|
Idle Amalgam posted:Looking for more horror in the south, to be honest... feels like home. I mean if you’re a total sicko there’s always the Edward Lee option. He’s basically the definition of extreme hillbilly horror
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 00:30
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:29 |
|
|
This week I bought a book of Poppy Z Brite’s short stories and I, out in the wild, found the first two Splatterpunk anthologies (which I had been itchy to pick up). And I still have Blackwater to tackle. I’m horror’d the gently caress up and I’m hyped about it. I’m actually finishing the first book in the Gormenghast series rn, which while not being horror outright, is at least weird fiction-adjacent.
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 00:56
|
|
|
After reading the yuppies vs squatches book, I got in the mood for more 'stereotype vs monster(s)' and general creature feature books so here we go on a round up of some B-grade splatterfests I've read recently. Pandemonium by Ryan Harding: Low rent wrestling promotion and fans at the event vs demons of the 'if they injure you then you also become a demon' variety. Most folding chair related murders ever captured in one book. Everyone's skull is consistently as squishy or as solid as is required by the story at the time. 95% of characters don't live long enough to be a character and are just referenced by whatever shirt they're wearing C+ Castaways by Brian Keene: Survivor-esque reality TV cast vs missing link cannibal tribe. All the reality TV stereotypes are here, at least briefly. Gruesome, and gets pretttty rapey for a bit in the last 1/3 so maybe avoid if that's an instant put down. Still, better written than Pandemonium. B- Earthworm Gods (and Earthworm Gods 2) by Brian Keene: Giant worms and every kind of sea monster you can think of vs the few small groups that are still alive. Probably should have just been one book. It's got Cthulu monsters and above average writing for this class of book so you can't go too wrong. Mid-late second book spoiler, suddenly giving the book a path towards a resolution with a magical dude kinda lame B+ Clickers by JF Gonzalez: Sleepy Maine community vs Giant crabs (scorpioncrabs?) and eventually super human lizard/fish people. Good 'absolutely no one is safe' fun. I guess there's a series of these and even a crossover of giant crabs vs Brian Keene's smart zombies from The Rising? I may actually pick some of those up if the mood strikes me again. B The Hematophages by Stephen Kozeniewski: Deep space salvage crew vs brain parasites. Starts Event Horizon-ish and ends The Thing-ish (in the don't know who's infected kinda way). Fun world and characters. B+ Draculas by four different authors. Jeez, man: Draculas, of the very much not chill variety, vs a hospital full of people. Each author took on a different set of characters and the result isn't so much a story, but it's definitely a thrill ride. Pure grindhouse poo poo from minute one. You could do a lot worse if that's the kind of thing you're looking for. B Well that was 2 weeks of late night wine-heavy reading well spent.
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 02:40
|
|
|
Good Citizen posted:After reading the yuppies vs squatches book, I got in the mood for more 'stereotype vs monster(s)' and general creature feature books so here we go on a round up of some B-grade splatterfests I've read recently. Well poo poo. I have some stuff to load up my tablet with. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 02:47
|
|
|
Xiahou Dun posted:Well poo poo. I have some stuff to load up my tablet with. Thanks! No problem, man. Keep in mind those grades are on a "You're in the mood for this kinda poo poo" curve. But overall I enjoyed the lot of them for what they were.
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 02:56
|
|
|
Good Citizen posted:The Hematophages by Stephen Kozeniewski: Deep space salvage crew vs brain parasites. Starts Event Horizon-ish and ends The Thing-ish (in the don't know who's infected kinda way). Fun world and characters. B+ This was one of those weird situations where the author had a GREAT book right up until the last five pages when a massive plot contradiction ruined everything. Explanation: Literally the entire book characters go to great lengths to explain that the company is recording everything at all times, yet for the ending to work the company has to be completely ignorant of what happened. They would have watched the goddamn videos and known what's-her-face was compromised. I was so mad about it I broke the cardinal rule and actually asked Kozeniewski what the hell happened and he just shrugged and said "oops."
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 04:08
|
|
|
Ornamented Death posted:This was one of those weird situations where the author had a GREAT book right up until the last five pages when a massive plot contradiction ruined everything. Explanation: Literally the entire book characters go to great lengths to explain that the company is recording everything at all times, yet for the ending to work the company has to be completely ignorant of what happened. They would have watched the goddamn videos and known what's-her-face was compromised. Yeahhhhh, I mentally explained it away as it never being completely clear how easy it is for someone to get infected, though clearly direct contact with the aliens gets the job done. They got all up in the ships water supply before the climax if I'm remembering right, so I just chalked it up as remnant eggs somewhere I guess. But yeah you're not wrong it's a swerve that is done more for what it allows the author to do with the character, rather than what makes the most sense.
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 04:22
|
|
|
Good Citizen posted:Yeahhhhh, I mentally explained it away as it never being completely clear how easy it is for someone to get infected, though clearly direct contact with the aliens gets the job done. They got all up in the ships water supply before the climax if I'm remembering right, so I just chalked it up as remnant eggs somewhere I guess. But yeah you're not wrong it's a swerve that is done more for what it allows the author to do with the character, rather than what makes the most sense. Ok, but there's still hundreds of hours of footage of what went down. Even if the actual moment of infection could be hidden or obscured, there's zero reason why the company wouldn't order an incredibly thorough medical exam. It is an ending of such breathtaking idiocy that it's a bit impressive.
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2021 16:05
|
|
|
Started Blackwater today! More of that McDowell Southern Gothic goodness. He really makes writing great characters look easy. Edit: I’ve been reading Blackwater for a few days now, just finished up the second “book.” I think if I like it this much till the end, it’ll easily have a place on my “favorite novels” list and I’ll probably start annoyingly recommending it to everyone I know. I just absolutely love everything that is happening in this novel. McDowell was really something special. This is capital L literature. If you’ve read Blackwater please come back to this thread so we can talk about it!!! Conrad_Birdie fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Mar 1, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2021 05:36
|
|
|
Conrad_Birdie posted:Started Blackwater today! More of that McDowell Southern Gothic goodness. He really makes writing great characters look easy. I love Blackwater. I did the ~30 hour audiobook and it really helped with the feeling of time passing. It’s a tricky one just because the scope keeps expanding. I don’t know that the plot, such that there is hangs together that well but the characters are indelible
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2021 15:01
|
|
|
Yep I binged the one big audiobook too. It's an incredibly-crafted story, and I can't believe how much it drew me in. Super super good, one of my favorites.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2021 17:04
|
|
|
One of the funniest bits thus far is when Oscar and Elinor elope while Mary Love is out of town, and you know she already doesn’t like Elinor so you’ve got to expect this massive blow-up when the couple comes back, it’s all been building to this...and then they come back, and Mary Love is only slightly annoyed because Jame’s wife is there, and Mary Love hates her more than Elinor. Just an incredible build up to a hilarious diffusing of tension. I laughed and laughed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2021 17:27
|
|
|
I started reading Nick Cutter's The Troop a bit ago and had to put it down, probably permanently, after one particularly hosed up scene involving a monkey. Body horror is usually extremely my poo poo but apparently I found my limit in this specific kind of parasite. I did finish, however, Bentley Little's The Resort and really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of "Large group/Town starts fine but slowly devolves into horror" kinds of set ups and am glad I stumbled onto it after looking for novels set in Arizona--which otherwise has been fairly difficult outside of Little despite it being a setting ripe for horror imo
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2021 17:33
|
|
|
Sab Sabbington posted:I started reading Nick Cutter's The Troop a bit ago and had to put it down, probably permanently, after one particularly hosed up scene involving a monkey. Body horror is usually extremely my poo poo but apparently I found my limit in this specific kind of parasite. The troop only gets worse, IMO. I pushed through that whole drat book out of grossed-out spite. I also usually don't shy away from body horror but it felt like the book devolved into a long piss and vomit joke by the end. You are missing nothing by skipping it. The only other book (story) that made me put a book down was the one in the short story collection (black suns or something like that?) where they dredged up some polyp from under the ocean and this lady gets infected and her vagina explodes. I'm not even kidding. It grossed me out so bad I left the book in a hotel room. sephiRoth IRA fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Mar 1, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2021 17:46
|
|
|
I thought The Troop cheated a bit by having one of the kids be a Patrick Hockstetter-esque psychopath deliberately escalating the situation with the tapeworms for kicks
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 03:31
|
|
|
High Warlord Zog posted:I thought The Troop cheated a bit by having one of the kids be a Patrick Hockstetter-esque psychopath deliberately escalating the situation with the tapeworms for kicks This annoyed me, for sure, and was a big part of why I put the book down. The gleeful gross-out style was probably the bigger turnoff though, I just don't go in for that style. I don't mind a lot of gore, but it gets kind of old or creepy (in a bad way) if it goes on too long, or is basically all there is to a book, imo. I think my issues with The Troop were amplified because I read it not long after The Deep, which I actually really enjoyed. I think it strikes a better balance of gratuitous gross-out moments with a little more actual story. Unrelated, I'm finally reading Gates of Abomination and it's really good so far.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2021 21:57
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:This annoyed me, for sure, and was a big part of why I put the book down. The gleeful gross-out style was probably the bigger turnoff though, I just don't go in for that style. I don't mind a lot of gore, but it gets kind of old or creepy (in a bad way) if it goes on too long, or is basically all there is to a book, imo. I think my issues with The Troop were amplified because I read it not long after The Deep, which I actually really enjoyed. I think it strikes a better balance of gratuitous gross-out moments with a little more actual story. You're tuned to WXXT
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 02:03
|
|
|
It’s been a while but I remember liking but not loving The Troop. It does exactly what you know and expect it to do competently, without ever really elevating itself past that. I guess it helps that my tolerance for violence and body horror is very very high when it comes to books.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 02:29
|
|
|
Kind of a weird request but does anyone know of any horror novels set during the Vietnam War? I realized there's some stuff floating around that deals with the aftermath back home in the US, but I couldn't really think of any novels set during the conflict itself. There's a decent amount of horror set during WW1 / 2 and even Iraq / Afghanistan, so I thought it was kind of an interesting gap.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 06:24
|
|
|
Grizzled Patriarch posted:Kind of a weird request but does anyone know of any horror novels set during the Vietnam War? I realized there's some stuff floating around that deals with the aftermath back home in the US, but I couldn't really think of any novels set during the conflict itself. There's a decent amount of horror set during WW1 / 2 and even Iraq / Afghanistan, so I thought it was kind of an interesting gap. I haven't read it yet, but TE Grau's I Am the River is set in North Vietnam during the end of the war. I think someone in here read it though. Bilirubin maybe?
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 06:44
|
|
|
Grizzled Patriarch posted:Kind of a weird request but does anyone know of any horror novels set during the Vietnam War? I realized there's some stuff floating around that deals with the aftermath back home in the US, but I couldn't really think of any novels set during the conflict itself. There's a decent amount of horror set during WW1 / 2 and even Iraq / Afghanistan, so I thought it was kind of an interesting gap. I got you man. Recently read Grimweave by Tim Curran and it sounds like what you're looking for https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YM7NCQ6/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title It's a shorty at 149 pages but its a fit for what you're asking
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 06:46
|
|
|
Koko by Peter Straub, maybe? It is set after the war with flashbacks to the war itself so it may not be exactly what you're looking for.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 06:56
|
|
|
Grizzled Patriarch posted:Kind of a weird request but does anyone know of any horror novels set during the Vietnam War? I realized there's some stuff floating around that deals with the aftermath back home in the US, but I couldn't really think of any novels set during the conflict itself. There's a decent amount of horror set during WW1 / 2 and even Iraq / Afghanistan, so I thought it was kind of an interesting gap. Mmmaybe not horror but this might be of interest: The Healer's War by Elizabeth Anne Scarborough. quote:This eventually leads to a strange, almost surrealistic journey through the jungle, accompanied by a one-legged boy and a battle-seasoned but crazed soldier—as McCulley struggles to find herself and a way to survive through the madness and destruction.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 15:12
|
|
|
MockingQuantum posted:I haven't read it yet, but TE Grau's I Am the River is set in North Vietnam during the end of the war. I think someone in here read it though. Bilirubin maybe? Yep I did and I really really liked it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 18:37
|
|
|
Hi thread I would like a suggestion. In the last year this is the horror I've read: Obscura - Joe Hart Life Expectancy - Dean Koontz Disappearance At Devil's Rock - Paul Tremblay Growing Things - Paul Tremblay John Dies At The End - David Wong North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud A Head Full Of Ghosts - Paul Tremblay Night Of The Mannequins - Stephen Graham Jones The Deep - Nick Cutter People Live Still In Cashtown Corners - Tony Burgess The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones The Fireman - Joe Hill We Need To Do Something - Max Booth III I can't find anything that interests me now. Y'all seem to know a lot. Can someone give me a rec?
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:23
|
|
|
Answer the following three questions 1. I prefer my antagonist to be ...more monstrous ...more psychological 2. I prefer my setting to be ... more grounded in reality ... more supernatural 3. My definition of horror is ... more traditional (books marketed as "horror", etc) ... open to elaboration (books that aren't horror but may still induce feelings of dread or fear)
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:30
|
|
|
sephiRoth IRA posted:Answer the following three questions More psychological. More grounded in reality. Open to elaboration. Out of what I read in that list, A Head Full Of Ghosts was my favorite.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:34
|
|
|
Untrustable posted:More psychological. You might be interested in: - Home Before Dark by Riley Sager - The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R Kiernan They're very different books and I enjoyed them both for different reasons.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:38
|
|
|
Untrustable posted:More psychological. Read Brian Evenson's short story collections, maybe starting with Windeye. Then maybe some Laird Barron, at least if you don't mind tough-guy noire protagonists. EDIT: It's definitely more supernatural and less grounded, but read Ballingrud's Wounds collection. It's just a relentlessly great romp through some literal hells. Another edit: Maybe also Daryl Gregory's We Are All Completely Fine? It's about a support group for people who've survived encounters with strange and monstrous things. a foolish pianist fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Mar 3, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:40
|
|
|
a foolish pianist posted:EDIT: It's definitely more supernatural and less grounded, but read Ballingrud's Wounds collection. It's just a relentlessly great romp through some literal hells. Everyone praises "Skullpocket" and "The Visible Filth," but "The Butcher's Table" was so loving cool. I want more stories like that.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:48
|
|
|
Fitzy Fitz posted:Everyone praises "Skullpocket" and "The Visible Filth," but "The Butcher's Table" was so loving cool. I want more stories like that. I feel like The Butcher’s Table definitely gets a lot of praise, it was nominated for the World Fantasy Award (and is my personal favourite). The Visible Filth of course got adapted into a movie but not sure Skullpocket has stood out that much hype-wise.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 19:56
|
|
|
Yeah I'm probably wrong about that. I just really liked it and didn't expect it at all.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:01
|
|
|
Anyone looking for something new should check out The Weird edited by edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. It's got over 100 stories, each by a different author, so it's a great sampler platter of all sorts of weird horror and an excellent way to discover new writers. There's also a few stories in there that are hard to find elsewhere.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:19
|
|
|
Untrustable posted:More psychological. Twenty Days of Turin - Giorgio De Maria A Lush and Seething Hell - John Jacobs The Tenant - Roland Topor
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:26
|
|
|
https://www.humblebundle.com/books/supermassive-scifi-fantasy-horror-tachyon-books Surprisingly great spread in this, especially the Kiernan!
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:29
|
|
|
Untrustable posted:More psychological. Night Film.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:31
|
|
|
I have taken all of your suggestions and made a list. I'm gonna start with Wounds and go from there. Thank you!
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:46
|
|
|
Just FYI all but this months BotM is Carrier Wave and it has some cosmic horror going on in it (I am only two stories in so far) and is quite good. The author has put the kindle on sale today (US Amazon) in honor of our book club taking it on this month. Go get it!
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 20:58
|
|
|
Thanks for the recommendations guys! All of those look great and most of them I can snag through scribd so that's perfect.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 21:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 20, 2024 01:29 |
|
|
Picked up Carrier Wave because that's a good deal. Also grabbed Wounds and Home Before Dark to get into y'all's recommendations.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2021 21:03
|
|