What are you currently reading?

[RonClinton]

I've been trying to work more crime fiction into my reading to help break up the horror, expand those horizons, so to speak. Right now, I'm working my way through The Black Dahlia by Ellroy and liking it quite a bit.

Back in the day, I was quite the Ellroy fan, and THE BLACK DAHLIA was always my favorite. Other favs were THE BIG NOWHERE, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy, and the standalone KILLER ON THE ROAD (aka SILENT TERROR). I fell away from him around the mid-'90s, when he started to embrace his Mad-dog persona a bit too much, and his authorial voice became too stylized, staccato, and self-aware.

[Sock Monkey]

I haven't read THE DEAD LETTERS, but if memory serves, that's one of the novels he wrote during his transition from horror writer to crime writer (generally speaking), so it's kind of a hybrid, IIRC. For my money, Tom was best when he stayed focused in his lane, either horror or crime...his few mash-ups are less satisfying, I find. I'm really taken with his aforementioned noirellas, but his crime pbos THE COLD SPOT and THE COLDEST MILE are terrific, and his Terrier Rand crime duo is also quite good. Some of his other more straightforward mysteries, cozies, and mash-ups just didn't hit me the same. I find it amazing that the same author who wrote such stripped down, dark novels like the COLD duo was also responsible for the dense, fantastical stories of his unnamed Necromancer and his demonic familiar "Self"...quite a transition, and it shows a writer of tremendous versatility with skill to pull it off.

If my memory serves me right, and it has been quite a while, I think your assessment of The Dead Letters as a hybrid of crime and horror is apt. Like I previously said, it didn't quite work, but that just goes to show how hard these mashups really are. I think I have a copy of The Cold Spot that I picked up at a library book sale stashed away somewhere, so I'll keep that in mind if and when I decide to dip my toe into his work again. I've been trying to work more crime fiction into my reading to help break up the horror, expand those horizons, so to speak. Right now, I'm working my way through The Black Dahlia by Ellroy and liking it quite a bit.

[RonClinton]

Man, I've had a lettered copy of Bad Dog on my shelf for a long time now. I keep meaning to give it a read. Every time I do, though, I remember the last book I read from him years ago called The Dead Letters, which from my memory dipped into some ridiculous moments and kinda turned me off from his stuff. Your recommendation to Chuggers has got me tempted to give it go once I get through the two other books I'm working on.

I haven't read THE DEAD LETTERS, but if memory serves, that's one of the novels he wrote during his transition from horror writer to crime writer (generally speaking), so it's kind of a hybrid, IIRC. For my money, Tom was best when he stayed focused in his lane, either horror or crime...his few mash-ups are less satisfying, I find. I'm really taken with his aforementioned noirellas, but his crime pbos THE COLD SPOT and THE COLDEST MILE are terrific, and his Terrier Rand crime duo is also quite good. Some of his other more straightforward mysteries, cozies, and mash-ups just didn't hit me the same. I find it amazing that the same author who wrote such stripped down, dark novels like the COLD duo was also responsible for the dense, fantastical stories of his unnamed Necromancer and his demonic familiar "Self"...quite a transition, and it shows a writer of tremendous versatility with skill to pull it off.

[Sock Monkey]

You bet. Btw, if you're after more of his crime fiction than his horror stuff, his Cemetery Dance collection BAD DOG -- subtitled "Collected Crime Stories" -- is the way to go.

Man, I've had a lettered copy of Bad Dog on my shelf for a long time now. I keep meaning to give it a read. Every time I do, though, I remember the last book I read from him years ago called The Dead Letters, which from my memory dipped into some ridiculous moments and kinda turned me off from his stuff. Your recommendation to Chuggers has got me tempted to give it go once I get through the two other books I'm working on.

[Chuggers]

You bet. Btw, if you're after more of his crime fiction than his horror stuff, his Cemetery Dance collection BAD DOG -- subtitled "Collected Crime Stories" -- is the way to go.

His horror output is definitely on my radar, but so far the crime fiction is scratching an itch I've been struggling to satisfy for ages. I appreciate that tip.

[RonClinton]

Man that's unfortunate, he truly has a magnificent voice. I'll be looking for some of those collections, I appreciate the response Ron

You bet. Btw, if you're after more of his crime fiction than his horror stuff, his Cemetery Dance collection BAD DOG -- subtitled "Collected Crime Stories" -- is the way to go.

[Chuggers]

FLDA was collected in one of his collections, either BAD DOG or FUTILE EFFORTS, can't recall which, but unfortunately there isn't an omnibus that collects his noirellas, and I'm not even sure the others (four? five?) ever received a reprint. Unfortunately, and like too many authors, once they pass on and there's no one around to champion their work, new releases tend to grind to a halt, and that seems to have left his noirellas orphaned with just their original appearance. A shame, because they're great. What missed potential for Tom and his career and his readers...just when he had finally found his voice in crime fiction, with a number of really praise-worthy releases, he was stricken down...very sad on a number of levels. Plus, in my limited interactions with him, he was a helluva nice guy.

Man that's unfortunate, he truly has a magnificent voice. I'll be looking for some of those collections, I appreciate the response Ron

[RonClinton]

That's interesting Ron, I'm currently reading Fuckin' Lie Down Already by T. Piccirilli and it's brutal and grim and I'm loving every second. I've not read much else by him but that's changing immediately. Did they ever collect those "noirellas" in physical copies?

FLDA was collected in one of his collections, either BAD DOG or FUTILE EFFORTS, can't recall which, but unfortunately there isn't an omnibus that collects his noirellas, and I'm not even sure the others (four? five?) ever received a reprint. Unfortunately, and like too many authors, once they pass on and there's no one around to champion their work, new releases tend to grind to a halt, and that seems to have left his noirellas orphaned with just their original appearance. A shame, because they're great. What missed potential for Tom and his career and his readers...just when he had finally found his voice in crime fiction, with a number of really praise-worthy releases, he was stricken down...very sad on a number of levels. Plus, in my limited interactions with him, he was a helluva nice guy.

[Chuggers]

Starting Stephen Gallagher's new one from Sub Press, THE NEXT THING YOU SEE WHEN YOU DIE, which reminds me a bit of Tom Piccirilli's "noirellas" (noir novellas) -- as he called them -- used to write and which I loved. But I'm only a few pages in...we'll see if Gallagher reaches that high-water mark. I do recall enjoying his (more supernatural but still crime-focused) PS novella WHITE BIZANGO (and I've read and largely enjoyed some of this other novels and collections), so expectations are high.

That's interesting Ron, I'm currently reading Fuckin' Lie Down Already by T. Piccirilli and it's brutal and grim and I'm loving every second. I've not read much else by him but that's changing immediately. Did they ever collect those "noirellas" in physical copies?

[RonClinton]

Starting Stephen Gallagher's new one from Sub Press, THE NEXT THING YOU SEE WHEN YOU DIE, which reminds me a bit of Tom Piccirilli's "noirellas" (noir novellas) -- as he called them -- used to write and which I loved. But I'm only a few pages in...we'll see if Gallagher reaches that high-water mark. I do recall enjoying his (more supernatural but still crime-focused) PS novella WHITE BIZANGO (and I've read and largely enjoyed some of this other novels and collections), so expectations are high.

[Ben Staad]

Started on this one and it's enjoyable enough. I have the feeling this was an authors pet projects, written as shorts, and then compiled into one fairly cohesive novel.

I like the Western setting and I'm getting through it fairly quickly as a before bed read. There have been some well written lines and paragraphs that had me re-reading them. A thoughtful tale so far and easy reading.

I'm not reading this yet but I saw somehow recommend it so I'm giving this a try:

Frederic S. Durbin: The Country under Heaven

Louis L'Amour meets H.P. Lovecraft in this thrilling western epic about a former Civil War soldier wracked by enigmatic visions . . . Set in the 1880s, the story follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after surviving one of the Civil War's most gruesome battles, the Battle of Antietam. As he travels across the country following those visions, he finds himself in stranger and increasingly more dangerous encounters with other worlds hidden in the spaces of his own mind, not to mention the dangers of the Wild West. Ovid brings his steady calm and compassion as he helps the people of a broken country, rapidly changing but, like himself, still reeling and wounded from the war. He assists with matters of all sorts, from odd jobs around the house, to guiding children back to their own universe, to hunting down unnatural creatures that stalk the night -- all the while seeking his own personal resolution and peace from his visions. Ovid's epic journey across the American West with a surprising cast of characters blends elements of the classic Western with historical fantasy in a way like no other.

I'm not familiar with the author so I'm just rolling the dice on this one. Wish me luck.

[RonClinton]

Finally finished Grendel and Other Creatures From the Dark by Tony Richards.

Grendel wasn’t a bad collection, but it didn’t have the pop that Richards’ earlier work had.

Next up, starting a reread of The Stand.

B

That’s good to know. I like Richards’ work — was a fairly big fan back in the day — so I’m sure I would’ve picked up this collection at some point. Maybe now I’ll just give it a pass, and reread one of his earlier collections one of these days. Plus, I still have his THE HOWLING TERROR, a collection I picked up on the publishers sale while back, to read.

[brlesh]

Finally finished Grendel and Other Creatures From the Dark by Tony Richards.

Grendel wasn’t a bad collection, but it didn’t have the pop that Richards’ earlier work had.

Next up, starting a reread of The Stand.

B

[RonClinton]

Currently reading Ronald Malfi's novella collection THEY LURK. I read his other novella collection, GHOSTWRITTEN, a short while ago, and with both these collections I'm reminded what a talented and somewhat underrated author Malfi is...when he's good (which is almost always), he's really good. One of my biggest eBay sales regrets is selling a matching-number set of all his signed/numbered Dark Fuse small-HC novellas (most of which are now collected in THEY LURK) many years ago...wish I could go back and change that stupid move.

[RonClinton]

Yes, I love these kind of eerie, off-kilter, something's-not-quite-right-but-can't-pinpoint-precisely-what kind of reads -- when they're done well, which is all often not the case. I can only think of a few examples of books of that type that work...hopefully this'll be one of them. I'm about 25% of the way in, and I'm not sure it's going to meet the entire challenge...it starts off strong, but there's been an introduction of a kind of prosaicness that is either there to lull the reader into complacency before introducing more overt eeriness or, alternatively, steering the book in a more standard-fare horror direction. I hope it's the former.

Aaannd WE USED TO LIVE HERE was the latter. Actually, that's not particularly fair...I wouldn't call it standard trope horror (though it has its moments), but just that it was ultimately a disappointment, a work of wasted potential on a premise that promised so much and just didn't deliver for a variety of reasons. It had a couple of goosebump-inducing moments (which are few and far between these days, to say the least, after reading horror for many decades, so I'll give it that), but it just could've been so much better. 5 or 6 out of 10, not particularly recommended.