Finished 4 in July.
1. Richard Matheson’s Kolchak Scripts ed. by Mark Dawidziak. An entertaining and nostalgic read of the original made for TV screenplays of The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. The book includes a third unfilmed screenplay that Matheson co-wrote with William F. Nolan, The Night Killers. Matheson’s original screenplays, while humorous at times, retain a real sense of tension and terror to them. The third screenplay, maybe due to the influence of Nolan, was more campy and relied more on humor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the original movies, though I do remember the TV show from the mid 70’s. Well worth the read, especially for anyone that grew up on 70’s horror movies. 4 / 5
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman was at times a frustrating read, though ultimately a rewarding one. Interest in the characters, especially Shadow and Wednesday, kept me going when Gaiman’s pacing became ponderous. In the last third the pacing picks up, a lot of the story lines are explained, and the climatic plot twist is revealed. I’ve enjoyed Gaiman’s short fiction in the past; this is the first novel of his I’ve finished (DNF’d The Ocean at the end of the Lane a few years ago; may need to revisit that one). American Gods wasn’t an easy read, but it was ultimately a worthwhile one. 4.5 / 5
3. Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities and Other Horrors was an anthology of stories about monsters edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey. Too bad most of the stories didn’t have any monsters in them. Good stories by Brian Hodge and Theodora Goss, both involving the Frankenstein theme. The rest of this anthology was pretty forgettable. 2.5 / 5
4. With Teeth was a fun, bloody, and quick (around 100 pages) vampire romp from Brian Keene. Nothing new here, and Keene pretty much rolls out all the traditional vampire tropes in With Teeth.
Includes two short stories, ‘Last Supper’ and ‘Down Under’ that I actually liked more than the main novella. 4 / 5
B
1. Richard Matheson’s Kolchak Scripts ed. by Mark Dawidziak. An entertaining and nostalgic read of the original made for TV screenplays of The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. The book includes a third unfilmed screenplay that Matheson co-wrote with William F. Nolan, The Night Killers. Matheson’s original screenplays, while humorous at times, retain a real sense of tension and terror to them. The third screenplay, maybe due to the influence of Nolan, was more campy and relied more on humor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the original movies, though I do remember the TV show from the mid 70’s. Well worth the read, especially for anyone that grew up on 70’s horror movies. 4 / 5
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman was at times a frustrating read, though ultimately a rewarding one. Interest in the characters, especially Shadow and Wednesday, kept me going when Gaiman’s pacing became ponderous. In the last third the pacing picks up, a lot of the story lines are explained, and the climatic plot twist is revealed. I’ve enjoyed Gaiman’s short fiction in the past; this is the first novel of his I’ve finished (DNF’d The Ocean at the end of the Lane a few years ago; may need to revisit that one). American Gods wasn’t an easy read, but it was ultimately a worthwhile one. 4.5 / 5
3. Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities and Other Horrors was an anthology of stories about monsters edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey. Too bad most of the stories didn’t have any monsters in them. Good stories by Brian Hodge and Theodora Goss, both involving the Frankenstein theme. The rest of this anthology was pretty forgettable. 2.5 / 5
4. With Teeth was a fun, bloody, and quick (around 100 pages) vampire romp from Brian Keene. Nothing new here, and Keene pretty much rolls out all the traditional vampire tropes in With Teeth.
Includes two short stories, ‘Last Supper’ and ‘Down Under’ that I actually liked more than the main novella. 4 / 5
B