Could you recommend a good modern horror novel?

Don't know about scare the hell out of you, but anything by Bentley Little is certainly fun reading. I reccommend The Ignored, or the Association. He's kind of hit or miss for me, but on a bad day he's still pretty good.

Douglas Preston/Lincoln Childs put out some good stuff. I like "Relic" and "Still Life With Crows." They've got exceptional characterization and superb tension.

Anything by Jack Ketchum.

Best books so far this year

There's a relevant discussion right now at the Horror Drive-In called "Best Books So Far this Year": http://horrordrive-in.com/smf/index.php?topic=928.0

You can try the novellas and short stories by Clive Barker. I think they are way better than his bigger horror fantasy books.I ahd tried one a long while back and wasn't able to properly visualize it at all. It was a pain to read. There are also a few books and short stories by Richard Matheson, who is a total breeze to read like Stephen King. I'd highly recommmend those.

John61480 said:

You can try the novellas and short stories by Clive Barker. I think they are way better than his bigger horror fantasy books.I ahd tried one a long while back and wasn't able to properly visualize it at all. It was a pain to read. There are also a few books and short stories by Richard Matheson, who is a total breeze to read like Stephen King. I'd highly recommmend those.

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I just read "Hunted Past Reason" by Matheson. Good book, although it ended kind of weakly.

I haven't read that one. I've read stuff like Hell House, the one about a magician, Stir of Echoes etc. I always find he's got stuff that just pops out that I've never heard of. He's got so many short story compilations that I kinda wonder if he's just another Philip K. Dick. Every bookstore I go to, I make it a point to look to see if there's anything new.

I just read "The Travelling Vampire Show", by Richard Laymon. I thought it was pretty good.

Cabinscribe said:

I just read "The Travelling Vampire Show", by Richard Laymon. I thought it was pretty good.

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I just got through with into the fire by Laymon. It was a great story, with lots of good ideas, but somehow he made it really, really suck. I don't know that I will even read another of his after that one.

I'm sorry, I'm not able to help you.

I don't think I've ever read an actual book that 'scared' me.

And I'm not reading a lot of 'horror' stuff right now, though I did just pick up a new Masterston novel called something like "Night Warriors" or something. It's at the end of a long list of books to read though.

I *am* enjoying "The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless". Using vampires and zombies as illustrative guides to philosophical thought/principles. However, the guy writing about Vampirism and the path to vegetarianism lost credibility with his arguments when he argued in exactly a way that he claims one cannot argue effectively.

Oddly enough, I can't see any non-King 'horror' novels on my hardcover bookshelves. Hrmmmm....

Well, I guess there is 'The Historian' which I found to be lush and textured and a damned good read, leading to at least one serious habit change.

Rabe...

Check out The Ruins- it's by the guy who wrote A Simple Plan (which was excellent), and while Plan was a thriller/character study, this one has more emphasis in horror. I'm about two thirds of the way through it, and it's a very quick read; I would've probably finished it by now, except I'm sort of distracted lately by my own work.

The Association, The Policy or The Store by Bentley Little, anything by Richard Matheson.

A suggestion,you might wana try some anne rice books. Okay there not the world's scariest books,more focused on the life of vampires but they're certainly a good read and made me jump a few times. The first in the series is interview with the vampire.

One Rainy Night by Richard Laymon was excellent and it scared the heck out of me. Very gory! I think it's an older book of his but I just read it. I definitely recommend it if you haven't read it yet.

BOOKS...

Underthecity,
You may want to try reading My Soul to Keep or The Living Blood by Tananarive Due. Or try Within the Shadows by Brandon Massey, which is sort of like Fatal Attraction, but the woman has supernatural powers! When I get published, I'll suggest mine!

PSYCHIC WARRIOR by David Morehouse. I found it by accident and can't say how easy it would be to locate, but definitely worth reading. It claims to be a true story of a soldier trained to do espionage via remote viewing in the CIA's Stargate program. The story comes across believable and terrifying, and had me deep in thought for several weeks.

Any of Peter Straub. I just finished Floating Dragon and while I'm like many on here in that I haven't read a book that's scared the hell out of me, there were some things in there I found a little disturbing. So BONUS!

Jbal, a former stalwart here, recommended Gary Braunbeck to me. I've read three of his novels so far, and the guy blows me away. I'd recommend reading his In Silent Graves, probably the best horror novel I've read this year.

This one and this one

are two carefully crafted works of fiction that I find deeply horrifying!

Rabe said:

I'm sorry, I'm not able to help you.

I don't think I've ever read an actual book that 'scared' me.
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Unfortunately, neither have I. I've had books make me laugh, bawl my eyes out, keep me in high tension -- but none that made me afraid, or at least become perturbed at every little noise at night. It would be cool!

I'll be sure to check some of the recommendations listed above!

In all humility (snerk), may I recommend mine, A GATHERING OF VULTURES, which is scheduled to be released 1 November of this year. I do not know if it will scare you, but it did "creep out" my publisher. For more info, check out my web site below.

www.donaldmichaelplatt.com

While at Half Price I found a "new" author (new to me, I'd never heard of him before), Edward Lee. According to the back cover he is "the hardest of the hardcore horror writers." Whatever that means. But I'm finding this book, Monstrosity, interesting enough.

I second THE RUINS by Scott Smith. It's in paperback now.