Hey everyone! I need some suggestions on an author or series to tackle next. I've spent the last 7-8 years reading everything by King and Barker. I'm just starting the final book of the strain trilogy and I have no idea where to go next. I've been thinking about diving into Michael Crichton or maybe re-reading Lord of the Rings or The Dark Tower.
I primarily enjoy horror/sci-fi/fantasy. Any authors or series that I should check out?
Thanks in advance.
I generally lean more toward reading a single book here and there rather than focusing on an author or series, so if you're looking to someone to really dive into, I may not be much help. But I do read primarily horror, so I thought I's throw a few suggestions out.
First of all, Peter Straub. You may have read him before, but if not, you should at least check out Ghost Story. King thinks very highly of him as well, and for very good reason
Another author that managed to catch King's attention is Nick Cutter. This guy only has a couple of books under his belt so far, but they are pretty awesome. I particularly love The Deep - the plot is a little bit thin, but it is stuffed full of disturbing imagery, and it made me genuinely uncomfortable.
Speaking of genuinely uncomfortable, definitely read The Visible Filth, by Nathan Ballingrud. It's only a novella, but even so, it creeped me out as much as any book has in years. It legitimately made me have trouble getting to sleep, which is something not many books can claim. For bonus points, there's a little bit of crossover with the fantasy genre, as Ballingrud also wrote a wonderful short story collection called North American Lake Monsters.
You might also check out Christopher Priest. If you know him from anything, you probably know him as the author of The Prestige. If you haven't read that, you should, because it's brilliant. But even if you have, you might like The Islanders. It's sort of an experimental short story collection novel thing. Strictly speaking, it isn't horror, but it has some eerie themes running through it, and one of the stories is just plain freaky.
Definitely look at Bird Box, by Josh Malerman. It's his only novel so far, but it packs a hell of a punch. It kind of takes some ideas from the Lovecraft playbook in that it explores supernatural madness and fear of the unknown, although it's much more modern in style. There's a sense of dread in pretty much every sentence, and the tension just never lets up.
Christopher Golden is another one to consider. In some ways, he reminds of Dean Koontz. I honestly think he is a better storyteller than Koontz, but his stories feel like they are in the same vein of creepy. I recommend Snowblind as a starting point.
While I'm on the subject of Koontz... Any interest? I'm not a huge fan of his in general, but if you haven't read Watchers, I recommend giving it a try, as it's a surprisingly great book.
If you haven't read any William Peter Blatty, do it. You owe it to yourself to at least read The Exorcist. Or, if you feel like you don't need to read the book after seeing the movie, check out Legion instead, because it's equally awesome.
I also want to mention a book called I'm Thinking of Ending Things, by Iain Reid. I'm not sure it will be up you alley - correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that your interests lean more toward the supernatural, whereas this one is more of a psychological thriller. Still, I highly recommend at least taking a look. It really does a great job capturing sort of a nightmare feeling, where you're reading what seems almost to be a boring story except that everything feels wrong and you're never sure why. It really got in my head.
Just a few thoughts!
Topic: The Currently Reading Thread v. A Clash of Kings (Read 290525 times)
