What are you currently reading?

[dannyboy121070]

I grabbed an ARC of Ray Garton's THE LOVELIEST DEAD off of the shelf after I heard he had passed, and it's a banger so far. Really enjoying it.

[RonClinton]

That's a bummer to hear about the Beast You Are. Haven't picked it up yet and but was hoping for something more in vain of his Growing Things collection which I enjoyed. I'm sure theĀ free-verse novella of poetic narration thing will not be my cup of tea either; however, I'm sure that I'll give the book a chance up the road.

Yeah, I really dug GROWING THINGS, too. Until recently, I'd enjoyed everything he'd written (to varying degrees), including GROWING THINGS, his second collection.

[sholloman81]

Chiming in on THE PALLERBEARERS CLUB (if I haven't already, but I don't recall doing so) with another thumbs down...and I'm a big fan of his work. Unlike Sholloman81, I didn't make it to the final two chapters, so will have to take his work for it that it finishes strong, but everything else he mentions is spot on: unlikeable characters, one of whom has the classic unreliable narration which adds nothing to the plot other than confusion, and a slow slog of a rather shallow plot...if there was some rich subtext going on under that surface telling of this story, it escaped me (or, at least, the first half that I read before DNFing it). I'm looking forward to HORROR MOVIE, his new one that's due out in a couple months, and have confidence it'll be a return to form. Then again, I had hoped that as well from his most recent offering, THE BEAST YOU ARE, half of which was a free-verse novella of poetic narration, which turned me off -- fairly or not -- immediately, so I didn't pick up that one. I like that Tremblay is experiemental to a degree in his form and isn't wary of taking chances and expanding his approach, but like all readers I guess I have my limit and "The Beast You Are" pushed it over the red line for me.

That's a bummer to hear about the Beast You Are. Haven't picked it up yet and but was hoping for something more in vain of his Growing Things collection which I enjoyed. I'm sure theĀ free-verse novella of poetic narration thing will not be my cup of tea either; however, I'm sure that I'll give the book a chance up the road.

[RonClinton]

Thanks for the review of the Tremblay book. It pretty much sealed the deal as far as passing on it goes. Maybe if I pick it for a song the aftermarket, but the general consensus is that it just isn't that good and there WAY too many other books to spend money on.

Chiming in on THE PALLERBEARERS CLUB (if I haven't already, but I don't recall doing so) with another thumbs down...and I'm a big fan of his work. Unlike Sholloman81, I didn't make it to the final two chapters, so will have to take his work for it that it finishes strong, but everything else he mentions is spot on: unlikeable characters, one of whom has the classic unreliable narration which adds nothing to the plot other than confusion, and a slow slog of a rather shallow plot...if there was some rich subtext going on under that surface telling of this story, it escaped me (or, at least, the first half that I read before DNFing it). I'm looking forward to HORROR MOVIE, his new one that's due out in a couple months, and have confidence it'll be a return to form. Then again, I had hoped that as well from his most recent offering, THE BEAST YOU ARE, half of which was a free-verse novella of poetic narration, which turned me off -- fairly or not -- immediately, so I didn't pick up that one. I like that Tremblay is experiemental to a degree in his form and isn't wary of taking chances and expanding his approach, but like all readers I guess I have my limit and "The Beast You Are" pushed it over the red line for me.

[Sock Monkey]

Just finished reading the SST LE of Paul Tremblay's "The Pallbearer's Club". As much as it pains me, the reviews are mostly correct. While the writing was good, the story itself was a slog to get through. The two main characters were unlikable, and the plot was pretty boring. The last two chapters were pretty good, but by then, it was too late for any redemption for this story. Overall, for me, this book was a disappointment. Hope Tremblay's next one is a return to form.

Am now reading the Earthling LE of Tyler Jones' "Midas". Am very excited to see if it lives up to the high praise it has received so far.

Thanks for the review of the Tremblay book. It pretty much sealed the deal as far as passing on it goes. Maybe if I pick it for a song the aftermarket, but the general consensus is that it just isn't that good and there WAY too many other books to spend money on.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the SST LE of Paul Tremblay's "The Pallbearer's Club". As much as it pains me, the reviews are mostly correct. While the writing was good, the story itself was a slog to get through. The two main characters were unlikable, and the plot was pretty boring. The last two chapters were pretty good, but by then, it was too late for any redemption for this story. Overall, for me, this book was a disappointment. Hope Tremblay's next one is a return to form.

Am now reading the Earthling LE of Tyler Jones' "Midas". Am very excited to see if it lives up to the high praise it has received so far.

[brlesh]

Finished The Store by Bentley Little.

Enjoyed this re-read quite a bit, more than I remember from the initial reading.

Next up, Elsewhere by Dean Koontz.

Based on the first 100 pages, not expecting much from this one.

B

[dannyboy121070]

I've spent the bulk of today reading MONSTER-SIZED HELLBOY, a massive 1,600 page collection of all of the main Hellboy stories, from birth to death. This is probably, page-wise and just physically THE biggest book that I own. I have, dimension-wise, bigger books, and ones with slightly higher page counts, but this is printed on really thick paper, so the sheer thickness is just a sight to behold. Heavy as hell, too. I can read Hellboy stories over and over again, and always find something new, so...I'm in my happy place with this collection.
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[dannyboy121070]

I'm about halfway through Josh Malerman's SPIN A BLACK YARN, and man, it is a chore at times. Comprised of five novellas, I'm in the middle of the third one, and they just go on forever. These could have been good short stories, but at this length, they are almost unbearable.

[brlesh]

Nearly 3/4 of the way through The Store by Bentley Little.

First read this probably 20 to 25 years ago, and while Little’s work got kind of formulaic over the years, I had forgotten what an effective horror story The Store was.

The story just flies by, and is genuinely creepy at parts.

Very much enjoying this reread.

B

[sholloman81]

Eager to hear your thoughts on the Tremblay.

I'll post a review for sure!

[dannyboy121070]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm LE of Wrath James White's short story collection, "The Ecstasy of Agony". There were a few standout stories, and some of these scenes will probably last in my brain quite a while, but overall, I found the collection to be hit or miss. All of the stories were hardcore and as graphic as you'd expect, but a lot of them just felt too similar in content and tonally the same. Probably would have liked this collection a bit more if I didn't read the stories straight through and instead broke them up with another book. Overall, I would give this one a solid C grade.

Am now reading the SST LE of Paul Tremblay's "The Pallbearer's Club". Got my fingers crossed on this one as the reviews on Goodreads are a bit brutal, and I know some here on the forum didn't enjoy it.

Eager to hear your thoughts on the Tremblay.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm LE of Wrath James White's short story collection, "The Ecstasy of Agony". There were a few standout stories, and some of these scenes will probably last in my brain quite a while, but overall, I found the collection to be hit or miss. All of the stories were hardcore and as graphic as you'd expect, but a lot of them just felt too similar in content and tonally the same. Probably would have liked this collection a bit more if I didn't read the stories straight through and instead broke them up with another book. Overall, I would give this one a solid C grade.

Am now reading the SST LE of Paul Tremblay's "The Pallbearer's Club". Got my fingers crossed on this one as the reviews on Goodreads are a bit brutal, and I know some here on the forum didn't enjoy it.

[RonClinton]

I have that on-deck. Let us know your thoughts, please!

Will do. I've steered away from thick doorstop books like this in recent years, but if the first few chapters are any indication, this should read faster than I fear it otherwise might.

[dannyboy121070]

Finally -- finally! -- geting around to A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS by Philip Fracassi. From everything I've heard (and the other books of his I've read), I'm expecting great things.

I have that on-deck. Let us know your thoughts, please!