njhorror
New Member
homina homina homina
Posts: 11
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Post by njhorror on Apr 1, 2020 19:55:05 GMT
Reading: The House of Silence by Avalon Brantley. Interesting and well written. Need to keep it going.
The Reddening by Adam Nevill I've always been happy with Nevill's work and this one is shaping up to be another good choice.
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 2, 2020 21:36:37 GMT
Finished Behold the Void, a short story collection by Philip Fracassi. A great collection!
A lot of the current crop of weird fiction writers could learn a thing or two from Fracssi; tell a coherent storyline and not just be weird for the sake of being weird!
Started Blackwater by Michael McDowell last night. 100 pages in and thoroughly engrossed in the story, which to this point actually has very little horror / supernatural elements to it.
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 2, 2020 21:51:14 GMT
The Twisted Book of Shadows ed. by Christopher Golden & James Moore.
Finished this one a few weeks ago and it was one of the better anthologies I've read recently, and it was made up almost entirely of authors who were new to me, a pleasant surprise.
Highly recommended if you're into short stories.
The Hiding Place by CJ Tudor was a strong follow up to Tudor's first book, The Chalk Man.
Similar to The Chalk Man, I would describe The Hiding Place as a suspense/thriller, but there is a definite supernatural vein running through the second half of the story. Also, Tudor owes more than a nod of the head to King's Pet Semetery.
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Post by Mark Sieber on Apr 4, 2020 19:13:58 GMT
I started reading The Chalk Man but I could not get into the swing of the prose. Unfortunately I threw in the towel.
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Post by Mark Sieber on Apr 9, 2020 20:46:20 GMT
I finally got around to Malerman's Bird Box, which I liked quite a bit. Now I am into Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply.
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Post by Mark Sieber on Apr 11, 2020 18:18:52 GMT
I knocked out Bird Box in no time flat. A good book.
Now I am reading Await Your Reply, by the absolutely brilliant Dan Chaon. God, this guy is good.
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Post by Mark Sieber on Apr 12, 2020 20:33:03 GMT
I read Dan Chaon's Await Your Reply and like his Ill Will, I thought it was stunning.
today I read a couple of quickies:
Brian Keene's The Fountain of Belief, which I thought was all right. Readable, and I liked some of the thoughts about childhood and belief. A six rating in my reading log.
James Newman and Mark Steensland's In The Scrape. Again, a decent, well-written book. I liked the characters and the premise, but I found parts about an albino buck to be kind of contrived and unnecessary. Another six.
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Post by johnrlittle on Apr 14, 2020 14:25:13 GMT
Just finishing The Other People by C.J. Tudor. She wrote The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place. As much as I liked her first two books, this one is a big step up for her. Really good novel!
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Post by Mark Sieber on Apr 17, 2020 7:58:47 GMT
I am finishing up Wes Craven: A Man and His Nightmares, by John Wooley. I've really enjoyed it.
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 21, 2020 13:59:24 GMT
Finished Blackwater by Michael McDowell. Ultimately I enjoyed it, but it was a bit of a rocky road at times. I actually put it aside around page 200. At that point, I just couldn't see reading another 600 pages of Steel Magnolias. However, a couple of days later I needed a break from the book I started when I put Blackwater down (The Best of Subterranean) & I felt bad about giving up on the book in the first place.
The remaining 600 pages went pretty smoothly, or maybe I just knew better what kind of story to expect. The story could have easily been told without any supernatural elements at all, though by the end, I thought the supernatural elements did enhance the story, and I found the ending to be very satisfying.
Overall I'm glad I finished it, though it is a genre classic that I seriously doubt I would ever invest the time in revisiting in the future.
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 21, 2020 14:26:30 GMT
The Best of Subterranean ed. by William Schafer was a best of collection from the now defunct Subterranean magazine.
At 30 stories and nearly 750 pages this was a very hefty anthology, and for the most part a pretty good one also. Of the 30 stories there was really only one that I didn't like at all (surprisingly it was the Kelly Link story, whose work I've usually enjoyed in the past), although I did get the feeling while reading the Harlan Ellison story that he was snidely pointing out that he was smarter than everyone else. While I didn't think too many of the stories were really memorable, for the most part I found them to be entertaining while I was reading them. The stories covered all the major genres, including hard SF, space opera, steampunk, horror, fantasy, and a straight out western by Joe Lansdale, though in general I would say the majority of the stories fell into the fantasy genre.
My favorites were the screen/teleplay by George RR Martin, which felt like it was from right out of the Twilight Zone, the dark modern fairy tale by Kelly Armstrong, and the dark SF story from Alastair Reynolds. I could probably put the Joe Hill story (Final Breath) right up there with the best, but I've read it so many times the surprise factory was lacking. There were also solid stories by Caitlin Kiernan, Kage Baker, Tim Pratt, Lewis Shiner, and Jay Lake.
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 21, 2020 14:30:52 GMT
Started The Institute by Stephen King last night & at 125 pages in I am thoroughly enjoying it.
Classic King; a half dozen pages in & I was completely immersed in the story.
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Post by Mark Sieber on Apr 22, 2020 7:29:15 GMT
I liked The Institute. Not top tier King, but very enjoyable.
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 28, 2020 21:23:14 GMT
I liked The Institute. Not top tier King, but very enjoyable. Agreed, I liked it. In the overall picture of King books, I would put it firmly in the middle of the pack. In relation to recent King books, I would put it a step or two behind The Outsider & several steps in front of Sleeping Beauties. B
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brlesh
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by brlesh on Apr 28, 2020 21:29:57 GMT
Started The Skinless Face & Other Horrors by Donald Tyson last night. A collection of his Lovecraftian fiction.
Finished the first story and 2/3 through the second, and thoroughly enjoying it so far.
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