What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

and I am more inclined to getting the third book Loop now. Ring and Spiral can be read as separate stand alone novels, but I enjoyed them so I would like to read Suzukis other books.

just a small non related to the books gripe but related to one of my comments. one of my peeves is younger people these days want things spoon fed to them and never want to read a long story or flesh out anecdote. it really bugs me when I see comments on other places saying did not read - too long and its only a post of just 2 or 3 paragraphs.
it just makes me despair.
sorry I will go be quiet now.

I’ve thought about picking Ring up for a while, especially since I liked the movie (though it’s been 20 years since I’ve seen it), but have never pulled the trigger on it.

It’s one of those books that always seems to make the lists for best contemporary horror novels.

B

[Hermit]

I tend to ignore all those type of lists, I hate to be dictated and told what to do. lol. the few times I have read a book because its been hyped up, ive absolutely hated it. of course I have also read and enjoyed books that have made these lists, but I now only read things that appeal to me. could be when they are newly published or it could be a few years later. I do things for my own enjoyment, I recommend books and other things but I dont like to pressure folks. :-)

[sholloman81]

Reading Gone To See The River Man by Kristopher Triana.

It’s the first thing I’ve read by Triana, and at the half way point I’d say it merits the mostly positive reviews I’ve seen about it.

There is a genuinely surreal & creepy feel to the story.

Looking forward to seeing how the second half goes.

B

Love this book! Made me a huge Triana fan. If you end up enjoying it, you should definitely check out the sequel, Along the River of Flesh, which was released a couple of months ago.

[brlesh]

Finished Gone to See the River Man by Triana.

It was a very disturbing & twisted read. Not over the top gore-wise, but definitely a dark piece of fiction.

Next up, almost half way through October Screams, an anthology of Halloween horror stories.

I liked the story by Ronald Malfi and a couple of the others, but up to this point this anthology has been more miss than hit.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading Christopher Golden's "All Hallows". I'm a big Golden fan, but this book missed the mark for me. It wasn't a bad read per se; however, it took way too long to get to the actual horror portion of the book. By the time that it finally did, I was pretty much over the story. That being said, there were some cool ideas and some characters that I really liked and was sad to see killed-off. I also thought that the scenes dealing with marital infidelity rang quite true and were perhaps the scariest part of the book. Overall, I would give this a C- grade. While I am glad to have read this, I doubt I will revisit it in the future and will most likely trade it in at the local bookstore.

Am now reading Kristopher Triana's "Along the River of Flesh". Only a few pages in and already amazing! That opening line is a doozy!!!

[Sock Monkey]

Just finished reading Christopher Golden's "All Hallows". I'm a big Golden fan, but this book missed the mark for me. It wasn't a bad read per se; however, it took way too long to get to the actual horror portion of the book. By the time that it finally did, I was pretty much over the story. That being said, there were some cool ideas and some characters that I really liked and was sad to see killed-off. I also thought that the scenes dealing with marital infidelity rang quite true and were perhaps the scariest part of the book. Overall, I would give this a C- grade. While I am glad to have read this, I doubt I will revisit it in the future and will most likely trade it in at the local bookstore.

Am now reading Kristopher Triana's "Along the River of Flesh". Only a few pages in and already amazing! That opening line is a doozy!!!

I've always found Golden to be very hit-or-miss for me. I've never read anything particularly bad but neither has anything ever really resonated with me.

I've got like three Triana books in my TBR (Gone to See the River Man, The Thirteenth Koyote, and A Cold Place for Dying). Your praise keeps bumping these up in the pile. Maybe I'll make one of the my next read after I finish Fracassi's Gothic.

[RonClinton]

Starting WHALEFALL by Daniel Kraus...been intrigued by it since its publications a few months ago, and want to see what the acclaim is all about.

[Sock Monkey]

Starting WHALEFALL by Daniel Kraus...been intrigued by it since its publications a few months ago, and want to see what the acclaim is all about.

Just listened to an episode of the podcast COLORS OF THE DARK that had Daniel Kraus as a guest. He talked a bit about this book, his work with Del Toro, along with some interesting insight into how he took over finishing THE LIVING DEAD after Romero passed away. Curious if the premise of WHALEFALL can sustain a whole book. I'd be interested in your thoughts once you finish it.

[RonClinton]

Just listened to an episode of the podcast COLORS OF THE DARK that had Daniel Kraus as a guest. He talked a bit about this book, his work with Del Toro, along with some interesting insight into how he took over finishing THE LIVING DEAD after Romero passed away. Curious if the premise of WHALEFALL can sustain a whole book. I'd be interested in your thoughts once you finish it.

Will do...I have the same skepticism, so we'll see -- but I'm optimistic, given the popularity it's garnered.

I have the SST signed/#d edition of THE LIVING DEAD, but haven't read it yet...maybe if I love WHALEFALL as much as other seem to, it'll inspire me to finally crack it open.

[brlesh]

Finished Dark and Lonely Water by Graeme Reynolds.

It was an OK creature feature about a water witch in the northern part of England.

I liked the first half better than the second. There was a conspiracy plot in the second half that kind of stretched the credibility of the story, though I would have to say that Reynolds nailed the ending.

Up next, The Secret Life of Insects, a collection by Mexican author Bernardo Esquinca.

B

[brlesh]

I've always found Golden to be very hit-or-miss for me. I've never read anything particularly bad but neither has anything ever really resonated with me.

I've got like three Triana books in my TBR (Gone to See the River Man, The Thirteenth Koyote, and A Cold Place for Dying). Your praise keeps bumping these up in the pile. Maybe I'll make one of the my next read after I finish Fracassi's Gothic.

I agree with Golden being a hit or miss author.

Read Road of Bones earlier this year, and liked it as much as any thing else I can remember reading from him.

I actually think he’s better at short form fiction.

I remember really liking his story collection The Secret Backs of Things published by CD about 15 or so years ago.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading Kristopher Triana's "Along the River of Flesh". This book kicked all kinds of ass and was a fantastic sequel to Gone to See the Riverman. If you liked that book or any of Triana's other stuff, you will like this one for sure.  If I had one small issue with this novel, it was that one of the big reveals at the end seemed a bit obvious, especially if you're a veteran horror reader. That being said, the reveal is still quite powerful and will propel the next "Riverman" book should Triana wish to pen it. Overall, I'm very happy to have read this sequel and to own the LE hardback, and I would give it a B- to B rating. 

Am now reading the Thunderstorm Books anthology "Lullabies for Suffering". Have been meaning to get around to this one for a while and now is finally the time! 

[Hermit]

sigh! are there any other British folks that took advantage of the Chizmar pre order deal around the time of august and preordered the second boogeyman book? I had also separately purchased the first one because well, theres no point in trying to read a story if you miss out a part is there? well ive had the first with e for a while and I was waiting to receive the second one before I started to read them. I waited and waited and waited, I start seeing everyones got theres and have read it already.
not a fan of amazon but I only use them under duress because I dont have any bookshops less than a 5 hour return drive away.

anyway sorry for my moan, I really needed to vent.
hopefully now ive cancelled my original preorder and have made a fresh purchase, my book should arrive.

also , when should I expect my signed book plate for the book from CD?

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm Books anthology "Lullabies for Suffering". I really enjoyed this one. Most of the authors were completely new to me and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I trust Thunderstorm to deliver, and they did. I especially loved the stories by John D Taff, Mark Matthews, & Mercedes M. Yardley. Each of their stories wrecked me, and I will be keeping an eye out for more of their stuff! Overall, I would give this anthology a B+ grade as there wasn't a weak sister in the bunch.

Am now reading Ray Garton's "Bestial", the sequel to Ravenous. Have had this on the TBR pile for a while. Figure I better read it now before I completely forget how Ravenous ended, and also because it's never a bad time to read some Garton!

[brlesh]

Finished The Secret Life of Insects by Bernardo Esquinca.

Liked it a lot. More on the quiet horror side.

Fans of Charles Grant should give this short collection by Esquinca a try.

Next up, Skin Medicine by Tim Curran.

Almost half way through, and this is one of the best things I’ve read by Curran in a while.

B