Some M.R. James Love

Horror fans know that during the early years of the 20th century, M.R. James was THE ghost story writer.  Yesterday, The Guardian ran this editorial in praise of James.

Check out the comments too.

Best Horror of 2010

Over on the Readers' Advisor Online, Cindy posted this list of the Best Horror of 2010:

Laird Barron – Occultation
Robert Jackson Bennett – Mr. Shivers
Justin Cronin – The Passage
Ellen Datlow, ed. – Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror (short stories)
Stephen M. Irwin – The Dead Path
Stephen King – Full Dark, No Stars
Jeff Lindsay - Dexter Is Delicious
John Ajvide Lindqvist – Handling the Undead
Dan Wells – Mr. Monster
Dave Zeltserman – The Caretaker of Lorne Field 

For the record, not all of these titles are horror in the strictest definition of the genre, but they will all appeal to your horror fans.  I also highly recommend Handling the Undead and Full Dark, No Stars on Cindy's list.  I have not reviewed these books personally, but they are good.

I am happy to see them recognizing horror not only at Halloween, but to their list I would like to add a few others.  Here are my personal favorite horror and horror-esque titles that I read in 2010.  All links are to my full reviews.

• The Passage by Justin Cronin (this was the absolute BEST book I read all year)
• Horns by Joe Hill
• Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
• Feed by Mira Grant
• The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
• Sparrow Rock by Nate Keyon

Other 2010 titles I would suggest to horror readers would be: 

• Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
• Dweller  by Jeff Strand
• A Dark Matter by Peter Straub
• Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene
• Pariah by Bob Fingerman
  

Finally, I keep a review index of horror titles I have reviewed on this blog.  It is in the right gutter of every page of the blog.  Click here to access it right now.  These are only my original reviews.

Do you have a favorite that I forgot from 2010?  Share it with me by leaving a comment.

Frankenstein Exhibition

The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford is presenting an exhibition on Mary Shelley which includes a handwritten manuscript of Frankenstein.

Click here to read an article about the exhibition.  If you have plans to be in Oxford before March 27th, I would suggest checking it out.

If you cannot make it, here is the link to the exhibition guide.

Just Finished the Manuscript

Minutes ago I typed my last sentence of the new book (pending revisions of course).  It is not the last line in the book, but it was the last one I wrote.  As a teaser (and to celebrate) I thought I would share it here.

The chapter is on the books dealing with Monsters and Ancient Evil, and it is the last line of the text which proceeds the list:

On the other hand, for many readers this peek into an illicit world ruled by revenge, murder, and mayhem is one of the most important appeal factors fueling the continued interest in the monster and ancient evil story.

Now I will take a breath before I begin to get the book ready for its Spring/Summer 2011 release.

Zombie Round-Up

Continuing the current zombie craze, EW has The Walking Dead on its cover this week.  Of course, I love this show, but I am glad to see others are appreciating it.  Make sure you have enough copies of the Robert Kirkman graphic novel series (on which the show is based) on your shelves too.

And just in case you haven't been gathering zombie readalikes for the hordes of fans shambling into your library asking for more, Library Journal had this roundup of the best zombie books for adults right now. If you have a sizable zombie readership at your library, I would consider purchasing all of these titles.  We have most of them in the BPL's collection.

Hopefully, this list will keep the zombie apocalypse at bay....for now.

Sneak Peek at the New Book Cover

Well, I am just about done writing the new book.  I will be done by Friday and then it is time for edits.  I have to say, I am really happy with it.  This second edition is a complete overhaul.  The feedback I have gotten from actual librarians who have read the drafts is also very good.

While I have been busy writing, the people over at ALA Editions have been busy with the marketing of the book.  The book will appear for pre-order in the Spring-Summer ALA Editions catalog which goes out in February, but they have allowed me to share this sneak peek at the new cover.

As my daughter said, "that is creepy cool."  I agree.  I am also happy to see the silly subtitle has been removed.

So, bear with me on this blog.  There will not be many updates until the book is done, since all of my original thoughts about horror are going into the book.  But I promise it will be worth the wait.

Dark Scribe Interview With Douglas Clegg

Douglas Clegg has been a solid horror writer for many years now.  He appeals to a wide audience as his stories and novels combine horror, fantasy, and suspense.  The uniting factor in his work is an edgy supernatural presence.  These are not the paranormal tales of Sookie Stackhouse.  Think more Tom Piccirilli, Robert McCammon, and early Dan Simmons.

In honor of the re-release of his classic, Neverland, Clegg sat down with Dark Scribe Magazine to talk about his life and his work.  He touches on his process, issues of genre, and future work.  Click here to read the full interview.

Amazon Cops Out on Horror Best List

After releasing their overall top 100 last week, Amazon began publishing their genre top 10 lists.  As I was looking through them, I noticed there was not a top horror list.  Okay, I thought, that's fine.  That is, I thought that until I looked at this top 10 list for "Mystery and Thriller:"

• Faithful Place: A Novel
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
• The Passage
• Moonlight Mile
• So Cold the River
• Full Dark, No Stars
• Worth Dying For
• Rock Paper Tiger
• Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novels)
• Horns: A Novel

This list has 3 horror titles in it: The Passage, Full Dark, No Stars, and Horns!  If 3 of the top 10 "Mystery and Thriller" novels are pure horror books, why not have a horror list, Amazon?

Don't get me wrong, I am VERY happy that 3 horror titles are in this list, but if there are that many great horror books this year, shouldn't they get their own list? Just asking.

Where Are All The Great New Horror Books

Blogger Michael Ferrante wrote this interesting essay for io9 entitled, "Where Are All the Great New Horror Books."

From the essay:

Of course there is always the Horror Writers Association purveyor of the fine Bram Stoker awards whose winner and nomination list will most definitely provide some fascinating and noteworthy titles. But many titles aren't the type of horror I'm looking for. For example 2009 First Novel winner Damnable by Harry Schwaeble and 2009 Best Novel nominee Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry look to fall squarely into the "action-horror" blend that, while certainly entertaining, isn't the type of horror I'm really looking for.

He also goes on to talk about the problem of locating true horror at the bookstore due to the fact that it is interfiled with science fiction and fantasy quite often.  He also mentions the curse and blessing of the small presses. (Click here for more on that issue)

While Ferrante has many good points, I disagree with his overall point that there is not a lot to love in horror today.  I have been spending the last 6 months immersed in horror, and I think it is in a much better state than back in 2002 when I was working on the first edition of the book. I think the appeal range of titles has grown, I think the quality has improved, and I think the accessibility has increased.

Much of this argument will be presented in the new book (which is almost done!). But I will give one major example now.  When I wrote the first book, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice were still ruling the genre, after almost 30 years of dominance.  Now, while those names are still very popular, we have two new kings of horror, who are legitimate best sellers in their own right: Joe Hill and Jonathan Maberry.  Both write a range of types of horror also, not just the action-horror Ferrante refers to in his essay.

I think we are entering a new golden age of horror.  Further evidence: Amazon.com listed The Passage as the number 16 best book of 2010. And that is of all books, fiction, and nonfiction!

Anyway, that is just my two cents added on to Ferrante's.  Go back to the original essay and read the comments he got there too.

Review: American Vampire

Before Halloween I read the first bound issue of American Vampire, the brand new graphic novel series written by Scoot Snyder and Stephen King and illustrated by Rafael Albuquereque.


There was much excitement surrounding the release of this book.  First, it is Stephen King's first origin straight to graphic novel story.  But, second, and even more important and exciting, American Vampire marks the solid return of the super evil vampire.


Can you tell I liked it?


Here is the basic plot info.  The story is told in two time periods.  The "present" of the story is 1925 Hollywood and follows a young starlet, Pearl, as she tries to make it big in the movie industry.  The flashback sections of the story happen a generation ago, in the Wild West.


What you need to know before you begin, is that the uniting force between these 2 stories is Skinner, who has become a "new world vampire," and is out to get the "old world vampires" who cannot stand sunlight and seem to control all of the money and power in the American West.


Skinner appears to have no weaknesses. He is vampire through and through, but he can be out in broad daylight.  But over the course of the book we see him learn about his own limitations. He is evil, but has a sense of justice.  As the story goes along, he turns Pearl, and the two are just beginning what I hope will be a long journey of terror and destruction, all in the name of a warped sense of justice.


In terms of appeal, this is a stunning book.  The main color scheme and style is well represented in the cover image above.  The drawings of Pearl and Skinner in full vampire mode are terrifying.  It was disconcerting how much I liked them despite how evil they look. I liked this, but those looking to totally sympathize with Skinner and Pearl may be disappointed.


This is a violent and disturbing book, where people are murdered and decapitated. Innocent people die and there is no truly good hero.  This is a true work of horror.

Interestingly, there is a huge appeal factor in the setting.  Many people like to read anything and everything about the Wild West and/or the Golden Age of Hollywood.  Obviously, some readers may need a word of warning about the violence here, but I book talked this to a reader who was only mildly interested until I mentioned the setting, and then he couldn't wait to start reading it.

Three Words That Describe This Book: vampires, western, violent

Readalikes: If you want to read more horror graphic novels check out the Locke and Key series by Joe Hill, The Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman, or the Hellboy series by Mike Mignola.

I also felt that my alternating love and disgust for Skinner and Pearl reminded me of Ig in Horns by Joe Hill.

For more scary vampires you can also try The Passage.


For those who want to try a western, if you haven't read Louis L'Amour before, go to the library and check out Hondo.  There is a lot of similarity here.  I have had students read Hondo in the past.  Click here to see what they have had to say.

For those who liked the Golden Age of Hollywood setting and its focus on the underbelly here, try Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken.  Trust me, it might not be horror, but it is a dark look at the entertainment industry.

Small Horror Publishers

Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran this article about Cemetery Dance, one of a number of excellent small horror publishers.

I keep an index of small horror presses here at RA for All: Horror.  So if you want to know more about these niche publishers, click here.

Also let me know if your favorite is not listed here.

Talking About Horror Books on the Radio

Today I was the guest on Wisconsin Public Radio's Kathleen Dunn Show.  It was all about horror books. I spoke for an hour about horror fiction, and took calls about people's favorite horror books.  If you are looking for something scary to read this weekend, check it out.

Click here to download the program.

Click here to access the Kathleen Show Facebook Page which will include a list of all of the books mentioned.

Guardian's Top Ten Ghost Stories

Real quick, today the Guardian posted a list of author Kate Mosse's favorite ghost stories.  Here is the link.

Monsters: Big vs. Little

Horror readers love to be scared. We read horror book because we love to feel anxious and unsettled. Horror books explicitly try to induce terror out of the reader; but what actually frightens each reader is extremely personal. To make the issue even more tricky, what scares an individual reader can also change over time. (Read the new book in 2011 for a longer discussion of this issue.)

Not only does each person find different things scary, but as this article in io9 points out, what scares us as a culture also morphs over time. Here specifically, the author considers why small monsters have replaced larger ones in horror novels and films. It is an interesting point.

From the article:

That's one of the many, many reasons small scares are worse than big ones. Big monsters rely on power, on being extraordinarily huge and vicious. Small creatures are already part of your everyday life. A movie about a big creature has to establish how powerful it is, how it can get from place to place, how it can manage to hide and suddenly pop out of nowhere when you thought you were safe. Small critter movies don't have to do any of that. They just have to rely on what you already know. Small things can already find their way into you safe spaces. Everyone has tried to patch up all the small holes in their house, has tried to seal up their tents, has tried to shake out their clothes and their sheets, only to find the bugs coming back. No one wonders how small creatures get from place to place. They're everywhere. Always. And of course, no one has to wonder how small things hide.

Click through to the entire article to read all of the comments too. This article sparked quite a conversation.

New Horror Nonfiction Books

Halloween is a popular time to release horror books, both fiction and nonfiction. While I mostly cover the fiction here, I am happy to report that there are a few new nonfiction books that you should consider acquiring for your library.

• The Horror! The Horror!: Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You to Read! by Jim Trombetts takes a look at the US Senate hearings that censored some of the very best 1950s horror comics.  The Graphic Novel Reporter favorably reviewed Trombetts' book here.
• Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi's landmark 1996 biogrpahy, H.P. Lovecraft: A Life is being released in 2 volumes, entitled I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft. Publisher's Weekly genre fiction reviewer and Lovecraft scholar Peter Cannon has this review.
• Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators by Rocky Wood and illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne, offers a compelling, graphic history of horror. A review from The Black Glove can be found in the middle of this post. 

Bring a Zombie to Book Club

Over on Book Group Buzz, Neil Hollands had this post on the best zombie books for book discussion groups. What I like most about his post is that it considers the literary merit of these genre titles.

If you like what he has to say here, check out Neil's new book Fellowship in a Ring: A Guide for Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Groups.

The Walking Dead Coming to AMC and a City Near You

This Halloween, AMC is premiering their new series The Walking Dead, based on the immensely popular graphic novel series of the same name by Robert Kirkman.

Click here for the official web site and to watch a few clips.

As excited as I am about the new show, I am even more interested in the actual zombie invasion that AMC is staging in 26 cities around the world...TODAY!!! Here is a link to the official press release.

So if you thought you saw a zombie this morning as you went to work, don't worry, you are not seeing things.

Haunting Reads

This time of year everyone is looking for a horror suggestion, but many do not be prepared for the real thing.  The folks at Books on the Nightstand are here to help you help these patrons.  They devoted a portion of their popular podcast to haunting reads this week. Here is the link to the podcast and their written summary with title suggestions.

Personally, I had read every single one of these books and would whole-heartedly agree with their suggestions.

So if you are looking for haunting titles that appeal even to the squeamish, click here.

Everyone's Talking About-- Let the Right One In

John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let the Right One In (recently renamed to match the movie title), a Swedish horror novel, is all the rage in America right now. The movie is getting good reviews and Lindqvist's new book, Handling the Undead is getting rave reviews.

Back in 2009, Laura read Let the Right One In for the RA class and she posted this annotation on the class blog. Way to be ahead of the curve, Laura. I hope Laura's annotation helps you to help your readers. Here is is re-posted.

Title: Let the Right One In (Let Me In) (Låt den rätte komma in)
Author: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Genre: Horror
Publication Date: 2008
Number of Pages: 480
Geographical Setting: Sweden (suburbs of Stockholm)
Time Period: Present day
Series: no

Plot Summary:
Oskar is a struggling 12 year old who collects articles about serial killers and murders. He is tortured at school, and since his parents divorce his home life is not much better. Life in general is gray and lonely for Oskar until his new neighbors move in, an old man and his young daughter. Late one night Oskar meets Eli, the young androgynous looking girl. Right away Oskar notices that she is odd. She is pale like Oskar, but smells bad (like rotten meat) and in the dead of winter and she has no coat, and no socks and shoes. They form a friendship as lonely outcasts of a small town. She encourages him to stand up to the bullies at school, and he becomes her closest confident. Due to Oskar’s slightly morbid side he is neither shocked or frightened when Eli tells him that she survives on blood, and that the old man is not her father, but an aging pedophile who kills for her in exchange for money and the promise that one day he can touch her. The old man is soon caught by the police, and now Eli must fend for herself. Fearing that the town is suspicious of her she says her goodbyes to Oskar and leaves. Life goes on with out his only friend, until it is almost ended at the hands of his bullies. In the midst of a swim practice the boys gang up on Oskar and try to drown him. Eli intervenes in a gruesome way, she pulls Oskar from the blood filled pool and they escape together.

Subject Headings: Vampires, 12 year old boys, Revenge, Swedish Horror

Appeal: Vampire, Horror, coming of age, Sweden, Bullies, twisted love story, Dark, Sad, Lonely, Gruesome, character centered, Controversial, Mysterious, Suburban, Cold, Morbid, Divorce.

3 Terms that best describe this book: Lonely, Dark, Friendship

3 fiction read alikes

Popular music from Vittula: a novel by Mikael Niemi

(Looks at life in a small Swedish village during the 1960s and its colorful inhabitants, including an African missionary, a German tourist who happens to be an ex-Nazi, and a music teacher who has no fingers on his right hand.)

The princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson

(When the mutilated body of the local reformed troublemaker is found, Inspector Ann Lindell takes time off from maternity leave to uncover the killer and is drawn into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a vicious murderer.)

Depths: a novel by Henning Mankell

(Swedish naval officer Lars Tobiasson-Svartman finds himself attracted to a young widow whose wild nature is in total contrast to his wife’s reserved personality.)

3 non-fiction read alikes

The dead travel fast: stalking vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula by Eric Nuzum

(A cultural exploration of vampire lore and the lifestyles it has inspired)

Fight scenes by Greg Bottoms

(Suburban male coming of age vignettes from around the U.S.)

Real Vampires by Daniel Cohen

(Argues that vampires are not merely creatures of fiction, and provides instances of real-life encounters with vampires from Middle Europe to Middle America, from medieval to modern times)

Name: Laura