Santa left some horrors

williemeikle · Dec 25, 2008

I couldn't sleep so got up early and did 2000 words on my WIP... now I want to spend all day on it

Santa left some goodies in hardcover I hadn't got round to reading before:

Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill
Creepers - David Morrell
Blaze - Richard Bachman
Book of the Dead - Preston and Child

and a nice big collection of H G Wells SF novels in hardcover to top it all off..

StevenJ · Dec 25, 2008

I had:

A Jealous Ghost by A.N. Wilson
The Spear by James Herbert
Nightshift by Stephen King

Note: I didn't ask for the above books, so if anyone can give a brief 'review', I'd be grateful.

Captain Howdy · Dec 25, 2008

williemeikle said:
Creepers - David Morrell

I've listened to this as a book on CD. I wouldn't call it horror, more of an adventure thriller with some dark fantasy overtones, but it was quite riveting and a "fun" story. From the author who created "Rambo".

williemeikle · Dec 25, 2008

Captain Howdy said:
I've listened to this as a book on CD. I wouldn't call it horror, more of an adventure thriller with some dark fantasy overtones, but it was quite riveting and a "fun" story. From the author who created "Rambo".

I've read a lot of Morrell's stuff in the past. He's a great writer, whether horror or thriller. I loved "The Totem", and "The Brotherhood of the Rose." He's also written some first rate short stories. The "Rambo" thing has hung over his head for a long time. But the book "First Blood" is actually a great exploration of the "Heart of Darkness" and deserved better than being turned into a Stallone franchise.

StevenJ · Dec 25, 2008

I loved Morrell's 'Orange is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity'. Wonderful short.

Kerr · Dec 25, 2008

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson, so I can join the chat. Should be interesting. He's an excellent writer.

williemeikle · Dec 25, 2008

I've just finished re-reading I am Legend, mainly to get the stench of the Will Smith movie out of my head. The novel has so many great moments, and none of them made it into the film!

If I ever get rich and famous I'm going to get the RIGHT version made

Willie

Captain Howdy · Dec 25, 2008

hm, I received a copy of a book entitled The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

:Shrug:

StevenJ · Dec 26, 2008

I was deciding which of my Xmas books to read next, so I thought I'd look at the Amazon reviews for 'The Spear' by James Herbert, seeing as I've never read it before. One of the reviewers wrote: 'It's as scary as a bag of shopping'.

Calla Lily · Dec 26, 2008

Can't go wrong with Preston and Child. Every one of their books has engrossed me.

JeanneTGC · Dec 26, 2008

SteveS said:
I had:

A Jealous Ghost by A.N. Wilson
The Spear by James Herbert
Nightshift by Stephen King

Note: I didn't ask for the above books, so if anyone can give a brief 'review', I'd be grateful.

If Nightshift is the collection of Stephen King short stories, then that's the reason I a) can no longer read horror I don't write unless I know the author personally (waves to Rich), and b) the reason I can no longer be in a room with any door open just a crack (for, oh, the past, what 25-30 YEARS).

Great stuff. Terrifying, but great.

Kerr · Dec 26, 2008

williemeikle said:
I've just finished re-reading I am Legend, mainly to get the stench of the Will Smith movie out of my head. The novel has so many great moments, and none of them made it into the film!

If I ever get rich and famous I'm going to get the RIGHT version made

Willie

In that case the book must be excellent. I enjoyed the movie, though I don't feel that the pace and things jumping out to scare comes near replacing Omega Man. But that's usually the case, isn't it. Movies just can't capture everything, especially since they're always trying to keep them to two hours or less these days.

I finished The Ruins just recently. Excellent! Then watched the movie and thought they must have worked overtime to make it suck. The same with The Shining years ago, and pretty much every one of Steven King's stories. They made them all too comical. If you do get to that point and want a second opinion, just ask. That would be a trip, even in PM's.

Calla Lily · Dec 26, 2008

I'm rereading Paradise Lost. There are moments when I think that an entire book in blank verse *is* horror.

Not sure if I'll make it all the way to the end, but Milton's demons are a great read.

StevenJ · Dec 30, 2008

I bought Thomas Ligotti's 'Teatro Grottesco' this afternoon. Does anyone know Ligotti's writing?

Aschenbach · Dec 30, 2008

Just ordered Teatro Grottesco off Amazon. I have heard a lot about Ligotti.

Mainly that a lot of his work is out of print and difficult to get hold of. Also that he is brilliant. I will judge for myself when the book arrives.

I found an interesting interview here; http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/i/ligotti/1/
It seems he takes the horror genre very seriously. He sounds like "the horror writer's horror writer", if you know what I mean.

Kerr · Dec 30, 2008

Eww, Ligotti sounds like how you picture a true horror writer. Thanks for the link Aschenbach. Let us know how you liked his book Steve.

StevenJ · Dec 31, 2008

Kerr said:
Let us know how you liked his book Steve.

No problem, Kerr

Looks good so far...

Incidentally, I gave into temptation & bought 'The Godfather: The Lost Years' by Mark Winegardener. Although it's approved by Mario Puzo's family, the book has poor reviews...but I couldn't resist, having enjoyed Puzo's novels so much - 'The Family' by Puzo is a very interesting tale in particular, all about the Borgias.

StevenJ · Jan 2, 2009

Kerr said:
Let us know how you liked Ligotti's book, Steve.

I gave up reading it halfway through. Although the book is intriguing, that's only because I couldn't work it out & felt the need to read on in order to (hopefully) understand it.

Not sure whether Ligotti was trying to 'entrance' the reader by repeating certain lines all the time, but I began to wonder if this was simply poor editing...

It's slightly reminiscent of Lovecraft, and seeing as I can take or leave H.P's work (I loved Dunwich Horror & Pickman's Model, but some of his stories don't work for me), maybe I'm just the wrong kind of reader for Teatro Grottesco.

Captain Howdy · Jan 3, 2009

Santa left me a weird book called Shadow of the Wind. Maybe it was meant for someone else, I dunno. But I also got a gift card for Barnes and Noble so I went bookshopping New Years Day...so technically this wasn't a Christmas horror, but I bought and read this book called The Reach by Nate Kenyon in 3 days flat. You know, you're going along in the bookstore and you see the Leisure Books symbol on the spine and you think, hm, this will be a quick, cheap read. No offense to anyone here who is publised by Leisure but their stuff is usually sub par IMO. Maybe some day they will add one of my own novels to their sub par roster. Anyway, I was totally impressed with The Reach. It wasn't padded in anyway (as so many of their books are) and flowed very smoothly with a good twist for the third act. It's kind of got bits of The Exorcist / Carrie / The Ring / and The X Files but still is a very original story. Author certainly did his research into schizophrenia and psionic abilities. I recommends it. It's only 7.99, what have you got to loose?

HoraceJames · Jan 8, 2009

Cashed in my Barnes & Noble gift card for... coffee! And Palahniuk's "Rant," which I'm liking so far.

With current economics, the last books I've bought have been at the Goodwill Store. Hardcovers for a buck! Right on! A Vonnegut short story collection, "Armageddon in Retrospect," and "Nixon and Elvis," an entertaining and rather surreal trip through 70's pop culture.

Horror is where you find it, daddy.

Santa left some horrors

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

Captain Howdy

closer + prettier than ever

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

Kerr

I vant to bite you

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

Captain Howdy

closer + prettier than ever

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

Calla Lily

On hiatus

JeanneTGC

I am Catwoman...and Gini Koch

Kerr

I vant to bite you

Calla Lily

On hiatus

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

Aschenbach

Moral Marjorie

Kerr

I vant to bite you

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

StevenJ

Bored Fanatic

Captain Howdy

closer + prettier than ever

HoraceJames

Santa left some horrors

The force is strong in this one.

Bored Fanatic

closer + prettier than ever

The force is strong in this one.

Bored Fanatic

I vant to bite you

The force is strong in this one.

closer + prettier than ever

Bored Fanatic

On hiatus

I *am* Catwoman...and Gini Koch

I vant to bite you

On hiatus

Bored Fanatic

Moral Marjorie

I vant to bite you

Bored Fanatic

Bored Fanatic

closer + prettier than ever

I am Catwoman...and Gini Koch