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Jedit posted:John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let The Old Dreams Die is very close to 100% quality. You really need to have read some of his books first though, as it has coda stories for both Let The Right One In and Handling the Undead. Just read his new translation, himmelstrand, or I am behind you in English and boy, does it suck. The opening premise is great but the story development sucks, the characters suck and the setting ultimately sucks too. Lindqvist wrote one great novel then subsequently, he's casted around for a subject and always failed to properly develop it. I was bitterly disappointed, 'cos I'd been looking forward to a new Lindqvist translation for a few years now.
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Aug 4, 2016 22:06
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Picked up Vandermeer's anthology The Weird. Early days with it, but F. Marion Crawford's The Screaming Skull is just a damned delight.
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Aug 7, 2016 00:40
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Robot Wendigo posted:Picked up Vandermeer's anthology The Weird. Early days with it, but F. Marion Crawford's The Screaming Skull is just a damned delight. The Weird is loving massive and might as well be The Complete History of Notable Weird Fiction. It's awesome.
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Aug 7, 2016 00:54
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MockingQuantum posted:If there's an interest, I could poke one of the Book Barn mods to change the thread title to something more along the lines of general horror, see if we can't get more life in here. Or I could start a general horror thread. But I feel like that would only lead to two less-active threads. Ornamented Death posted:Title change is probably the best option. Naturally I'm only here for the Cosmic Horror. If this becomes the catch all horror thread, my only request is that when posters are discussing a book/story (maybe for the first time) the genre of horror it falls in is identified. So scrolling through the thread becomes easier. Ornamented Death posted:I find Langan to be really hit or miss personally, but a lot of people love everything he does. Can you recommend a Langan story that really knocked your socks off?
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Aug 7, 2016 06:17
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Helical Nightmares posted:Enjoy 
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Aug 9, 2016 01:06
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Helical Nightmares posted:Can you recommend a Langan story that really knocked your socks off?
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Aug 9, 2016 21:12
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Skyscraper posted:The Shallows Yeah, this one. "City of the Dog" is also good.
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Aug 9, 2016 21:36
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So I just finished The Croning and I remember people in this thread bitching about it compared to his short stories... I'm kind of surprised anyone who likes his short stories would dislike The Croning, I thought it was pretty excellent.
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Aug 11, 2016 01:30
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Speaking of Langan, anybody read The Fisherman yet?
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Aug 11, 2016 16:44
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man i really need to get around to reading Langan I just ripped through both Disappearance at Devil's Rock and Head Full of Ghosts in my downtime this weekend really enjoyed both. Ghosts especially was super refreshing; really enjoyed the PoMo critique of horror as a genre. Disappearance leans a little more heavily on its mystery/thriller foundations but I thought it handled its wisps of the supernatural really well and at times chillingly.
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Aug 11, 2016 18:15
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MockingQuantum posted:Speaking of Langan, anybody read The Fisherman yet? I finished it a few days ago, there were times when it dragged a bit (see also my earlier post on the subject) but in the end I liked it. There's some pretty cool mythology and powerful scenes. In the afterword Langan says he originally began the project ages ago, which maybe shows through at times, but I'd say it's worth a read nonetheless.
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Aug 11, 2016 18:58
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I just finished Simon Strantzas's Nightingale Songs and I'm a little lukewarm on it honestly. The stories were all pretty good (not really any I would call out-and-out cosmic horror though), but some of them felt a little unfocused, or like Strantzas kind of shied away from the point he was trying to make at the last moment. And dear god, I hate stories that center on the horror writers community. I think I went over this with that one story Laird Barron wrote about his fellow writers, but it stands here too. No matter how well intentioned or fictional, stories like that always read as really self-indulgent and contrived. Okay, bitching aside, how does Burnt Black Suns compare to Nightingale Songs? I probably won't go straight into it, but I like Strantzas enough that I'm willing to give it a try, if it's of comparable or better quality. Ornamented Death, sounds like you've read a lot of Strantzas, any strong opinion on it?
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Aug 13, 2016 03:47
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MockingQuantum posted:Okay, bitching aside, how does Burnt Black Suns compare to Nightingale Songs? I probably won't go straight into it, but I like Strantzas enough that I'm willing to give it a try, if it's of comparable or better quality. Ornamented Death, sounds like you've read a lot of Strantzas, any strong opinion on it? It's at least as good as Nightingale Songs in my opinion, though I seem to recall reallly digging the title story.
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Aug 13, 2016 04:38
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Lil Mama Im Sorry posted:So I just finished The Croning and I remember people in this thread bitching about it compared to his short stories... I'm kind of surprised anyone who likes his short stories would dislike The Croning, I thought it was pretty excellent. Agreed. I think there are some valid criticisms that can be made. You can tell it was written by an author who rarely writes novels so the pacing was a bit janky. Also there is no way the protagonist could be in his 80s. But overall I thought it was very creepy and enjoyable, and the ending was suitablt macabre. He said he's writing a sequel in an AMA on Reddit that will have more sci fi elements.
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Aug 13, 2016 11:47
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Neurosis posted:He said he's writing a sequel in an AMA on Reddit that will have more sci fi elements. Where is this AMA? vvvv  thanks vvvv
Helical Nightmares fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 14, 2016 00:12
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Helical Nightmares posted:Where is this AMA? It's here. Edit: I just finished Imago Sequence. I'm way late to the game here but drat if it isn't pretty solid. I've been reading it over the course of months so I can't really remember exact impressions on a lot of the stories (though I do recall having what seems like a really common reaction to Procession of the Black Sloth) but my god the title story was fantastic. Oh also I really didn't like The Royal Zoo is Closed, but I think I might have to reread it while less distracted. Incidentally, the ebook is $2 right now on US Amazon. MockingQuantum fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Aug 14, 2016 |
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Aug 14, 2016 00:53
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MockingQuantum posted:
I liked that one. It was 100% him experimenting with metaphors and language to describe the apocalypse, which I found really cool.
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Aug 14, 2016 01:35
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BJPaskoff posted:I liked that one. It was 100% him experimenting with metaphors and language to describe the apocalypse, which I found really cool. I do think I need to re-read it. It may have been the fact that it was experimental that kind of threw me. I guess even if I didn't like it, I'm still thinking about it a couple of weeks later, so it had an impact.
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Aug 14, 2016 02:04
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MockingQuantum posted:It's here. Really glad you posted this. I'm reading it now. quote:I close my rheumy eyes and see a tinsel and sequined probe driving out, out beyond the cold chunk of Pluto. A stone tossed into a bottomless pool, trailing bubbles. I see cabalists hunched over their ciphers, Catholics on their knees before the effigy of Christ, biologists with scalpels and microscopes, astronomers with their mighty lenses pointed at the sky, atheists, and philosophers with fingers pointed at themselves. Military men stroke the cool bulk of their latest killing weapon and feel a touch closer to peace. I see men caressing the crystal and wire and silicon of the machines that tell them what to believe about the laws of physics, the number to slay chaos in its den. I see housewives scrambling to pick the kids up from soccer practice, a child on the porch gazing up, and up, to regard the same piece of sky glimmering in my window. He wonders what is up there, he wonders if there is a monster under his bed. No monsters there, instead they lurk at school, at church, in his uncle's squamous brain. Everyone is looking for the answer. They do not want to find the answer, trust me. Unfortunately, the answer will find them. Life—it's like one of those unpleasant nature documentaries. To be the cameraman instead of the subjects, eh? Ooo heck yea.
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Aug 14, 2016 16:54
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ravenkult posted:A book I'm in just came out, it's called Lost Signals. Has stories by Matthew M. Bartlett, Tony Burgess, Damien Angelica Walters, Paul Michael Anderson, and James Newman. I just read this. General impressions were that the majority of the stories weren't terrible but could be a bit longer. I did jot down some notes which I'll type up later in the week when I'm not working.
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Aug 14, 2016 17:17
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Just finished The Nightmare Stacks. Really enjoyed it, felt very fresh compared to the last couple Laundry books. I was somewhat dreading it when I heard there would be elves in it, since I'm pretty sick to death of Tolkien clone elves like in Dragon Age and The Witcher. Ended up really liking his take on them though, very different and unique comparatively.
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Aug 14, 2016 18:18
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The Rat posted:Just finished The Nightmare Stacks. Really enjoyed it, felt very fresh compared to the last couple Laundry books. I was somewhat dreading it when I heard there would be elves in it, since I'm pretty sick to death of Tolkien clone elves like in Dragon Age and The Witcher. Ended up really liking his take on them though, very different and unique comparatively. You know the elves in the witcher are basically just like the elves in the Nightmare Stacks right? Like, they're literally incredibly magically gifted interdimensional reavers and slavers who gently caress with the world of the Witcher because their own planet is dying. My thought after I finished The Nightmare Stacks was basically "Oh hey, I guess Stross likes The Witcher".
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Aug 14, 2016 19:09
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I haven't played the third one, only the first two. All I remember from those were "pointy eared, oppressed minorities." Don't remember anything interplanetary/interdimensional there.
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Aug 14, 2016 23:22
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The Rat posted:I haven't played the third one, only the first two. All I remember from those were "pointy eared, oppressed minorities." Don't remember anything interplanetary/interdimensional there. Yeah those are the descendants of some who essentially got stranded on that planet, but the main elves are militaristic psychos. All that poo poo is also in the books, and the 3rd game, which I literally cannot recommend enough because it's quite possible the best game ever made, goes pretty heavy into it.
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Aug 15, 2016 00:06
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The elves thing also reminded me of Simon Green's Shadows Fall.
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Aug 15, 2016 00:44
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I started reading Lovecraft Unbound, a collection of Lovecraft-inspired stories which tries to avoid pastiche as much as possible. The Crevasse, the first in the collection, was underwhelming. I don't understand the positive reviews, nor why it took two authors to write it. It reads like they had the concept of combining At the Mountain of Madness and The Thing, and then just stopped half-way through the execution, before it really got good.
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Aug 15, 2016 02:50
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I read Lovecraft Country earlier this summer and thought it was fantastic. Has anyone read I am Providence the horror/ murder mystery novel set at a Lovecraft convention yet? I was gonna start it later today and was looking to see what people thought and the kind of controversial depictions of Lovecraft fans.
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Aug 20, 2016 21:18
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Haven't read it, but Mamatas is solid.
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Aug 20, 2016 21:19
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Ruthanna Emrys who wrote the "Litany of the Earth" has another short story up online. http://www.tor.com/2016/05/24/reprints-those-who-watch-ruthanna-emrys/ It's themes are similar and while not as good as Litany, I still liked it.
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Aug 23, 2016 20:19
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Geokinesis posted:I just read this. General impressions were that the majority of the stories weren't terrible but could be a bit longer. I did jot down some notes which I'll type up later in the week when I'm not working. I totally want to hear what you thought.
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Aug 23, 2016 21:33
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How does one acquire a paper or electronic copy of The Events at Poroth farm? It's like 100 dollars on Amazon. Is the full text available anywhere?
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Aug 24, 2016 16:38
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I had the same problem. It's in the Cthulhu Mythos Megapack which is a buck. https://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Mythos-MEGAPACK-Classic-Lovecraftian-ebook/dp/B007V8RQC4
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Aug 24, 2016 17:29
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Ok if I'm looking to get into Clive Barker where do I start? Books of Blood? One of his novels?
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Aug 24, 2016 19:41
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JackBobby posted:Ok if I'm looking to get into Clive Barker where do I start? Books of Blood? One of his novels? Books of Blood His novels are a mixed bag. Some people swear by Imajica and The Great and Secret Show, some people think they are overrated. Personally I think Barker's entire oeuvre is overrated. He was influential because no one else was really telling those kinds of stories, but being first doesn't make you the best. Or even good, really. Just first.
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Aug 24, 2016 21:03
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Ornamented Death posted:Books of Blood What about scary? That's all I'm really looking for. Literary merit is great but I have plenty of stuff sitting on my shelf for that. I'm looking for something to creep me out come October. At the same time I'd prefer something that's not completely disposable garbage like Laymon (tho i do have affection for that creepy old perv).
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Aug 24, 2016 21:53
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I guess it depends on what you find scary? I didn't think anything in Books was really scary; disturbing, maybe, in a "this makes me feel uncomfortable" kind of way (which I would argue was Barker's intention all along), but nothing that made me lose sleep. Most of Barker's novels aren't considered horror, but dark fantasy. If you want to read short stories that touch on similar themes as Barker, but are much better written, I recommend Brian Hodge's The Convulsion Factory. If you want to read cosmic horror done damned near perfectly, pick up his Worlds of Hurt collection.
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Aug 24, 2016 22:05
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Ornamented Death posted:I guess it depends on what you find scary? I didn't think anything in Books was really scary; disturbing, maybe, in a "this makes me feel uncomfortable" kind of way (which I would argue was Barker's intention all along), but nothing that made me lose sleep. FWIW if you have Kindle Unlimited, Worlds of Hurt is a round $0, as is his novel Whom the Gods Would Destroy, which has been recommended in here not that long ago. Actually, if you're big into cosmic horror, Kindle Unlimited is actually a pretty good. I know that at the minimum, all of these are on it: -Nightingale Songs (Strantzas) -Burnt Black Suns (Strantzas) -Without Purpose, Without Pity (Hodge) -Greener Pastures (Michael Wehunt) -Cthulhusattva (Anthology) -The Light is the Darkness (Barron) -Member (Michael Cisco) -Hive (Tim Curran) -Dead Sea (Curran) as well as other stuff too, I'm sure. I can't swear all of these are good, but they've all come up in this thread, or at least the authors have come up before.
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Aug 24, 2016 23:52
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I really love Curran but you need to go into his novels understanding that they're too long by at about 20%, and that 20% is entirely in the middle where he keeps replicating the same situations with slight changes, usually in an effort to whittle the cast down for the finale.
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Aug 25, 2016 00:32
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Ornamented Death posted:I really love Curran but you need to go into his novels understanding that they're too long by at about 20%, and that 20% is entirely in the middle where he keeps replicating the same situations with slight changes, usually in an effort to whittle the cast down for the finale. Good to know. I've never read any of his stuff (barring something in an anthology that I don't recall). Honestly though, as much as I like the modern crop of writers at the forefront of weird fiction & cosmic horror, I kind of go into anything assuming none of them are particularly adept at writing novel-length works, since it seems to be true more often than not.
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Aug 25, 2016 00:45
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Horror in general works better at shorter lengths so that's a good philosophy to have.
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Aug 25, 2016 00:49
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