Biggest disappointment you've had in a horror book ?

^^You know what would be great? A hellraiser themed party, where all the cocktail-stick snacks are stuck on to waiters dressed as Pinhead! I think that would be neat.

Apparently, Harry D'Amour will be in SG as well. I wonder if Barker is forging his own interconnected 'universe', in the same way that Stephen King has done.
 
Horns by Joe Hill. Unlike many here, I actually enjoyed Heart Shaped Box, it's been awhile, but I remember thinking Sonny-boy had some of his dad's talent. So naturally I was excited when my husband surprised me with his latest book. I felt the whole story fell short of where-ever he was "trying" to take the reader. There was a moment with the whole "tree house of the mind" thing that had potential, but he didn't go far enough with it...overall I finished the book with a feeling of disappointment and "wtf did I just read".
 
Thanks for contributing in the thread , Orionis , and welcome to the chrons :D

I would just like to add "The Master of Silence" as a huge disapointment .
 
Ach. It's an age thing..used to be, horror novels were more atmospheric- less gory and more story. The gore was for guys like Conan. At the movies -the difference between a Hitchcock thriller and a modern zombie bloodbath is fairly extreme.
 
I'm not sure that it constitutes "horror" but if it does, then this will definitely be by biggest disappointment of the genre: "The Night Land" by William Hope Hodgson. That was hard work from start to finish.
 
Fried Egg said:
I'm not sure that it constitutes "horror" but if it does, then this will definitely be by biggest disappointment of the genre: "The Night Land" by William Hope Hodgson. That was hard work from start to finish.
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Hmmm, I have that on my e-TBR list, and nearly read it if I hadn't gone to the library. Tough going huh!
 
I tried reading Shadowland by Peter Straub but was so bored because nothing was happening in the book, unless someone can convince me to try some of his other books, I pretty much gave up on him. I did like The Talisman with King and Straub but the ending was pretty week for me and certain sections of the book like the 2 kids with the Uzi machine guns was a bit odd.
 
AE35Unit said:
Hmmm, I have that on my e-TBR list, and nearly read it if I hadn't gone to the library. Tough going huh!
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See my GoodReads review to see why it was so bad if you're considering reading it. Suffice to say that I don't think you should bother. It's two weeks of my life I'm never going to get back. :(
 
The Night Land seems to be one of those books which either leaves people completely cold, or which they feel is, in its own way, a great book... but nonetheless seriously flawed. I fall into the latter camp; most fall into the former.

However... for those who haven't yet tried Hodgson, don't let this put you off some of his other works. Many of his short stories, as well as his The Boats of the Glen Carrig, The House on the Borderland, and The Ghost Pirates, are well worth looking into. His tale, "The Voice in the Night" remains one of the great classics of the genre....

The voice in the night (1907) by William Hope Hodgson

As for Straub... while no great fan, some of his work is also worth looking up. I would, for instance, definitely recommend Ghost Story (despite some gripes about a portion or two), as well as If You Could See Me Now....
 
AE35Unit said:
This I also have, and I believe is his best known work?
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Probably close to, though his actual best-known is the story to which I linked earlier, which has been heavily anthologized over the years. Then there are the Carnacki stories (or at least some of them), which have also retained a fair degree of popularity. The Boats of the Glen Carrig and The Night Land (the last in abbreviated form and with somewhat altered language) were included by Lin Carter in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, as well. But The House on the Borderland is certainly one of his most horrific and cosmic tales....
 
HOTB is a must-read in the genre, for sure. I remember burning thru The Night Land in the 70s after discovering Hodgson and it seemed to go alright. Re-reading it later tho, was a bit tougher going.
 
For me the disappointment is not necessarily on the author but more the ending. With Stephen Kings It and the Stand i was so into the story and the characters and then disappointed with endings that i considered to be copp outs.
 
Rodders said:
For me the disappointment is not necessarily on the author but more the ending. With Stephen Kings It and the Stand i was so into the story and the characters and then disappointed with endings that i considered to be copp outs.
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Ditto for me, in a way.

Regarding "It": King goes out of his way to tell us that the problem has been in Derry for many years, centuries, perhaps. And then does nothing with it. What is it? Where did it come from? Nothing! Big let down on that score. Liked the book otherwise; just hoping for more.

Regarding "The Stand": Tried to get through the original version in 1978(?) and never made it.

Sometime in the mid 80's, I read "Swan Song" by Robert McCammon. Similar idea and a really great read. Put me in the mood to try "The Stand" again when the uncut version was released and that did the trick for me. I enjoyed the experience.

And then there's "The Tommyknockers". I seem to remember a movie in the mid 1950's about a flying saucer being discovered in a subway tunnel being worked on in London and the adventures that come about because of that.

Part of the "Quartermain" series by a Sci Fi author named Knowles? Maybe? I think? :confused:

It's tough getting old. A mind is a terrible thing to taste... err... waste. I meant waste... Really, I did... (Sigh)

:D

Joe
 
Biodroid - agree with you on Straub. Read Ghost Story and Shadowlands, both bored me to death. Very disappointed as I felt The Talisman was amazing - and such a shame that Black House was a complete washout.
 
crooksy73 said:
Biodroid - agree with you on Straub. Read Ghost Story and Shadowlands, both bored me to death. Very disappointed as I felt The Talisman was amazing - and such a shame that Black House was a complete washout.
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Personally, I thought that Shadowland was great and very creepy but my favorite of his is Floating Dragon, ranks in my top ten favorites.
 
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