overall arching plot. Cleverly done. However the Plot gets in the way of the shorts and drag the book down a little, shame. ***

4.Michael Slade-Headhunter
A very clever murder mystery which has enough horrific elements to keep it just the right side of nasty. Smartly written with excellent deatail which intrigues rather than bores, very good. ****

5.Jack Ketchum-Road Kill (AKA Joyride)
Not one of Ketchum's best I'm afraid. Quite ponderous openning and I didn't feel a great affinity for the characters in the book. Picked up considerably toward the end but couldn't save the dull beginning. ***

Mar' 08: 6.Jeff Rovin-Vespers
Quite a fun little nature gone wild book. Very slow in the build up, but picked up and was very enjoyable in the second half. Maybe a little too much exposition which slows the pace. Also it's a little hard to take little bats seriously as a threat. When the real threat turns up however, things get interesting. ***

If anyone out there has any recommendations for my horror collection, please let me know. I don't know how difficult it's gonna be to find 50 quality books, but all suggestions welcomed =).

Hi Mr Rabid

I'm a big fan of horror as well but haven't been too lucky finding books that I'm willing to rave about. I'll be watching your thread for reviews. I enjoyed Duma key maybe give The Light at the End or The Scream by John Skipp a try.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've read the John Skipp books and did indeed enjoy them both so your suggestions are definately on the right track. Never tried Steven King outside of his shorts, Always find him to be a little pedestrian are his novels better? I'de be happy to hear some more views. Take a look at my catalogue for some suggestions of good horror books. I think all the ones marked 4+5 stars on there are well worth seeking out cos' I am quite strict with my marks. Although there are some guilty pleasures such as Fungus by Harry Adam Knight, which is good squelchy fun.
I'm not all that tech savvy but I'm sure theres a way you can get on my catalogue, still learning about this site.

I'd suggest King's Lisey's Story at least, as well as The Stand. I've been slowly reading a book by Kenneth Harvey called The Town that Forgot How to Breathe, which so far is really something in regard to writing, characters, the whole bit. It's only taking me a while because I'm overloaded with grading lately, and also avoiding reading the book when I'm alone or at night--books don't usually get to me, but this one has given me the creeps on more than one occasion. If you want a spooky read, I'd suggest it...

I'll check out The Town that Forgot How to Breathe sounds very interesting! I've thought about reading The Stand but I'm loathe to read books that have a higher word count than the Bible =). I usually pick up books about 350 pages. I think the maximum is about 500 pages otherwise everything seems over described and loses it's punch. What's your opinion of The Shining, Salems Lot and Pet Semetary?

Ok, so you and I are both big fans of skipp and spector we have the same books. forget what I said about Duma key, I don't think you would like it. Maybe The Shining, Salem's Lot and Pet Semetary would be a better fit. Heart shaped box was pretty good Dan Simmons does pretty good horror as well.

I've got Salems Lot and Pet Semetary on order. Gonna give this King guy a shot!

7.Michael Boatman-God Laughs When You Die
Had a lot of fun with this shorts collection. Standouts were The Drop, Dormant, Bloodbath at Lansdale Towers and The Last American President. The writing style is fast paced and original. I would mark this up higher but there is one failing with the majority of the stories and that is the endings. Usually very important in shorts. However I had such a good time reading the stories themselves it didn't frustrate me too much. If you could enjoy a story with the flaw of a weak ending I'de highly recommend picking this one up. ***

Well, truthfully I've always avoided Pet Cemetary because I don't handle animal deaths well--would rather just avoid them, so that may be his one work I don't read. I enjoyed The Shining, but it was so long ago, I'm not sure I remember my reactions all that clearly; I do remember that I expected it to be more frightening based on my experiences with his other books, but I don't think I felt like it was a disappointment. Haven't gotten around to Salem's Lot or Tommyknockers yet--I tend to take long breaks in between reading his longer works, and those have just never made it quite to the top of the list, though they're about the only ones I haven't read outside of the Gunslinger series and his newest. I will say that The Stand took forever to read for me, but it was mostly because I'd gotten the hardback as a gift, and couldn't bring myself to lug it back and forth--back then, a lot of my reading happened at school or on the go, so reading that one just at home took months on end while I finished others in the meantime. You'll have to let me know what you think if you get around to them; I've starred your thread since I'm always looking for more horror writers (that are good writers as well as thinkers). I'll mark down Boatman to look up too....

I would skip Tommyknockers as there are other better books by King with that one not being at the the top of the list.

Whitewave, I think Boatman would be an acquired taste you'll either love or hate but definately give him a shot.
Beeg, got about 60 books that I gotta try and track down now =). Just ordered 8 more last night so I'll have some recommendations for you guys soon whew!
8.Gary A Braunbeck-Mr. Hands
About two thirds through this book I was ready to declare this a masterpiece. The characters that the author brings to life are believable and easy to empathise with. I don't mind admitting that this book brought a lump to my throat on at least 3 occasions. However the final third turns the novel from a character piece with supernatural themes to a balls to the wall monster book. I still enjoyed the book, even if there was a lot of suspension of disbelief because of the grounded openning but it just took the edge off a little for me. Definately recommended. There's also a bonus novella, while not up to the standards of the novel itself it allows you to revisit some of Braunbeck's great characters.****

9.Jack Ketchum-Right to Life
Wow after a little disappointment with a couple of the recent Ketchum novels I've read he was back on form with this one. This is quite an intense book nearly as disturbing as The Girl Next Door but it never feels as if Ketchum is fixating on the nastiness for the sake of it. Indeed he gets his point across and leaves your imagination to do the rest. Well written as usual with believable characters. A great read. The two short stories were OK, nothing special though. ****

10.John Wyndham-Web
Really enjoyed this book of mutant spiders taking over an island. Wyndham is more widely known as a scifi writer but when I read the synopsis of this book, I thought I'de give it a shot. It has a nicely creepy quality that is aided by a very poetic prose. The characters are enjoyable although only two are fleshed out fully to fit the needs of the story. No visceral horror of any kind but a nice little tale of the folly of man. ***

Hi

I'm glad you liked Web, I'm a big Wyndham fan and this one isn't well known. Most people say oh The Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos when you mention the author.

As recommendations for horror how about James Herbert. Some of his earlier works might indeed rot your brain, they're very graphic such as The Rats, Lair and Domain all follow on from each other. His later works are not quite so full of blood and gore The Secret of Crickley Hall being one that springs to mind.

There's also Shaun Hutson first one of his I ever read was called Slugs which put me off lettuce for months.

And you might try It by Stephen King.

H P Lovecraft is a favourite of mine too, though I haven't read his stories in a while. I think they might go on my own 50 Challenge come to think of it.

Yeah I enjoyed Web very much. I have all of Herberts books, but preferred the old brain rotters to the more measured approach he has these days. As for Hutson, well I bought two of his books Spawn and Erebus after reading about 50 pages of Erebus I came to the conclusion that this was not the kind of brain rot I needed. I feel bad saying this but I'de be hard pressed to find a worse writer than Shaun Hutson (maybe Guy N. Smith). I enjoy some Lovecraft and have read a lot of his shorts. I've ordered a couple of King books. Never really interested me before but theres gotta be a reason he's so popular.
What did you think of The Chrysalids by Wyndham, I've read a little of it but I think it would be pushing things to include this in my list of horror books! Also did you read the Hutson novels I mentioned? What did you think of them? Should I give Spawn a shot?

I should have had a look in your library before I gave you some recommendations :p

Ok Spawn, Slugs and Erebus I read all three of them in my horror book days when I was less decerning than I am now (HAH) but I have to say they were pretty awful. Slugs was passable as a "killer whatever take over the city of wherever" type book - but wasn't well written. The other two I finished and wondered why I'd wasted my time. I know he's written more but I've never had any interest in reading them. Spawn I thought was particularly dire so unless you want your brain to dribble through your ears I'd steer clear. (My opinion of course).

Guy N Smith :p I forgot I'd read some of his Crabs oh my! But at the same time I read some of Graham Masterton's books The Pariah being the one I most remember, about Aztec Demons in New England. You might try that if it's still in print.

Ok another writer if you like the Lovecraftian genre is Brian Lumley. His Necroscope series is particularly good as well.

Seems like I'm writing my own book here!

The Chrysalids no I wouldn't class as horror, great book but like his others it's more science fiction than anything else. The same with the Kraken Wakes. I guess they could be dual classed sci-fi/horror at a push, but his characters are all so reasonable, not a hysterical woman, manic axe wielder, or possessed child among them.

Ok finished I think but I'm sure I could come up with others if you get stuck for ideas.

You've confirmed what I thought about Hutson. I just dug the books out to maybe add them to the read pile, but I left them in the better to not read or ever contemplate thinking about pile.
I have read A lot of Lumleys shorts particularly love Fruiting Bodies, but I think he's a writer best read in short form. I bought the House of Doors and really struggled with it. I'll have a look-see at The Pariah and see if it rattles my chains.

You have a "better to not read or ever contemplate thinking about" pile?

I just thought of a couple more Masterton novels. Djinn and Family Portrait. First one not so good but the second one was cool. Sort of a take on The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, and there see another horror for you.

You gotta have one of those piles =).

11.John Shirley-Wetbones
Well I was a little disappointed by this tale of pleasure vampires. The first half of the book contains a hell of a lot of filler that could have been edited down a little because it brought the pace down to a crawl. The second half is great though with all the plot points converging. Theres a mix of characters, some that are very dull and others which you really start to feel for or hate.
**SPOILERS**One particular guy Mitch, well we spend the whole book getting to know him and feeling as if he's gonna have a big impact on the story. However he get's killed off in a couple of paragraphs and his death has no bearing on the story what so ever! **SPOILERS END**
There were some interesting scenes, the death of Naomi being one, and although the idea behind the story was interesting it seemed to get bogged down in the need to fill more pages. Overall the writing style reminded me of early James Herbert, which is why I intend to give some more of Shirley's work a shot. ***

12.Stephen Gregory-The Cormorant
This is a tough one to review. The prose cast a gloomy clautraphobic air over the whole book and so, worked very well. The characters were well rounded and the relationships were believable. Some of the childs behaviours with the cormorant of the title were unsettling. Also the ending was delivered in such a flat way as to make it seem all the more horrific. However I'm still unsure of my feelings, I enjoyed the book but I think it demands more thinking about. ****

13.Scott Smith-The Ruins
Wow is all I can say. Wasn't expecting much because I thought 'Smith isn't a horror writer' but this book just blew me away. A group of friends head out to some Mayan ruins looking for a lost relative. Once they get there they find the local flora is none too welcoming. Although there was a slight problem with suspension of disbelief with this story, I let my heart rule my head because it was just so harrowing. The characters were flawed but likeable and the meat of the novel is in watching their relationships unravel and the predictably of their fragile minds starting to shatter. A definite thumbs up! ****

Hmm... guess that's one for my "to buy and put on my evergrowing to be read at some point in my life" pile then.

I highly recommend it! Hey haven't seen you for a while I was just about to send over a message cos' I thought you'de gone missing =).

I would think that any good survey of horror would include some H.P. Lovecraft. I have a volume of his stories and he makes King look like a choirboy. Lovecraft goes for the emotional jugular in a very short number of pages. His goal is mind melting horror that makes you nervous when it gets dark. I have also read some stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer that I considered pretty good horror stories. His collection Gimpel the Fool has "The Wife Killer","The Mirror" and "The Unseen" that all qualify as folk horror stories.
I have a couple of other possibles in my library. I think I will read them first and then let you know.

creepy huh? I can't wait to see what the movie does with the story.

#25 Pete - The case of the vanishing Imp from the library at Book Hall, sounds like a good story!

WildBill thanks for the suggestions. I have read plenty of Lovecraft over the years and While I find some stuff enjoyable, it all seems to be written in the same voice which tends not to be very varied-the style not the stories.
Beeg, I'm just hoping they don't ruin it in the movie. Maybe it may be a little too fantastical to put to film. I hope they don't just go for the vapid teens who get slaughtered by unseen killer and they actually keep the characterisation that was the essence of the book. If they did the film like 'The Descent' it could work well.
Imp, I'de buy that book. =)

14.Max Brooks-World War Z
This book is set up as a series of interviews with the survivors of the zombie war. It was cleverly written and an easy read, but because of the format there was no tension. Everyone being interviewed obviously survived. The author must have done a lot ofresearch for the book but I just didn't really care. I'm marking it up higher than I would normally because it was so well done. However I wouldn't wish to read another of these types of stories. I just didn't care. ***

15.Chuck Palahniuk-Haunted
This is probably the most pretentious novel I have ever forced myself to finish. Literary masturbation at it's worst. I can imagine the author typing away at his PC next to a full length mirror, just to watch himself be clever.
You can probably tell that I did not enjoy this novel, which is based around a series of short stories and "poems". The characters are ridiculous. The short stories are bland and pointlesss. The over-arching plot is non-sensical. There were two shining points in the book. One is the story 'The Nightmare Box' which began by creating a great atmosphere and really started to unnerve me, until the author had to over explain the ending which completely killed any emotional buildup. The second is 'Guts' which I urge any horror fan to read. Take the book off the shelf and give this story a read, it's only seven pages. Those few pages however are some of the most gruelling prose you will ever read. The author even manages to sour the memory of that one stand out with a narcissistic afterword describing how the story was so shocking it had people all over the world passing out and turning into perspiring wrecks. Chuck just let the story speak for itself, we get it. Well 1.5 out of 23 ain't bad.
It gets two stars simply due to the awesome 'Guts' **

Pete, Haunted is pretty much the worst of Palahniuk's "horror trilogy," but I wouldn't actually recommend the other two works if you're looking for good horror reads. His stuff may be entertaining, but I think he has a way of making all the blood and mayhem seem sort of dull.

I think "Civil Twilight" suffers sort of the same fate as "The Nightmare Box." At first, the idea of an invisible monster stalking a city is pretty creepy. Even the whole bowling ball is ambiguous enough not to drain it entirely of suspense. But then he goes on a rant about how people love monsters and hate heroes, which ruins whatever creepiness the story has left. Say what you will about Lovecraft, but at least when he went on a rant ("Life is a horrible thing...") he put it at the beginning of the stories and tied it in thematically.

"Guts" is near perfect, though the calimari line and the sister's pregnancy kind of annoyed me. It almost made me wonder if Palahniuk had some impulse to make his horror stories self destruct.

I can't agree more. 'Guts' was fantastic, so good that the extra baggage of his sister's pregnancy didn't really register until you made the point. I just feel that's a facit of the authors arrogance that he couldn't just step back and let the story stand. I don't know if this indicative of the authors style because this is the first (and last) book of his that I've read.
An even more annoying aspect is that stories that shouldn't have rambled on were tainted. However there are other stories that definately need more clarification but these are left ambiguous and as a reader your just left shaking your head, wondering if the complete lack of an ending was meant to be poignant.

16.Stephen Laws-Darkfall
Thsi was a fun little tale. It kinda dragged in the middle but the rest was lightning quick, and had a great ending. The story involves the titular Darkfall and how it may be a manifestation of electricities dark side. Maybe the force of electromagnetism is more spiritual than physical. It's not done in a hokey way. Household electrical items aren't brought to life or anything so ridiculous. It's all quite esoteric. I would say to pick this up if you want a good, fun no-brainer. The characters are enjoyable and act as you'de expect.There's not a lot of tension or scares but it's more an action horror. ***

17.James A. Moore-The Haunted Forest Tour
If you like horror, buy this book. I have become a bit jaded with horror, even though I still love it I just don't love it like I used too. This book took me back to my younger years when I just couldn't stop reading 'til the story was finished. this was a drawback with this book because I just wanted it to last forever. The story revcolves around a forest that sprouts up in the deserts of North America and the denizens of this wonderfully creepy forest. An enterprising company decide to offer tours of the forest and, of course everything goes to hell. There are so many monsters and demons in this book I thought the authors had jumped inside my head and brought to life this forest just for me with nasties galore. There are hell of a lot of "oh shit" moments and the characters are just fun and relatable. There's plenty of humour to go with the action and scares. Just a perfect book in my opinion. Loved it. *****

Now that sounds like my kind of book!

I just bought a couple of James Herbert, couldn't resist. Magic Cottage which I read years ago and Creed which I've never read.

sounds good Pete, but did you spend $45 for it? I'm not seeing it listed any other way. (not sure I want to spend that much on a book)

Imp- Never vcould finish Magic Cottage. It's 1 of only 3 Herbert novels I couldn't finish. Creed is good fun though.
beeg- I lucked out with this book and was able to buy the proof copy which has a big 'Not For Sale' on the front =). I got it for £3 + delivery from the US. I read the book and there are a very small amount of typo's comparable to a small publishing house full release in my oopinion. So I was very happy. I would recommend the book though, it's the most fun I've had with a novel in over a decade. The only downside you'll feel cheated cos' even though you paid so much for it you'll wanna read the book all the way through first time.

18.John Shirley-Demons
This was a very enjoyable two part novel. Originally written as two novellas, it works well put together like this. It involves 7 clans of demons brought to earth by nefarious means (no spoilers) the first novel is taken from the good guys POV and is a more visceral experience crammed with demons and shocks. The second part is from the bad guys point of view and is more of a judgement of humanities excesses, which includes a lot more cosmic storytelling which ratchets up the tension. I enjoyed the second part more the story was a lot more meaty. Overall a very good read. ****

19.Jason Brannon-The Cage
This one started with a bang anf for the first half was a great piece of horror fluff. Unfortunately when the 'dues ex machina' psychic get's involved, a woman who can tell the hero which way to turn in a room she's never been in, yet won't tell him how to kill a monster. Well the book kinda lost me. The worst part a cross dressing chupacabra. All written in a serious tone, c'mon. A fun book with one too many flaws and a distinct 80's nostalgia. ***

20.A. Lee Martinez-Gil's All Fright Diner
Loved this book. Read through it in a flash. Loads of fun. Not as laugh out loud funny as I expected, but still has a lot of heart and the characters are great. Would love to read a sequel. A vampire and a werewolf buddy story including ghosts, ghouls, zombies, a teenage temptress and the old gods. Buy this book and wile away a sunny afternoon. You won't regret it. ****

21.Crooked Little Vein-Warren Ellis
I wasn't going to include this in my list as I thought it was an thriller more than a horror. After reading it though I feel it has enough of the bizarre and downright horrific in it to make the list. It is a highly amusing, constantly shocking trawl through the sexual and insane American underbelly. Some of the characters you will meet within the book are a misunderstood serial killer, an insane wannabe politician and his even more crazy father and private eyes who investigate the most atrocious crimes commited by their fellow humans. Consistently barmy, this book is a quick, fun and eye openning read. ****

22.J F Gonzalez-Survivor
Really disappointed by this book after all the good things I've heard. A tale about snuff movie makers and the woman that has been chosen as the star. I have a certain level of suspension of disbelief when it comes to supernatural horror, but when it's real life horror like this then the story has to be somewhat grounded and some of the decisions made by the characters in this book took me right out of the story. Also it was hard to feel anything for the characters even through some of the terrible things that were happening dueto the structure of the novel. There was no time to get to know them.
Also I have read some disturbing literature with some pretty horrific stuff but **spoilers**using a baby in a snuff film, and describing all the details. Too far**end** This could have been handled in a much better way to elicit an emotional response butthe author seemed to want every sick and twisted thing he could come up with commited to paper. The book was a fast read and overall was well written. However the author could have used some advice about the structure and someone to tell him "you may have gone too far". ***

23.Alessandro Barrico-Without Blood
A quiet little tale of the horrors of war and the horrors we can inflict on others. A girls family is brutally murdered when she is a child and in the coming years she tracks them down and has her revenge. The writing in this story was stilted and I don't know if that problem derives from the author or the translation (originally published in Italian) and I found myself struggling to understand what the stories final intentins were. Some of the blurbs describe this book as ' showing what it is to be human' well that's a little overblown. Overly descriptive and only occasionally eliciting the emotions that the story so obviously strives for. Not for me. **

24.Clive Barker-The Hellbound Heart
Anyone who reads horror has heard of Clive Barker and anyone who enjoys horror movies has heard of Hellraiser. So I'll just say this book was great, better than the movie. Barker writes the grotesque in a beautiful way. Great read. ****

25.Stephen King-Pet Sematary
My first King novel, and I really enjoyed it. This novel of family really suited his over descriptive style, think it would annoy me otherwise though. Thoroughly enjoyable. ****

I remember reading it quite a few years ago. It was creepy and shivery and I loved it LOL.

I agree with your thoughts on Pet Sematary. I've never been a big King fan, but Pet Sematary was my favorite of his horror novels.

I was just going to suggest World War Z when I saw you had already read it. It's at the top of my TBR pile but the browse in the bookstore has me confident enough to recommend it unread.

So instead I will recommend Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvust. A young, bullied schoolboy makes friends with a 12 year old girl who has just moved into his towerblock. She turns out to be a 200 year old vampire.

I am Legend was short but enjoyable and I really second the suggestion for Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box.

I was interested that you hated the Layman book in #1. I had to give up on his books because of the rape scenes he insists in including, they left me feeling uncomfortable and not in the good way that a really good horror writer usually leaves me feeling.

#45- Imp you really do love those old horrors dontcha.

#47- Yeah not gonna push my luck with King, but I may give The Shining and Salems Lot a shot down the road.

#48- Saw 'let the right one in' at the local bookstore and it looked interesting. The only thing that put me off was the 'vampire' word. I have read some good vampire novels 'I Am Legend' which you named but was unsure whether to take a chance on this book as there has been a lot of bad vampire fiction. Do you recommend it. I gotta say the vampire/children mix does give me the willies. Just remembering the 'Salems Lot' miniseries on tv still gets me.
Oh and I think I'll give 'Heart Shaped Box' a shot as well.

26.Victor Heck-A Darkness Inbred
Really disappointed by this book. I thought a book that included backwoods horror with Lovecraft undertones, but it just didn't gel. The chracters weren't engaging and too much was shown too early, no building of dread or tension. I'm getting a little bored of writers trying to outdo each other on the sick-o-meter, there are some vile acts in this book. But if you have no connection to the characters why would you care. Well written but really didn't take advantage of an excellent premise. ***

I guess that's because I'm an old horror myself!

I keep umming and arring over Heart Shaped Box no decision yet though, think I'll have to wait for a few more opinions.

I would recommend The House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. It's probably one of the creepiest books I've ever read and yet I can't really put my finger on why. If you read it, you'll get it. Hope you haven't given up on your quest! Cheers.