I’m on a quest to make a dent in the ever-growing horror section on my bookshelves, hoping to read them faster than I accumulate them. In a couple months, I hope to broaden what I read. Until then it’s horror, horror, horror. I’m not complaining. This was a month of great books.

You may notice that I’m alternating collections with novels. That’s because I’m studying the art of the short story as much as I can.

The Light at the End by John Skipp and Craig Spector

This novel is considered the book that launched the Splatterpunk movement—one of the reasons why I picked it up. The other reason is simply that I love the work of John Skipp. I was not disappointed. A vampire runs rampant through the subways of NYC, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. The novel was every bit as gritty as the city itself, and I found myself completely immersed. My biggest complaint was the sheer number of protagonists. By the end, there were so many that I struggled to connect with any of them.

Books of Blood Vol. 1 by Clive Barker

This is, without a doubt, the best horror collection I’ve ever read. Barker shows his mastery of language (some of the best I’ve seen in a genre writer), telling gripping, original stories that get under your skin. The five pieces show off a wide range: from the disturbing “The Midnight Meat Train,” to the playful “The Yattering and Jack,” and ending with the grim surrealism of “In the Hills, the Cities.” Fortunately, this is the first volume in a series with five more to go. I can see how Barker summited the pantheon of horror’s greatest voices.

Frankenstein: City of Night by Dean Koontz

Months ago, I pondered why people love the work of Dean Koontz. Everything I’d read by him up until then just seemed… off. This book both answered my question and made me a fan. This is the second in his Frankenstein series. It continues Mary Shelley’s work into the present day where Victor Helios (né Frankenstein) seeks to create a New Race to replace humanity. Koontz’s novel pulls you forward at a phenomenal pace. Its 455 gripping pages were over in a blink. He’s truly a grandmaster of suspense. It ends on a cliffhanger and I’m eager to pick up the final book in the trilogy.

Visceral 2 by Daniel J. Volpe and Patrick C. Harrison III

The first Visceral was one of my favorite collections last year. This time around, Daniel J. Volpe takes the place of Christine Morgan, and if anything, the book was even more extreme than its predecessor. It collects eight stories, four from each author, employing some of the best body horror I’ve read. I physically squirmed reading some of these stories, fearing to read on. At the same time, the stories were well-written with strong plots rather than just violent spectacles. You cared for these characters as they went through misery after misery, making it all the more disturbing.

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

This prescient novel about a pandemic was written a year before COVID with a startling number of similarities. The disease in this case is a form of rapid-acting rabies, sending the infected into an aggressive zombie-like state. What sets this apart from so many other apocalyptic/zombie novels is its realism. Everything that happens is 100% plausible: the events, the characters, down to the most minute details. More than this, it is the emotional core of the novel and its strong bond between characters that makes it so powerful. The climax left me with my mouth hanging open.

The Mist by Stephen King

Normally, I don’t like seeing the movie before I read the book, but this novella was so incredible that I didn’t mind. What starts as a routine trip to the grocery store for David Drayton and his son turns to horror as a mysterious mist blankets the land. Within it are unspeakable monsters. However, this book is more about the humans trapped inside the store. King masterfully portrays the emotions of a large cast of characters, showing what fear will do to even the most stalwart. The movie’s ending had more power (King admits to this himself), but I still felt it concluded well.

Books I Didn’t Finish

There are some books that—through no fault of their own—just don’t grab me. As I’ve said before, I don’t believe in spending the precious, limited hours of my life on a book I’m not enjoying. So, I thought I’d list the books that I just couldn’t finish this month.

The Dead Zone by Stephen King – One of King’s most popular books, I had trouble getting into this novel. It inched forward without grabbing my attention. The fact that I’d seen the movie didn’t help. I made it to page 139 before throwing in the towel. I plan to return to it in a couple months with a fresher mind.

Found You by Mary Sangiovanni – This is the sequel to one of my favorite horror novels last year. I was eager to dive back in the world of the Hollowers. But as with many sequels, the magic and mystery weren’t there for me. As with The Dead Zone, I plan to give it another shot in the future.

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Keep reading!

Tchau,

Zé