Agyar by Stephen Brust--if you want to do angst-ridden vampires with a conscience, do it this way, instead of making them sparkly emo radio-clubbers. Agyar is a vampire who drifts into a small Ohio College town, unaware he is being drawn there by an old flame. He meets two girls, one he draws in as food, bound to him, and her roomate, who he falls in love with. All the while, his maker is drawing him into a plan of her own.
Bag of Bones by Stephen King--Mike Noonan is a widower and novelist. Unable to shake writers block, or the loss of his wife, he returns to their summer cabin. A brooding, atmospheric ghost story...also the first book to make me think "dammit, I'm gonna be a writer"--if I hit it, I owe King a debt of gratitude
A Lower Deep by Tom Piccirilli--After the Necromancer loses his love, he travels the country aimlessly, trapped in the companionship of his wiseass familiar, until his old coven wants him back. They intend to use him to resurrect Christ himself, forcing the day of Judgement. Lyrical, and fun.
The October Country by Ray Bradbury--Nobody does the nostalgic horror Bradbury can, and while most of these are dated and "horror-lite", they pack more emotional depth than most writers can touch. "The Lake" is my favorite short story of all time, with very good reason--more love and loss in twenty pages than most novels manage.
The Fox and the Hound and A Sporting Chance by Daniel Mannix--yes, I read non-horror too, and these books about animals are fascinating both for the animals and also for the human lives around them. The Fox and the Hound, as it originally ends, is as ironic for a Disney title as "Hunchback of Notre Dame", and every bit as tragic.
John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Welman--hillbilly superstition, mythos, and weirdness wrapped into a collection of shorts about a Christ-figure who walks Appalachia. A bit old, but a lot of fun.
Them's mine, hopefully someone finds and reads a couple of them.
Quick
Bag of Bones by Stephen King--Mike Noonan is a widower and novelist. Unable to shake writers block, or the loss of his wife, he returns to their summer cabin. A brooding, atmospheric ghost story...also the first book to make me think "dammit, I'm gonna be a writer"--if I hit it, I owe King a debt of gratitude
A Lower Deep by Tom Piccirilli--After the Necromancer loses his love, he travels the country aimlessly, trapped in the companionship of his wiseass familiar, until his old coven wants him back. They intend to use him to resurrect Christ himself, forcing the day of Judgement. Lyrical, and fun.
The October Country by Ray Bradbury--Nobody does the nostalgic horror Bradbury can, and while most of these are dated and "horror-lite", they pack more emotional depth than most writers can touch. "The Lake" is my favorite short story of all time, with very good reason--more love and loss in twenty pages than most novels manage.
The Fox and the Hound and A Sporting Chance by Daniel Mannix--yes, I read non-horror too, and these books about animals are fascinating both for the animals and also for the human lives around them. The Fox and the Hound, as it originally ends, is as ironic for a Disney title as "Hunchback of Notre Dame", and every bit as tragic.
John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Welman--hillbilly superstition, mythos, and weirdness wrapped into a collection of shorts about a Christ-figure who walks Appalachia. A bit old, but a lot of fun.
Them's mine, hopefully someone finds and reads a couple of them.
Quick