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Just finished Authority, I'm really enjoying this series. I can understand how some people may not like it but I dig the writing style and that the author doesn't treat me like an idiot; it's a great book for encouraging your imagination to go wild. It's a good balance of being able to figure out what's happening versus the burgeoning sense of the unknowable imposing itself on the narrator's reality. Looking forward to plowing ahead and finishing the trilogy.
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Dec 27, 2017 14:58
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so what's the thread consensus on [/i]Sleeping Beauties[/i] and strange weather? I keep giving Hill a chance and I don't really know why. 20th Century Ghosts remains, I think, a legitimately Good collection, but while I loved Heart Shaped Box when it came out (and I was 16), it hasn't stood up to re-reads. Horns was an emotional gut-punch but not a great book, N0S4A2 (which is remarkably annoying to type out) was dreck and I didn't bother with The Fireman. So what I'm asking, I guess, is whether SW is more like 20th Century Ghosts or, uh, everything he's written since. and also whether or not sleeping beauties is good. it uh, doesn't sound great.
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Dec 27, 2017 23:09
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Generally not a fan of the guy. Stephen King isn't scary but he can build those little smalltown societies and then gleefuly tear them apart and that's fun. Joe Hill seems to take the horror ideas from his dad but without that particular redeeming factor it just feels bland and boring. Haven't read the latest stuff though.
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Dec 28, 2017 14:16
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Hill's stuff seems so loving bonkers to me when reading synopses. Like, maybe any one idea would be enough for a story but instead not only does a dude get the feet of an angel, but also he has a secret cove where a magical dove tells him about the past... but only on a full moon.
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Dec 29, 2017 09:03
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I like Joe Hill's stuff, I thought NOS4A2 was still cool, but The Fireman and Strange Weather were both good but didn't have the bite of his earlier works, particularly 20th Century Ghosts. They were more on par with a Stephen King horror adventure type thing.
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Dec 29, 2017 16:55
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Skyscraper posted:I like Joe Hill's stuff, I thought NOS4A2 was still cool, but The Fireman and Strange Weather were both good but didn't have the bite of his earlier works, particularly 20th Century Ghosts. They were more on par with a Stephen King horror adventure type thing. There was nothing wrong with The Fireman, generally speaking. It has a couple of cool ideas. For the life of me, though, I couldn't tell you how it ends and I read it maybe six months ago, if that's any indication of anything. Personally, I haven't read 20th Century Ghosts, but otherwise I think his best writing is in Locke and Key. If you're not opposed to comics, it does some really good weird fiction kind of stuff throughout. Pretty excellent art too.
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Dec 29, 2017 17:17
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MockingQuantum posted:There was nothing wrong with The Fireman, generally speaking. It has a couple of cool ideas. For the life of me, though, I couldn't tell you how it ends and I read it maybe six months ago, if that's any indication of anything. I've heard of that! If I ever get the time to sit down with some comics, it's on my list.
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Dec 29, 2017 17:19
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oh yeah locke and key is really good
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Dec 29, 2017 18:19
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MockingQuantum posted:There was nothing wrong with The Fireman, generally speaking. It has a couple of cool ideas. For the life of me, though, I couldn't tell you how it ends and I read it maybe six months ago, if that's any indication of anything. There's an audio drama version of Locke and Key that I've heard rave reviews about, too.
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Dec 29, 2017 18:48
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Dienes posted:There's an audio drama version of Locke and Key that I've heard rave reviews about, too. I've heard that too, but I'm skeptical--- so much of the strength of L&K is in the visuals. Not to say an audio drama would be inherently bad, but I think it would lose something special in translation.
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Dec 29, 2017 20:55
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chernobyl kinsman posted:so what's the thread consensus on [/i]Sleeping Beauties[/i] and strange weather? In my biting review of Strange Weather in the King thread I called him a 45 year old Millenial and I stand by it. All the ambition of a teenage Internet fan fiction writer and half the talent.
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Dec 29, 2017 22:17
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Drunken Baker posted:God! I forgot about that opening. If I could be arsed I'd re-read it to see how the prose and style line up, because it might just lend credence to the "two authors" rumour(fact). It wouldn't surprise me if he'd written the opening a loooooong time ago, back when he still had a bit of fire in his belly, put it aside for whatever reason, then picked it up again recently and tacked a book-length of incoherent garbage onto it. It really is that different. Also, it tricked me into reading several hundred pages more of the book than I would have done, on the assumption that it was probably going to get good again in a bit. it never did
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Dec 29, 2017 22:45
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Maybe Clive Barker is literally brain damaged now? He did almost die of sepsis like 10 years ago. He was never an amazing writer or anything but everyone seems to describe Scarlet Gospels as utter dogshit. Could also be the whole near-death thing made him decide to start phoning it in for a paycheck and spend more time enjoying life.
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Dec 30, 2017 09:20
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At one point I had his 20-something boyfriend on facebook and he was really into talking about how he's Barker's boyfriend at every opportunity. Also real proud about never giving homeless people any money because they don't deserve it. That's my Clive Barker story.
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Dec 30, 2017 22:38
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ravenkult posted:At one point I had his 20-something boyfriend on facebook and he was really into talking about how he's Barker's boyfriend at every opportunity. Also real proud about never giving homeless people any money because they don't deserve it. Sure that guy isn't just a nut? I don't follow Clive Barker's personal life (or really anything related to Clive Barker in the past 15 years or so) but last I heard he was in a long-term relationship with his bodyguard/personal assistant.
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Dec 31, 2017 03:03
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If you're interested in what Clive Barker is up to, Nerdist has a few podcasts with him
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Jan 1, 2018 17:38
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Professor Shark posted:In my biting review of Strange Weather in the King thread I called him a 45 year old Millenial and I stand by it. All the ambition of a teenage Internet fan fiction writer and half the talent. ha ha yeah millenials suck
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Jan 2, 2018 17:12
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Skyscraper posted:ha ha yeah millenials suck Given the conversations I overhear at my bar, it's at least 50/50. But then again I'm a scumbag Gen-X'er
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Jan 2, 2018 18:53
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Skyscraper posted:ha ha yeah millenials suck this but unironically
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Jan 2, 2018 20:05
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chernobyl kinsman posted:this but unironically sorry you're old i guess
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Jan 2, 2018 20:12
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Skyscraper posted:sorry you're old i guess im not
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Jan 2, 2018 23:22
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TOOT BOOT posted:Sure that guy isn't just a nut? I don't follow Clive Barker's personal life (or really anything related to Clive Barker in the past 15 years or so) but last I heard he was in a long-term relationship with his bodyguard/personal assistant. It was either the same guy or ??? because he definitely was involved with him.
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Jan 4, 2018 17:35
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So far I'm considering reading Cliver Barker's Abarat (which might not even be horror) and 20th Century Ghosts. I do still have a lot of samples to read through, though.
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Jan 8, 2018 19:36
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Oh hey I finished Ararat the other day and I'd say it's... firmly alright. Not a bad book, by no means high literature but it's written well. Its major shortcoming is really that it took a pretty neat idea/premise and doesn't quite deliver on it. Also one of the characters has just enough interesting backstory that I had to check to see if he was a character from another book the author had written-- the fact that he isn't makes some of the details in his backstory oddly unnecessary, though still interesting. Now I'm bouncing between reading a Lovecraftian short story megapack and The Croning. For the latter, I'm finding I still really enjoy Barron, but have to kind of take his writing in short stints. He kind of has a weird pattern of interesting scene->overly detailed description (usually about how great the PNW is)->sudden backstory dump. The book's been criticized as feeling like a novel written by someone who spends most of their time writing short stories, and all that entails, and I can definitely see what's meant by that criticism. As for the former... I don't get the fascination with Innsmouth in the Lovecraft mythos. This particular megapack has like, three or four Innsmouth pastiches included. It may be that I just don't like pastiches since they tend to lean heavily on "hey remember when my favorite story did this?! Did you see I just referenced that character?!!!" But I also didn't find fishy people all that interesting in the first place, so maybe it's just preference there too.
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Jan 8, 2018 19:48
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I like The Croning a lot but it's not a great book overall really, his strength is definitely short stories. The protagonist being like 85 is really, really funny though. Also the PNW is pretty great and its where I grew up so his overly detailed descriptions of the woods and stuff are one of my favorite parts.
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Jan 8, 2018 20:51
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hopterque posted:I like The Croning a lot but it's not a great book overall really, his strength is definitely short stories. Oh yeah I'm really glad people were telling me to pretend the protagonist is 65, not 85, because drat Barron must know some spry old men. I have no opinion one way or the other on the PNW, but Barron spends a lot of time describing it over his whole body of work. Not Tolkien level of extraneous description, but enough that you notice. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but there are a few stories where I don't think it really adds much.
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Jan 8, 2018 20:54
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Re: Barron & PNW – this is going to make me sound like a fanboy, but his stories definitely upped my interested in the region and when I visited with the wife in 2016, I actually messaged him on Facebook to ask for tips. Ended up having a nice kayak paddle on Lake Crescent, and the Olympic Peninsula was definitely cool. Most people going there because of a book are Twilight fans, though.
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Jan 8, 2018 23:38
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MockingQuantum posted:Now I'm bouncing between reading a Lovecraftian short story megapack Speaking of this, I know I'm getting people to repeat answers and I apologise, but this thread is pretty gargantuan. Thing is, I'm likely going to be contributing to a Cthulhu Mythos anthology and while I love Lovecraft, I've never read any 3rd party Mythos stuff (bar Cthulhu's Reign*) and I was wondering if there's any "must read" books out there. Not had the brief proper from the dude putting the book together yet, but he wants stories that are about 6000 words and he'll assign a time and place for the story to be set in, which sounds real interesting. *Excluding this because I know the book isn't likely to be about Cthulhu waking up and wrecking poo poo.
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Jan 9, 2018 14:53
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Drunken Baker posted:Speaking of this, I know I'm getting people to repeat answers and I apologise, but this thread is pretty gargantuan. Thing is, I'm likely going to be contributing to a Cthulhu Mythos anthology and while I love Lovecraft, I've never read any 3rd party Mythos stuff (bar Cthulhu's Reign*) and I was wondering if there's any "must read" books out there. The Black Wings collections are ace tier IMO, but they're edited by ST Joshi who as has been discussed is a crazy person. Doesn't stop the collections from being incredible, and in spite of his recent issues his work as editor for various compilations has generally been really good, but I thought I'd add the disclaimer. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7986449-black-wings is the first one. I can also recommend these two: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11196925-the-book-of-cthulhu https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6505011-lovecraft-unbound hopterque fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Jan 9, 2018 |
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Jan 9, 2018 15:08
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Aw brilliant. Thank you. Picked up Black Wings and Book of Cthulhu there. It also reminded me that I need to start getting into Ramsey Campbell as well. I've got a few of his books there but always get sidetracked. And God, yeah, Joshi is bananas. Hahaha. I was only just reading Brian Keene's blog about him the other day too. For a recommendation I follow a twitter-handle @HorrorPaperback who just posts kick-rear end horror book covers all day and this popped up. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Will-Sun-E...+come+out+again For some reason that cover just resonated with me. No gore, no mad goblin-faces and not flying demonic trains (there's more books about the subject than you might think). Just a cold and oppressive cover that I bought without even reading what it was about. First story in it, "He Stepped Through" was great! Well worth a look. Contemporary noir meets The Wire meets Outer Horrors.
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Jan 9, 2018 15:50
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The two Book of Cthulhu anthologies are top-tier and well worth picking up. I haven't read any of the Black Wings anthologies after the first, but based on what I've seen in other Joshi anthologies, I suspect their quality decreases with time as Joshi further isolates himself from the folks that actually know how to write good cosmic horror. And Nate Southard is great. He doesn't write a lot of cosmic horror, but what he has written is damned good. It's also worth checking out his vampire novel Lights Out. Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Jan 9, 2018 |
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Jan 9, 2018 15:55
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The first three Black Wings anthologies were pretty good, with 2 and 3 having a better ratio of good stories, and I highly recommend them despite the presence of a few total stinkers. The fourth volume? I don't keep up with the drama so I assumed Joshi hit his head or something because most of them were boring at best and terrible at worst, apart from a couple which were okay and an always-stellar offering from Caitlín Kiernan tucked in there like a jewel dropped in the toilet.
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Jan 9, 2018 22:17
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I'll have to waint until next payday, but I'll pick up volumes 2 & 3 as well. Also more Nate Southard. Tearing through that book like nothing else.
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Jan 10, 2018 11:58
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I'm looking for a good horror novel that kind of captures the same feeling as classic slasher horror (Halloween, Friday the 13, etc). Any recommendations?
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Jan 11, 2018 17:55
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm looking for a good horror novel that kind of captures the same feeling as classic slasher horror (Halloween, Friday the 13, etc). Any recommendations? Con Season by Adam Cesare is a fun take on these sorts of movies.
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Jan 11, 2018 20:19
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Ornamented Death posted:Con Season by Adam Cesare is a fun take on these sorts of movies. This looks like exactly what I'm looking for. How is his stuff in general? A ton of his books are on Kindle Unlimited, and I've been debating subscribing for it again.
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Jan 11, 2018 20:38
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Ornamented Death posted:Con Season by Adam Cesare is a fun take on these sorts of movies. I think I did the cover on that. MockingQuantum posted:This looks like exactly what I'm looking for. How is his stuff in general? A ton of his books are on Kindle Unlimited, and I've been debating subscribing for it again. He's pretty good! He also has a youtube channel where he talks about books.
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Jan 11, 2018 20:44
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MockingQuantum posted:This looks like exactly what I'm looking for. How is his stuff in general? A ton of his books are on Kindle Unlimited, and I've been debating subscribing for it again. I like him a lot. He's a big fan of 80s horror and really understands what makes it so fun, and that comes through in his writing.
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Jan 12, 2018 02:21
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MockingQuantum posted:This looks like exactly what I'm looking for. How is his stuff in general? A ton of his books are on Kindle Unlimited, and I've been debating subscribing for it again. Exponential is a really fun and gruesome creature horror novel. Reminded me of the 1980s version of The Blob.
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Jan 12, 2018 04:44
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm looking for a good horror novel that kind of captures the same feeling as classic slasher horror (Halloween, Friday the 13, etc). Any recommendations? You got a kindle? I've started a slasher series of books and I'm trying to make them read as a slasher film plays out, if that makes sense? If anyone wants a copy send me a DM or just say so in here and I'll whip up a few free codes. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075VHJG4G
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Jan 12, 2018 15:01
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