What horror novel/short story are you reading?

The Troop by Nick Cutter.

Just started reading Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. I started reading it because I was reading a guide to internet marketing and I got so bored I almost fell asleep on the train and missed my stop. Mr Mercedes is, thus far, pretty good.

Yeah, Mr.Mercedes is good, but Finders Keepers (the sequel) is even better. The Mike Hodges trilogy will be concluded next June with End of Watch.

To catch up on some of the recent discussions. A few years ago I made the first foray into Simmons fiction and read ‘Summer of Night’ – I loved it, a little pulpy in places but I just really connected with it. Always wanted to read more and just never got around to it.

The Regulators – I really enjoyed and it’s sort of a companion piece to ‘Desperation’. I preferred Desperation, but also read that first, I wonder what it would be like to read them the other way around and if my opinion would change in favour of the Regulators.

House on the Borderland was good – the isolation is really ramped up and it really affected me.

I’m currently halfway through William Meikle’s Tormentor – A frequent forum visitor – and I’m really enjoying it so far. A ghost story set in a small cottage on the Isle of Sky. Has anyone else here read it?

Interested in reading The Trooper – how is it?

I just finished Tortures Of The Damned by Hunter Shea. I loved everything about it except the ending, which left me kind of flat. Good icky bug with short short chapters and every one of them made me want to turn the page to find out what happens next. Old-school icky bug, yet with conventional monsters from nature instead of made-up ones. Apocolyptic. Not a sequel to the Montauk Monster either, which I really loved.

I still highly recommend it though you may or may not like the ending either.

Working my way through Robert R McCammon's books at the moment. In the past few months I've devoured Swan Song, The Wolf's Hour, Stinger, Boy's Life, Gone South, Night Boat, and currently reading The Five. Tremendous stuff. Night Boat, one of his early ones, I thought was a bit patchy and cliched, but Boy's Life, though not strictly horror, is one of the best things I've read in a long time.

D.A Watson said:

Working my way through Robert R McCammon's books at the moment. In the past few months I've devoured Swan Song, The Wolf's Hour, Stinger, Boy's Life, Gone South, Night Boat, and currently reading The Five. Tremendous stuff. Night Boat, one of his early ones, I thought was a bit patchy and cliched, but Boy's Life, though not strictly horror, is one of the best things I've read in a long time.

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Boy's Life is absolutely fabulous. McCammon is one of my favorites if not my favorite horror writer.

Last week, Ray Garton sent me a limited edition copy of LITTLE GRAY BOOK OF GRIM TALES. I read the first one, "Cat Lover," and I knew where it was going. When I told him, he told me his retired doctor had read the story and phoned him, saying, "Goddammit, Ray, you're trying to mess with me, aren't you? I'm living here alone and I'm never going to get this story out of my head!"

Yesterday, read Flies by Robert Silverberg, based on a recommendation from another thread. Still thinking about the ending.

I am halfway thru The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood.

I am enjoying his classic old school style, the observations he makes about the characters.

Now in the middle of The Willows, apparently this is one of Algernon Blackwood's best known stories.

I can see why.

The sense of creeping unease and paranoia that he builds out of a couple of guys in a canoe, who are beached on a small sandy island in the middle of a river and tormented by wind and some bushes is quite incredible!

Looking forward to seeing where this is going.

I am reading Under the Dome. I think it is really good.

Neil Spring's The Watchers. So far, not overly impressed and seems a bit all over the place. Right enough, I had similar doubts about his first novel The Ghost Hunters, which I ended up really liking.

Tinman, I haven't read a really great horror novel in quite awhile. If you read The Stand you might enjoy Doctor Sleep to find out what is going on in the life of the original characters.

I agree with Jamesaritchie here. I'll have to give The Throne of Bones for a change in writing.

Jamesaritchie said:

I think Koontz is one of the few writers out there who's much better than King. But Koontz really doesn't write horror, he writes suspense, and hardcore horror readers are often disappointed because they're expecting horror, even though he makes it clear that he doesn't.

If you're a true horror fan, Koontz is probably not the writer for you. If you're a true suspense fan, he's the best out there.

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Tinman said:

Thanks, JD. I wasn't a big fan of The Shining, but Dr Sleep was much better. I haven't read a really great horror novel in years. Guess someone on here needs to write one, don't they?

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I'm sure there are quite a few writers here working on one.

Tinman said:

I just finished an ebook by Z Rider, called Suckers. I wasn't expecting much, but it was a pleasant surprise (though it's slow to develop and in parts there's too much detail). I'll give it a solid 3-3 1/2 stars. The ebook is still available on Amazon for free, so you might want to download it and give it a try.

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Thanks for the recommendation Tinman.

I didn't like Sucker as much as you did, my rating would be 2 stars. The prose was good and clear, and the idea had promise, but the story just never clicked for me. You hit the nail on the head with "slow to develop". I haven't read a horror novel that had less tension or horror than this in a long time. I'm not sure I ever have.

Still, I am glad that I read it, as it was a good education for me of the principle "The idea is not important, it's the execution that matters".

Tinman, no worries, I was serious when I said I was glad that I read it. The prose was fine, she obviously spent time getting it clean, which made it easier for me to focus on my challenges with the way the story was handled, where I though mistakes were made, and how it could have been handled differently. So it really was a learning experience!

Hey! I would recommend Misery by Stephen King, it has numerous themes and ways of creating horror, (e.g paranoia, gore etc.) and you can't help but be clutched in the protagonists own experiences and emotions!

If you're into dystopian stories, I'd strongly recommend The Redeemers, written by one of our AW brethren (or, in this case, sistren) Kate Morgan. She (the author) creates a fascinating world in which the protagonist is regularly beaten up--not just by the other characters, but by the author too. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be crucified? It's all in The Redeemers. And Morgan's spot on on her research. It's my best horror read this year. Worth checking out.

Finished The Next in Line by Ray Bradbury, from The October Country.​ Deliciously creepy.