CANIBA
You simply will not find a more disturbing documentary than CANIBA, which takes an up-close and very personal look at the infamous Japanese cannibal-murderer Issei Sagawa
FOREIGN NOVELS IN TRANSLATION: MY TWELVE MOST WANTED
I’ve been called a snob about translated novels, but in fact my preference for such books is quite basic and, I believe, well-reasoned
THE TIGHTER IT GETS
Robert Moore was a prolific contributor to the famed smut book outfit Olympia Press and its offshoot Ophelia, under whose imprint the present book appeared
JOHN DOLLAR
Although I’m sure its author and publisher would be loath to admit it, this historical reverie is very much a horror novel
KEEP THE RIVER ON YOUR RIGHT
This is one of the most famous anthropological accounts in existence, and also one of the most misunderstood.
NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER
Like quite a few (if not most) of Laymon’s novels, it pivots on horny young people, is related in startlingly immediate minute-by-minute fashion, and is a damn satisfying read overall.
MIDNIGHT’S LAIR
MIDNIGHT’S LAIR isn’t my favorite novel by the late Richard Laymon, but it is compact, fast moving and imaginative in the best Laymon tradition.
Mantids
Get this: somewhere in the skuzzier regions of Astoria, Oregon a failed musician is afflicted with a permanent erection while having to contend with human-sized preying mantises, which include the hero’s own wife
JOKO’S ANNIVERSARY
Maybe this obscure exercise in European absurdism doesn’t belong in a horror book review, but it does contain generous helpings of mutilation, cannibalism and demonic possession.
JEANNE’S JOURNAL
Those lucky few who’ve read Arlette Ryvers’ translation of JEANNE’S JOURNAL all seem to exhibit similarly awe-struck reactions, and having finally gotten around to experiencing this pervy masterwork myself, I fully understand the adulation.