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Poutling posted:What kind of stuff interests you? serial killers? gore? haunted houses? zombies? vampires?
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Feb 12, 2014 22:00
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Ninja fetus posted:I like all of this stuff, except for vampires and serial killers I guess. Gore is okay, as long as it's part of the story. I don't really like gory horror movies either, but I don't mind seeing gore as part of a bigger picture. Zombies are great, although I've never finished World war Z. I found it to be a little boring. I really dig the vibe of empty cities. I like videogames like STALKER, Doom II and Day Z. Post apocalyptic stuff interests me. Especially if it has something to do with demons, creatures that come out at night, etc. Not sure if that helps. Anyway. Great recommendations. Thanks. I'll look into these this weekend. Have you read Roadside Picnic, the book that STALKER is based off of? And how about The Road by McCarthy. While the road is does not have any creatures of the night (except for the brutality of others) it is an excellent post-apoc book that you should look into. Roadside Picnic is well, the book that was made into stalker the video game so yeah. If you are looking for something that isn't cheesy then I would recommend these two. Stravinsky fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Feb 13, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 23:52
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You'd probably dig Metro 2033 as well.
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Feb 12, 2014 23:55
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this might be a hard one, but I remember a story in an anthology about a visit to a city considered the Last Refuge of the Assyrian Empire, and something about a Diamond. Does anyone know what this story is called. It was in one of the Lovecraft Inspired Anthologies, but for the life of me I cant remember what its called.
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Feb 13, 2014 00:01
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Ninja fetus posted:I like all of this stuff, except for vampires and serial killers I guess. Gore is okay, as long as it's part of the story. I don't really like gory horror movies either, but I don't mind seeing gore as part of a bigger picture. Zombies are great, although I've never finished World war Z. I found it to be a little boring. I really dig the vibe of empty cities. I like videogames like STALKER, Doom II and Day Z. Post apocalyptic stuff interests me. Especially if it has something to do with demons, creatures that come out at night, etc. Not sure if that helps. Anyway. Great recommendations. Thanks. I'll look into these this weekend. My fave zombie book is The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell. Alex Adams' White Horse might also be of interest to you since it has a lot of weird creatures and an epic journey - this one I think is very much Greek mythology-esque. Peter Clines also wrote a 4 book series about X-men Type superheroes in a post apocalyptic zombie infested world, the first book of which is Ex-Heroes. Also try Extinction Point by Paul Anthony Jones. It's a kindle book. I found it to be merely decent with some ludicrous stuff thrown in but it hits a lot of your points (weird alien creatures that come out at night, empty cities) and it was a decent airplane read.
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Feb 13, 2014 00:13
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Ninja fetus posted:I like all of this stuff, except for vampires and serial killers I guess. Gore is okay, as long as it's part of the story. I don't really like gory horror movies either, but I don't mind seeing gore as part of a bigger picture. Zombies are great, although I've never finished World war Z. I found it to be a little boring. I really dig the vibe of empty cities. I like videogames like STALKER, Doom II and Day Z. Post apocalyptic stuff interests me. Especially if it has something to do with demons, creatures that come out at night, etc. Not sure if that helps. Anyway. Great recommendations. Thanks. I'll look into these this weekend. It sounds to me like you might enjoy the Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko. That series very much fits the horror-as-action vibe, with the interesting fillip that the stories aren't all told from the side of the good guys.
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Feb 13, 2014 00:56
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I liked the Watch books, but my undergraduate degree was philosophy with a focus on ethics. Lukyanenko really, really likes having characters argue over morality for a several pages at a time.
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Feb 13, 2014 01:14
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Agentdark posted:this might be a hard one, but I remember a story in an anthology about a visit to a city considered the Last Refuge of the Assyrian Empire, and something about a Diamond. Does anyone know what this story is called. It was in one of the Lovecraft Inspired Anthologies, but for the life of me I cant remember what its called. gently caress me that sounds familiar. Did the story closely follow the plot of The Nameless City?
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Feb 13, 2014 06:54
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Halfway through The Ritual on the strength of this thread's recommendation. Is the second half really that bad? I've enjoyed it so far. I find the characterisations very believable. The arguments they have and the physical confrontation, and Luke's reactions to it afterwards, have reminded me very strongly of some of my own experiences. The horror elements are maybe not so strong - I don't find the thing hunting them particularly scary.
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Feb 13, 2014 16:12
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Neurosis posted:Halfway through The Ritual on the strength of this thread's recommendation. Is the second half really that bad? I've enjoyed it so far. I find the characterisations very believable. The arguments they have and the physical confrontation, and Luke's reactions to it afterwards, have reminded me very strongly of some of my own experiences. The horror elements are maybe not so strong - I don't find the thing hunting them particularly scary. I found being trapped in the wilderness with no hope of escape more scary than the actual creature. Yes, the second half does fall apart. I think this is Nevill's biggest failing, he never knows how to finish his books. The only book of his that I enjoyed all the way through was Last Days, but that one is a bit more esoteric in subject matter.
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Feb 13, 2014 16:20
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It's going to be difficult to pick one now, but thanks guys.
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Feb 13, 2014 22:43
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Just finished The Ritual. I didn't mind the second half, it was readable. It didn't have the same level of tension or characters near as interesting, but I don't feel like I wasted my time. I would have liked some kind of epilogue dealing with the protagonist in the unlikely event he survived, or even if he didn't, but it was okay.
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Feb 14, 2014 08:50
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Helical Nightmares posted:gently caress me that sounds familiar. Did the story closely follow the plot of The Nameless City? I think so. Gah I cant figure out another way to find this story.
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Feb 15, 2014 21:37
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Agentdark posted:I think so. Gah I cant figure out another way to find this story. It might be "The Children of Asshur." It was a fragment of a Solomon Kane story by Howard, later finished by Ramsey Campbell.
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Feb 15, 2014 22:22
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Agentdark posted:this might be a hard one, but I remember a story in an anthology about a visit to a city considered the Last Refuge of the Assyrian Empire, and something about a Diamond. Does anyone know what this story is called. It was in one of the Lovecraft Inspired Anthologies, but for the life of me I cant remember what its called. Is this the book and story you were looking for? http://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Kindr...kindred+horrors http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0601741.txt "The Fire of Asshurbanipal" I love the story, lots of good creepiness out in the desert.
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Feb 16, 2014 08:43
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CuddleChunks posted:Is this the book and story you were looking for? This was a drat good read.
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Feb 17, 2014 02:08
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Howard is pretty great. Even his worst stories (and he did write some dreck - he was a prolific pulp author, it would be surprising if he hadn't) have at least one wonderful element in them. I talk to people about Lovecraft because he's better known, but my heart belongs to Howard. If you want some fun cosmic horror you gotta read Lovecraft pastiche "The Black Stone" and historical revenge story "The Worms of the Earth". The latter inspired an Oglaf comic (  ), which doesn't have to do with cosmic horror but is still funny.
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Feb 17, 2014 02:26
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I know it technically does not really fit this thread but its close enough. I recently read By The Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends. It is mostly a series of absurd vignettes of life of several characters (a thief turn guard, a psychopath, a polish prisoner, a nurse, and an older guard and his dog) as the live their lives in a Siberian gulag. The majority of the book is about how reality and any sense of safety start to break down within the camp for the characters as they try to make it from day to day. Eventually they decide that they need to escape from their hell and try to cross the tundra. However they need to convince someone to come along as a calf (some one to sacrifice and cannibalize) to make it all the way do to the harsh lifeless nature of the tundra. All in all it was a cool quick read and nothing to deep. I felt that the ending came out of the left field and did not make any sense but according to the afterword I did not pick up the subtle clues that really brings it all together. Looking online I do not think anyone has any clue what the gently caress was going on at the end but still, overall the book was fun.
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Feb 17, 2014 19:46
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Best part of the book was seeing advertisments in the back for titles such as: The Baby Jesus Buttplug, Satan Burger and Necro Sex machine.
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Feb 17, 2014 19:48
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Stravinsky posted:Best part of the book was seeing advertisments in the back for titles such as: The Baby Jesus Buttplug, Satan Burger and Necro Sex machine. That's Bizarro for ya.
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Feb 17, 2014 20:47
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I've only watched the very promising first episode, but apparently True Detective is full of references to Robert Chamber's The King In Yellow. May contain spoilers: http://io9.com/the-one-literary-reference-you-must-know-to-appreciate-1523076497 Now I'm even more excited to watch more of this.
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Feb 17, 2014 22:34
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ElectricWizard posted:I've only watched the very promising first episode, but apparently True Detective is full of references to Robert Chamber's The King In Yellow. I've been watching it since it came on; the writer also has an interview (posted elsewhere in this thread) where he talks about Ligotti influences. If any of y'all want a great, creepy noir-type story, you owe it to yourselves to catch up on this show.
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Feb 18, 2014 03:34
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So it The King in Yellow actually worth reading? Reading through Amazon reviews, it seems like some of the stories therein are crap, but the Dover Mystery version seems like it cuts out all the lovely stories and adds some other ones from elsewhere in his career.
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Feb 18, 2014 03:40
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GrandpaPants posted:So it The King in Yellow actually worth reading? Reading through Amazon reviews, it seems like some of the stories therein are crap, but the Dover Mystery version seems like it cuts out all the lovely stories and adds some other ones from elsewhere in his career. I just DL'd it yesterday for my Kindle (it was/is? free on Amazon) and plan on reading it in the next few days.
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Feb 18, 2014 03:41
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GrandpaPants posted:So it The King in Yellow actually worth reading? Reading through Amazon reviews, it seems like some of the stories therein are crap, but the Dover Mystery version seems like it cuts out all the lovely stories and adds some other ones from elsewhere in his career. If you like weird tales/cosmic horror then most definitely get on that. Also why would they change out the stories? While they are not all stellar they follow a theme and its kinda important to have them together to keep it up. Unless the edition your talking about pulled stories with the same common thread in as well but I have no idea as I have only read the original book and none of his later works.
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Feb 18, 2014 03:45
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GrandpaPants posted:So it The King in Yellow actually worth reading? Reading through Amazon reviews, it seems like some of the stories therein are crap, but the Dover Mystery version seems like it cuts out all the lovely stories and adds some other ones from elsewhere in his career. I really like it, so I'll say, "Yes, it's worth reading."
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Feb 18, 2014 03:58
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Stravinsky posted:If you like weird tales/cosmic horror then most definitely get on that. Also why would they change out the stories? While they are not all stellar they follow a theme and its kinda important to have them together to keep it up. Unless the edition your talking about pulled stories with the same common thread in as well but I have no idea as I have only read the original book and none of his later works. This is the edition. Looks like it cut The Prophets Paradise, The Street of the Four Winds, The Street of the First Shell, The Street of Our Lady of the Fields and Rue Barrée, and adds in The Maker of Moons, A Pleasant Evening, The Messenger, The Key to Grief, The Harbor Master, In Quest of the Dingue and Is the Ux Extinct? How does that selection look? Are the cut stories still worth reading?
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Feb 18, 2014 04:20
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GrandpaPants posted:This is the edition. Looks like it cut The Prophets Paradise, The Street of the Four Winds, The Street of the First Shell, The Street of Our Lady of the Fields and Rue Barrée, and adds in The Maker of Moons, A Pleasant Evening, The Messenger, The Key to Grief, The Harbor Master, In Quest of the Dingue and Is the Ux Extinct? Yeah go for it. Then read the ones missing from project gutenburg if your interested.
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Feb 18, 2014 04:31
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ElectricWizard posted:I've only watched the very promising first episode, but apparently True Detective is full of references to Robert Chamber's The King In Yellow. Not just Chambers. There's also very apparent influence from Ligotti, and some elements appear to be taken from Barron. He talks here about what he reads: http://www.arkhamdigest.com/2014/01/interview-nic-pizzolatto-creatorwriter.html quote:I caught a glimpse of an interview in which you spoke about Laird Barron, one of the finest current practitioners of the weird tale, and an author whose work shows a strong literary backbone. How often do you read dark fiction, and do you have any personal favorite authors, or authors you would dub as essential reading? The show is loving amazing.
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Feb 18, 2014 14:56
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On this thread's recommendation, I picked up Declare by Tim Powers. Declare, Jesus Christ. In all honesty I can't speak for the second half but the first half was nothing but blue balls all the way. Like, I can tell it was building up to something, but it felt like the author knew he didn't have enough material for a whole book so there was a lot of filler. All the relevant and interesting events in the WWII period Paris sequence, for example, could've been done in 30 pages, but instead, we get something like 200 pages. I understand that developing a character is crucial but in this case, I don't see how the cosmic happenings Powers hints at should be any more or less interesting depending on how conflicted the main character is. The writing style could use some work, too — Powers isn't the worst, but he could benefit from a good editor's advice; someone who isn't afraid to tell him when he's getting complacent, just typing out the words as they come to him, never going back to cut out an unnecessary word or sentence or entire paragraph — especially when the sentence he set out typing turns out to be a run-on sentence that covers I-poo poo-you-not something like 20 lines on the page, em-dashes or semicolons where there should be a full stop, just like Powers' editor or someone should teach him when to stop. And then he does it again in the next paragraph, 10, 15, 20 lines, and you start to notice a trend, and you find yourself scanning the paragraph before trying to tackle the next sentence and holy poo poo, he did it again, and that's not all — the whole page is like that, run-on sentences all the way down, and it's not like it's a stylistic decision; there's no particular effect or mood being conveyed, just sloppy, lazy writing, and you get a sinking feeling as you flip through the rest of the book and choose a few pages at random and yup, it's all the same, he writes like this all the way through, and it's time to drop this book because it's just not worth it. That was painful to write, but I wanted to give you some idea what it's like. A Colder War this ain't.
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Feb 19, 2014 20:38
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I felt the same way. About halfway through I just thought to myself "Umm...Nope." and set it down. It's to bad too. The Anubis Gates keeps getting recommended to me, But after torturing myself through Three Days To Never and completely giving up on On Stranger Tides and Declare! I just can't bring myself to do it. A little off topic, I'm two books through James S. A. Corey's Expanse trilogy and it's pretty okay. It's really more of space opera, political thriller, but there is an eldrich bio-weapon (maybe) that feels to be inspired by a combination of Lovecraft and Gieger.
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Feb 20, 2014 00:01
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CuddleChunks posted:Is this the book and story you were looking for? Yes, thankyou so much
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Feb 20, 2014 05:11
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Where to start with Ramsey Campbell? I picked up The Hungry Moon and so far the book is not impressing me. Every chapter has different characters and I find it hard to keep track of who is who and I wonder why I should give a poo poo about any of them. The prose is also strange. It seems to elide a lot of details and actions that would help to make sense of what is happening in the scene. Is this just an anomalous book or is all his writing like that?
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Feb 20, 2014 16:35
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Neurosis posted:Where to start with Ramsey Campbell? I picked up The Hungry Moon and so far the book is not impressing me. The Doll Who Ate His Mother for his horror work, and Cold Print for his Mythos stuff.
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Feb 20, 2014 17:12
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"Cold Print" is quite a good anthology, and I remember enjoying Incarnate. It's more than 10 years since I read them though, so they may have dated very badly. e: Thanks for reminding me of "The Doll Who Ate His Mother". I think I had nightmares for a week!
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Feb 20, 2014 17:21
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A little late, but February is Women in Horror Month. In case you want to broaden your horizons or read mostly dudes. Currently reading Gemma Files' A Book of Tongues and really enjoying it. It's a great cross genre dark fantasy/horror/western novel that I think would have a broader audience if not for all the explicit gay sex.
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Feb 21, 2014 00:38
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Jedit posted:The Doll Who Ate His Mother for his horror work, and Cold Print for his Mythos stuff. And the stylistic issues I have with The Hungry Moon? Peculiar to that book?
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Feb 21, 2014 05:38
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Cold Print is long out of print, but you can usually get it for a penny plus shipping at Amazon.
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Feb 21, 2014 08:28
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Well it sure is a weird feeling reading the Laird Barron short story collections and having them get closer and closer and closer to where I grew up. I just started The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All and the second story totally takes place on the Olympic Peninsula at Lake Crescent where I have been many, many times and have driven by at night in dense fog and swam in and skipped rocks across. It even mentions my hometown by name! Man he's really good.
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Feb 24, 2014 23:47
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It's been about five or six months now since I read The Imago Sequence and I legitimately can't remember anything from a single one of the stories except the bit in the barn in "Hallucigenia." The stories all felt exactly the same. I really do not understand the love for this author.
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Feb 25, 2014 00:04
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