What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

Sounds like an interesting read. I have that one on my TBR pile.

I'm re-reading Earth Abides George Stewart. I had forgotten that this one overuses internal dialogue which also tends to bog the narrative down.

Earth Abides is one of those classic novels I’ve always thought I should read, but never get around to picking up a copy.

B

[brlesh]

Finished up The House on the Brink by John Gordon.

This was a short novel that I never got invested in.

At times it was hard to follow (due to the English lexicon, I found myself having to go back and re-read lines or entire passages that didn’t make sense to my American brain), which didn’t allow for any flow to the story.

Up next, Christmas and Other Horrors edited by Ellen Datlow.

I’ve struggled with the last couple of Datlow anthologies I’ve read, so we’ll see how this one goes.

B

[Ben Staad]

Sounds like an interesting read. I have that one on my TBR pile.

I'm re-reading Earth Abides George Stewart. I had forgotten that this one overuses internal dialogue which also tends to bog the narrative down.

Just finished reading the SST LE of Josh Malerman's "Daphne". Really enjoyed this one and haven't quite read a story like it before. Really fun characters and a neat villain. Would love to see this one done as a movie! I do wish that there were fewer journal entries by the main character as they did become a bit repetitive and bogged the story down a bit, but I totally understand why the author used them as they were needed to convey the main character's anxiety. Other than that, the story was top-notch for me. As always, SST did a fine job with the production and art, and you really can't beat their priced for LEs.

Am now reading the Thunderstorm LE of Kristopher Triana's "Slasher vs. The Remake". Am super excited for this one. Any book dedicated to Wes Craven better be scary! Â

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the SST LE of Josh Malerman's "Daphne". Really enjoyed this one and haven't quite read a story like it before. Really fun characters and a neat villain. Would love to see this one done as a movie! I do wish that there were fewer journal entries by the main character as they did become a bit repetitive and bogged the story down a bit, but I totally understand why the author used them as they were needed to convey the main character's anxiety. Other than that, the story was top-notch for me. As always, SST did a fine job with the production and art, and you really can't beat their priced for LEs.

Am now reading the Thunderstorm LE of Kristopher Triana's "Slasher vs. The Remake".  Am super excited for this one.  Any book dedicated to Wes Craven better be scary!  

[brlesh]

Just finished up A Face in the Crowd by King & Stewart O’Nan.

It had a Christmas Carol feel it, just set in the summer.

I liked it a lot, though IMO it’s not as strong a story as The Longest December.

B

[brlesh]

Prior to Holly, I read The Longest December by Richard Chizmar (one half of a two story book, along with A Face in the Crowd by King & Stewart O’Nan).

I really liked The Longest December, a tense mystery that kept me guessing throughout.

Another winner from Chizmar.

B

[brlesh]

Finished up Holly & really liked it.

How many authors out there could have pulled off a story about 80 year old cannibals!

The constant covid harping got old, but King addressed this in the afterward (based on the timing of the story & Holly Gibney’s personality quirks, he felt it was appropriate for the story), and his explanation makes sense.

Next up, the Joe Lansdale Drive-in tribute anthology.

I’m a couple stories in and not really into it

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Centipede LE of Guy N. Smith's "Bats Out of Hell", a first time read/author for me. This book was so much fun and greatly surpassed any expectations that I had for it. Figured it would just be your usual animal-attack story, but the book was much deeper than the title would have one believe. I never expected it to lean into things like virology, or conservationism. I was also amazed at how large of a story Smith was able to cram into such a short novel. Feel like many authors would have padded the book, but he kept it lean and mean, much to its betterment IMO. Overall, I'm glad that I finally pulled this from my TBR stack and gave it a chance, and I'll definitely be looking for more books from Smith. Hopefully, Centipede will go back to the well and do another!

Am now reading the SST LE of Josh Malerman's "Daphne"

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm LE of Stephen Kozeniewski's "Braineater Jones", a first time read/author for me. Wasn't quite sure what to expect, and it definitely subverted any expectations that I had. At first, the story took me a bit to get into as I couldn't quite tell if the author was playing it straight or as a satire, but once that I finally caught on, I quite enjoyed it. Definitely more of a bizarro novel than a horror novel. The book has lots of fun characters, a bonkers plot, and a few very memorable scenes. Overall, I'm glad that I gave the book and author a try and would love to see further adventures for Braineater Jones.

Am now reading the Centipede LE of Guy N. Smith's "Bats Out of Hell", a first time read/author for me.

[Martin]

Half way through Holly by Stephen King and really enjoying it so far.

King really seems to have gravitated to the mystery story (albeit a very dark mystery story) in the latter part of his career, and it is good to get reacquainted with Holly Gibney again.

B

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Holly' and agree it is a mystery. I will add that I could give or take Holly Gibney in earlier stories, but I liked how King showed her growth as a person in this story.

[Ben Staad]

Thank you very the insight. I hadn't read this one yet and was certainly curious about it.

Half way through Holly by Stephen King and really enjoying it so far.

King really seems to have gravitated to the mystery story (albeit a very dark mystery story) in the latter part of his career, and it is good to get reacquainted with Holly Gibney again.

B

[brlesh]

Half way through Holly by Stephen King and really enjoying it so far.

King really seems to have gravitated to the mystery story (albeit a very dark mystery story) in the latter part of his career, and it is good to get reacquainted with Holly Gibney again.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Gauntlet LE of Ray Garton's "Bestial", the sequel to Ravenous. Had never read it before, and man was it a blast. A near pitch-perfect sequel to Ravenous. Some of those scenes were quite hard to read and had me cringing, and I've read quite a bit of hardcore horror in the past. Every time that I read a Ray Garton book, I wonder why he doesn't publish more or isn't more known. His stuff is always fantastic.  

Am now reading the Thunderstorm LE of Stephen Kozeniewski's "Braineater Jones", a first time read/author for me. 

[RonClinton]

I tried reading the new Gene Wolfe horror collection from Sub Press, and found about 1/3 of the way in that Wolfe just isn't for me at the moment. My shelves are too tight to try and introduce books that I didn't care for, so I'll probably throw it up on eBay for a hundred bucks and see what happens...if anyone here needs a Fine/Fine, essentially-as-new copy, let me know and I'll do $85 shipped.

[Sock Monkey]

Didn't know these other Mark Matthews anthologies even existed. I think I'll have to track them down at some point & see if they measure up to Lullabies. Would be cool if Thunderstorm published them as that would practically force me to buy them! I did recently read Matthews Thunderstorm novel, "Hobgoblin of Little Minds" but didn't really care for it. It wasn't bad, just a little bloated IMO. After reading "Lizard" in Lullabies, I think he may be better suited to shorts and novellas.

I still need to get around to Hobgoblin at some point. I bought it off the strength of "Lizard," so I'm a little bummed to hear that it isn't as good. I heard some buzz around his Milk-Blood series a while back, but I haven't had a chance to pick them up. Frankly, all my book money goes to signed limited hardcovers, so paperback books pop up on my radar, but are always relegated to the "someday I'll pick it up" pile.