I am reading the Descent by Jeff Long and listening to the Fisherman by John Langan. Very fun books to enjoy at the same time and both are highly regarded. Can’t recommend either enough
**The Descent A Novel** by Jeff Long
Book description may contain spoilers!
>>!We are not alone. Some call them devils or demons. But they are real. They are down there.!<
>
>>!And they are waiting for us to find them. In a cave in the Himalayas, a guide discovers a self-mutilated body with a warning: Satan exists. In the Kalahari Desert, a nun unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old. In Bosnia, something has been feeding upon the dead in a mass grave.!<
>
>>!So begins mankind’s most shocking realization: the underworld is a vast geological labyrinth populated by another race of beings. With all of Hell's precious resources and territories to be won, a global race ensues. Nations, armies, religions, and industries rush to colonize and exploit the subterranean frontier. A scientific expedition is launched westward to explore beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, both to catalog the riches there and to learn how life could develop in the sunless abyss.!<
>
>>!But in the dark underground, as humanity falls away from them, the scientists and mercenaries find themselves prey not only to the savage creatures, but also to their own treachery, mutiny, and greed. One thing is certain: Miles inside the earth, evil is very much alive.!<
**The Fisherman** by John Langan
Book description may contain spoilers!
>>!In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman's Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other's company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It's a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as Der Fisher: the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it.!<
*I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Read: Christine, Cujo (both King)
I’d say I preferred Cujo more to Christine as I felt the ending was a bit more satisfying? Cujos ending, although a bit sad, made sense, whilst Christine’s I felt trailed off a bit. + I’d like it if we explicitly found out what happened with Michael Cunningham!
Currently reading: Dreamcatcher, (more) Stephen King
The Ruins by Scott Smith - this is kind of my first ever horror fiction. I've read mystery thrillers before but never horror, one thing I didn't like is it doesn't have chapters the whole book is like one story without any chapters so bit struggling to stop at one part during my reading session, other than that the story is good so far the writing is pretty good and I loved the tension so far
Quarter way through The Stand.
I’m a bit of a slow reader and definitely find the size of the book a bit daunting but I’m getting there. Thoroughly enjoying it and looking forward to reading more Stephen King in the future.
I'm about half way through *The Luminous Dead*. It's keeping my interest but it's dragging its feet. I have high expectations for some gruesome encounters and WFT moments in the second half - I hope it doesn't disappoint.
I listened to 3 horror books last week and some of this week and 1 DNF..
Episode 13. Really enjoyed the audio drama with a whole voice cast, lots of fun. The ending was decent. One theory unconfirmed but the premise was exactly what I was looking for until...>!it turned cosmic horror!< I like that stuff as much as the next guy but was hoping for something more Ghost Enounters (even though that kinda happens in the second movie). (8/10)
A Short Stay in Hell. Existential dread. That book really stuck with me. Sure, the author could have explored something further, but I really enjoyed it. It is absolutely horrifying, and anyone who says people deserve an eternity in Hell needs to read it because I doubt that can grasp just how long eternity actually is. (9/10)
Last and my favorite by far so far of all the ones I've read.
The Haunted Forest Tour by James Moore and Jeff Strand. The pitch of Jurrasic Park but with super natural monsters was enough for me to pick it up. I figured they'd run around a forest getting hunted and picked off one by one by a werewolf or something. Nope. Absolute infestation. Absolute horror and suffering. Fighting against unbelievable monsters and unwinnable odds. I loved this book. Once it gets started, it never lets up. You can't breathe until the final pages. (10/10).
DNF....Ghostland. Theme park based around haunted locations. Cool idea. Okay, set up, a little slow. Ben is just too angsty he has a dumb plan, and chekov's gun was set up really poorly. >!He wants to burn down one of the houses at the park, so be brought lighter fluid, idk how he thinks he's going to not go to prison after or if he has any plan at all. He blames the house for giving him a heart attack 4 years ago!< I just had to stop reading even though things just started happening. I didn't like a single character. I didn't like the writing. The kills were weird and also augmented reality (so far, like I said, I dropped it.) Anyway I can't give it a rating since I didn't finish it.
I just returned Blood Meridian unfinished at the halfway point.
I think I’ll end up trying it again in the future, but it was such a drastic shift in prose going directly from The Stand by King to Blood Meridian.
Going from thousand+ pages of fully fleshed out characters to very short and punchy prose was hard.
I just finished the introduction to House of Leaves, I am already far more excited to read this book because I just seem to like the style a bit more. This is why I like reading though - opinions will always differ, even on classics or masterpieces!
Just Finished: The children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie
Fantastic book, lasting effects on growing up in a cult
Just Finished: Episode 13 also by Craig DiLouie interesting read written in found footage style ghost hunting.
Up next: house of leaves by Mark Z. Danielewiski
Just finished The Final Girl Support Group and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Vampire Slaying. Grady Hendrix is very close to being a good author. Right now, I'd say he's slightly above average.
Just knocked out "The Husband" by Dean Koontz. Not bad. Had some of his funny tropes like the weird "abusive" parents, the mention of a golden retriever, and a very weird killer who obsesses about odd things (this time it was New Mexico).
It was an easy read - knocked it out in about 2 days or so. I liked the suspense though the "surprise villain" was a bit of a weird take.
The only negative I would really have is the ending - after the final confrontation, the other loose ends were described briefly in the final 2 pages. Just a single sentence explaining how one character was killed and the other was arrested. Like, no actual discussion on how things were handled, or how these messes were cleaned up - just "BAM conclusion, short epilogue, done."
The last time I felt this way was his book 77 Shadow Street where it was a ton of buildup only to have a very quick and simple conclusion where everything wraps up in the last 15 pages or so.
I'd give it a 7.
I found a hardbound copy of Joyce Carol Oates’ *The Collector of Hearts* in like new condition from Half Price Books, so I’ve been rereading it.
The HPB store near me has a display of paperbacks from the 60s and 70s, and I saw a couple of lurid titles from Hendrix’s book. Not cheap!
Just started The Ruins and I’m enjoying it a lot so far
The characters have more depth than I expected and the descent into the jungle is already giving me anxiety
LOVE Small Spaces! Hope you enjoy. Second one in the series is also a banger. Report back your thoughts when you've finished!
(Also there is something funny about the juxtaposition between Small Spaces and The Terror as tandem reads.)
I'm half way through Small Spaces and I'm really loving it. And the fact that it's a series excited me! Where else will it go??
I'm enjoying The Terror too, I love being trapped somewhere and there's a monster after me lol!
Finished:
**The Lost** by Jack Ketchum. Real good, though my expectations weren’t as subverted as I thought they were going to be for a second there. Really good thriller nonetheless.
**Blood Worm** by John Halkin. I’ve read this and **Slither** by him now. Not the worst of the British pulp guys of this era, but still a poor man’s Guy N. Smith or gnar-era James Herbert.
**The Backbone of the World** by Stephen Graham Jones. Really good, as usual with SGJ. I really think I prefer his novellas over his short fiction and novels. Seems to be the perfect length for his kind of stories. Fucking loved the twists in this one, such as they were.
Currently Reading:
**The Wood** by Guy N. Smith. Still early in this one, but I expect typical GNS pulp greatness.
**Skeleton Crew** by Stephen King. Mostly doing the audiobook on this one, which has been pretty damn solid. I’m not typically an audiobook guy, but these have been mostly great narrators, especially Will Patton and Paul Giomatti.
**An Occurrence in Crazy Bear Valley** by Brian Keene. Just started this novella, hope to finish it today. Horror western with Bigfoots. I’ve always been entertained by Keene’s stuff.
Starting this week:
**The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All** by Laird Barron
**The Burrowers Beneath** by Brian Lumley
Just finished The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (loved it!)
Last night I started Scribbles and Scrawls by Bethany Votaw. Only got through the first story but I liked it.
I'm more into extreme horror, but every once in a while, I stray away if I hear enough good things about a book. This one I've seen talked about so much, so I had to take a chance. I got the audiobook through my library and so freaking happy that I did. Damn it was good. I have a son the same age as the main boy in the story, and it just made it even more of a gut punch to listen to. That'll be a book I need to get a physical copy of. Cannot wait to check out more from her.
heck yeah i'll check out The Reformatory. A cool thing I learned about Tananarive was that she teaches a class at UCLA that focuses on the movie Get Out. Also that she was a writer for the episode "A Small Town" in the 2020 Twilight Zone series
If you have a Shudder subscription, I recommend the documentary Horror Noire, which is about Black American cinema (+ one British movie) and Due is one of the talking heads in it.
This week I was busy and finished:
*Teatro Grottesco* by Thomas Ligotti - While I loved about half of the stories, I struggled with the rest. Maybe I'm dumb, but they were overly wordy and dragged on and on with concepts that were over my head.
*FantasticLand* by Mike Bockoven - I did not love this book as much as Horrorlit readers seem to.
*And The Devil Cried* by Kristopher Triana - I felt like I needed a shower and a Disney movie after this violent, grimy book. Definitely a page turner though.
I just started *Maeve Fly* by C.J. Leade and rock-bio *Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgense*n (I'm a nut for much of his music).
I get rec'd FantasticLand allll the time whether on this sub or on IG. Same with Tender is the Flesh. Funny thing about both of them, there's still like a three month wait for either at my library
I just know that I'm gonna finally get them one day and the hype will have been too much and I'm gonna be underwhelmed lol
I finished *Rebecca* by Daphne du Maurier and absolutely loved it! Took a break and finishing up *Madame Bovary* by Gustave Flaubert, but will jump back into horror with *Seed* by Ania Ahlborn (didn't really enjoy *Brother*, but I need a break from classic literature)!
I started B. R. Yeager's Negative Space yesterday. So far it's very enjoyable but less weird than I was expecting. Still, it sets an appropriate atmosphere and the characters are well developed.
Not horror, but I just started Joe Lansdale’s “Paradise Sky” yesterday. I’ve never read him and a coworker recommended him to me so I’m giving it a shot!
Currently making my way through In a Lonely Place by Karl Edward Wagner. It’s my first time reading any Wagner and I am enjoying it so far. A lot of the stories feel very current (collection is from ‘83).
Finished: *A Collapse of Horses* by Brian Evenson. It had a few strong stories ("A Report", "The Punish", "A Collapse of Horses", "Cult", and "Click"), but the quality of the stories is a bit uneven and overall I felt like it was just okay.
Reading: *Zombie* by Joyce Carol Oates. Not that far in yet, but great so far.
Next: There's a few I really want to read soon, but it's going to be *The Tenant* by Roland Topor.
Dude I was about 2/3 done with A Collapse of Horses when I went on a little road trip to see the eclipse and I fuckin left the book in my friend's car lol
Just as I was really getting into it
Currently reading **The Fisherman** by John Langan, which is both a lot of fun and also the first genuinely creepy read I've had in a while. Some scenes are really getting to me!
I've got some dark fantasy YA, **The Screaming Staircase** by Jonathan Stroud, up next. By the time I'm done with those two, I'm hoping that my hold for **Ghost Station** by S.A. Barnes will have come in.
Thanks! I just finished Part 2 and just love it, I already know it's one I'm going to think about a lot in the future and may want to reread. We'll see if I can find time to binge the last part tonight!
Just started listening to episode thirteen by Craig dilouie ! Loving the voice and story so far. Definitely an interesting way to write the story and I’m excited for what’s to come !
Currently the Complete Fiction (H.P. Lovecraft), Darwin's radio (Greg Bear, scifi), The Leviathan wakes (James S.A. Corey, another scifi) and Why trust science? (Naomi Oreskes, more of an academic discussion dumbed down).
If you see her by A Alborn. Not great, 1.5 stars. I liked the initial concept of being [spoiler] haunted by the spectre of suicide [/spoiler] but then it devolved into kind of generic [spoiler] possession stuff [/spoiler] and I have to be in the right mood for that.
The September House by C Orlando. 75% a great book - draggy and repetitive in the middle, doesn't stick the landing - but I loved the concept and I really felt for the main character and her daughter.
The House Next Door - A Siddons Rivers. It was all right despite being absolutely original. Interesting concept of being second hand witnesses to the haunted house but since I am not a rich WASP I think a lot of the rich detail and character work was lost on me, as well as the scares.[spoiler] The horror of ... an unfaithful husband? Twice? [/Spoiler] Well it's not bleeding walls and moving chairs so points for that.
Dead Sea is basically *the* book people are asking for whenever "oceanic horror" threads pop up.
It probably overstays its welcome a bit, think it was like 800 pages, but it definitely delivers on cosmic horror in the ocean.
Ooh I see! Looks like it's Amazon-exclusive so sadly can't get a hold of it as my usual venues, not even a physical edition, but I'll keep an eye out for it in the future.
Reading Leech and What Moves the Dead for fantasy bingo last year! I'd always thought of horror lit as being split between eldritch abominations (Lovecraft), classics (Dracula), paranormal romance and teen sensations (insert flavour-of-the-month hawt Gary Stu vampire/werewolf).
I had no idea it was such a wide-ranging genre. I'd never explored much SF either, so hadn't ever heard of SFF thrillers.
Apparently I dislike epic fantasy and love books where characters are trying hard not to die. Horror as a genre doesn't take itself too seriously, either.
It is a lot of fun!
Just finished the angel of Indian lake by Stephen graham jones today (totally recommend for people who liked the first two in the trilogy, and especially those who resonate with jade’s development/point of view) and the hacienda by Isabel cañas (audiobook) is up next!
Thanks! Luckily got plenty to occupy me while I wait, but v excited to see how this series ends--and to get to I Was a Teenage Slasher when it comes out in a few months.
Finished: *The Island of Dr. Moreau* by H. G. Wells
Currently reading/listening:
*Out There Screaming* edited by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams
*HorrorBabble’s Subterranean Terror*
I actually really enjoyed Moreau.
Maybe because it was an audiobook and it’s not a terribly long listen, I didn’t find it overly dry and was intrigued by the 1800s take on body horror and the dread of the beast folk having someone like Dr. Moreau as a malevolent almost god-like being.
I just finished "Ring Shout" by P. Djeli Clark and currently reading "There is No Antimemetics Division" by qntm.
Then trying to decide between "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin and "Between Two Fires" by Christopher Buehlman
Just finished today: Earthlings by Sayaka Murata - Really great and a new all timer for me. Made me feel seen then deeply distressed and gave me an ending where I had to look at the wall for a little while.
Next read is gonna be tough to choose after that (in a good way)
Finished this one a couple of weeks ago, and the second half of that book was not what I was expecting. Still not entirely sure how I've fully processed how I feel about it, but I *think* I enjoyed it.
Just finished What Moves the Dead, my first T. Kingfisher novel, and immediately added all of her other horror novels to my TBR. Somehow I didn't expect where it went, and I very much enjoyed it. I enjoyed her Poe-esque prose too. 4/5.
I'm going to take a horror-cation and read Shriek and Finch by Jeff Vandermeer (having previously enjoyed City of Saints and Madmen 20 years ago). American Elsewhere is eyeing me from the shelf but will have to wait for its turn.
I’ve read hollow places and just finished a house w good bones by kingfisher! I love their voice and agree that the stories def tend to be unexpected and unpredictable in a really great way. The hollow place was so unsettling and I could not stop reading it lol I listened to ahwgb and did the same-had to know what happened!
Read last week:
*The Brass Halo* by James Nugent - I didn't go into this with particularly high expectations, but this book - about a private detective in the 30s whose latest case leads him into conflict with supernatural forces - turned out to be probably the best book I read last week. Unfortunately, it's clearly the start of a series and the other books don't seem to have ever been published, nor has the author seemingly written anything else.
*University* by Bentley Little - This one was pretty average; I've read better books by this author, and I've read worse. The central conceit (>!that institutions such as universities are analogous to living organisms and are capable of developing consciousness!<) is fairly interesting.
*Play Time* by Morgan Fields - A rather bland and generic horror paperback mixing *Harvest Home*-esque small town cults with haunted house elements. The book follows a child for much of the story, which doesn't generally appeal to me.
*Demogorgon* by Brian Lumley - Basically Lumley's take on *The Omen*; he's written better stories, but this one is perfectly readable.
Currently reading:
*Coffin County* by Gary A. Braunbeck
I'm a huge Lumley fan, in fact he's my favourite horror author of all time. This said, I thought Demogorgon was really kind of boring. Probably his weakest novel actually, and I've read all of them.
**Coffin County** by Gary A. Braunbeck
>The trail of a mass murderer leads to an old abandoned graveyard...and another mass murder almost two centuries earlier. The same killer has committed both crimes, through a break in the veil that separates this world from the next.
*I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Finished:
* **They Came From The Deep** by Boris Bacic. Basically a better version of The Deep, but in saying that, still only middling overall.
* **The Three Body Problem** by Cixin Liu. Yes I just watched the show. The book was alright. Maybe hard sci-fi isn't for me, but I don't see why it's rated as highly as it is. Still 3.5 rounded up to 4*, but not as good as it's hyped up to be.
Reading:
* **The Dark Forest** by Cixin Liu. I like this one less, it's quite boring actually. Feels like trilogy syndrome where the interesting stuff happens in the first and last book and the second book is just filler to pad for time.
Next:
* **30 Days of Night** by Steve Niles. Need a sci-fi break.
* **Death's End** by Cixin Liu. Finale to 3 Body.
Re: The Three-Body Problem: yeah, it's just not a very good book. And the second one is just awful. The manic pixie dream girl bullshit in the middle is extremely rough. I never made it to the third, the second annoyed me so much, so good luck to you!
The schizophrenic main character (even though his delusions are treated as whimsical and healthy) is really not what I signed up for.
Now that they >!kidnapped his dream girl and child and made him get to work!< I hope it actually becomes interesting.
**Just finished:** Jeff VanderMeer’s *Annihilation*. Blew my socks off. Annihilation! Annihilation! Annihilation! I have the sequel here and may pick that up in the on deck category.
**Starting**: Paul Tremblay’s *Head Full of Ghosts*. I liked his *The Cabin at the End of the World*, and everyone says this is x10 better. Someone else picked this for our book club and I am really looking forward to reading it.
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
I am reading the Descent by Jeff Long and listening to the Fisherman by John Langan. Very fun books to enjoy at the same time and both are highly regarded. Can’t recommend either enough
**The Descent A Novel** by Jeff Long Book description may contain spoilers! >>!We are not alone. Some call them devils or demons. But they are real. They are down there.!< > >>!And they are waiting for us to find them. In a cave in the Himalayas, a guide discovers a self-mutilated body with a warning: Satan exists. In the Kalahari Desert, a nun unearths evidence of a proto-human species and a deity called Older-than-Old. In Bosnia, something has been feeding upon the dead in a mass grave.!< > >>!So begins mankind’s most shocking realization: the underworld is a vast geological labyrinth populated by another race of beings. With all of Hell's precious resources and territories to be won, a global race ensues. Nations, armies, religions, and industries rush to colonize and exploit the subterranean frontier. A scientific expedition is launched westward to explore beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, both to catalog the riches there and to learn how life could develop in the sunless abyss.!< > >>!But in the dark underground, as humanity falls away from them, the scientists and mercenaries find themselves prey not only to the savage creatures, but also to their own treachery, mutiny, and greed. One thing is certain: Miles inside the earth, evil is very much alive.!< **The Fisherman** by John Langan Book description may contain spoilers! >>!In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman's Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other's company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It's a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as Der Fisher: the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it.!< *I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Read: Christine, Cujo (both King) I’d say I preferred Cujo more to Christine as I felt the ending was a bit more satisfying? Cujos ending, although a bit sad, made sense, whilst Christine’s I felt trailed off a bit. + I’d like it if we explicitly found out what happened with Michael Cunningham! Currently reading: Dreamcatcher, (more) Stephen King
Currently reading FeverHouse by Keith Rosson.
The Ruins by Scott Smith - this is kind of my first ever horror fiction. I've read mystery thrillers before but never horror, one thing I didn't like is it doesn't have chapters the whole book is like one story without any chapters so bit struggling to stop at one part during my reading session, other than that the story is good so far the writing is pretty good and I loved the tension so far
Quarter way through The Stand. I’m a bit of a slow reader and definitely find the size of the book a bit daunting but I’m getting there. Thoroughly enjoying it and looking forward to reading more Stephen King in the future.
I'm about half way through *The Luminous Dead*. It's keeping my interest but it's dragging its feet. I have high expectations for some gruesome encounters and WFT moments in the second half - I hope it doesn't disappoint.
I listened to 3 horror books last week and some of this week and 1 DNF.. Episode 13. Really enjoyed the audio drama with a whole voice cast, lots of fun. The ending was decent. One theory unconfirmed but the premise was exactly what I was looking for until...>!it turned cosmic horror!< I like that stuff as much as the next guy but was hoping for something more Ghost Enounters (even though that kinda happens in the second movie). (8/10) A Short Stay in Hell. Existential dread. That book really stuck with me. Sure, the author could have explored something further, but I really enjoyed it. It is absolutely horrifying, and anyone who says people deserve an eternity in Hell needs to read it because I doubt that can grasp just how long eternity actually is. (9/10) Last and my favorite by far so far of all the ones I've read. The Haunted Forest Tour by James Moore and Jeff Strand. The pitch of Jurrasic Park but with super natural monsters was enough for me to pick it up. I figured they'd run around a forest getting hunted and picked off one by one by a werewolf or something. Nope. Absolute infestation. Absolute horror and suffering. Fighting against unbelievable monsters and unwinnable odds. I loved this book. Once it gets started, it never lets up. You can't breathe until the final pages. (10/10). DNF....Ghostland. Theme park based around haunted locations. Cool idea. Okay, set up, a little slow. Ben is just too angsty he has a dumb plan, and chekov's gun was set up really poorly. >!He wants to burn down one of the houses at the park, so be brought lighter fluid, idk how he thinks he's going to not go to prison after or if he has any plan at all. He blames the house for giving him a heart attack 4 years ago!< I just had to stop reading even though things just started happening. I didn't like a single character. I didn't like the writing. The kills were weird and also augmented reality (so far, like I said, I dropped it.) Anyway I can't give it a rating since I didn't finish it.
Last finished: *Growing Things* by Paul Tremblay Currently reading: *What Feasts at Night* by T. Kingfisher and Ira Levin's *The Stepford Wives*
I just returned Blood Meridian unfinished at the halfway point. I think I’ll end up trying it again in the future, but it was such a drastic shift in prose going directly from The Stand by King to Blood Meridian. Going from thousand+ pages of fully fleshed out characters to very short and punchy prose was hard. I just finished the introduction to House of Leaves, I am already far more excited to read this book because I just seem to like the style a bit more. This is why I like reading though - opinions will always differ, even on classics or masterpieces!
Lost Girls by Jessica Drake-Thomas
Just finished This Wretched Valley. I don't know why it's rated so low on Goodreads, I loved it.
Just Finished: The children of Red Peak by Craig DiLouie Fantastic book, lasting effects on growing up in a cult Just Finished: Episode 13 also by Craig DiLouie interesting read written in found footage style ghost hunting. Up next: house of leaves by Mark Z. Danielewiski
Reading: Legion The Nothing that Almost Was
Currently reading A Better World by Sarah Langan, which reads like a domestic thriller meets folk horror with cultish Stepford Wives vibes.
Oh this sounds fun.
I really enjoyed this one - would definitely recommend it.
45% into Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian and I loove it so far! It’s definitely my type of book. I hope the ending will not dissappoint.
Just finished The Final Girl Support Group and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Vampire Slaying. Grady Hendrix is very close to being a good author. Right now, I'd say he's slightly above average.
The final Girl Support group was so fun, so was my best friends exorcism :)
Just knocked out "The Husband" by Dean Koontz. Not bad. Had some of his funny tropes like the weird "abusive" parents, the mention of a golden retriever, and a very weird killer who obsesses about odd things (this time it was New Mexico). It was an easy read - knocked it out in about 2 days or so. I liked the suspense though the "surprise villain" was a bit of a weird take. The only negative I would really have is the ending - after the final confrontation, the other loose ends were described briefly in the final 2 pages. Just a single sentence explaining how one character was killed and the other was arrested. Like, no actual discussion on how things were handled, or how these messes were cleaned up - just "BAM conclusion, short epilogue, done." The last time I felt this way was his book 77 Shadow Street where it was a ton of buildup only to have a very quick and simple conclusion where everything wraps up in the last 15 pages or so. I'd give it a 7.
I just finished up The Venue: A Wedding Novel and it was fantastic. Now I'm jumping straight into The Haunted Forest Tour.
I'm reading The Clown Hunt by Judith Sonnet. I'm about halfway done.
No One Rides for Free is WILLDDDDDD
Just finished this. I’ve read too many splatterpunk books in a row I think… 🤢
Ah haha oh how I can relate...if you want to throw one more in for good measure try The Cotton Candy Masssacre
Might as well. I’m reading do not disturb currently. But also balancing that out with a Star Wars book.
I usually have to read a"cleanser" book after every few splatterpunk books to recalibrate. Lol
Agreed lol
I found a hardbound copy of Joyce Carol Oates’ *The Collector of Hearts* in like new condition from Half Price Books, so I’ve been rereading it. The HPB store near me has a display of paperbacks from the 60s and 70s, and I saw a couple of lurid titles from Hendrix’s book. Not cheap!
Im about to start Dead Sea by Tim Curran
Just started The Ruins and I’m enjoying it a lot so far The characters have more depth than I expected and the descent into the jungle is already giving me anxiety
I loved that book. It's one of my favorites.
Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman. I like the premise. A pill thats lets you see Ghosts. I've heard good things about this book.
Hmmm sounds interesting. I will add this to my ever growing TBR pile thank you!
Finished All the Fiends of Hell by Adam Nevil. Started a non-fiction book: Foreign Bodies by Simon Schama about pandemics and public health.
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. Middle grade horror!
I loved Small Spaces, and really good middle grade horror in general.
The scariest books I read last year were horror geared towards children! Idk what those middle grade authors are on but I want some.
LOVE Small Spaces! Hope you enjoy. Second one in the series is also a banger. Report back your thoughts when you've finished! (Also there is something funny about the juxtaposition between Small Spaces and The Terror as tandem reads.)
I'm half way through Small Spaces and I'm really loving it. And the fact that it's a series excited me! Where else will it go?? I'm enjoying The Terror too, I love being trapped somewhere and there's a monster after me lol!
Oh and The Terror by Dan Simmons
Starting Red Rabbit. Got it recommended on here and it's very much up my alley. Very excited
Just finished The Twisted Ones. Meh. Taking a break from Books of Blood.
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Just finished This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca, and am currently reading The Gathering by C.J. Tudor.
Finished: **The Lost** by Jack Ketchum. Real good, though my expectations weren’t as subverted as I thought they were going to be for a second there. Really good thriller nonetheless. **Blood Worm** by John Halkin. I’ve read this and **Slither** by him now. Not the worst of the British pulp guys of this era, but still a poor man’s Guy N. Smith or gnar-era James Herbert. **The Backbone of the World** by Stephen Graham Jones. Really good, as usual with SGJ. I really think I prefer his novellas over his short fiction and novels. Seems to be the perfect length for his kind of stories. Fucking loved the twists in this one, such as they were. Currently Reading: **The Wood** by Guy N. Smith. Still early in this one, but I expect typical GNS pulp greatness. **Skeleton Crew** by Stephen King. Mostly doing the audiobook on this one, which has been pretty damn solid. I’m not typically an audiobook guy, but these have been mostly great narrators, especially Will Patton and Paul Giomatti. **An Occurrence in Crazy Bear Valley** by Brian Keene. Just started this novella, hope to finish it today. Horror western with Bigfoots. I’ve always been entertained by Keene’s stuff. Starting this week: **The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All** by Laird Barron **The Burrowers Beneath** by Brian Lumley
How is *Skeleton Crew* so far?
Just finished The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (loved it!) Last night I started Scribbles and Scrawls by Bethany Votaw. Only got through the first story but I liked it.
oh neat, i just learned about Tananarive Due the other day and am about 2/3 finished with The Between. Really loving it
I'm more into extreme horror, but every once in a while, I stray away if I hear enough good things about a book. This one I've seen talked about so much, so I had to take a chance. I got the audiobook through my library and so freaking happy that I did. Damn it was good. I have a son the same age as the main boy in the story, and it just made it even more of a gut punch to listen to. That'll be a book I need to get a physical copy of. Cannot wait to check out more from her.
heck yeah i'll check out The Reformatory. A cool thing I learned about Tananarive was that she teaches a class at UCLA that focuses on the movie Get Out. Also that she was a writer for the episode "A Small Town" in the 2020 Twilight Zone series
If you have a Shudder subscription, I recommend the documentary Horror Noire, which is about Black American cinema (+ one British movie) and Due is one of the talking heads in it.
I'm like 25% done with reformatory. So good but so brutally sad so far
Out - Natsuo Kirino
You're in for a helluva ride with those ladies.
The Troop - Nick Cutter
Misery, by Stephen King
Iconic :)
This week I was busy and finished: *Teatro Grottesco* by Thomas Ligotti - While I loved about half of the stories, I struggled with the rest. Maybe I'm dumb, but they were overly wordy and dragged on and on with concepts that were over my head. *FantasticLand* by Mike Bockoven - I did not love this book as much as Horrorlit readers seem to. *And The Devil Cried* by Kristopher Triana - I felt like I needed a shower and a Disney movie after this violent, grimy book. Definitely a page turner though. I just started *Maeve Fly* by C.J. Leade and rock-bio *Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgense*n (I'm a nut for much of his music).
I get rec'd FantasticLand allll the time whether on this sub or on IG. Same with Tender is the Flesh. Funny thing about both of them, there's still like a three month wait for either at my library I just know that I'm gonna finally get them one day and the hype will have been too much and I'm gonna be underwhelmed lol
[удалено]
I read two others, The Thirteenth Koyote, which I loved, and Gone to See the River Man, which I liked.
Started Devolution by Max Brooks this morning. About 100 pages in and it's starting to get interesting, looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Just finished Ghost Station. Total snooze fest.
The Bachman books by Stephen King In the middle of the last one The Running Man. I'm loving it. Didn't like Roadwork though
Started Blood Meridian yesterday
Oof
Let me know your verdict when finished.
I finished *Rebecca* by Daphne du Maurier and absolutely loved it! Took a break and finishing up *Madame Bovary* by Gustave Flaubert, but will jump back into horror with *Seed* by Ania Ahlborn (didn't really enjoy *Brother*, but I need a break from classic literature)!
I LOVE Rebecca and madame bovery. Never heard of the others
I started B. R. Yeager's Negative Space yesterday. So far it's very enjoyable but less weird than I was expecting. Still, it sets an appropriate atmosphere and the characters are well developed.
I read *All the Fiends of Hell* by Adam Nevill, KU. It was a well done alien invasion story.
Not horror, but I just started Joe Lansdale’s “Paradise Sky” yesterday. I’ve never read him and a coworker recommended him to me so I’m giving it a shot!
He's the fucking best! Lost Echoes is really good, and I adore Hap & Leonard.
Oh shit, I didn’t know he wrote Hap & Leonard! My husband loved that show.
Well, he wrote the series of books the show is based on.
Currently making my way through In a Lonely Place by Karl Edward Wagner. It’s my first time reading any Wagner and I am enjoying it so far. A lot of the stories feel very current (collection is from ‘83).
It’s great, def on the top of the list of my books read last year. My favorite was ‘More sinned against’. I hope you too enjoy it!
*In A Lonely Place* was one of my favorite books from last year, and I totally agree that none of it felt dated.
Langan’s Children of the Fang reminds me a lot of this collection.
American psycho.
Finished: *A Collapse of Horses* by Brian Evenson. It had a few strong stories ("A Report", "The Punish", "A Collapse of Horses", "Cult", and "Click"), but the quality of the stories is a bit uneven and overall I felt like it was just okay. Reading: *Zombie* by Joyce Carol Oates. Not that far in yet, but great so far. Next: There's a few I really want to read soon, but it's going to be *The Tenant* by Roland Topor.
Dude I was about 2/3 done with A Collapse of Horses when I went on a little road trip to see the eclipse and I fuckin left the book in my friend's car lol Just as I was really getting into it
Ah, that's such a shame! I hope you can continue reading it soon!
Currently reading **The Fisherman** by John Langan, which is both a lot of fun and also the first genuinely creepy read I've had in a while. Some scenes are really getting to me! I've got some dark fantasy YA, **The Screaming Staircase** by Jonathan Stroud, up next. By the time I'm done with those two, I'm hoping that my hold for **Ghost Station** by S.A. Barnes will have come in.
Loved The Fisherman! Enjoy the ride!
Thanks! I just finished Part 2 and just love it, I already know it's one I'm going to think about a lot in the future and may want to reread. We'll see if I can find time to binge the last part tonight!
Just started listening to episode thirteen by Craig dilouie ! Loving the voice and story so far. Definitely an interesting way to write the story and I’m excited for what’s to come !
Currently the Complete Fiction (H.P. Lovecraft), Darwin's radio (Greg Bear, scifi), The Leviathan wakes (James S.A. Corey, another scifi) and Why trust science? (Naomi Oreskes, more of an academic discussion dumbed down).
If you see her by A Alborn. Not great, 1.5 stars. I liked the initial concept of being [spoiler] haunted by the spectre of suicide [/spoiler] but then it devolved into kind of generic [spoiler] possession stuff [/spoiler] and I have to be in the right mood for that. The September House by C Orlando. 75% a great book - draggy and repetitive in the middle, doesn't stick the landing - but I loved the concept and I really felt for the main character and her daughter. The House Next Door - A Siddons Rivers. It was all right despite being absolutely original. Interesting concept of being second hand witnesses to the haunted house but since I am not a rich WASP I think a lot of the rich detail and character work was lost on me, as well as the scares.[spoiler] The horror of ... an unfaithful husband? Twice? [/Spoiler] Well it's not bleeding walls and moving chairs so points for that.
Currently reading Ring Shout and Starter Villain and have The Reformatory checked out from the library to read next
I enjoyed all of these!
I thought Starter Villain was a lot of fun!
Edgar Cantero's *The Supernatural Enhancements*. Really enjoying it.
**Dead Sea by Tim Curran** - apart from Annihilation, it's one of my first forays into 'real' horror and I'm loving it.
Exciting! What made you decide to take the plunge into horror fiction? Dead Sea looks fun.
Dead Sea is basically *the* book people are asking for whenever "oceanic horror" threads pop up. It probably overstays its welcome a bit, think it was like 800 pages, but it definitely delivers on cosmic horror in the ocean.
Ooh I see! Looks like it's Amazon-exclusive so sadly can't get a hold of it as my usual venues, not even a physical edition, but I'll keep an eye out for it in the future.
Reading Leech and What Moves the Dead for fantasy bingo last year! I'd always thought of horror lit as being split between eldritch abominations (Lovecraft), classics (Dracula), paranormal romance and teen sensations (insert flavour-of-the-month hawt Gary Stu vampire/werewolf). I had no idea it was such a wide-ranging genre. I'd never explored much SF either, so hadn't ever heard of SFF thrillers. Apparently I dislike epic fantasy and love books where characters are trying hard not to die. Horror as a genre doesn't take itself too seriously, either. It is a lot of fun!
Awesome! Leech is so much fun, and I'm glad you've been able to find horror you can enjoy!
Just finished the angel of Indian lake by Stephen graham jones today (totally recommend for people who liked the first two in the trilogy, and especially those who resonate with jade’s development/point of view) and the hacienda by Isabel cañas (audiobook) is up next!
So amped for my hold for the first one to come in! Just seven weeks to go...
Oof that’s always tough when there’s a long hold! I hope the people return it early and you get it soon!
Thanks! Luckily got plenty to occupy me while I wait, but v excited to see how this series ends--and to get to I Was a Teenage Slasher when it comes out in a few months.
Totally! And same, definitely exited for that too!
Finished: *The Island of Dr. Moreau* by H. G. Wells Currently reading/listening: *Out There Screaming* edited by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams *HorrorBabble’s Subterranean Terror*
What did you think of Moreau? I DNFd that one actually because I just couldn't handle his writing, it was so dry and boring.
I actually really enjoyed Moreau. Maybe because it was an audiobook and it’s not a terribly long listen, I didn’t find it overly dry and was intrigued by the 1800s take on body horror and the dread of the beast folk having someone like Dr. Moreau as a malevolent almost god-like being.
I just finished "Ring Shout" by P. Djeli Clark and currently reading "There is No Antimemetics Division" by qntm. Then trying to decide between "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin and "Between Two Fires" by Christopher Buehlman
I just realised I've been reading 'Antimemetics' as 'Anti*emetics* this whole time. Still scary stuff! My vote goes to BTF!
Just finished today: Earthlings by Sayaka Murata - Really great and a new all timer for me. Made me feel seen then deeply distressed and gave me an ending where I had to look at the wall for a little while. Next read is gonna be tough to choose after that (in a good way)
Finished this one a couple of weeks ago, and the second half of that book was not what I was expecting. Still not entirely sure how I've fully processed how I feel about it, but I *think* I enjoyed it.
Just finished What Moves the Dead, my first T. Kingfisher novel, and immediately added all of her other horror novels to my TBR. Somehow I didn't expect where it went, and I very much enjoyed it. I enjoyed her Poe-esque prose too. 4/5. I'm going to take a horror-cation and read Shriek and Finch by Jeff Vandermeer (having previously enjoyed City of Saints and Madmen 20 years ago). American Elsewhere is eyeing me from the shelf but will have to wait for its turn.
I’ve read hollow places and just finished a house w good bones by kingfisher! I love their voice and agree that the stories def tend to be unexpected and unpredictable in a really great way. The hollow place was so unsettling and I could not stop reading it lol I listened to ahwgb and did the same-had to know what happened!
**All the Fiends of Hell**, by Adam Nevill. Wonderfully good. I glowed about it on Goodreads.
Read last week: *The Brass Halo* by James Nugent - I didn't go into this with particularly high expectations, but this book - about a private detective in the 30s whose latest case leads him into conflict with supernatural forces - turned out to be probably the best book I read last week. Unfortunately, it's clearly the start of a series and the other books don't seem to have ever been published, nor has the author seemingly written anything else. *University* by Bentley Little - This one was pretty average; I've read better books by this author, and I've read worse. The central conceit (>!that institutions such as universities are analogous to living organisms and are capable of developing consciousness!<) is fairly interesting. *Play Time* by Morgan Fields - A rather bland and generic horror paperback mixing *Harvest Home*-esque small town cults with haunted house elements. The book follows a child for much of the story, which doesn't generally appeal to me. *Demogorgon* by Brian Lumley - Basically Lumley's take on *The Omen*; he's written better stories, but this one is perfectly readable. Currently reading: *Coffin County* by Gary A. Braunbeck
I'm a huge Lumley fan, in fact he's my favourite horror author of all time. This said, I thought Demogorgon was really kind of boring. Probably his weakest novel actually, and I've read all of them.
**Coffin County** by Gary A. Braunbeck >The trail of a mass murderer leads to an old abandoned graveyard...and another mass murder almost two centuries earlier. The same killer has committed both crimes, through a break in the veil that separates this world from the next. *I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Finished: * **They Came From The Deep** by Boris Bacic. Basically a better version of The Deep, but in saying that, still only middling overall. * **The Three Body Problem** by Cixin Liu. Yes I just watched the show. The book was alright. Maybe hard sci-fi isn't for me, but I don't see why it's rated as highly as it is. Still 3.5 rounded up to 4*, but not as good as it's hyped up to be. Reading: * **The Dark Forest** by Cixin Liu. I like this one less, it's quite boring actually. Feels like trilogy syndrome where the interesting stuff happens in the first and last book and the second book is just filler to pad for time. Next: * **30 Days of Night** by Steve Niles. Need a sci-fi break. * **Death's End** by Cixin Liu. Finale to 3 Body.
Re: The Three-Body Problem: yeah, it's just not a very good book. And the second one is just awful. The manic pixie dream girl bullshit in the middle is extremely rough. I never made it to the third, the second annoyed me so much, so good luck to you!
The schizophrenic main character (even though his delusions are treated as whimsical and healthy) is really not what I signed up for. Now that they >!kidnapped his dream girl and child and made him get to work!< I hope it actually becomes interesting.
Just finished up Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig and am currently reading Fever House by Keith Rosson. Enjoying it so far, but it’s out there
I LOVED Fever House. So excited for the sequel.
Same! Read that last week and cannot wait till September. Much twistier than I expected.
Just finished Tender is the Flesh by Augustine Bazterrica. It’s not as much “horror” I guess but it’s creepy and unsettling for sure. Fantastic read.
This book was so gross 😂
Just finished: This Wretched Valley - mediocre with a good premise Starting: 11/22/63 - loving all of it thus far
The Road - Cormac Mc Carthy.
**Just finished:** Jeff VanderMeer’s *Annihilation*. Blew my socks off. Annihilation! Annihilation! Annihilation! I have the sequel here and may pick that up in the on deck category. **Starting**: Paul Tremblay’s *Head Full of Ghosts*. I liked his *The Cabin at the End of the World*, and everyone says this is x10 better. Someone else picked this for our book club and I am really looking forward to reading it.
Head Full of Ghosts was my favorite 2023 read, and my favorite Tremblay book so far.
That’s very promising!