The One Book You Should Read. . .

[Yellow Jacket]

The Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. There are some great short stories to be had in here. The best being "The Mist" hands-down.

[Zero]

Originally posted by urgeok
http://www.horror.com/forum/showthre...5&pagenumber=2

cool urge - i must have missed all that drama (my defense is i just never get that involved with anyone or anything - but it toally respect your position!)

BTW - this is a cool thread - thanks for all the suggestions so far (some i've read, others i haven't)

its interesting that they are all fiction - which makes sense, (my ONE fiction horror book would probably be Stoker's Dracula - long, rambling but i always get totally wrapped up in it).

[urgeok]

you probably noticed that not many of my reccomendations are in the horror genre - because i find that horror fiction is 99% shit ..

i used to like Peter Strawb .. Ghost Story was a good read many years ago - and i was fascinated with shadowland until i found out that it was a complete plagerization of Robertson Davies - The Manticore...

i cant bear to read horror novels these days .. it's not a genre that attracts decent writers..

[novakru]

Originally posted by urgeok
you probably noticed that not many of my reccomendations are in the horror genre - because i find that horror fiction is 99% shit ..

i used to like Peter Strawb .. Ghost Story was a good read many years ago - and i was fascinated with shadowland until i found out that it was a complete plagerization of Robertson Davies - The Manticore...

i cant bear to read horror novels these days .. it's not a genre that attracts decent writers..

Ghost Story is one of my all time favorites.
I even loved the movie-very well made.

And have you noticed the over abundance of sexual...um,kinks in the newest horror novels?
So much really could be left to the imagination,I wonder if young horror writers know this?
I like horror erotica,there's nothing wrong with that genre,but when I read a Horror Novel...I want to be SCARED:D

[urgeok]

Originally posted by novakru
Ghost Story is one of my all time favorites.
I even loved the movie-very well made.

And have you noticed the over abundance of sexual...um,kinks in the newest horror novels?

yeah .. it gets that way when you have nothing else to write about ...
I'm about as far from a prude as you can get but i find erotica in print boring as hell. (most filmed erotica - in mainstream north american film - is also pathetic and boring)

i personally think the novels suffer even more from repetition than film and these guys have to kink it up to try to remain interesting.

for me - the horror novel ..... is anything but..

[novakru]

Originally posted by urgeok
yeah .. it gets that way when you have nothing else to write about ...
I'm about as far from a prude as you can get but i find erotica in print boring as hell. (most filmed erotica - in mainstream north american film - is also pathetic and boring)

i personally think the novels suffer even more from repetition than film and these guys have to kink it up to try to remain interesting.

for me - the horror novel ..... is anything but..

It is a consumer paradise as far as movies and books go,but you have to be in your 20's to take advantage of it.
I have noticed since I hit my 30's I have no real interest in non-stop sexual content.
It makes little sense,since now I have more money to waste and most of my age group has more money as well.
We could be a very good source for capitalism,if they gave us something besides weepy or over the top violent flix and beach books:)

[urgeok]

Originally posted by novakru
It is a consumer paradise as far as movies and books go,but you have to be in your 20's to take advantage of it.
I have noticed since I hit my 30's I have no real interest in non-stop sexual content.
It makes little sense,since now I have more money to waste and most of my age group has more money as well.
We could be a very good source for capitalism,if they gave us something besides weepy or over the top violent flix and beach books:)

the thing is ... we're (over 30) not the target demographic for film..
books are different though ... i think its older folks that buy all the books (the few people left that actually read...)

with sexual content ... either gimme the porn or leave it out completely ... i'm too old for tittillation .. never had time for teasing :)

[Posher778]

michael crichton> Jurassic Park.

It's definently horror. nothing like the movie, but it isnt one of the horror/disturbing books, its just scary, in a scientific way. read it now.

[noctuary]

Ah yes... Straub's Ghost Story is indeed a classic, as are most of his earlier works. It's too bad that his work has declined sharply in later years.

You guys have touched on a very interesting point, and I figure I'd throw my two cents in. I'm no longer interested in reading long form horror fiction, and here's why. In a novel, the author feels compelled to explain where the "evil" came from and why. Very few authors working in the horror field can do this adequately. For my money, short form horror is always a better bet, as long as you're reading an author of quality (Ligotti, Lebbon, etc.)

[urgeok]

i agree short horror stories are far better ..

the reason being is that most authors only have a small idea.

the desperate attempt to flesh it out into a novel sized piece usually fails miserably.

Clive Barker .. perfect example. His short stories are menacing, hard hitting.
His novels are a meandering mess .. and they always fizzle out in the end.