|
PsychedelicWarlord posted:The way King writes Black people is so insanely bad. I haven't read much of his recent work so can't tell if it's improved lately. Except like Mike Hanlon is pretty much fine. It’s not consistent which makes it weirder and almost worse because it implies it’s a choice.
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2022 00:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 09:45 |
|
|
A little late, but I can't recommend The Boatman's Daughter. It really could have used a big twist or two, either in the plot or characterization, because as it is it's obvious from the beginning that it's going to end in a big fracas between the good guys and the bad guys and so the rest of the book is just a repetitive exercise in delaying the inevitable by going up and down this river again and again. It's not a complete failure - it's a unique and compelling setting and the prose evokes a spooky, swampy atmosphere very well - but it doesn't sufficiently elaborate from that kernel.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2022 15:14
|
|
|
Finished reading Ryu Murakami’s Piercing. It creeped me out, and it was in turns depressing and distressing. The structure was compelling, and I enjoyed how it shifted into a paranoid thriller and managed to keep mounting the pressure. A good read.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2022 22:18
|
|
|
Just finished Your Body is not Your Body, a collection of body horror from trans and gender nonconforming writers. It was, like all anthologies with multiple writers tend to be, a mixed bag, but there were definitely more hits than misses. The big thing that struck me was that it felt very zine-y, with many of the stories seeming very raw and/or from inexperienced writers (apologies if this isn't the case; but I'm not familiar with individual writers outside established names). On one hand this was good, because even the stories that didn't grip me were at least interesting, whereas bad stories from established writers tend to feel bland. On the other hand, a lot of the stories struggled with establishing a sense of stakes and tone, which is something I've seen from a lot of writers still finding their stride; many felt like they were going for a weird vibe but just didn't provide enough solid ground to draw you in, while others felt like they had to beat you over the head with the point or twist. The hands down best story was High Maintenance, told from the POV of a sex android that gets repeatedly altered by its owner. A great example of less is more, because there weren't any faces oozing off bodies or extra limbs exploding out of stomachs or anything, but there's an intense sense of violation as you learn more about the robot and his owner. I'm a sucker for relationship horror and this hit all the right notes. Lost in Reincarnation, a bit of flash fiction about a man who learns why he's in intense pain, and Stench, which I can only summarize with the wonderful but mildly spoiler-y line "The gender is bones!" cried the many women, stained with blood and fat and viscera, were the other two standouts. There's a bunch more decent-to-good ones in there but too many to mention. A solid read.
|
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2022 21:06
|
|
|
Well you hooked me on Stench with that line. I need to know the story behind all of that.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2022 04:17
|
|
|
Halt time report on Every Dead Thing. I was...not gripped by the book until part 2, where I did a 180 on it. You can definitely tell it's Connoly's first novel, the pacing in the first part is a little weird and the scenes felt disjointed to me. Part 2 comes around and here's the John Connoly voice I love in it's early form. The mystery itself (or I should say the primary mystery) has been a good one. Things that I remembered being off came to mean something, right now almost everything seems to be wrapped up but there's half the book to go, so I'm psyched to see where it goes! I know in the future Connoly writes amazing horror, and there's been a drip feed throughout the book. Well, of spooky horror. He's got the horror of the deeds and hearts of man already going. TheWorldsaStage fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Sep 16, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2022 05:51
|
|
|
TheWorldsaStage posted:Halt time report on Every Dead Thing. I was...not gripped by the book until part 2, where I did a 180 on it. You can definitely tell it's Connoly's first novel, the pacing in the first part is a little weird and the scenes felt disjointed to me. I just finished Dark Hollow, the second Charlie Parker book and I liked it significantly more than Every Dead Thing. It's much better paced and more tightly written, the characters are much more memorable and real (or if not, they're exactly as detailed as they need to be and don't take up more oxygen than necessary). The horror aspect is still very slow burn but definitely builds off of some of the thematic tropes established in the first book. Connolly also still is a fan of big explanatory sections but they didn't bother me as much in this book, because they felt much more like he was establishing a mood or background that was going to be relevant to the plot, or at least enrich it in some way, rather than just showing off the research, which the first book was guilty of a little too often, imo. I was on the fence after Every Dead Thing, but I think Dark Hollow convinced me to keep reading the Parker books. It's not exactly a home run, it still dragged in parts and some of the plot twists felt a bit contrived (in a totally standard airport-thriller kind of way) but I rarely felt like I had to slog through parts of it like I did with Every Dead Thing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2022 06:11
|
|
|
Xiahou Dun posted:Well you hooked me on Stench with that line. I was basically doing that old Vince McMahon meme over the course of the story and reaching the last frame when that line hits. My big complaint for a lot of the book was stories that toss you into the deep end of weird without setting up the characters or stakes, but this one does a great job introducing a fairly mundane character in a fairly normal setting and then steadily progressing things until that happens.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 01:05
|
|
|
Xiahou Dun posted:I haven’t read enough King to personally go to bat for the reputation or its causes, I’m 100% going on that being just reported. In terms of his novels I’ve finished maybe a half a dozen or so out of like 70 or whatever insane number he has. The ending of IT is not thematically appropriate, and it's terribly sad. It's stated that the reason the Losers forgot Derry is because It had made them do so. There's simply no reason for them to forget again. It's one of the best written parts of the book, but I hate it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 01:15
|
|
|
This is just a rumor I heard, was wondering if anybody else heard it: Clive Barker gave himself HIV in the early 2000’s by doing hosed up, bug-chasing kink poo poo involving injections of strangers’ blood by his dom, and he then gave it to his partner who was none the wiser. I always thought bug chasing was an urban myth, maybe it is, I hope so. Heard the rumor a few years ago, maybe it’s been long confirmed/disproven, figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Edit: is there a celebrity gossip forum? Nigmaetcetera fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Sep 17, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 17:57
|
|
|
Nigmaetcetera posted:This is just a rumor I heard, was wondering if anybody else heard it: Clive Barker gave himself HIV in the early 2000’s by doing hosed up, bug-chasing kink poo poo involving injections of strangers’ blood by his dom, and he then gave it to his partner who was none the wiser. I always thought bug chasing was an urban myth, maybe it is, I hope so. Heard the rumor a few years ago, maybe it’s been long confirmed/disproven, figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.  Edit: Holy yikes 
sephiRoth IRA fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Sep 17, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 20:45
|
|
|
EehhhhhhThe Article posted:The lawsuit is crazy -- with allegations of cousin sex, AIDS, S&M, and drug-fueled parties -- but the judge ruled the case was baseless and should not go forward. And I don't see any other allegations than just the one so, grain of salt
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 21:27
|
|
|
Opopanax posted:Eehhhhhh Yeah, that article screenshotted is about how the lawsuit was thrown out for lack of evidence (even after the ex was given a chance to actually submit some evidence, he never did). I dunno how much stock I'd put in TMZ articles, but another one said that the ex was apparently seeking a cut of Barker's profits saying he was owed them for being involved in his businesses and that was the reason for the suit. Seems like the sex and HIV stuff was just mentioned to sensationalize things? (again, just going off of what's in some 10~ year old celeb gossip articles)
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 21:39
|
|
|
Fwiw that was the first headline that popped up and I didn't actually read the article, it was just super over the top and I found it funny. Sorry for not providing context
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2022 23:53
|
|
|
Nigmaetcetera posted:I always thought bug chasing was an urban myth, maybe it is, I hope so. I remember reading about this in a Rolling Stone feature 20 years ago when I was a teen  and it was mostly an online niche for sad depressed people. I don't recall if the reporter followed up to confirm what people were posting, but yes people did fetishize the act of catching the Whale Vomit fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Sep 20, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2022 00:55
|
|
|
Chuck Tingle doing a non erotic horror book https://twitter.com/ChuckTingle/status/1574764199049572353
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2022 01:43
|
|
|
Neat! I’ll probably check that out!
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2022 04:52
|
|
|
Nigmaetcetera posted:This is just a rumor I heard, was wondering if anybody else heard it: Clive Barker gave himself HIV in the early 2000’s by doing hosed up, bug-chasing kink poo poo involving injections of strangers’ blood by his dom, and he then gave it to his partner who was none the wiser. I always thought bug chasing was an urban myth, maybe it is, I hope so. Heard the rumor a few years ago, maybe it’s been long confirmed/disproven, figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. bug chasing is a real thing, there are academic articles on it, and given that a large part of clive barker's brand is being a hosed up sex weirdo it would be unsurprising if he has in fact done hosed up weird sex stuff
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2022 21:24
|
|
|
chernobyl kinsman posted:bug chasing is a real thing, there are academic articles on it, and given that a large part of clive barker's brand is being a hosed up sex weirdo it would be unsurprising if he has in fact done hosed up weird sex stuff The story behind the Cenobite aesthetic is pretty messed up https://thequietus.com/articles/23468-stephen-thrower-clive-barker-hellraiser-coil-article
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 10:23
|
|
|
Oh man the leather-bound, heavily pierced guys who torture people were inspired by BDSM porn? Why I never...
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 15:54
|
|
|
Shitstorm Trooper posted:Oh man the leather-bound, heavily pierced guys who torture people were inspired by BDSM porn? Why I never... It's some pretty extreme BDSM porn from weird underground magazines, like what's described isn't your run of the mill leather, chains, and whips stuff.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 22:04
|
|
|
Opopanax posted:Chuck Tingle doing a non erotic horror book drat i just got an email from tor about good ol' chuck and lol'd without reading it
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2022 20:51
|
|
|
I mentioned before making a list of good horror stort stories you can read online. Since Halloween is coming up I decided to pick a story each day in October. Let me know if it becomes obnoxious. 1. The Blood Drip by Brian Evenson over at Granta. quote:‘Are you coming down?’ Karsten finally asked.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2022 20:37
|
|
|
ravenkult posted:I mentioned before making a list of good horror stort stories you can read online. Since Halloween is coming up I decided to pick a story each day in October. Let me know if it becomes obnoxious. What a cool idea and thanks for the unsettling story
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2022 11:48
|
|
|
 1. The Blood Drip by Brian Evenson over at Granta. 2. The Hanging Game by Helen Marshall over at Tor.com. quote:But we were kids and we couldn’t shoot bears, so for us it was the hanging game. That was the kind of crazy we got into. Bears and hanging.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2022 19:47
|
|
|
 1. The Blood Drip by Brian Evenson over at Granta. 2. The Hanging Game by Helen Marshall over at Tor.com. 3. Gordon B. White is creating Haunting Weird Horror by Gordon B. White over at Nightmare Magazine. quote:1247 Sawtuck Road. Haunted by a boy with the face of a stillborn Janus kitten and scissor blades protruding from under his eyelids. When he cries, he goes snip-snip. This one's by a buddy of mine. I like it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2022 23:20
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/alloy_dr/status/1577126864631783424?s=20&t=FojNdxuOSM-JLm7ChjLAbw
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 03:46
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:https://twitter.com/alloy_dr/status/1577126864631783424?s=20&t=FojNdxuOSM-JLm7ChjLAbw Just re-read this and Dracula over the weekend. Carmilla is so fantastic. I need to pencil in a viewing of the Hammer adaptation this month.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 05:15
|
|
|
ravenkult posted:
I thought at first that this was going to be too cute about the conceit but it works, good stuff.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 07:48
|
|
|
I had the same initial feeling, but that was a good and unsettling read before bed
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 08:48
|
|
|
thanks so much for posting these, it's been a nice treat so far to read a short spooky story. I'm too time-poor to do a full blown movie challenge so this has been a delight
alf_pogs fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Oct 4, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 09:32
|
|
|
Thanks folks! I'm trying to mix it up a bit but probably won't go too avant garde, just keeping it spooky for Halloween. For some of the thread staples there aren't too many stories available for free online unfortunately.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 16:28
|
|
|
The short story Specimen 313 by Jeff Strand is free to read on Tor. And free on Kindle. Jeff Strand is a horror comedy writer who got me more into reading horror in the 00's, and this is a quick, fun read. I just got a copy of Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge from my library, and it's a hardcover limited edition from Cemetery Dance, and it's signed by him. It's gonna be a quick read. I was surprised that it's partially written in 2nd person.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 16:38
|
|
|
Dark Harvest is a fantastic Halloween read and yeah it's short and quick.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 16:42
|
|
|
I quite enjoyed the 2022 Hugo winner for best short story for it's format alone: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/where-oaken-hearts-do-gather/?utm_source=pocket_mylist If you like reading dead forums, this story is really up your alley.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 17:17
|
|
|
 1. The Blood Drip by Brian Evenson over at Granta. 2. The Hanging Game by Helen Marshall over at Tor.com. 3. Gordon B. White is creating Haunting Weird Horror by Gordon B. White over at Nightmare Magazine. 4. The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones over at Tor.com quote:And now it had come to town.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 18:07
|
|
|
 1. The Blood Drip by Brian Evenson over at Granta. 2. The Hanging Game by Helen Marshall over at Tor.com. 3. Gordon B. White is creating Haunting Weird Horror by Gordon B. White over at Nightmare Magazine. 4. The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones over at Tor.com 5. Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker over at Tor.com quote:Stella thought she’d made up a lie on the spot, asking her childhood friend if he remembered the strange public broadcast TV show with the unsettling host she and all the neighborhood kids appeared on years ago. But he does remember. And so does her mom. Why doesn’t Stella? The more she investigates the show and the grip it has on her hometown, the eerier the mystery grows. ravenkult fucked around with this message at 10:12 on Oct 6, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2022 23:35
|
|
|
ravenkult posted:
You just linked the photo not the story for two truths and a lie
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 03:08
|
|
|
Whale Vomit posted:I quite enjoyed the 2022 Hugo winner for best short story for it's format alone: https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/where-oaken-hearts-do-gather/?utm_source=pocket_mylist This was a great read. ravenkult posted:
I'm enjoying reading these, so I'm glad you're posting them. Here's the link to Two Truths if anyone needs it.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 03:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 09:45 |
|
|
SSJ_naruto_2003 posted:You just linked the photo not the story for two truths and a lie Of course I did! It was bound to happen, I fixed it now.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2022 10:14
|
|