Iggy's Book Nook

[Matt]

I've been really enjoying the LOST FLEET series from Jack Campbell. I was in the mood for some military science fiction and these looked good...they're actually REALLY good. Fascinating depictions of space battles, good characters...fun stuff.

[IggytheBorg]

Have to give those a look-see. Also, I reiterate my recommendation for Glenn Cook's Starfishers trilogy for the same reasons.

[Martin]

I've been really enjoying the LOST FLEET series from Jack Campbell. I was in the mood for some military science fiction and these looked good...they're actually REALLY good. Fascinating depictions of space battles, good characters...fun stuff.

I started the first booka while back, but for some really weird reason it didn't grab me. Might consider giving it a chance.

[IggytheBorg]

Several months ago, I fnished "Black Wings of Cthulhu", a Lovecraftian anthology. Worth a read for a HPL Completist, maybe. Others might not want to buy it. Some of the stories were pretty predictable Lovecraftian genre fare. There were also 3 stories based on "Pickman's Model", and 3 meta-tales about weirdness involving the actual life of HPL himself (sort of); one has HPL's ghost hanging around a terminally ill patient & conversing w/ him. Or was that just a side effect of the brain tumor? Neat read, but not mind blowing (pardon the pun). There were 2 true standouts that any horror fan, even if they aren't a huge HPL fan specifically, would really dig. "Lesser Demons" by Norman Partridge is the best Hell-on-Earth tale I've ever read. And some of you may recall I've always been a fan of that kind of story, but could never find one that truly hit the spot. This one did. For me, it was eworth the price of admission alone. BUt the very next tale, "An Eldritch Matter", was a sort of body horror piece that was also extremely creepy and satisfying. "Violence: Child of Trust" also comes close, but is kind of annoyingly vague. I know that was the point, leaving the true horror to the imagination of the reader, but I sens the author, Michael Cisco, had a really good idea behind the events of this story that I kind of wanted him to share. At nearly 500 pages, it will keep you busy for some time. Even if it wasn't as good as Cthulhu Unbound, I've read MUCH worse. Pretty much every story in here was at least passably entertaining, even if many were not terribly original.

[IggytheBorg]

And several weeks ago I finished Mammoth Book of Best New Horror V. 11. A solid entry in the series, it wasn't the best by any means. Most of the stories herein were very good on at least some level. For example, T.E.D. Klein's "Growing Things" is eminently predictable, telegraphing exactly where it was going from the very beginning. But David J. Schow's "Unhasped" is a nasty, disturbing little psychological piece well worth its inclusion here. And the tale immediately following that, "The Emperor's Old Bones", by Gemma Files, was fucking outstanding. The best tale in the book by far. "The Long Hall on the Top Floor" by Caitlin Kiernan, "The Ballyhooly Boy" by Graham Masterton, & "Naming the Dead" by Paul J. McAuley were credible examples of ghost stories (the 1st named above probably being the best of them), & "Aftershock" by F. Paul Wilson was an emotionally moving little piece, with an ending that could be taken as disquieting, uncertain, or hopeful, depending on the frame of mind of the reader. Rather well done. Overall, this collection was much better, IMO, than Vol. X.

[IggytheBorg]

Just finished Stephen King's 11/22/63. This is, IMHO, the best thing he's written in DECADES. Is it as good as the early triumvarate of The Stand, the Shining and 'Salem's Lot? No. BUt it could be as good as The Dead Zone. Or Carrie. It's not a horror novel, per se, it's more of a Philip K. Dick Style alternate history/sci fi thing, where the main character discovers a way to travel back in time to 1958, and decides to wait around until he can stop the JFK assassination in '63. Extremely solid writing. I actually teared up a couple of times. That's rare. And the ending WAS kind of horrifying. If you haven't read this yet, I strongly recommend that you do. The only drawback for me, and it is a very minor one, was the seemingly inevitable Dark Tower tie in (which he kind of back doored thru "It"). But this is a minor, minor flaw in an otherwise stellar piece of work. Excellent characterization, well researched historical facts & believable filling in of the gaps with his fiction. A relentless internal logic. And the easy, readable prose you'd expect from him. Just magnificent.

[IggytheBorg]

Finished Best New Horror 3 (1991) earlier this week. I wasn't overly enthused about this entry for much of its length. Many of the entries here were so veddy British that I was getting kind of annoyed. Much British horror fiction leaves me cold because it seems like all you need to do to terrify a Brit is have someone get pushy, and show them a few (very) vaguely unsettling things. They're so damned oblique, and seemingly everything is implied. If you took Downton Abbey and added an unsightly vagrant screaming epithets at his Lordhip every time he passed in the car, or had one of the maids say slightly off color & cryptic things over an eerie soundtrack, maybe one or 2 half glimpsed shadowy figgers in the mist or the shadows of the hallway, a cobweb or two, and you'd have British film goers wetting their pants if what I read from British horror authors is any indication. Very little of this ilk is even remotely scary to me, and this book is rife with it. But a few American writers were included toward the end, and a few of these stories were genuinely unsettling. Worthy of mention in particular are "Blood Sky" by William F. Nolan, "Ready" by David Starkey (I was particularly impressed with these two, wich treat the emotional detachment of the serial killer and the sociopath in a very matter of fact, down to earth and chillingly it-could-be-you fashion), "Taking Care of Michael" by J.L. Comeau, and "The Dreams of Dr. Ladybank" by Thomas Tessier. I also appreciated the artistry of Michael Marshall Smith's "The Dark Land". I have rarely seen the horror of unreality and altered perceptions executed so skillfully. He appears in damn near every volume of this series, and it's always well deserved.

[IggytheBorg]

Immediately on the heels of BNH3 I devoured Jack Ketchum's "The Woman". A thankfully quick read, I was a little let down, to tell you the God's honest. This book is a sequel to "Off Season" and "Offspring", with the lone survivor from the cannibalistic tribe that were the antagonists in those earlier novels getting captured by a morally challenged lawyer, who thinks he can civilize her. The pacing felt rushed, almost as if several chapters of this book ended up getting cut out of the final draft. I felt like we could use more build up bef,ore all hell breaks loose. The lawyer is an abusive tyrant that rules his family w/ an iron fist of discipline. I get how that kind of thing can warp one's perceptions and cause one to do or accpet things most of us would find intolerable. The whole learned helplessness kind of thing. But the big reveal they hint at thru foreshadowing throughout most of the book (very obvious foreshadowing; if you don't see it coming almost immediately you need to go back to your High School English/literature class) is just SO over the top, I had a hard time believing ANYONE, no matter how badly battered they were, could have possibly allowed that to happen. And it didn't seem at all NECESSARY, and didn't really add anything to the story. I might be writing a much different review if this one thing had been omitted. Still, knowing the movie version was on Instant, I felt compelled to watch it, and much to my surprise liked the film better than the book. Review in the "What Film Did You Just Watch?" thread, for any that's interested. Jack Ketchum has written few bad books, but this is one of them. A quick enough read that if you're a Ketchum fan it may be worth the time. But you can probably skip it othrwise, even if you liked Off Season & Offspring.

[IggytheBorg]

Richard Matheson's "Hell House". For many, including Stephen King, according to the pull quote on the front cover, this is the quintessential haunted house novel. I'm not sure I agree. I hate when I read a classic ike this, and don't entirely get the hype. It certainly had moments of brilliance; his descriptions of the supernatural phenomena that assailed the characters - particularly the last two kills - were outstanding. They ratchet up the tension and scare in equal measure. But it comes off as kind of dated. It's clearly a product of its time (released in 1971), with the increased interest in the paranormal pop culture went through at that time (With things like In Search Of. . . and shows about UFO investigations on TV, and The Amityville Horror and Jean Dixon's predictions all over the tabloids on the bookstands) evident. One of the characters is a dogged scientific researcher, and two others psychics. The ending was also VERY disappointing. King cites Matheson as a huge influence on him, and King's penchant for disappointing endings makes a little more sense now. And while I hate to keep harping on King, another thing stood out that King's responsible for. In his "On Writing", King decries the overuse of adverbs. Conceding sometimes they're necessary, he argues more often they're not, and they don't add anything to the narrative. In fact, they can be downright awkward, he says. I may not necessarily agree with him, but ever since I read that, I've been conscious of authors' use of adverbs. There were some surprisingly awkward instances here. For example:

"She broke off, gasping, as the bedspread leaped into the air and sailed across the foot of the bed, then stopped and settled downward flutteringly." `

There were several others. I think I get King's point now.

This book's influence on stories like "The Shining" and "1408" are clearly evident. I think it's fair to say most modern haunted house stories borrow from it at least a little bit, whether they know it or not. But I just didn't get as electrified by it as I thought I would. I may have to re-read this soon, and see if maybe I missed something. I did read it kind of fast. Has anyone else had the pleasure? What did you think?

[IggytheBorg]

Harlan Ellison's "Shatterday". A collection of short stories by an author described in the most high minded terms of praise by his peers, I now get the hype. He really may BE the best short story writer working today. I had read another short story collection (Stalking the Nightmare) and an anthology he started & invited other SF writers to contribute to/build on (Medea: Harlan's World), and hadn't been terribly impressed. But this. . . THIS. . . mind blowing stuff. The 1st story in the collection may have been my favorite. It was a moving, somewhat kafka-esque tale called "Jeffty is Five", which won Ellison the Hugo. And deservedly so. I was equal parts saddened and outraged by the ending. The title story was the last one in the collection, and may have been the 2d best story of the collection. A feat, considering how short it is. All the Birds Come Home to Roost was terrifying, and an innovative, unique concept in horror fiction. This would have been a rewarding collection based on the strength of those 3 alone, but every story in this tome was at least "good". No dreck at ALL. If you like horror, si fi or speculative fiction in general, you simply MUST read this. I'm definitely getting more of his stuff.

[B_Metal]

Started Galveston by the dude that's behind True Detective. Will report back later.

[Captain Russ]

Harlan Ellison's "Shatterday".

Jeffty just went straight for a gutpunch upon its conclusion. Great collection. You might also enjoy his other short story collection Deathbird Stories.

[Abraham Smashington]

Harlan Ellison's "Shatterday". A collection of short stories by an author described in the most high minded terms of praise by his peers, I now get the hype. He really may BE the best short story writer working today. I had read another short story collection (Stalking the Nightmare) and an anthology he started & invited other SF writers to contribute to/build on (Medea: Harlan's World), and hadn't been terribly impressed. But this. . . THIS. . . mind blowing stuff. The 1st story in the collection may have been my favorite. It was a moving, somewhat kafka-esque tale called "Jeffty is Five", which won Ellison the Hugo. And deservedly so. I was equal parts saddened and outraged by the ending. The title story was the last one in the collection, and may have been the 2d best story of the collection. A feat, considering how short it is. All the Birds Come Home to Roost was terrifying, and an innovative, unique concept in horror fiction. This would have been a rewarding collection based on the strength of those 3 alone, but every story in this tome was at least "good". No dreck at ALL. If you like horror, si fi or speculative fiction in general, you simply MUST read this. I'm definitely getting more of his stuff.

Added to the list.

[IggytheBorg]

Finished "The Fall", Book 2 of the Strain Trilogy. It started out kind of weak, as it opened w/ a kid's inner monologue, & his father's thoughts about him. You know how some writers - hell, MOST writers - can't convincingly write in the voice of a kid? One thing I consistently laud Stephen King for is his ability to do this convincinlgly. Neil Gaiman, too. But pretty much anyone else? It falls flat. That was how the 1st chapter of this book started out. But it picked up steam gradually, & went off the rails - literally, w/ a climactic scene occurring in a subway tunnel - by the time it was finished. I have said many times how McCammon's "They Thirst" is one of my favorite vampire books, because of its massive scope (he has vamps taking over LA), & the balls it took to see that thru. This book saw McCammon & raised him ALLLLL the marbles. The vamp mahem in this book is on an unPRECEDENTED scale. I literally can't believe they took it as far as they did, w/ a third volume still to come. The characters, w/ the possible exception of the CDC guy and his kid that started the book, are all very well drawn. You sympathize w/the brave heroes & hate the scummy villains in their wretched hive at appropriate levels. There are great revelations yet to be made, and I haven't been this pissed off at a cliffhanger ending to a book since I read "The Two Towers" when I was in college. . . and I had left "Return of the King" at home. I literally threw the book across my dorm room and cursed when it ended on Frodo approaching Shelob's cave. I refrained from such an outburst this time, but the feeling's prettymuch the same, since I haven't bought Book 3 yet. If you like vampire tales at all, you pretty much have to read this.

[Abraham Smashington]

is this the book by GDT?