you nailed it exactly. i mean i read books with plenty of atrocious things that happen to people--including these especially unsettling things--but laymon uses them to titillate
The Only Child - Andrew Pyper. Huge disappointment, especially after I've enjoyed several other of Pyper's novels. This book is more or historical fiction trying to blend, retell and create the inspiration behind Frankenstein, Dracula and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and in doing so just creates a muddled story that has been told before and told better.
Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff. This was one of the bigger disappointments I've read as of late. I had no idea that it was in actuality a series of short stories that were merely connected instead of being a straightforward novel, especially since the cover says "Lovecraft Country" A Novel". The first story was really good, although I found it surprising that after a really long set up it had a rushed and abrupt finale. Beyond that, I found all the subsequent stories to get worse with each one, mostly because they centered on the side characters of the first story, none of whom were all that interesting as stars of their own stories.
The Fisherman - John Langan. This is the best Lovecraftian novel that contains no direct reference to his Mythos that I've ever read, and one of the best books, period, that I've read in a while.
The Graveyard Apartment - Mariko Koike. A solid, if not spectacular, J-Horror style haunted building story.
The Juniper Tree and Other Blue Rose Stories - Peter Straub. A collection of short stories involving the backgrounds of various characters from Straub's Blue Rose trilogy of novels. These tales pale in comparison to the brilliant novels.
phasma by delilah dawson. this book is fantastic, and i wish the movies had let us see even a glimmer of dawson's phasma, which tells us of her origins on a harsh, damaged planet. dawson is so good and she creates a vivid world that is both alien and familiar, and filled with all manner of groovy creatures (one need only read her shadow series to appreciate how good she is at creature-based horror). additionally, the characters think about things like the gender of droids and the meaning of self. phasma is a total bada$$, and we learn about her motivations, from her dusty home world to the seat of power in the first order. i love a good star wars novel, and this one certainly fits the bill.
Broken Monsters - Lauren Beukes. Another greatly hyped horror/thriller that in no way lives up to the hype. Too many plot elements borrowed from Silence of the Lambs and Dexter, too many side characters given way too much screen time, and an interesting serial killer who's ultimately left underdeveloped and whose motivations are never really explained.
Blood Red - James A. Moore. When a mysterious European moves into the mansion on the bluffs strange things start happening in a quiet Rhode Island town - a prostitute seduces the town's clergy; family members disappear only to come back changed; college girls are brutally murdered. Not as good as Moor'e Lovecraftian "Deeper", it's a story that felt like I've read it before.
it's possible that cop town by karin slaughter is my favorite of her books, just about all of which i've read since mayday aimed me in her direction back in december (i think). cop town is set in the early seventies in atlanta, when being a woman, a person of color, jewish, and/or progressive was really, really hard, and tells the story of two female cops trying to solve a huge case. far more than the absence of clues, kate murphy and maggie lawson must surmount their very compatriots in justice, the boy police. omfg, this book is fantastic. all the characters are, as usual, great in this standaloner, but kate murphy simply begs for more opportunities to show what she can do. she's funny as fuck, smart, tenacious, and just awesome. more kate murphy! more kate murphy! this book is awesome.
If I Die Tonight - Alison Gaylin. A about a hit-and-run and the seedy aspects of the private lives of suburbanites in a small Upstate New York town. Fairly engrossing book, although the ending/resolution was rushed and bit too convenient.
All the Beautiful Lies - Peter Swanson. A young man returns home after the sudden unexpected death of his father to discover secrets in his father's life as well as that of his father's second wife. A pretty decent thriller that had one hell of a plot twist late in the book, although again the ending was not as impressive as the road getting there.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway - Ruth Ware. A young down-on-her-luck Tarot reader gets an unexpected letter telling her she's the beneficiary of a wealthy widow. Though she realizes it's a mistake, she attempts to collect on it and finds more about her family than she ever realized. That's a terrible summary I just wrote, as the book plays out much better and very interestingly.
Universal Harvester - John Darnielle. When video tapes from a small video rental store start having odd snippets of homemade videos suggesting something nefarious spliced into them, three people begin investigating where they originated. The premise of the book is really good and it keeps you wondering what these videos mean, but ultimately the story never pays off and never adequately answers what they are or why they're there.
Harvest Home - Thomas Tyron. I've never read a book like this one before that manages to keep impending doom looming on the horizon for half the book, pulling you along, waiting to see the result as tension builds slowly but surely. A classic tale.'
the kept woman by karin slaughter. awesome, of course. heavy emphasis on will trent's estranged wife, angie polaski, who manages to be awful and completely sympathetic at the same time. sarah linton rocks hard, here as well, managing to get out from under some of her past trauma. not much faith and amanda, regrettably, but they shine when given time. slaughter gives great characterization to the basketball wives in this story; a signature moment involves a confrontation from angie during a pedicure. god, slaughter is awesome.
Experimental Film - Gemma Files. Another horror book that has lots of hoopla about it, about a middle aged female film critic(ish) with an Autistic son who is trying to track down the mystery behind some 100 year old films and a folk tale...or something. The early part of the book read way too much like a Wiki entry explaining what experimental film is and what Autism is. The rest of the book felt like I've seen that story a dozen times already, and the writing style just wasn't very harmonious. Did not think all that much of this one.
Macbeth - Jo Nesbø. An attempt by Nesbø to retell the Shakespeare tale as a 1970s police thriller. It failed miserably.
The Dry - Jane Harper. An Australian thriller about a police detective returning home for the funeral of his childhood friend who supposedly shot his family before shooting himself, and the detective ends up involved in the investigation. An impressive debut novel and a fascinating read.
The Child - Fiona Barton. Another incredible slowly-woven, keeps-you-guessing thriller tale from Barton, this time revolving around the remains of a baby found at a construction site and the lives of four women it affects.
The House Next Door - Anne Rivers Siddons. A classic haunted house tale, and one of the best horror novels I've ever read. Full of shocks and punches to the gut, I haven't been affected by a book like this since I read Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door. That's enough "next door" books for me for one lifetime.
The Box (Button, Button): Uncanny Stories - Richard Matheson. A brief collection of Matheson's short stories including the basis for the 2009 Richard Kelly film. A mixture of Sci-fi, horror, suspense and humor, with several Twilight Zone-ish "twist" tales, it was OK, but not Matheson's best works.
Cold Print - Ramsey Campbell. Campbell's Lovecraftian collection. The stories in the first half are great, but they start to peter out in the latter parts of the book.
Comments
The Only Child - Andrew Pyper. Huge disappointment, especially after I've enjoyed several other of Pyper's novels. This book is more or historical fiction trying to blend, retell and create the inspiration behind Frankenstein, Dracula and Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and in doing so just creates a muddled story that has been told before and told better.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff. This was one of the bigger disappointments I've read as of late. I had no idea that it was in actuality a series of short stories that were merely connected instead of being a straightforward novel, especially since the cover says "Lovecraft Country" A Novel". The first story was really good, although I found it surprising that after a really long set up it had a rushed and abrupt finale. Beyond that, I found all the subsequent stories to get worse with each one, mostly because they centered on the side characters of the first story, none of whom were all that interesting as stars of their own stories.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
London Under Midnight - Simon Clark. Not one of Clark's best books, nor one of his worst.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Fisherman - John Langan. This is the best Lovecraftian novel that contains no direct reference to his Mythos that I've ever read, and one of the best books, period, that I've read in a while.
The Graveyard Apartment - Mariko Koike. A solid, if not spectacular, J-Horror style haunted building story.
The Juniper Tree and Other Blue Rose Stories - Peter Straub. A collection of short stories involving the backgrounds of various characters from Straub's Blue Rose trilogy of novels. These tales pale in comparison to the brilliant novels.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Broken Monsters - Lauren Beukes. Another greatly hyped horror/thriller that in no way lives up to the hype. Too many plot elements borrowed from Silence of the Lambs and Dexter, too many side characters given way too much screen time, and an interesting serial killer who's ultimately left underdeveloped and whose motivations are never really explained.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Blood Red - James A. Moore. When a mysterious European moves into the mansion on the bluffs strange things start happening in a quiet Rhode Island town - a prostitute seduces the town's clergy; family members disappear only to come back changed; college girls are brutally murdered. Not as good as Moor'e Lovecraftian "Deeper", it's a story that felt like I've read it before.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
If I Die Tonight - Alison Gaylin. A about a hit-and-run and the seedy aspects of the private lives of suburbanites in a small Upstate New York town. Fairly engrossing book, although the ending/resolution was rushed and bit too convenient.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
All the Beautiful Lies - Peter Swanson. A young man returns home after the sudden unexpected death of his father to discover secrets in his father's life as well as that of his father's second wife. A pretty decent thriller that had one hell of a plot twist late in the book, although again the ending was not as impressive as the road getting there.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway - Ruth Ware. A young down-on-her-luck Tarot reader gets an unexpected letter telling her she's the beneficiary of a wealthy widow. Though she realizes it's a mistake, she attempts to collect on it and finds more about her family than she ever realized. That's a terrible summary I just wrote, as the book plays out much better and very interestingly.
Universal Harvester - John Darnielle. When video tapes from a small video rental store start having odd snippets of homemade videos suggesting something nefarious spliced into them, three people begin investigating where they originated. The premise of the book is really good and it keeps you wondering what these videos mean, but ultimately the story never pays off and never adequately answers what they are or why they're there.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Lair of the White Worm - Bram Stoker. A better and more interesting book than Dracula, but the movie was much better.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Harvest Home - Thomas Tyron. I've never read a book like this one before that manages to keep impending doom looming on the horizon for half the book, pulling you along, waiting to see the result as tension builds slowly but surely. A classic tale.'
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Experimental Film - Gemma Files. Another horror book that has lots of hoopla about it, about a middle aged female film critic(ish) with an Autistic son who is trying to track down the mystery behind some 100 year old films and a folk tale...or something. The early part of the book read way too much like a Wiki entry explaining what experimental film is and what Autism is. The rest of the book felt like I've seen that story a dozen times already, and the writing style just wasn't very harmonious. Did not think all that much of this one.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Macbeth - Jo Nesbø. An attempt by Nesbø to retell the Shakespeare tale as a 1970s police thriller. It failed miserably.
The Dry - Jane Harper. An Australian thriller about a police detective returning home for the funeral of his childhood friend who supposedly shot his family before shooting himself, and the detective ends up involved in the investigation. An impressive debut novel and a fascinating read.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Child - Fiona Barton. Another incredible slowly-woven, keeps-you-guessing thriller tale from Barton, this time revolving around the remains of a baby found at a construction site and the lives of four women it affects.
The House Next Door - Anne Rivers Siddons. A classic haunted house tale, and one of the best horror novels I've ever read. Full of shocks and punches to the gut, I haven't been affected by a book like this since I read Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door. That's enough "next door" books for me for one lifetime.
The Box (Button, Button): Uncanny Stories - Richard Matheson. A brief collection of Matheson's short stories including the basis for the 2009 Richard Kelly film. A mixture of Sci-fi, horror, suspense and humor, with several Twilight Zone-ish "twist" tales, it was OK, but not Matheson's best works.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Cold Print - Ramsey Campbell. Campbell's Lovecraftian collection. The stories in the first half are great, but they start to peter out in the latter parts of the book.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.