THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES
This gorgeously designed graphic novel fleshes out an ancient Inuit folktale.
CHILDGRAVE
The third novel by the woefully underrated Ken Greenhall, who as usual delivered a strikingly unique and intelligent tale. The subject is one that preoccupied Greenhall’s fiction: love, which is viewed not as a pleasant diversion nor an all-conquering panacea, but as a complex and oft-destructive entity whose effects are far-reaching.
THE CASTLE OF ARGOL
This French novel is perhaps the most famous work of gothic surrealism.
Cast a Cold Eye
A good book, this: well written, solidly characterized and imaginative. It’s a period novella set during an important but little-explored stretch of American history. I wasn’t too impressed by the final pages, which take the tale in a predictable and overly pat direction, but overall I like CAST A COLD EYE a fair amount.
The Birthing House
eemingly everyone has praised this novel to the skies, and after reading it I’ll have to say that in this case everyone is right. A first novel of uncommon nuance and conviction, THE BIRTHING HOUSE has a probing intelligence and depth of characterization that aren’t supposed to be able to co-exist with supernatural scares. Those wanting a primer on what’s wrong with much of today’s horror fiction should read this book, as it gets most everything right!
THE BECKONING FAIR ONE
This is the most famous tale written by the late Oliver Onions, and widely considered one of the classic English language ghost stories.
AURA
One of the most vivid and fecund ghost stories in existence, with a premise that is quite original and a second person narrative that never feels self conscious or distracting.
ANTHONY SHRIEK
Anyone wondering why Dell’s fabled Abyss horror line, which promised “Horror unlike anything you’ve ever read before,” didn’t last beyond the early nineties need only read this, one of Abyss’ signature entries. ANTHONY SHRIEK isn’t a bad novel, just a severely bloated and self-indulgent one.
AND NOW THE NIGHTMARE BEGINS: THE HORROR ZINE
The latest volume from the irrepressible Jeani Rector (of AFTER DARK, OPEN GRAVE and AROUND A DARK CORNER fame) was this anthology culled from her self-created Horror Zine (www.thehorrorzine.com).
Haunted California
When it comes to scary settings, California probably isn’t anyone’s first (or second, third or fourth) choice