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Is there a reason why Worlds of Hurt seems to no longer be on Amazon?
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Jul 5, 2017 16:44
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anilEhilated posted:Is there a reason why Worlds of Hurt seems to no longer be on Amazon? The publisher, DarkFuse, is...doing something they are referring to as a "restructuring" and have taken all of their books out of print and either reverted the rights back to the authors or had the authors sign a new contract (author's choice). I suspect Hodge chose to get the rights back as I've heard from other DF authors that the terms of the new contract are not as good as those in the original. It'll probably be a bit before he signs with another publisher/self publishes. On the off chance Hodge resigned with DF, it'll be November before anything is put back in print.
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Jul 5, 2017 16:49
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Drunken Baker posted:Hahaha if there's meant to be a twist in the book the first Amazon review spoils it full throttle. Book sounds great though, just ordered the hardcover for 3 grand... No, wait. a used paperback for a pound. Sounds like great fun! So, I tried reading a Brian Keene book a while back and couldn't get into it at all. I really wanted to enjoy it, because I met him at a local convention and he was such an unrepentant rear end in a top hat to everyone in the most delightful way, but nothing about the book grabbed me. What's a good Keene to start with, that will give you a good sense of his style? I can't remember the name of the book I read, all I remember was it had zombies (which is probably at least half of why I didn't like it). Edit: After a quick Google, seems he doesn't have that many zombie novels. The one I tried to read was The Rising. I got about 1/3rd of the way through it before I put it down.
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Jul 6, 2017 06:28
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It was this thread that put me onto him with the "Earthworm Gods" book which was some pretty good apocalyptic fare. I *think* that it's not indicative of his usual style though as it's all written as a journal entry of a dying man as he recounts the rise of the worms. The Complex was written in a "present tense" way which only sometimes sat right with me. "Lydia runs to her door..." That kinda thing. Unless it was intentional for that book and the panic it was trying to convey. I plum forget how the other Earthworm Gods books were written. Ha;fway through the last story in "Worlds of Hurt" and it is extremely my poo poo. Drunken Baker fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jul 6, 2017 |
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Jul 6, 2017 10:23
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MockingQuantum posted:So, I tried reading a Brian Keene book a while back and couldn't get into it at all. I really wanted to enjoy it, because I met him at a local convention and he was such an unrepentant rear end in a top hat to everyone in the most delightful way, but nothing about the book grabbed me. What's a good Keene to start with, that will give you a good sense of his style? I can't remember the name of the book I read, all I remember was it had zombies (which is probably at least half of why I didn't like it). Earthworm Gods is a good place to start, and Drunken Baker mentioned. You could also start with either of his short story collections, Blood on the Page or All Dark, All the Time to get a sampling of the different styles he uses throughout his career (stories are NOT in publication order). Drunken Baker posted:It was this thread that put me onto him with the "Earthworm Gods" book which was some pretty good apocalyptic fare. Keene doesn't have a typical style, such as it is - he's all over the place. I don't mean this in a bad way, either, because he's always willing to try something new and unless the book you pick up is a direct sequel, you're not going to feel like you're reading the same story over and over again. Contrast that to someone like Laird Barron: you can track the rise and fall of his star (at least with goons) throughout this thread, largely because while he's a great writer, all of his stories start to blend together after a while. It's not a big deal if you space everything out, but in our binge-crazy society, most folks will tear through his entire oeuvre all at once. And for what it's worth, Earthworm Gods II is written in past tense; I'm not sure about the short story collection, but I imagine it's the same.
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Jul 6, 2017 20:26
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Ornamented Death posted:Contrast that to someone like Laird Barron: you can track the rise and fall of his star (at least with goons) throughout this thread, largely because while he's a great writer, all of his stories start to blend together after a while. I was going to delve into Barron next, I'll keep this in mind and just dip in and out. Much more a fan of the stuff regarding Heaven and the false God who took over in the absence of the deity who made humanity. The vague description of what was waiting after death actually haunted me. It was just off-putting enough to stick with me. I want more of that. The rest of it was great too, but in a different way. The creatures and poor souls cursed(?) with bizarre forms of immortality were fun enough, but really didn't slake my thirst like the weird heaven stuff did. Drunken Baker fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Jul 7, 2017 |
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Jul 7, 2017 15:47
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Drunken Baker posted:
None, really. Hodge has been teasing another Misbegotten story for a few years now, but nothing has surfaced. I distinctly remember him announcing a novella-length project with Cemetery Dance that was either going to be this or a quasi-followup to Whom the Gods Would Destory, but for the life of me I can't find any mention of it now. Edit: As a heads up, Whom the Gods Would Destroy and Without Purpose, Without Pity are also out of print due to the DarkFuse stuff I talked about a few posts back. If you're REALLY dedicated, there are hardcover releases for both, but that's going to be a fair bit more expensive than an ebook. Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 03:48
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Drunken Baker posted:Much more a fan of the stuff regarding Heaven and the false God who took over in the absence of the deity who made humanity. The vague description of what was waiting after death actually haunted me. It was just off-putting enough to stick with me. I want more of that. The rest of it was great too, but in a different way. The creatures and poor souls cursed(?) with bizarre forms of immortality were fun enough, but really didn't slake my thirst like the weird heaven stuff did.
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Jul 10, 2017 19:32
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Well bear in mind that the roots of cosmic horror are in horrible, unexplainable poo poo that is so far beyond humanity that we are utterly insignificant. Between Derleth's misunderstanding of what HPL was trying to do and his subsequent introduction of the (human) concepts of good and evil into HPL's mythos,, the impact that had on some of the early popular cosmic horror writers, and so many modern authors moving out of HPL's shadow to do their own thing and, in the process, losing sight of that important aspect of what makes the original concepts, if not the stories themselves, so enduring, the mysterious aspect of cosmic horror has fallen out of favor. Hodge's cosmic horror stories are so much more effective than his contemporaries because he hasn't forgotten the roots of the genre - he's perfectly willing to leave a great deal of the background material virtually untouched. To be honest, I admire Hodge's restraint when it comes to the Misbegotten mythos. He clearly knows it's one of his more popular creations, but he's in no rush to cash in on it. I'm sure he could crank out entertaining, if not outstanding, stories on a regular basis, but in doing so he'd likely ruin the mythos because it'd become rote and, more to the point, lose the mysteriousness that keeps it interesting (to me, at least).
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Jul 11, 2017 01:46
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Ornamented Death posted:I distinctly remember him announcing a novella-length project with Cemetery Dance that was either going to be this or a quasi-followup to Whom the Gods Would Destory, but for the life of me I can't find any mention of it now. Double posting, but the product page for this is now live on CD's website. http://www.cemeterydance.com/ill-bring-you-the-birds.html quote:When Nona Conklin brings him a painting by the great-grandfather she never knew, gallery owner Timothy Randolph knows he's found the project of a lifetime: curating a spectacular cache of folk art hidden for decades in the mountains of her home.
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Jul 11, 2017 17:10
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Ornamented Death posted:Well bear in mind that the roots of cosmic horror are in horrible, unexplainable poo poo that is so far beyond humanity that we are utterly insignificant. Between Derleth's misunderstanding of what HPL was trying to do and his subsequent introduction of the (human) concepts of good and evil into HPL's mythos,, the impact that had on some of the early popular cosmic horror writers, and so many modern authors moving out of HPL's shadow to do their own thing and, in the process, losing sight of that important aspect of what makes the original concepts, if not the stories themselves, so enduring, the mysterious aspect of cosmic horror has fallen out of favor. Hodge's cosmic horror stories are so much more effective than his contemporaries because he hasn't forgotten the roots of the genre - he's perfectly willing to leave a great deal of the background material virtually untouched. You're basically right, though I still think there are different places authors can take cosmic horror that wouldn't violate this core principle.
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Jul 18, 2017 17:42
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We can be our own worst enemies when it comes to this poo poo. Naturally we want more, just like the people in the stories, even though we'll hate it if we got what we wanted. hah.
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Jul 20, 2017 09:29
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Sorry about the double post, but... Any books that death with Cyberpunk meeting Cosmic Horror? I'm nearly done with the first draft of a Cyberpunk noir detective story where the dick in question stumbles across a cult worshipping a long forgotten deity, but it's just wiped me out and I need something to top me up again. In searching I only found a book called "No Dogs in Philly". not read it yet, but the description sounds more fantastical that horror. I know there's a roleplaying module for GURPS called CthulhuPunk, but from what I can tell it's mostly an excuse to stat Cthulhu and then seeing how many Augmented Wolverine Robots it would take to kill him off.
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Jul 21, 2017 15:06
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Drunken Baker posted:Sorry about the double post, but... Jeffrey Thomas's Punktown setting, depending on where you draw the line between sci-fi and cyberpunk (acknowledging the latter is a subset of the former). In particular, the novels and novellas tend to be more sci-fi/horror, while the short stories have a stronger feel of cyberpunk.
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Jul 21, 2017 15:10
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Sold! You're not half on the ball, Ornamented. Haha.
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Jul 21, 2017 15:36
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Drunken Baker posted:Sorry about the double post, but... You for sure want to read Michael Shean's trilogy, The Wonderland Cycle, though even acknowledging it as cosmic horror kind of gives away a major plot twist.
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Jul 21, 2017 15:47
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So I just finished The Ritual by Adam Nevill and I'm... totally uncertain how I feel about the book. I guess I'd lean towards saying I didn't enjoy it, but didn't hate it outright. It overall felt like what could have been a really good novella but felt really padded and plodding as a book. Also the sort of mid-book change of focus was a little odd. It felt like everything that happens after Luke wakes up at the farmhouse could have happened earlier, the book could have been shorter overall, and it still would have had about the same effect. Overall I feel like the metalheads summoning an elder god thing didn't work for me, either. Loki was an okay character, but the other two felt like these kind of bizarre overblown caricatures with no clear motivation. I just didn't care at all for where it went. I also feel like it was a foregone conclusion pretty early on that Dom, Phil, and Hutch would all die, and as a result there wasn't really any tension or build from their deaths. Though maybe, given I'm so lukewarm on this and didn't really care for The Terror either, the subgenre of "there's a scary thing in the wilderness" horror just isn't for me. Overall it was an okay book, but I think I like House of Small Shadows so much better. They share a lot of the same problems though, I think (at least as well as I can remember from when I read House... it's been a while.)
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Aug 11, 2017 17:51
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i liked the ritual. i agree about the shift throwing things off a lot, but overall it didn't significantly interfere with my enjoyment. i thought he wrote luke dealing with anger particularly well - the building irrational combativeness and the brief high from the adrenaline quickly giving way to the sick feeling over something horrible done in the moment (though not the kind of emotional rush i've had since my early 20s - and no i've never seriously hurt anyone physically or anything like that). also the loving physical abuse that man took. he has a strong animating will to live, if nothing else.
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Aug 12, 2017 06:04
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I've read Nevill's House of Small Shadows, No One Gets Out Alive, and Last Days. Last Days has the most WTF ending. It ends with a commando raid in a mansion against the scary monsters. Like, what the hell. House of Small Shadows was absolutely the best one by far.
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Aug 13, 2017 22:04
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lovecraft country is insanely bad and stupid
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Aug 17, 2017 02:53
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chernobyl kinsman posted:lovecraft country is insanely bad and stupid It sounds like an interesting premise, what didn't you like about it specifically?
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Aug 18, 2017 09:23
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it does sound like an interesting premise and i like the idea of a novel that tries to engage with the racist aspects of lovecraft's legacy this way. the problem is that the racial elements are, by and large, incredibly hamfisted. the action scenes (of which there are way too many) border on slapstick, the writing is flat, there's zero subtlety whatsoever, and the characters are simplistic (atticus isn't too bad). it ends up just being bland genre fiction in the sense that it's very hemmed in by the expected lovecraftian tropes even as it remains hyperaware of them.
chernobyl kinsman fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Aug 19, 2017 |
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Aug 18, 2017 14:55
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i haven't read lovecraft country but i thought the ballad of black tom by victor lavalle was a pretty good novella engaging with lovecraft's racism
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Aug 19, 2017 01:36
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Dr. Video Games 0081 posted:i haven't read lovecraft country but i thought the ballad of black tom by victor lavalle was a pretty good novella engaging with lovecraft's racism Black Tom is absolutely the better of the two, which is why it's been killing it with awards. Meanwhile Lovecraft Country is getting made into a TV show, so what do discerning readers know?
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Aug 19, 2017 02:12
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Ornamented Death posted:Black Tom is absolutely the better of the two, which is why it's been killing it with awards. I also really liked Black Tom, as well as The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. Not sure if that one qualifies as cosmic horror, though; my understanding is that Lovecraft's Dream Lands stories have a different tone than his later work.
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Aug 19, 2017 21:55
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On the subject of Dream Lands/Lovecraft, I started the thread five years ago (dear lord) when I started reading through all of Lovecraft's work. I'm still chugging along, since I quickly discovered his stuff isn't best if you slam back multiple stories in quick succession, but also because a good chunk of it just isn't good. I'm finally up to some of the best stuff, though that means it's also stuff I've mostly read before. Anyway, I bring this up because while I've been reading everything in chronological release order, I skipped the novellas because I just didn't want to commit to them at the time. I started Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, but I couldn't decide if it was worth finishing. It seems like it's mostly just Lovecraft spouting purple prose for its own sake. Is it worth reading by its own merits, though? I'm more interested in the story than the language, if that makes a difference. Same goes for The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. I started it, but then it lost me when it seemed like it wasn't going to be much different in delivery or content than his short stories, just longer. I'm up for reading it if it's worthwhile though.
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Aug 21, 2017 17:09
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I fuckin love Charles Dexter Ward and I don't know why
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Aug 21, 2017 17:42
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Neurosis posted:i liked the ritual. i agree about the shift throwing things off a lot, but overall it didn't significantly interfere with my enjoyment. i thought he wrote luke dealing with anger particularly well - the building irrational combativeness and the brief high from the adrenaline quickly giving way to the sick feeling over something horrible done in the moment (though not the kind of emotional rush i've had since my early 20s - and no i've never seriously hurt anyone physically or anything like that). also the loving physical abuse that man took. he has a strong animating will to live, if nothing else. Yeah, the guys are all old university friends but have been growing apart for years. Luke's lived an alternative lifestyle (which he's now questioning the wisdom of, as he heads towards 40) and his doubts and frustrations have condensed into a dangerous, simmering anger. Meanwhile his friends, who've gone on to have successful careers, increasingly see Luke as irresponsible and immature, especially as they're struggling themselves with the rather more grown-up problems of divorce and family breakdown. The way their old friendships crack, then spectacularly shatter under the stress of being lost in the wilderness is the best-written part of the book and utterly believable.
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Aug 21, 2017 22:30
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MockingQuantum posted:Same goes for The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. I started it, but then it lost me when it seemed like it wasn't going to be much different in delivery or content than his short stories, just longer. I'm up for reading it if it's worthwhile though. CDW is best read right before you go on a trip to Providence and take this self-guided walking tour. I enjoyed geeking out over the buildings mentioned in the text.  : "That's that thing I read about!"
Pththya-lyi fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Aug 21, 2017 |
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Aug 21, 2017 22:54
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CDW is great, and the writing is some of HPL's best, imho. I can't stand the Dreamlands stuff though!
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Aug 22, 2017 19:08
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Thanks for recommending the Atrocity Archives, thread. Only in the early pages of book one but I have a feeling it's a winner.
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Aug 23, 2017 09:34
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Drunken Baker posted:Thanks for recommending the Atrocity Archives, thread. Only in the early pages of book one but I have a feeling it's a winner. Oh hey this reminded me to check when book 8 was coming out and it already did, so, hooray.
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Aug 23, 2017 10:11
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Can they be read on their own? I'm not going to get to book 8 and be left hanging like Game of Thrones fans have been left, am I?
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Aug 23, 2017 12:23
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Drunken Baker posted:Can they be read on their own? I'm not going to get to book 8 and be left hanging like Game of Thrones fans have been left, am I? No, each book is a self contained story that also adds to and advances the metaplot, basically. Obviously the characters and stuff carry over and they should be read in order but they're all pretty self contained.
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Aug 23, 2017 13:04
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I'm not sure I agree with that. The books are somewhat self contained but they contain characters, threats, and concepts that show up a lot in the sequels. If I jumped right into one of the last two books I'd feel pretty confused. He usually does a quick recap of where the story is and how magic works, but it not be enough to bring you up to speed. For the record I think the first four (Atrocity Archives, Jennifer Morgue, Fuller Memorandum, and Apocalypse Codex) are the best of the bunch, so try those. The next four I'm not especially keen on. They have brief flares of excellence but overall I'm not enamored and the next book in the series is going to have to sell me pretty hard to get me to buy it. I'd try the first couple, Drunken Baker. The first two are definitely more self contained. If they intrigue you get the next two.
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Aug 23, 2017 13:29
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I guess I meant more in the sense of not being left completely hanging at the end of each book, like, there's a concrete resolution to the arc of each book I feel, with stuff set up for going forward.
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Aug 23, 2017 15:13
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That being said, book 8 certainly ends on a "poo poo's about to get REAL" note. Then again, so did 5, 6 and 7... If starting with the series you should be aware of the fact that the first three or four books are all written in the styles of different authors Stross was paying tribute to. I know the first one is Len Deighton and the second one Ian Fleming, forgot the other two - point is, each one reads pretty differently.
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Aug 23, 2017 15:54
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anilEhilated posted:That being said, book 8 certainly ends on a "poo poo's about to get REAL" note.
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Aug 23, 2017 16:52
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Skyscraper posted:I absolutely hate a lot of what he's done with the series, particularly with including vampires and elves, is book 8 any good for me? The Wikipedia entry makes it sound good, but is too general to really be sure.
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Aug 23, 2017 20:55
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Thanks for the opinions, thread. I'll probably swing back around and read Charles Dexter Ward at some point in my Lovecraft journey. For now, I need a break and I'm diving into Swan Song by McCammon. I've heard mixed reviews of his work in general, but so far it's got me.
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Aug 23, 2017 20:58
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