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Friday, April 23, 2010

Question of the Day #38: Are there any other author's books you like, that like SK's are in the horror genre?

In the past few years, I've read his books almost exclusively.  For me, these are the only other authors that I have read in the horror genre. I would love to have some other suggestions on other authors that the readers here feel are worth the read. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this subject.   


Anne Rice Interview With A Vampire
Neil Gaiman (audiobook) The Graveyard Book
G.P. Taylor (young readers) Shadowmancer, Wormwood
F.E. Higgins (ages 12 and up) The Black Book Of Secrets
Joe Hill  Heart-Shaped Box


All of these books, I felt had a great concept that made me want to read any following books in the series or other books by the same author. I still need to finish or "catch up" on some of these series.


*Post your thoughts or opinions in comments.

8 comments:

  1. (Almost) everything by:

    Edgar Allan Poe
    Bram Stoker
    H. P. Lovecraft
    Arthur Machen
    Richard Matheson
    Clive Barker
    James Herbert
    Ramsey Campbell
    Robert McCammon
    Graham Masterton
    Richard Laymon
    Dean Koontz
    John Ajvide Lindqvist

    There are many others but this is a good start.

    D

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  2. I used to read a lot more horror than I do now... I'm more of an SF guy now, so I don't have much in the way of current suggestions. Expect to anti-recommend Koontz. He may have once had it, but his writing has decreased exponentially in the last 10 years.

    As far as to what you've already read: Not that it was really horror so much, but my God, wasn't the audio of The Graveyard Book brilliant? I love Gaiman, that man could read the phonebook and I'd listen t it. Then add the great story too? Wow.

    And, I am assuming you have? But if not, you really need to read 20th Century Ghosts. It is far and away the best collection of short stories I have EVER read. And far better than either of Joe Hill's novels. He should stick to short fiction and comics.

    Sorry to blather!

    ReplyDelete
  3. D. Wow, thanks for the great suggestions. I've read Edgar Allen Poe Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado, so long ago. I recently got a book of all of Poe's works as a gift, I plan to read that at some point. Bram Stoker was another, but have only read the obvious, Dracula. I know that SK has mentioned H.P. Lovecraft and Richard Matheson (Loved watching the Twilight Zone.) I have a few books by Dean Koontz but have yet to read them. Some of the others you mentioned I will have to do some research to see if I recognize any of their work.

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  4. Some call me Tim: The Graveyard Book isn’t horror but is a little dark. My family loved listening to this audiobook. The way Neil Gaiman captured the voices of Miss Lupescu with her lofty presence and Scarlett Amber Perkins’ naïve demeanor and Silas, and Bod…. Oh, he was terrific wasn’t he?
    You said you are a SF guy? My husband likes Fantasy, Fiction, Sci-Fi, Military, and Horror. Do you have any suggestions on new or old SF that he might fancy, that he hasn’t read yet?
    These are some of the different types of authors he’s read in the past:
    Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Star Wars by different authors, Orson Scott Card, Tom Clancy, R. A. Salvatore, Stephen King, Brian Lumley to name just a few. Comics include: Spiderman, X-Men, Wolverine, and Batman.
    Yes, I have read most, but not all of 20th Century Ghosts, guess I should have added that one to the list. The short stories that shocked and surprised me most so far were The Cape, Abraham’s Boys, The Black Phone, The Widow's Breakfast and You Will Hear The Locust Sing. Currently I am in the middle of Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead, and still need to finish the last two stories. (I’ve got so many books going right now my head is spinning.) I will try to finish this one in the next two weeks.
    BTW, love it when you blather. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. For your husband - "Alien" (there are 4 or 5 books like the movies) by Alan Dean Foster, "Swan Song" by Robert McCammon, "Metro 2033" by Dmitry Glukhovsky.

    D

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  6. D. He doesn't have any of those but he loved the "Alien" movies and has been known to read the books after the fact. "Swan Song" sounds really good, you just helped me with his next Father's Day gift Thanks. "Metro 2033" with a video game to boot--he'd love that.

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  7. Sorry it took so long to get back with recommendations for your husband. He and I seem to read on different ends of the SF genre, so I had to mull it over for a bit.

    I tend to favor what is termed "hard SF" where the science is almost a character in itself. Stuff that is heavy into physics, astronomy, biology, that is the kind of reading that really gets me going. Not that all the science has to be immediately plausible, but if someone is traveling faster-than-light between stars, I want a damn good explanation. I read less and less fantasy as the years go by.

    Anyway... I recently started a genre blog - linked through my name - where I talk about new books coming out, or old books that I recently received. But it will probably be more SF than other genres (I did post a rant about Blockade Billy that you may be interested in - the edition, not the story). So maybe he might want to take a peak over there.

    I do have a couple of suggestions though. If he enjoys short stories there is a collection called The Stories Of You Life by a guy named Ted Chiang (It is out of print in the US and unfortunately commands higher than normal prices right now but you can order one at cost from Amazon.co.uk - or in October it is being reprinted again in the US by Small Beer Press). This is a wonderful mix of some science fiction, some fantasy and some non-genre and literally, with maybe the exception of 20th Century Ghosts, represents the best shorts I have ever read. I really think he would like it.

    Another series that I really enjoyed and that he might - especially if he likes military, it's military SF - is John Scalzi's Old Man's War series. It's a really fun and action-y series and has three sequels, if he likes the first. It follows one guy mainly, but is set against a backdrop of humans colonizing the galaxy, sometimes by force. Very entertaining reads.

    Finally, comics. I rarely read the traditional superheros (though I love Batman) but if he is into horror too, I would rec Joe Hill's Locke & Key. Best art/story I have seen in a while. They have just finished the third story arc and you can get the first two in book form. Really good stuff, but they need to be read in order. It's about a family who moves into their ancestral home after the father is murdered and there are all these weird keys. Each one does somethign different (leaving you body, removing memories, make doors open into different places, etc..) and there are some bad people who are after them and the keys. Really good stuff and amazing art.

    That's it for now... my fingers are tired!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Some call me Tim,
    My husband really reads anything he can get his hands on including short stories. He just told me he has read some "hard SF" and some heavy technical books on alternate dimensions, infinite number theory, and the theory of multiple dimensions. Ted Chiang’s 'The Story of Your Life and Others' has quite a lot of awards. We are definitely going to check that one out.
    I mentioned the war series to him and that one got some raised eyebrows. I will look into that one for possibly a gift since it is a series.

    We were so close to buying the 'Locke and Key' comics by Joe Hill now we will have to. Thanks for the great suggestions. Once he reads some of these he can post his thoughts on this post, it may take a little while though. :)
    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete

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