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I'm curious now, what novel-length horror have people read that you felt really did manage to maintain a good vibe the whole way through? Or managed to juggle horror with something else (general character-centric drama or relationships or whatever) well enough that the whole book felt satisfying? What makes novel-length horror really work, as opposed to short stories? For me, I'm a Stephen King fanboy and apologist so I won't get too into it, but I think a good number of his tend to be solid, but they also don't always feel like they're horror first and foremost. Otherwise, besides the protagonist kind of being genre-dumb and a bit of a plot puppet, House of Small Shadows felt really strong throughout. Curious to hear others' opinions though.
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Aug 25, 2016 01:33
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Cool- I have Kindle Unlimited so I will give all this stuff a try. It's my understanding that cosmic horror deals with the existential terror of man's insignificances to the universe. Are their specific genre trappings that distinguish it from general nihilism? I assume Lovecraftian gods are a part of it? I tend to like spooky stories about ghosts and goblins, but I recognize that a lot of that straight forward horror stuff acts as escapism by providing visceral entertainment as well as a clear sense of good and evil. I'd certainly be interested in horror that delves more into the mundane but terrifying reality of the human experience.
JackBobby fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Aug 25, 2016 |
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Aug 25, 2016 01:40
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm curious now, what novel-length horror have people read that you felt really did manage to maintain a good vibe the whole way through? Or managed to juggle horror with something else (general character-centric drama or relationships or whatever) well enough that the whole book felt satisfying? What makes novel-length horror really work, as opposed to short stories? The Cipher by Kathe Koja Corrosion by Jon Bassoff Lesser Creatures by Peter Giglio Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs Earthworm Gods by Brian Keene (previously published as The Conqueror Worms) The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernan Hell House by Richard Matheson The Dunfield Terror by William Miekle Those Who Went Remain There Still by Cherie Priest Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo (also published as Unto Leviathan) Dreams of the Serpent by Alan Ryker Thrall by Mary Sangiovanni Lights Out by Nate Southard A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay These are novel-length horror stories that I felt maintained an exceptionally high level of quality from start to finish, never stumbling or leaving me bored at any point. Of special note is Dreams of the Serpent which is also a profoundly moving love story while also being a horror story.
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Aug 25, 2016 02:09
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Awesome list, though I haven't read most of them. I'd definitely second Hell House, and while it might feel dated to some, The Haunting of Hill House is also excellent and definitely a classic. I really enjoyed Southern Gods as well, surprised I forgot about that one. Head Full of Ghosts is next on my to-read list.
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Aug 25, 2016 02:18
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I actually thought John Dies at the End was pretty good the entire way through.
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Aug 25, 2016 06:01
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I thought Dan Simmons' The Terror managed this particular trick.
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Aug 25, 2016 23:28
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Robot Wendigo posted:I thought Dan Simmons' The Terror managed this particular trick. That one's really high on my list too, though I've heard pretty varying opinions on the book overall. If I remember correctly, most of the less favorable responses I've heard focused on how a lot of time was spent, a la Moby Dick, on details surrounding the ship that weren't necessarily needed. Still gonna read it though, I think.
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Aug 26, 2016 00:16
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^^^You cat-faced bastard  The Terror has the same problem as Moby Dick - there's a really good story liberally interspersed with a bunch of text that adds nothing to the that story. I get it, Simmons (and Melville) did a lot of research for their books and want to show that off, but no one cares!
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Aug 26, 2016 00:17
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Dueling Moby Dick analogies. Oh the terror.
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Aug 26, 2016 00:20
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Ornamented Death posted:^^^You cat-faced bastard Hahahaha, sounds like you actually have first-hand experience, though.
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Aug 26, 2016 00:20
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MockingQuantum posted:Hahahaha, sounds like you actually have first-hand experience, though. Yeah, I read it back when it came out. I loved it, but then I get a massive boner over pre-modern arctic/antarctic exploration. Helical Nightmares posted:Dueling Moby Dick analogies. Oh the terror. 
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Aug 26, 2016 00:27
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Ornamented Death posted:Yeah, I read it back when it came out. I loved it, but then I get a massive boner over pre-modern arctic/antarctic exploration. That is exactly why I'm looking forward to it. I think I first saw mention of it in the Pagophiles TBB thread and just about dropped everything to start reading it right then and there.
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Aug 26, 2016 00:49
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Just try not to count how often characters say something "softly". Seldom has a book so badly needed an editor.
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Aug 26, 2016 03:54
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Fire Safety Doug posted:Just try not to count how often characters say something "softly". Seldom has a book so badly needed an editor. It always surprises me what words authors fixate on. I swear if I read China Mieville write the word "bathos" once more I'm going to reach through a book and slap him.
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Aug 26, 2016 04:02
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Adam Nevill is giving away another new free e-book on his website when you sign up for his newsletter. this one is three short works of fiction. e: the terror is bad, moby dick is good chernobyl kinsman fucked around with this message at 04:25 on Aug 26, 2016 |
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Aug 26, 2016 04:22
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MockingQuantum posted:It always surprises me what words authors fixate on. I swear if I read China Mieville write the word "bathos" once more I'm going to reach through a book and slap him. Hahahaha. With Laird Barron it's "provender". I propose we name this disease "Lovecraftian Cyclopeanism". *bangs gavel*
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Aug 26, 2016 07:00
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I thought The Terror was fantastic. I just heard of Cthulhu Armageddon by C.T. Phipps and it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Does it actually suck?
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Aug 26, 2016 10:35
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Ornamented Death posted:^^^You cat-faced bastard it's ironic because, as i've posted before, simmons is a student of writing as a craft and doesn't just fire off whatever feels good to him. he's that loving attached to the hours he spent reading about some arcane nautical poo poo and you MUST KNOW ABOUT IT!
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Aug 26, 2016 13:38
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also can we make a gentlemen's agreement to not point out certain words the use of which is basically an authorial tic? because once someone points it out to you it can never be expiated from your brain and every time it appears it's nails on a chalkboard
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Aug 26, 2016 13:39
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Neurosis posted:also can we make a gentlemen's agreement to not point out certain words the use of which is basically an authorial tic? because once someone points it out to you it can never be expiated from your brain and every time it appears it's nails on a chalkboard Hahahahahaha
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Aug 26, 2016 18:03
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MockingQuantum posted:It always surprises me what words authors fixate on. I swear if I read China Mieville write the word "bathos" once more I'm going to reach through a book and slap him. He uses "puissant" basically any time he's writing about magic in The Scar. A word so uncommon and antiquated that the spellchecker in my browser refuses to acknowledge it. I really liked the Scar though, once I looked up what the hell puissant meant. FreudianSlippers fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Aug 26, 2016 |
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Aug 26, 2016 18:58
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I learned "puissant" from GURPS 
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Aug 26, 2016 19:45
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I feel like hands down the best horror novel I have read is Pet Semetary. I read it in middle school though so YMMV.
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Aug 26, 2016 21:17
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FreudianSlippers posted:He uses "puissant" basically any time he's writing about magic in The Scar. A word so uncommon and antiquated that the spellchecker in my browser refuses to acknowledge it. "Puissant" is intentional though. He specifically designates it early on as the word used in universe for anyone with magical ability, really.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:24
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Salem's Lot is the first book I thought of when it comes to good horror novels. For a King book, it's quite compact as well!
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Aug 27, 2016 05:00
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Recommended via the recommenation thread - im looking for fiction regarding ancient religions, demons, cults, hell even happy religions. Im trying to stay away from HPL bc i want something new and not Cthulu. Its hard to explain exactly what im looking for, but you all can narrow it down a lot.
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Aug 28, 2016 05:06
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Skullcrack City has cults! Actually, Kraken by China Mieville might be right up your alley.
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Aug 28, 2016 06:44
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ButtWolf posted:Recommended via the recommenation thread - im looking for fiction regarding ancient religions, demons, cults, hell even happy religions. Im trying to stay away from HPL bc i want something new and not Cthulu. Its hard to explain exactly what im looking for, but you all can narrow it down a lot. Oh boy! Last Days by Brian Evenson, maybe just read everything by Brian Evenson (especially if you count Mormonism as a cult). His latest collection A Collapse of Horses has a story about a guy driving to pick up his girlfriend from a cult, it's really good.
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Aug 28, 2016 09:58
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ButtWolf posted:Recommended via the recommenation thread - im looking for fiction regarding ancient religions, demons, cults, hell even happy religions. Im trying to stay away from HPL bc i want something new and not Cthulu. Its hard to explain exactly what im looking for, but you all can narrow it down a lot. Well, there's The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson. That's the first one that popped into my head. It has ancient religions, cults, demons and Repairman Jack punching them.
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Aug 29, 2016 00:28
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Reading Greg Stolze's Mask of the Other. drat good. I think it's Delta Green. Try the sample. It should hook you.
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Aug 29, 2016 04:14
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Helical Nightmares posted:Reading Greg Stolze's Mask of the Other. drat good. I think it's Delta Green. Try the sample. It should hook you. And it's got an audiobook! That part sold me, anyway.
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Aug 29, 2016 19:19
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Finished Greg Stolze's Mask of the Other. Some thoughts: Did I enjoy it? Yes Would I recommend it to someone looking for a good/solid Cthulhu Mythos story? Very much so. Would I read it again? No. Is it Delta Green? Not canonically. There is no overarching government conspiracy that knows about the Mythos that is discussed. It's more of a "tight knit army unit gets exposed to the Mythos" story. A military main character is named Doris Greenfield. Also a Detwiller ( Dennis Detwiller is the illustrator) dies. Other than that I didn't notice any references. Are there excerpts useful for designing/running a Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green Adventure? Definitely. The diverse scenes of different locations and from multiple character perspectives are weaved together expertly. I could have done without Deep One rape but that certainly does check the body horror box. The molecular biology of the mythos beings are explained in an appropriate manner. I've always liked the theme that gruesome death and insanity are the least of your worries in the Mythos. Conversion to the Other is cosmically and personally terrifying and Stolze does a good job of this. The narrative for me started dragging towards the middle. Specifically when the army unit met up in the cabin and when they were sent to the island to clean up shop. At those points it felt like "we are gung ho" stereotypical army unit banter was filler. Some parts of the Doris Greenfield investigation dragged, again somewhere after the mid point. Wrapping her Ahab story up into the main narrative felt a little clunky to me but not much. Like her motives required a bit more development? A lot of the ending I thought was stellar, particularly how Stolze handles the Mythos beings. However I felt the doctor was being uncharacteristically careless at the end, and the last scene with Doris and Hazard felt a little flat. I don't know.
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Aug 29, 2016 22:42
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I am interested in Justin Isis. Has anyone read his work? Would you recommend it? What is it like?
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Aug 30, 2016 21:43
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A while back I read American Elsewhere and really loved it overall, in spite of some occasional slow pacing. How is the rest of Robert Jackson Bennett's horror stuff? Is any of the rest of it cosmic-flavored? Also I heard he was a goon once upon a time. Fun fact.
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Aug 31, 2016 07:12
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Robot Wendigo posted:Well, there's The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson. That's the first one that popped into my head. It has ancient religions, cults, demons and Repairman Jack punching them. Wilson tied Repairman Jack into some of his other novels, upon which it turns into cosmic horror too.
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Aug 31, 2016 15:30
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MockingQuantum posted:A while back I read American Elsewhere and really loved it overall, in spite of some occasional slow pacing. How is the rest of Robert Jackson Bennett's horror stuff? Is any of the rest of it cosmic-flavored? Confirming American Elsewhere was good.
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Aug 31, 2016 22:10
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MockingQuantum posted:A while back I read American Elsewhere and really loved it overall, in spite of some occasional slow pacing. How is the rest of Robert Jackson Bennett's horror stuff? Is any of the rest of it cosmic-flavored? He quit when other goons poo poo all over one of his books. Was American Elsewhere the book in question?
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Sep 1, 2016 10:48
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Solitair posted:He quit when other goons poo poo all over one of his books. Was American Elsewhere the book in question? It was Mr. Shivers, it got completely destroyed by FYAD, and they were right.
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Sep 1, 2016 12:54
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the Mr shivers fyad thread is one of the finest cultural objects this forum has produced and represents, albeit indirectly, Bennett's greatest contribution to the world of letters
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Sep 4, 2016 02:39
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I'd like to think that even though he left SA, he still learned something. American Elsewhere was pretty good and City of Stairs was loving brilliant.
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Sep 4, 2016 03:22
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