Horror Aficionados discussion

Finished book 141 of the year. A reread of MISERY by Stephen King.

Still packs a punch, and it's a masterclass in plotting a tightly controlled setting and limited viewpoint character.

finished off....



a fun read, not my absolute favorite of Keene but him at his most average is still enough to keep me engaged most of the time!

also tried to to get through...



a really dark read, but unfortunately just wasn't doing it for me, the writing was all over the place and messy, maybe I just didn't get it? Will have to mark it as DNF which is something I don't like to do!

William wrote: "Finished book 141 of the year. A reread of MISERY by Stephen King.

Still packs a punch, and it's a masterclass in plotting a tightly controlled setting and limited viewpoint character."

A personal favorite of mine, Willie. I need to re-read it myself.

Thomas wrote: "finished off....



a fun read, not my absolute favorite of Keene but him at his most average is still enough to keep me engaged most of the time!

also tried to to ..."

Bummer on the SGJ book. His work doesn't always do it for me, but when it works? It works well. :)

I finished Midnight in the Graveyard, which I thought was an excellent anthology. I also finished listening to Kill Switch which as of right now, is my favorite in the Joe Ledger series so far.

Finished this book by Darcy Coates:

It definitely has some mixed reviews, but I really liked it. I thought it had some really creepy parts.

The Obelisk Gate

finished...



great read, kinda wish I had just started from the first in series now but will be checking them out in the near future.

I really enjoyed Pride & Prometheus by John Kessel. The author did a superior job depicting Victor's Creature, much as Mary Shelley and I did in our Frankenstein novels. There are some frightening moments and I will be looking over my shoulder on London nights evermore.

Just finished F PAUL WILSON's THE TOMB. Lovely pulpy stuff.

Makes me want to dive into all the Repairman Jack books all over again.

I thoroughly enjoyed Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrieff. Blending folklore with horror and actual events, this is one that kept me company through the wee small hours. Scary and satisfying

14

It was ok, kind of weird.

Managed to squeeze in The Broker of Nightmares by Jon Padgett between my two current readings.

A short one that can be finished within a single afternoon. A weird little tale that sadly didn't strike a chord like I thought it would.

Finished off this last night, the writing was really great. Like VanderMeers style. The characters and plot felt a little rushed though, was totally different to the film (i'd say in a good way though)

Interested in reading further but reading some of the reviews on the second book, it seems it dips in quality and lack of plot development so will hold off for a while.

Finished the great . Interesting and fun read. I saw a few familiar books I read as a teen, including the Ruby Jean Jensen titles I used to love.

William wrote: "Just finished F PAUL WILSON's THE TOMB. Lovely pulpy stuff.

Makes me want to dive into all the Repairman Jack books all over again."

Yassss...loved the Repairman Jack series. I think I might have two more of those to catch up on.

Catherine wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrieff. Blending folklore with horror and actual events, this is one that kept me company through the wee sma..."

I've heard nothing but good things about her work!

Dominik wrote: "Managed to squeeze in The Broker of Nightmares by Jon Padgett between my two current readings.

A short one that can be finished within a single afternoon. A weird ..."

Have you read The Secret of Ventriloquism? It slayed me.

Kelly B wrote: "Finished the great . Interesting and fun read. I saw a few familiar books I read as a teen, including t..."

Good news! I believe her books will soon be re-released, at least as Ebooks.

Over the weekend I finished by Gregor Xane. It was a SUPER weird tale, or bizarro fiction.
I also finished . I don't even know what to say about this one. It was literary, funny and strange all at once. Loved it!

Lastly, I finished by Nicole Cushing. This was yet another weird tale from a talented author, excellent but perhaps a bit too long. Still-there are sentences and visions from this book that have now seared their gray selves into my brain.

Char wrote: "Have you read The Secret of Ventriloquism? It slayed me."

I've yet to read it. It is on my radar, but I've got a few things I want to get through first. Eventually, I'll get to it.

The Freakshow 4/5

Every time I read a Bryan Smith book I never want to put it down, at least not for long.

Yesterday I finished The Girl in Red, which had some lovely, disgusting moments but still wasn't as good as Alice, in my opinion. But then, I'm not big on zombie apocalypses.

My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Char wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed Those Who Came Before by J.H. Moncrieff. Blending folklore with horror and actual events, this is one that kept me company t..."

She's a brilliant writer, Char. You're in for a treat!

I’ve got through a couple horrors in the month of November.
I also finished up two non fiction books, non fiction November, right?


4*
This book held my attention reasonably well throughout. This is my first book from this author and I enjoyed his writing style, and how he structures the dialogue exchanges. Included is a enjoyable twist towards the latter third of the book, which was played out pretty realistically, I thought, and was one I did not see coming.


4.5*
An incredibly atmospheric read. Slow and perfectly paced, depicting a way of life iconic with lazy summer days. The dialogue has authentic, Southern twang which I really enjoyed. The creepy nature, the level of descriptiveness, the setting - loved it!

Char wrote: "Kelly B wrote: "Finished the great Paperbacks From Hell The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction by Grady Hendrix . Interesting and fun read. I saw a few familiar books I read as a teen, including the Ruby Jean Jensen titles I used to love.

Good news! I believe her books will soon be re-released, at least as Ebooks.
"

Oooooooo, that's exciting news! I did some digging, and came across a Facebook page dedicated to Ms. Jensen. It looks like one book is already out, with a few more being released in 2020.

The Feast of All Souls by Simon Bestwick. I was absolutely blown away by it. One of those stories you begrudge any time spent away from.

Just finished - Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Dark and poetic. Wonderful.

The Overlook


It was okay, the ending seemed a bit unfinished.

Finished yesterday. Very good book. Weird, imaginative and well written. 4/5

fantastic, creepy little ghost/haunted house story! Really enjoyed it and genuinely gave me the creeps in parts! Even checked if the door was locked haha!

Great book with some spooky parts. A bit gorier than his other books (at least the ones I've read).

And that is book #202 read this year, breaking last year's record. And still over 3 weeks to go. Bam! Let's turn it up a notch!

Congrats, Alan!

Alan wrote: "

And that is book #202 read this year, breaking last year's record. And still over 3 weeks to go. Bam! Let's turn it up a notch!"

WOW! Nice effort!

The Enemy

A little too juvenile for me.

Just finished misery

I finished by Chris Sorensen and enjoyed it. I immediately picked up the sequel.
I also finished
by Stephen Gregory.
Ever since I read Gregory's novel I fell in love with his writing. ON DARK WINGS features stories about all kinds of winged creatures. LOVED it!

^ now that's what I call a very satisfied customer!

Boy this was a strange one, the writing was beautiful. But it was like an acid trip throughout the entire thing. Can't tell if Ioved it or hated it, so sitting on it for a while to digest and try and get a review soon!

Book #204

Presumed Innocent

Eh, I know this is hailed as one of the best legal thrillers out there and it very well could be but to me it just felt over bloated and dated. The twist at the end was nice but it wasn't shocking.

Last month I read these (November):

- 4 stars
- 4 stars
- 4 stars
- 5 stars
- 5 stars

Kasia wrote: "^ now that's what I call a very satisfied customer!"

Right?

Thomas wrote: "

Boy this was a strange one, the writing was beautiful. But it was like an acid trip throughout the entire thing. Can't tell if Ioved it or hated it, so sitting..."

That happens to me too sometimes. Most recently with Nicole Cushing's A Sick Gray Laugh.

Marie wrote: "Last month I read these (November):

- 4 stars
- 4 stars
- 4 stars
[bookcover:Midnight in t..."

Looks like you've had some great reads last month, Marie!

Char wrote: "Marie wrote: "Last month I read these (November):

- 4 stars
- 4 stars
- 4 stars
[bookcover..."

Thank you, Char! It was an awesome month and I was happy that was able to squeeze all those books in there! :)

I finished Wuthering Heights and although it and its writing , i can t say i was too fond of the main characters.

pretty underwhelmed, writing was really beautiful at times and quirky but nothing happened until 60/70% into it. Even then it was pretty predictable and not that exciting! Ah well on to the next one!

Just finished The Hunger by Alma Katsu
My review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Pretty decent and gnarly read, with some interesting characters! Impressed as its my first read of this author :)

Only Human

Okay conclusion to the series.