|
Fistfull of Books
|
|
The Good
|
Wither by J.G. Passarella. The first novel by Mr. Passarella, and hopefully not the last. Wither is the story of a New England town with a history of witch trials. With their lagging economy, they try to make a tourist industry out of this fact. The only problem is, the witches that were hung way back when are still around and wreaking havok on the town every hundred years. I normally don't enjoy stories featuring "traditional" monsters such as witches, but this is so well done and handled so originally, I couldn't help but love it. Soon to be made into a movie, and appropriately won the Stoker for Best First Novel. A great read. read.
Scary Rednecks and other Inbred Horrors by David Whitman and Weston Ochse. A collection of short stories all revolving around America's favorite Jerry Springer guests, the Redneck. This collection blew me away. Weston and Dave do a tremendous job with each story, giving a more than the usual stereotypical view of Southern folk. Funny, scary, disturbing and touching, this book covers a wide range of emotions. Everyone needs to buy this book. And on a personal note, I'm mentioned in the Acknowledgements section, which is pretty damn cool. :).
|
|
Hannibal by Thomas Harris. - There's really no other way to say it, this book was a huge disappointment. After Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, I was really looking forward to this book. But Harris seems to have been caught up a little too much in his own fame, attempting strange POV shifts and plot twists that just don't make sense. Not only is the story not very good, but it's hard to follow as well. And don't even get me started on the ending. I won't spoil it in case you haven't read it, but I'll tell you one thing. It sucks. If he wasn't already famous, I doubt this book would have ever seen print. Don't waste your time and money on this. Go read Lambs again instead.
|
The Bad
|
|
|
The, uh, All Time Greats
|
This is where I'm going to list the best horror related books I have ever read. I know the next heading should have been the Ugly. Shut up.
Swan Song by Robert McCammon. - This is another book about the world being destroyed, and the supernatural fight of Good vs Evil afterwards. While the basic premise is similar to The Stand, that's where the similarities end. A tremendous story, huge in its scope. Scary, exciting, suspenseful, and heartwarming at different times, this is easily one of the ten best books I have read. I know I'm a sucker for Apocalyptic stories, but this is a great book whether you're a big fan of that stuff or not. Anyone who even mildly enjoyed The Stand will like this book.
The Drive-In books by Joe R. Lansdale. - Imagine a cheesy horror movie in book form. That's what you have with The Drive-In books. A terrific pair of novellas, the idea and presentation are totally original and vintage Joe Lansdale. Anyone who has ever watched a cheesy horror movie and chuckled at some point will want to pick these books up. If I ever write anything half as good as these, I can die a happy man.
|
|
|
|
Favorite Links
|
|
