|
Post by vaughan on Sept 9, 2009 11:23:56 GMT
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty (Corgi) The Nightmares on Elm Street - Jeffrey Cooper (Futura) Salem's Lot - Stephen King (NEL) Creed - James Herbert (Pan) Confessions of a Driving Instructor - Timothy Lea (Sphere) V - A.C. Crispin (NEL) Thin Air - George Simpson & Neal Burger (NEL) Purity - Shaun Hutson (Time Warner) Doomflight - Guy N. Smith (Hamlyn) Deluge - Richard Doyle (Pan) Friday Night in Beast House - Richard Laymon (Head Gear) The Hungry Moon - Ramsey Campbell (Arrow) Sister Night - F. Paul Wilson Gaurdian - John Saul The Ghosts of Sleath (James Herbert)
Sleath, Gaurdian, and Sister Night are all hardbacks.
The "special" books (for me) here are the following:
The Exorcist. Nothing special about the book really, except I really want to read it again after 30 years or so.
The Laymon book. I think it was recently mentioned that this is horrible, but the copy i found is not only in pristine condition, it's also a beautiful little hardback. The story itself is very very short (released posthumously I think), but the book is o lovely I couldn't leave it behind.
V. Again, to be perfectly honest this isn't a title I'm all that interested in - however it's an original print from NEL and it's in lovely condition. I don't know how these things are rated, but I severely doubt it's ever read. I too will probably never read it, but i couldn't leave it behind. --LOL--
Those three are what I was most excited about.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 7, 2009 3:16:27 GMT
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 6, 2009 22:14:21 GMT
Blimey, I've been wracking my brain all day - and finally the answer came to my mind! Big white monster, Victorian era, raping women. The women like it. Now where have I heard that before? And of course, it's in the movies. I wonder if this was influence? Anyway - here's an IMDB link: www.imdb.com/title/tt0072752/La bête by Walerian Borowczyk (1975).
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 6, 2009 14:32:04 GMT
Whoa! That cover is SERIOUSLY better than the one on my copy.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 6, 2009 2:12:15 GMT
Richard Laymon - The Cellar (Nel, 1980) Blurb: THE YEAR’S GRISLIEST BESTSELLER DESTINED TO BECOME A CLASSIC OF HORROR
WELCOME TO BEAST HOUSE` It’s the nastiest tourist spot in town, the scene of grisly killing after grisly killing, with every victim immortalised in lifelike waxwork .. . For Donna and her daughter it’s just a chilling diversion on the run from a husband with twisted notions of fatherly affection. For Larry and Jud it’s a vengeance run. The Beast is real. Larry has seen it and he’s got a scar or two to prove it.
For everyone, the real surprise is in the cellar. Down there there’s horror like no horror ever before .. .
Well well well, what do you know, in the end the book saved itself. I was quite taken back with the sexual content in this book. That never really lets up throughout, and I think it's a needless addition. If none of that had been in there nothing about the story would have changed. I can only surmise that it exists as a shock tactic. If so it worked. It almost stopped me finishing though. Plowing through that the story was actually quite interesting. It mixes the story of "Beast House", a mansion supposedly haunted by a "Beast" that had indeed killed several people through the years (more than 70 years!), and the tale of Donna, on the run from a murderous husband just released from jail. Somehow Laymon manages to tie it all together. All it takes is a little bit of the improbable, some of the impossible, and a demand that the reader just go along with the flow - and voila! The final scenes are well done, with the ending coming as something of a surprise. Laymon's writing is smooth and simple, using as much dialog as possible to cover for the lack of descriptions. As such it's a fast read. The big question is, do I really like the book, and will I recommend it to others? That's not easy to answer. Inevitably it's the sexual content that bothers me. I wouldn't recommend it without warning a potential reader of some of the things in the book. On the other hand it does have something for horror readers to enjoy. So I'd recommend it with caution. I've read three Laymon novels thus far - this one, All Hallow's Eve, and The Woods Are Dark. Of the three I think this is the best. Which is saying something given my moaning about certain elements of it. I probably have 6 or 7 more Laymon books here, so of course I'll be revisiting him!
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 5, 2009 10:32:13 GMT
AKA: Oh, It Feels Like Dying. Beautiful ex-movie queen Myra Manning played a vampire in a television soap opera and seemed to have found the fabled Fountain of Youth. People envied Myra: she grew younger looking every day. How were they to know Myra was a real vampire, leader of a vicious cult whose members included some of New York's most glamorous celebrities? Human blood and unspeakable sexual excess kept them young and forever beautiful, but inside their very souls were corroded by evil. And in the end it would destroy them.And so goes the cover blurb on this one. if the book had actually explored any of the above - the Fountain of Youth, the vampires, and the vicious cult, things might have been better. However, they're given only cursory coverage. After all, there's barely time in this sort 186 book to cover all the hardcore sex. And more hardcore sex. And more sex. And more. Basically this book is pornography, with a crappy little wrapper of silly vampires and other assorted bits and pieces. Given the blurb, emphasis is clearly given over to the "sexual excess" more than anything else. Whether that's your thing or not will determine whether this is a good buy. Personally I kept waiting for the horror to kick in. But it never does. There are excursions between sexual acts that include trips to the set of the soap opera, a fight with a dog, and our main character - war veteran Ken Painter - taking photographs. Exciting, huh? Anyway, if porn disguised as horror is your thing, this will fit the bill. I wasn't convinced. ;D
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 5, 2009 10:19:01 GMT
Worm (why not Worms?) tells the story of a mysterious illness affecting women in London. The symptoms include losing weight, needing lots of sleep, and growing a huge tummy. Looks like a pregnancy, but since the women go from being normal to ill in the space of a few days, that can't be it.
Suspecting internal bleeding one of the women is rushed into emergency surgery. All is going well until the surgeon puts his hand into her abdomen, only to have it chewed by a giant worm!
Yes folks, these aren't you normal everyday overnight pregnancies, these are WORM pregnancies. Oh the delicious gruesomeness this allows, you can't beat it.
Of course there's a mystery - where are these worms coming from? How are the women getting impregnated? And that I won't go into. Suffice to say, it's all rather bizarre and silly in the end - just the way I like it.
This is a short book at 189 pages, with fairly large type. You can read it very quickly. It has good pace, and as monster books go there's nothing to complain about. Yes the explanation at the end is odd - but the book does conclude answering all questions.
Worm is a good read of its type.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 5, 2009 10:05:09 GMT
This is a book that gave me joy - twice.
First off the plot for this one. Night Boat is the story of a Caribbean island, Coquina. During World War two the shipping lanes in the area had been plagued with German submarines, sinking all and sundry. Worse, it had shelled the docks on Coquina, killing many residents and destroying buildings etc.
And then - the sub disappeared.
Moving on 40+ years and David Moore is diving at 150 feet on a coral reef when he finds a buried depth charge. Pushing it into an abyss he frantically wims awa as fast as he can. The charge goes off - dislodging the long buried Sub from its maritime grave.
How has the sub survived intact for so long? And who, or what, is knocking on the hull?
Cue Nazi zombies, throat tearing, voodoo, and all manner of nasties!
This was an absolutely terrific read. I'd even go as far as to say it's one of the better horror novels I've read thus far. There's plenty of action, gore, and mystery. And there's a fine sense of place with vivid use of colloquialisms.
I highly recommend this book - excellent!
In research the author a bit I came across his first novel, Baal. It was like a timewarp. That is a book I read back in the 80's and had totally forgotten about, it was good to be reminded. I really must try and find it.
Anyway - go grab Night Boat, I think there's a good chance you'll like it.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 4, 2009 9:32:14 GMT
175 – 244 – 421.
1974 – 1979 – 1984.
These are the not so secret codes into the world of James Herbert’s Trilogy.
Starting in 1974 James Herbert wrote his anti-establishment pulp master class The Rats. It’s 175 pages of quick fire gore and adventure. No-one is safe, the government is powerless, and it takes underlings to bring some semblance of order back to the world.
In 1979 Herbert came back to The Rats with a sequel, The Lair. As indicated by the increased page count the canvas is a little broader, the story has a bit more depth. However, it essentially tells the same tale, taking us from an urban environment to the countryside of Epping Forest.
In 1984 Herbert returned, but this time he didn’t so much want to continue the story, as he seemed to want to rewrite it in a more appropriate and obvious setting –the end of the world.
One of the themes of The Rats is the negligence of science and the government, and how the man (and woman) in the street has to pay the price for the evils they do in our name – or for the common good. This theme is exploited in The Lair too. While the story itself doesn’t move along very much, the very fact that man is once against surprised by the rising up of this vengeful species tells us that nothing was truly learned previously, other than a means of destruction. And perhaps more importantly, that no-one, nowhere, was safe. Live in the city? Live in the countryside? It doesn’t matter when it comes to infertile governments, mad scientists, impotent military, and vengeful hungry hordes.
In truth we didn’t need another rats story. With The Lair Herbert had sucked all the pulp out of the pulp elements. Subtexts – sure, but what makes these titles fun for some of us is the craziness, the war itself. They’re quick-fire novels, books that can be read in one exciting sitting. Herbert has a message, but he never lets it get in the way of the story. These are primarily Rats books.
And then we have Domain. While we shouldn’t concentrate too much on page counts, looking at such things can be informative. At 421 pages the Domain novel has a larger page count than the previous two books combined. That ought to be enough for you to sit up and think, just what is Herbert up to here? If we love The Rats for being irreverent, fast, down-and-dirty, and at times mean – then how can that translate into 421 pages?
Well, in truth, it stays pretty close to the heart of what makes the previous Rats books a lot of fun. However, the scope of the arena in which we’re going to play is far far greater. We’re talking about the annihilation of society here rather than the communities largely affected previously.
Taking the familiar themes of governmental control, the everyman getting hammered, and the phrase “for the good of all” being exposed as meaning “for the good of the few”, Domain elevates the rats themselves. He does this by cleverly changing the rules. In the previous books we have everyday life as we know it, with the Rats as interlopers. They are very much in our world, and that can work both for and against us. In Domain there is no normalcy. In fact, the world is the world of The Rats. Death, bodies rotting on the streets, no cars, no electricity, devastation everywhere, and the few (man) is being dominated by the many (the rats).
As such, the canvas gets larger. We can’t rely on everyday experience to examine the rats and their context. The context has changed radically. In Domain man isn’t fighting the rats, rats are fighting man. Man itself is pre-occupied with simply trying to survive – hiding in holes in the ground, cowering in basements, frightened of the dark. Contrast this with previous rats novels where it’s the rats are doing these things. We have role reversal here.
So what are all those extra pages about?
It’s an indication of the quality Herbert’s writing that while the scale of this novel is greater, it still feels rather personal. That’s not lost on the larger canvas. However, Herbert spends a considerable amount of time telling us about the destroyed world. There is more time for the man in the street – personified by Culver, our lead character – and how he reacts to what remains of the government and its folly. Culver see’s the end of government first hand, takes part in it, walking a fine line while others jump on one side of the wall or the other. The anti-establishment theme is more prominent here, and that takes up a lot of time.
In fact sometimes you even forget about the rats themselves. Although they are always under the surface, ready to point there heads through a grating and nip off your allegory, they must sometimes take a back seat while we feast upon the idiocy of the military, the Civil Service, and the scientists. Worry not, they rats are always poised, waiting for the worst possible moment to resurface.
Essentially Domain is about mans inhumanity to man, of how democracy is stifled by bureaucracy, along with questioning whom the dominant species on the planet truly is. Humans thrive in the environments they’ve created, but much energy has gone into threatening the environments of others. With nuclear war we’ve written the final check – for man.
Still, that’s not to say there isn’t plenty of rat action in the novel. By the time we reach the end of the book they’re in abundance and the merry dance of the previous novels return. The only difference being that there are times in Domain where you might find yourself cheering them on. Some people, you know, deserve to die.
Perhaps most fascinating is the climax to the book, where Herbert offers us a tantalizing glimpse into the future (explored further in the Rats graphic Novel, The City). What if rats and man were to converge, to evolve as a single species? Just how different are we anyway? How are the actions of the rats, bent on survival and to an extent greed, different from military based democracies we live in today? Domain is a sobering lesson to us all!
If you’ve read through all you might be asking yourself a simple question: “That’s all well and good, but did you like it?” Or even more urgently: “Is it as good as the other novels?”
To answer the first of those I’d say yes, I liked it. If you’re into the previous two Rats books then it’s an essential read really.
To answer the second I’d say, well – maybe.
You see The Rats, and to a lesser extent The Lair (though it maintains its credentials) are crafted bits of pulp fiction. Short, sweet, to the point. At 421 pages I don’t think Domain qualifies as pulp. Herbert spends a lot of time with themes other than the great battle between man and beast, and at times that battle takes second place to other concerns. For instance, there is a lot of time spent in a bunker, and over what happens in that bunker. It’s different, and can go on for chapter after chapter with nary a hint of a good old mutant rat. As an exercise in blithe pulp, this doesn’t work too well.
However, as a good post-apocalyptic read, it works very well. There’s a lot more action in Domain that isn’t rat-centric – man on man, the frailty of the human spirit, love lost, needless violence etc. There are pure action sequences, chases, fights, floods, building collapses, rabid animal attacks and so on. With the larger canvas Herbert can do this without leaving out the good old rat action we yearn for.
A fitting end to the story of The Rats? Hm, yes and no. As a theme, as a premise built around man’s stupidity and egotistical ways – yes. As a rough and ready exercise in reading about man doing pitched battle with the rats, then not really. This book is quite unlike The Rats in many ways (I wish I had the time to go into more detail about this matter, alas whatever I wrote would probably be the size of The Lair ;D.)
The bottom line for me is this. I’m glad I’ve read all three books. I liked them all for various reasons. None of them are dull or boring. Each of them has something to recommend it, and I’d be glad to tell others to read them all and enjoy.
Having said that, if I personally want to go back and revisit Herbert’s classic trilogy, I think I’ll be reaching for the first book initially. Or perhaps The Lair. Domain would come last for me. It’s not a qualitative judgment – because Domain is extremely well written and imagined – just a personal love of mine for pulp, and all it stands for. Perhaps I’m being disingenuous, but Domain feels more crafted, and craft isn’t always what I want from my horror novels, sometimes less is so much better (a misnomer I know, writing pulp takes craft too, but a slightly different kind).
Still, if you’ve started the journey through Herbert’s world and have read both The Rats and The Lair then, basically, you’ve probably found yourself in the same place I did. You’re obligated really.
So you might as well scratch and tear yourself through that door.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Sept 1, 2009 13:39:28 GMT
If I didn't watch films with subtitles I'd miss out on half the movies I own. ;D
Anyhoo - Lesbian Vampire Killers..... Watched it last week. Awful in every way. Not horrific. Not funny. Not even sexy. How they managed to make Lesbian Vampires boring I'll never quite know. But they did.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Aug 26, 2009 17:13:20 GMT
Devils of D-Day.....
I read that one recently. On the one hand it's a good fit for what's being asked.
On the other.....
The problem is the scale of the thing. It's a pulp novel, and as such the cast of characters is rather small. There is no "Indiana Jones" character here. I don't recall any sex at all.
One issue might well be that the precise thing asked for is a rather modern take on things, springing largely from Aliens (the Alien sequel) influences. Big, bombastic battlefests with over-the-top characters. Perfect for... well comic books, and films based on comic books. ;D
Pulp... well, a lot of the plots are rather fantastical, and authors generally (and if I'm wrong here there are plenty of experts here that will correct me) use the main characters as something the reader can identify with. That being a basic down to earth guy or gal whom is thrown into an incredible situation.
There might be some fantasy literature that better fits the bill (rather than out and out horror) but sadly that's not a genre I know much (anything?) about.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Aug 26, 2009 12:44:44 GMT
Actually, it sounds like the recent film "Dead Snow".
A most excellent film that everyone into Nazi's, zombies, and gore should watch.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Aug 26, 2009 10:55:38 GMT
My title doesn't exactly fit..... Night Boat, but Robert McCammon www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/robert-r-mccammon/night-boat.htm"A horror novel with an old German U-Boat crew, long since dead, waiting at the bottom of a harbor, for the living up above." I am half way through it right now, and it's a terrific read, imo. Remind me of the movie, Shockwaves with Peter Cushing. Excellent book so far, and recommended.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Aug 24, 2009 17:14:02 GMT
Wow, yeah, these seem familiar. Interesting to try to figure out the inspirational Cinematic sources....
Ape Man: Not sure, maybe Trog? Cannibal: ? Circus of Death: ? Dracula: Christopher Lee/Hammer The Executioner: ? The Freak: The Reptile/Hammer Fu Manchu: Boris Karloff/Universal Gargantuan: ? Looks like the monster from MGM's It! The Terror from Beyond Space The Ghoul: ? Damn.... I recognize it, but can't remember the movie title. Godzilla: Godzilla The Gorgon: ? Granite Man: ? The Hangman: Obviously Lon Chaney in Phantom of the Opera - the picture on the left is from Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter Headhunter ? Incredible Shrinking Man: Incredible Shrinking Man King Kong: King Kong (though it should have been a woman in the hand) Lord of Death: Lon Chaney/Phantom of the Opera The Mad Axeman: ? Man Eating Plant: I Married a Monster from Outer Space Phantom of the Opera: Vincent Price/Dr. Phibes (weird!) Prince of Darkness: Onibaba The Risen Dead: ? Skeleton: ? The Sorceress: ? The Thing: ? Two Headed Monster: ? But I know it, can't bring it to mind... The Vampire Bat: ? Werewolf: ? Zetan Lord: ?
I know 10 of the second set.
Anyone want to have a go with that?
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Aug 22, 2009 15:10:07 GMT
John Hyde - Amen John Hyde - The Prediction The Frozen Planet (Short Stories) Jay Anson - 666 James Herbert - The Fog (original cover) James Herbert - The Dark James Herbert - Moon James Herbert - The Lair (original cover) James Herbert - The Rats (original cover) James Herbert - Fluke (original cover) James Herbert - The Fog, The Spear, Sepulchre (hardback - Omnibus) Whitley Strieber - The Hunger The Voice of the dolls - Dorothy Eden Simon Maginn - A Sickness of the Soul David Seltzer - The Omen Alan Scott - Project Dracula Robert R. McGammon - The Night Boat Red Mustard Stewart - Star Child Joy Fielding - The Transformation John Buchan - The 39 Steps (hardback) Joe Donnelly - Havock Junction (hardback) Joe Donnelly - Shrike (hardback) HG Wells - The First Men in the Moon Dennis Wheatley - The Satanist Dennis Wheatley - The Haunting of Toby Jugg Graham Masterton- Famine Gordon McGill - The Final Conflict (Omen 3) G. Simpson/N. Burger - Ghostboat Richard Laymon - Savage Richard Layman - Body Rises Stephen king - The Shinning Dean Koontz - Intensity (hardback) Dean koontz - False Memory (hardback) Jay R. Bonansinga - The Black Mariah
Non - Horror
Billie Holiday - Lady Sings the Blues (Bio) Norman Giller - Carry on Up the Kyber Norman Giller - Carry on Doctor Norman Giller - Carry on Abroad Norman Giller - Carry on England
The Carry On books are extraordinary. I see there were at least six of them done - but I found only four. The covers read: The wickedly funny story that starts where the movie ends. Each one starts with a brief synopsis of the movie, and then takes off on its own. These aren't old, they came out in 96, but I couldn't leave them behind.
|
|