Pedro's Horror Recommends

[Pedro Del Mar]

Not quite the ending to The Hungry Moon that I was expecting, certainly not the explosive finish that I thought. Overall, it wasn't quite the book I thought it might have been, especially after reading the first few chapters which had me expecting something along the lines of James Herbert. The horror must be much more subtle than I realised because whilst reading I wasn't in the least bit frightened or have any feelings of apprehension yet I had a number of bad dreams over the past couple of nights! So it's obviously much more subtle than you realise whilst reading. It reminded me in a way of The Wicker Man.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Finished The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker.

Being honest I wasn't terribly impressed. I don't think Barker's vision of Hell was one I'd agree with, his characters didn't really make me feel for them and I didn't agree with their behaviour in Hell. Left me feeling slightly disappointed. I remember enjoying the last 3 chapters the most but I can't remember why - which I guess speaks volumes........

Next up: The Fireman by Joe Hill (Update: Halfway through and it's fabulous!)

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

List up to date for 2016:

City of Mirrors
The Silence
The Troop
The Border
The Martian War
Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordium
The Hungry Moon
The Scarlet Gospels
The Fireman

 

[Fried Egg]

Not quite the ending to The Hungry Moon that I was expecting, certainly not the explosive finish that I thought. Overall, it wasn't quite the book I thought it might have been, especially after reading the first few chapters which had me expecting something along the lines of James Herbert. The horror must be much more subtle than I realised because whilst reading I wasn't in the least bit frightened or have any feelings of apprehension yet I had a number of bad dreams over the past couple of nights!

That one is one of the least subtle horrors of Campbell's I've read so if you found it too subtle I would probably steer clear of most of his other work. That said, you must be pretty hardened to horror as I recall quite a high level of feeling of apprehension throughout when I read this.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

I was looking forward to reading The Hungry Moon after receiving lots of good feedback and I did enjoy it. It reminded me very much of The Wicker Man albeit with a very different finale.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Noticed I haven't updated this for a while.

Firstly, after a fabulous beginning, I felt The Fireman really lost it's way and my initial flames of excitement dulled to a few smoking embers by the time I reached the end of the novel.

2017 is off to a flying start with Christopher Buehlman's 'The Lesser Dead'. It's not often that when reading a book I look forward to a re-reading and this one has me gripped. I've been looking forward to going home from work in order to continue. I'm around three quarters of the way through and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a grisly vampire story with a twist.

Lesser Dead, The: Amazon.co.uk: Christopher Buehlman: 9780425272626: Books

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Had to stay up late last night to finish The Lesser Dead and it was well worth it.

In fact I'd go as far as saying it's one of the best endings to a novel I've read in a very long time.

 

[Randy M.]

Good to hear, Pedro. I've looked at his books, thought they sounded entertaining and wondered whether I'd like them or not.

Randy M.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

I like his style and pacing so I've ordered some of his other novels today. I'll put some notes up on here when I've read them

 

[BAYLOR]

Not quite the ending to The Hungry Moon that I was expecting, certainly not the explosive finish that I thought. Overall, it wasn't quite the book I thought it might have been, especially after reading the first few chapters which had me expecting something along the lines of James Herbert. The horror must be much more subtle than I realised because whilst reading I wasn't in the least bit frightened or have any feelings of apprehension yet I had a number of bad dreams over the past couple of nights! So it's obviously much more subtle than you realise whilst reading. It reminded me in a way of The Wicker Man.

There were number in things that book that stuck with me. The Dark Well and what was down it, my imagination took all kinds of flights of fancy with that one. Then there was the Preacher.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

There were number in things that book that stuck with me. The Dark Well and what was down it, my imagination took all kinds of flights of fancy with that one. Then there was the Preacher.

Agree with you on both of those Baylor. The Dark Well could have been a novel in its own right.......

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

The bit I liked was when they were attempting to leave the village.....

 

[BAYLOR]

The bit I liked was when they were attempting to leave the village.....

And couldn't because the town had been cut the town off from the rest of the world. It was a very nasty scene.

If they did Campbell's book as a film as a film, the perfect music for this book would be the horror music from the Original Outer Limits.

 

[BAYLOR]

Agree with you on both of those Baylor. The Dark Well could have been a novel in its own right.......

It could have been at that.

In beginning of the book the blind Lizard which was in the well . I love the way Campbell could take a small detail like that and leave the rest of it up to your imagination and it foreshadowed those hideous changeling creatures who could assume the form of a loved ones.

 

[Judderman]

Finished The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker.

Being honest I wasn't terribly impressed. I don't think Barker's vision of Hell was one I'd agree with, his characters didn't really make me feel for them and I didn't agree with their behaviour in Hell. Left me feeling slightly disappointed. I remember enjoying the last 3 chapters the most but I can't remember why - which I guess speaks volumes........

I am a massive fan of Clive Barker. Though his best work is not in the last 10 years. Still good but not like what he has written in the past. I enjoyed Scarlet Gospels but yes it wasn't brilliant. It starts off with some extreme violence and hideous scenes in the true Hellraiser theme. Some of the sections following Pinhead are really interesting and the description of the physical Hell and its denizens are entertaining. But the adventure is on the silly side at times. Worth a read for Barker fans.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Just finished The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter, the official follow up too HG Wells' War of The Worlds.
It was written from the perspective of a female journalist and i think maybe because of this perspective whilst reading the book I had no great feeling for any of the characters. The storyline was strong enough to make me want to finish the book but the ending was quite poor in my opinion. I'd only recommend it if you're a huge fan of the original.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Next up: Boys Life by Robert R McCammon

 

[BAYLOR]

The Shadow at the Bottom of The World by Thomas Ligotti

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Thoroughly enjoyed McCammon's Boy's Life. It reminded me of King's The Body (Stand By Me movie) in that it's a beautifully told coming of age tale revolving around a dead body.
John W Campbell's Who Goes There? gave me a few paranoid chills. I've been a big fan of John Carpenter's movie interpretation for years but have never read the source material until now. It's only a short read and without doubt I'll be going back to it to read it again. Definitely recommended.
Currently enjoying reading The Light At The End by John Skipp and Craig Spector. This is touted as the original splatterpunk novel with it being written in 1986 and involving a lot of violence and gore. I'm well over half way and the amount of violence and gore isn't anywhere near as high as I was expecting. In fact so far I'm pleased to say the story is much better than my original expectations, it's well written, the storyline is exciting and I'd say it is a great vampire story. It's not up there with Salem's Lot which is one of all time favourite books, but it's certainly one of my favourite vampire novels.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Currently enjoying The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan, the first part of the trilogy.