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Conrad_Birdie posted:I think it was someone in this thread that recommended I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Couldn't put it down, finished it in a couple hours; it was a wave of relief after being supremely disappointed in a book that I had been looking forward to reading ended up being a pretentious slog. But I had no expectations going in to ITOET, and it knocked me off my feet. One of the best novels I've read this year. I also enjoyed the book quite a bit, but only after I was done (if that makes sense). Until then I was busy puzzling out why their interactions seemed so off-putting until everything clicked when they got to his parents' house. It was a pretty good chaser after the insanely stupid, awesome 80s-movie book The Shaft
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Aug 31, 2018 01:36
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I read Black Tom because people said it was good cosmic horror with a different perspective. I didn't realize it was supposed to be a companion piece and I probably still won't read the Lovecraft story.
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Oct 9, 2018 23:09
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Traxis posted:Can anyone recommend any books that have a found footage/mysterious signals/numbers stations vibe? So far I've read: What's your opinion on those books? I'd like to try some out.
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Jan 27, 2019 21:08
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julietthecat posted:Finally, Into the Void by Brett Talley and My Sweet Satan by Peter Cawdron are also about humans in space encountering mysterious vessels and, perhaps, aliens who may not have humans' best interests in mind. Both are pretty bad. Into the Void is reminiscent of Event Horizon, and is by far the better of the two if you do check one out. Brett Talley’s career is way more entertaining than any of his books so just save your money and google his name instead
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Feb 4, 2019 06:11
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let ligotti have a season of true detective
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Feb 12, 2019 01:28
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Is there a place where people have had a good discussion on North American Lake Monsters? I just finished it today and I've got lots of questions about what certain stories were all about since I'm totally thick when it comes to themes and symbolism. I think "Wild Acre" was probably my favorite story. Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Jul 16, 2019 |
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Jul 16, 2019 00:38
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a foolish pianist posted:I think this is the best place on SA to discuss it. Which stories are you wondering about? Mainly the titular one. What was the monster supposed to represent? Why did its substance adhere to the father, and what was the significance of the glow that animals carried away from it as they devoured it? What's the meaning of how the daughter saw the monster when she made her drawing? Is there a horror element here beyond the father struggling to reintegrate with his family after leaving prison and falling back on his (self) abusive behavior? I feel like answering the first question would probably be enough to help me understand the rest.
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Jul 18, 2019 01:59
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Wounds was so good! It’s like Ballingrud took the best elements from Barker’s Books of Blood and Lovecraft’s Kadath stories.
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Aug 4, 2019 18:05
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Catfishenfuego posted:I've now read two collections of Laird Barron and I can safely say I do not like Laird Barron. I don’t either
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Aug 29, 2019 00:45
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Len posted:Are there any other books like Annihilation only good? I really like the style of someone writing about exploring someplace that's just wrong. The Navidson Record was the better part of House of Leaves and the SCPs about that are the best of them. Speaking of which, I just realized that there's a properly formatted eBook of the SCP archive: http://www.scp-wiki.net/ebooks
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Nov 5, 2019 03:06
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unpacked robinhood posted:Check out The Dark Behind the Stars. I wouldn't call it horror but it's pretty bleak and I love it It’s “Beyond,” not “Behind.” Thanks for bringing it up - I read this ages ago but couldn’t remember the title for the life of me. I really liked The Explorer and The Echo by James Smythe (and all the rest of his books, but they aren’t space horror). It’s a weird recommendation because I think his writing is kind of rough but something about it is very evocative. Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Jan 20, 2020 |
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Jan 20, 2020 01:55
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Antivehicular posted:This is immaculate story-reader synergy and I hope it pays off tell him to read that book about the drug mule who fights worms in an apartment building instead
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Feb 3, 2020 03:50
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COOL CORN posted:Two interesting Ballingrud news tidbits: Ah, the Ghosts of Mars novelization is a good get
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Feb 26, 2020 00:49
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I just got around to watching Wounds and it seems to be a fairly straightforward adaptation of The Visible Filth. I recall seeing a lot of complaints that the movie was misleadingly marketed or not what they expected... how so?
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Mar 1, 2020 03:40
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I liked Wounds better than NALM because at the time I read them I was not remotely in the mood for the dreamy metaphors for the American condition in the latter and totally in the mood for the creepy hell skulls in the former.
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Aug 9, 2020 16:24
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It's basically just The Tommyknockers and man that is not a good pull
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Oct 27, 2020 00:30
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Bonaventure posted:my library system doesn't have NALM so i got Wounds instead Wounds is cool as hell
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Nov 16, 2020 03:39
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Artelier posted:I finished North American Lake Monsters, which was excellent! Want to ask if Wounds is as, shall we say, despair-inducing and bleak or is it a different flavour of horror? Because NALM is excellent but it was such a heavy read Wounds is more Clive Barker
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Nov 16, 2020 15:19
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Question about the ending of Carrier Wave: If the humans left alive to repopulate the earth are the ones who can synthesize their own concepts like justice and such without help, then wouldn’t their offspring be immune to a follow-up of the kind of attack that the four beings launched with the signal? The embodiment of Justice said he wanted to plant a seed for a future harvest, if possible, but the beings seemed to undermine their own ability to repeat the harvest by being so indiscriminate. Maybe the farming metaphor goes deeper than I thought!
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Jul 19, 2021 22:00
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Good Citizen posted:I read the Four as concepts and not truly 'killable', and humanity as eventually hosed, unless the immunity that the survivors had was genetic. Even with proper education, imagine anyone with enough motivation had a nuke that could eliminate humanity just by searching out some old hard drives. Once the cycle kicks off that's pretty much it for humanity. The best possible situation humanity can hope for is that the immunity is genetic and then the survivors can track down anyone who survived through methods like the costco colony and kill them all. That was an alternative I thought about but I think the immunity must be genetic, because the rage maniacs were said to be base humans without any gifts whatsoever. Since no more gifts are coming and we know humankind made it their offspring must be chill. On a related note, are there any other books that have the same kind of format of short, related vignettes? The only other example I can think of is World War Z.
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Jul 24, 2021 23:07
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Oh yeah I just think it’s fun to think about. The logic of the world isn’t really the part worth criticizing since the pace is fast enough you don’t really dwell on it. I finally remembered the book that seemed fairly similar in concept and execution: The Testimony by James Smythe quote:A global thriller presenting an apocalyptic vision of a world on the brink of despair and destruction. What would you do if the world was brought to a standstill? If you heard deafening static followed by the words, ‘My children. Do not be afraid’? Would you turn to God? Subscribe to the conspiracy theories? Or put your faith in science and a rational explanation? The lives of all twenty-six people in this account are affected by the message. Most because they heard it. Some because they didn’t. The Testimony – a gripping story of the world brought to its knees and of its people, confused and afraid.
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Jul 25, 2021 15:50
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Yeah not a good descriptor at all. That series is all about how knowable and familiar the threats are even when they're using space magic.
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Oct 14, 2021 15:40
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when domestic healthcare eclipses cosmic horror
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Jan 11, 2023 19:32
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I bought it to read later but I was definitely wary reading the description lol
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Mar 23, 2023 17:26
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General Battuta posted:Okay I thought of a good answer. Smear by Brian Evanson really freaks me out. It's not hide in my room under my covers scared but it makes me intensely uncomfortable. It's short, give it a read. That was a good read but I can't help but feel that dissociating so totally would be a pretty good way to ride out your time given the circumstances.
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Apr 25, 2023 20:19
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The Gone World is incredible. I don't think any sci-fi horror book has stuck with me more.
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Jun 15, 2023 18:41
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I read Ghost Story for the first time this year and thought it was fantastic. It was like a soberly-written King story.
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Jun 16, 2023 14:14
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Jun 30, 2023 17:39
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NASA guy Ed Harris (not that one) claims that Jimmy Carter cried when he learned the horrible truth that aliens made Jesus up to keep us in line UFO conspiracies don’t get nearly the chaos energy that mainstream political conspiracy theories get these days. Sad, imo.
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Jul 11, 2023 00:39
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Edit: nm I mixed up Tomorrow and Tomorrow with Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow when I searched lol
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Jul 17, 2023 14:32
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HouseOfLeaves99 posted:Recently re-read The Stand and was kinda amazed at how often he just threw the n-word around even with characters who probably wouldn't use that word. Some definitely would. Reminded me when Tarantino would go wild with it. Like in True Romance. I'm not a prude at all but it seemed so forced. Was gonna go back and re read other King like TommyKnockers and Salem's Lot. Anything I need to be ready for? I spent 3 days in ISS for It so I already know about it. Stephen got a pass I don’t know under what circumstances but it is clear he got one
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Jul 23, 2023 21:27
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ScootsMcSkirt posted:are there any other good SCP/Annihilation style supernatural investigative stories? Closest I can think of is Carrier Wave, which was extremely compelling at the start but completely fumbled the second half There Is No Memetics Division is a good one
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Sep 21, 2023 15:25
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I'm extremely dense so I'm sure I got none of the themes or subtext in The Cipher but it did do a good job at making me feel grimy and unsettled.
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Oct 1, 2023 23:00
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Thread search SEO is terrible for a name like "FOUND" so apologies if this was covered earlier I read FOUND: An anthology of found footage horror (https://www.amazon.com/FOUND-anthology-footage-horror-stories/dp/0648731529) recently because, like the editors, found footage movies are some of my favorite and I really like stories that take a similar approach in print. This anthology was a mixed bag, but none of the stories overstayed their welcome and a couple stuck with me for a while: Accidents, of a Sort and Green Magnetic Tape
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Oct 1, 2023 23:07
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Ravus Ursus posted:drat man, why can't the spooky thing in the lake just be tje cast of failed experiment of an occultist who got ate by his own hell demon and now is hangs out in a lake eating horny teens? This is Wounds, by the same author
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Oct 10, 2023 00:42
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Yeah it’s way less nuanced and way more Clive Barker in comparison. I enjoyed it a lot more because I felt like a dummy coming away confused by half the stories in NALM.
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Oct 10, 2023 01:02
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Ravus Ursus posted:I don't know that you need to feel dumb. Some of the metaphors are so on the nose that I felt like I just be missing something because it was too obvious. Like the zombie one and guilty. The werewolf one was by far my favorite. That was a really strong story in a lot of ways. The titular story lost me so hard. I kept thinking stuff like “uh is the monster supposed to represent… familial bonds???” or some poo poo and then I’d fall asleep. The Good Husband is a really tough story if you’ve been there with a partner
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Oct 10, 2023 02:53
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Opopanax posted:Wounds/The Visible Filth itself got made into a movie a few years ago Pretty solid movie imo. It's basically a shot-for-shot adaptation for better or for worse.
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Oct 10, 2023 21:15
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Slyphic posted:I don't really want to recommend it, but a good portion of That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley was proper nautical, if a little Cthulhu Mythos played completely straight. I found that book through the Stoker award noms, and then after I finished it I got as far as checking the author's wikipedia page to see what else he'd written and then spent like half an hour going what the gently caress, this is the same person? Yeah I had one of this guy's books on my backlog and just deleted it when I found out who he was.
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Oct 19, 2023 22:05
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Opopanax posted:Jesus The Terror sure is long, hope I can get through this beefy boy before the end of the year I hope you stumble on the paragraph that was literally pasted multiple times and feel like you're hallucinating like I did.
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Dec 4, 2023 20:15
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