What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

You know, due to praise on this forum, I bought The Chalk Man through Camelot Books years ago and still have not read it. Due to the ease of doing business with Camelot and, maybe general passivity on my part, I have somehow wound up with a matching numbered set of all of Tudor's Sub Press books, with A Sliver of Darkness just finding its place on the shelf last week. I really need to kick my reading into a higher gear to get caught up on this stuff. Or, you know, at least determine if I like an author before purchasing five limited editions of their work...

Maybe it’s time to crack open one of those Tudor books.  

You might just like it (don’t let Jeff scare you off!).

I would recommend starting with either The Other People or The Burning Girls, both of which were thriller / mysteries with a bit of the supernatural thrown in,

If short stories are more your thing, her collection A Sliver of Darkness was very good, and the stories had a lot more of a supernatural angle to them.

B
 

[dannyboy121070]

I loved HIDDEN PICTURES. I have to admit his 1st novel, which is not horror related, THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS is even better. He also has a thriller titled THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING coming out in October. Only two novels in he is already a must-read author for me.

Thanks for reminding me about that one! I was considering it, and your rec just sealed the deal for me.

[RonClinton]

I loved HIDDEN PICTURES. I have to admit his 1st novel, which is not horror related, THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS is even better. He also has a thriller titled THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING coming out in October. Only two novels in he is already a must-read author for me.

I'm in lockstep with all that. I am a little concerned about THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING as the cover and plot are giving off -- at the risk of sounding a bit misogynistic -- feminine-thriller vibes, those thrillers that swamp the bookstore shelves these days. But given Rekulak's previous two terrific novels, I'm giving the book the benefit of the doubt and will assume it's more original than it appears.

[Martin]

Thanks for reminding me about that one! I was considering it, and your rec just sealed the deal for me.

I failed to also agree with you regarding the illustrations in HIDDEN PICTURES. The images and their progression in the book are perfect for the story! I can't recommend THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS enough. I think I have read it three or four times and will probably re-read it again this summer.

[Martin]

I'm in lockstep with all that. I am a little concerned about THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING as the cover and plot are giving off -- at the risk of sounding a bit misogynistic -- feminine-thriller vibes, those thrillers that swamp the bookstore shelves these days. But given Rekulak's previous two terrific novels, I'm giving the book the benefit of the doubt and will assume it's more original than it appears.

Ron, I believe you are the person who introduced me to Rekulak's stories. So, Thank You! Regarding THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING, the cover art is pretty generic, and I have not read anything about the plot. I do agree that the title alone could portend another story in a well-used trope. Just like you, I am giving the author the benefit of the doubt as I also think HIDDEN PICTURES could have fallen into that trap and he completely avoided it.

[RonClinton]

Ron, I believe you are the person who introduced me to Rekulak's stories. So, Thank You! Regarding THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING, the cover art is pretty generic, and I have not read anything about the plot. I do agree that the title alone could portend another story in a well-used trope. Just like you, I am giving the author the benefit of the doubt as I also think HIDDEN PICTURES could have fallen into that trap and he completely avoided it.

My pleasure...glad he garnered another fan, his work deserves it!

[Sock Monkey]

Maybe it’s time to crack open one of those Tudor books. Â

You might just like it (don’t let Jeff scare you off!).

I would recommend starting with either The Other People or The Burning Girls, both of which were thriller / mysteries with a bit of the supernatural thrown in,

If short stories are more your thing, her collection A Sliver of Darkness was very good, and the stories had a lot more of a supernatural angle to them.

B
Â

Agreed. I've staring at them for quite some time, telling myself that I need to get to them. Thanks for the starting point recommendations and hopefully I can actually get to one before Sub Press publishes another one of her books!

[dannyboy121070]

Ron, I believe you are the person who introduced me to Rekulak's stories. So, Thank You! Regarding THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING, the cover art is pretty generic, and I have not read anything about the plot. I do agree that the title alone could portend another story in a well-used trope. Just like you, I am giving the author the benefit of the doubt as I also think HIDDEN PICTURES could have fallen into that trap and he completely avoided it.

This is what kept me from picking up HIDDEN PICTURES for so long....It sounds like another generic ghost story from the back cover description. So I'm willing to pick up the upcoming book sight unseen and just give it a go.

[Martin]

This is what kept me from picking up HIDDEN PICTURES for so long....It sounds like another generic ghost story from the back cover description. So I'm willing to pick up the upcoming book sight unseen and just give it a go.

I completely understand where you are coming from. Had I not loved THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS so much I probably would have skipped HIDDEN PICTURES.

[brlesh]

Starting John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman (Valancourt edition).

B

[dannyboy121070]

Starting John the Balladeer by Manly Wade Wellman (Valancourt edition).

B

I am just discovering these stories, so please share your thoughts on the book when you get a chance.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Lividian slipcased LE of Robert McCammon's "Seven Shades of Evil". Had read a few of these stories previously; however, I still enjoyed the heck out of this book. IMO, "Wandering Mary" & "The Lady Barbara" were the best stories, but each of the stories with Minx Cutter were super fun too. I would love to read more Minx stories! This series is one of my all-time favorites and I am super stoked for the final book, Leviathan. After that's done, I'm hopeful we'll still get the occasional story set in the "Matthew" world.

Am now reading the Suntup AGE of HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Read the book when it was first released and remember liking it; however, I can only remember the basic premise; so, I'm really looking forward to reading this again, especially the choice Suntup version!

[brlesh]

I am just discovering these stories, so please share your thoughts on the book when you get a chance.

I’ve come across a couple of John the Balladeer stories in the past (I think there was one in Dark Forces, and I believe ‘Vandy, Vandy’ was reprinted in Hartwell’s Dark Descent), though this edition is the first time I am reading a collection by Wellman.

Initial thoughts at the halfway point of the Valancourt edition:

The stories in the Valancourt edition are arranged in order of publication, and the first 3 or 4 stories were VERY similar; John, who is the essence of a good character, comes across a small mountain community / family and the community / family is being put upon by a bad / evil man and John, by using his silver strung guitar, helps the community / family rid itself of the bad / evil man, 

At this point I was wondering if I would finish the collection. However, the story plots got a little more varied after that, using more Appalachian legends and general American folklore.  In the last story I read, John comes across a giant of a man and the story referenced the Bible (not in a heavy handed way, but giants were referenced in the book of Genesis) and the American folklore of Paul Bunyan and others.

After the repetitious beginning, the stories have gotten more enjoyable. These are simple stories with simple characters that fall into one of two categories, either good or bad. Saying that, I can’t imagine I’d ever feel compelled to upgrade from the single Valancourt story collection. The stories in this edition usually run from 12 to 18 pages, the perfect length for what are essentially pretty simple stories. I think Ron said it, and I would agree, that the style of these stories and Wellman’s writing style would not lend themselves to keeping my interest in a novel length work.

So in general, I’m happy I picked up this edition of classic stories, but doubt I will feel any need to upgrade beyond the Valancourt edition in the future.

That being said, since I am at the half way point, I will probably take a break from the John stories and read something else for a few days.

B
 

[dannyboy121070]

I&#8217 I've come across a couple of John the Balladeer stories in the past (I think there was one in Dark Forces, and I believe ‘Vandy, Vandy’ was reprinted in Hartwell’s Dark Descent), though this edition is the first time I am reading a collection by Wellman.

Initial thoughts at the halfway point of the Valancourt edition:

The stories in the Valancourt edition are arranged in order of publication, and the first 3 or 4 stories were VERY similar; John, who is the essence of a good character, comes across a small mountain community / family and the community / family is being put upon by a bad / evil man and John, by using his silver strung guitar, helps the community / family rid itself of the bad / evil man, 

At this point I was wondering if I would finish the collection. However, the story plots got a little more varied after that, using more Appalachian legends and general American folklore.  In the last story I read, John comes across a giant of a man and the story referenced the Bible (not in a heavy handed way, but giants were referenced in the book of Genesis) and the American folklore of Paul Bunyan and others.

After the repetitious beginning, the stories have gotten more enjoyable. These are simple stories with simple characters that fall into one of two categories, either good or bad. Saying that, I can’t imagine I’d ever feel compelled to upgrade from the single Valancourt story collection. The stories in this edition usually run from 12 to 18 pages, the perfect length for what are essentially pretty simple stories. I think Ron said it, and I would agree, that the style of these stories and Wellman’s writing style would not lend themselves to keeping my interest in a novel length work.

So in general, I’m happy I picked up this edition of classic stories, but doubt I will feel any need to upgrade beyond the Valancourt edition in the future.

That being said, since I am at the half way point, I will probably take a break from the John stories and read something else for a few days.

B
 

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. What you said about the repetition is pretty much what I've heard elsewhere. I usually have a bunch of books going at the same time, so I'll be dipping in and out to avoid getting sick of the tropes.

[RonClinton]

Picked it up today at a local Barnes & Noble.
EDIT: And returned it, because I found a signed copy at another bookstore.

Unfortunately at now halfway through I'm not digging ABOVE THE FIRE as much as you, fanatic, but I'm preservering and do plan to finish it. It's not a bad book, but has the awkward hallmarks of a first-time novelist, even one whose biography states he's been writing non-fiction for twenty years (fiction, it turns out, is a different animal): O'Donnell is doing far, far too much telling rather than showing. In addition, some of the exposition is stitled, overly formal and complicated...feels like he's trying too hard to create the image with the assistance of a thesaurus and overwrought, sometimes odd, prose rather than let it develop organically in the reader's mind through clean exposition. Belabored points. And so on. I'll concede that my expectations were far too high on this one given the references to the Peter Heller and McCarthy's THE ROAD, but still...it's been a bit of struggle to get through some of this...it's clear that there's a good book within but it needed a heavier editorial hand than it received to shape it.

EDIT: Finished it last night, and the second half doesn’t improve…if anything, it’s even more of a disappointment. Very unfortunate.