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Post by carolinec on Dec 4, 2008 23:46:52 GMT
As you enjoyed The Grin of the Dark, I'd recommend Ancient Images - probably not quite as good, but it is enjoyable. Unless you want a change from Ramsey Campbell, in which case go for something a little "pulpier" I guess ... ;D |
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Dec 9, 2008 0:18:48 GMT
I went for The Slime Beast, In the end, my 3rd Guy N. Smith so far. Don't know why I didn't start these sooner, got nearly 40 of them so far, but it's not enough I tell you, you can never have enough Smith ;D The Slime Beast is a great read, got through it 4 hours, not sure I can really say much about it, that hasn't been said already. Recommended, but then I expect I don't need to. I'm probably the last on this board to read it  Also got The Owl by Robert Forward on the go, which is shaping up nicely so far. I'll post in The Owl thread, once I've read it. |
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on Dec 25, 2008 16:10:11 GMT
Just finished Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill (see thread of same name) & I am now about 3 quarters of the way through Return Of The Werewolf - Guy N. Smith, which breezes along nicely. I've not got the other werewolf books, but it seems it doesn't affect it, I certainly don't regret starting my smith collection before having read any of his work, this is the 4th book of his that I've read & it seems I like them more with each book. The Crabs series still awaits (did I just say that out loud?  ) minus Killer Crabs & Human Sacrifice (I keep searching). The Owl is on the backburner at the moment, need to work my way through my library books after ROTW, so it looks like Ghoul - Brian Keene is up next. |
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Post by bushwick on Dec 25, 2008 18:01:06 GMT
In the last few days have read Herne The Hunter: Apache Squaw (superb, dark, tragic stuff), The Executioner: Jersey Guns (my first Mack Bolan, good fun, especially enjoyed the 'hip' narrative style and plenty of noble warrior philosophising) and Out Are The Lights by Laymon (first i've read by him...incredibly quick to read, very spare prose, audacious plotting and unsympathetic sort of 'airbrushed' characters. I liked it, and the short stories afterwards. What are his best novels, anyone?). Now I'm on Edge:Sullivan's Law, which has started with a bang.
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Post by dem on Dec 27, 2008 22:55:26 GMT
Out Are The Lights by Laymon (first i've read by him...incredibly quick to read, very spare prose, audacious plotting and unsympathetic sort of 'airbrushed' characters. I liked it, and the short stories afterwards. What are his best novels, anyone?). The one's i've most enjoyed would be Funland, The Cellar, and Midnight's Lair, but Laymon was usually good for a sick thrill. It's probably best to take a break between novels though, as his obsessions don't exactly vary. Fledgling sex maniacs are a constant and cannibals show up in the most unlikely surroundings. He never strays far from the spare prose and most of the novels are dialogue driven, real pacy reads. There's been many a time i've thought "oh gawd, 450 pages!" but i usually get him read a lot quicker than most novels half that length. As you liked the short stories too I'd suggest Dreadful Tales, a patchy but fun collection including the ace zombie novella Mop Up. |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Jan 6, 2009 20:59:11 GMT
"M.R. James - An Informal Portrait" by Michael Cox, which, I'm horrified to discover I've had since 2003 and never read. Only one chapter specifically dedicated to the ghost stories, but a very enjoyable read nonetheless, and some totally laugh out loud moments, mainly involving sniping amongst college fellows, but also including a particularly nice letter from MRJ's father describing how a letter home from their son had caused a fight amongst the two over who would read it first, with dad being forced to shove mum's head through a plate glass window to get first dibs.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Mar 11, 2009 14:31:27 GMT
Out Are The Lights by Laymon (first i've read by him...incredibly quick to read, very spare prose, audacious plotting and unsympathetic sort of 'airbrushed' characters. I liked it, and the short stories afterwards. What are his best novels, anyone?). The one's i've most enjoyed would be Funland, The Cellar, and Midnight's Lair, but Laymon was usually good for a sick thrill. It's probably best to take a break between novels though, as his obsessions don't exactly vary. Fledgling sex maniacs are a constant and cannibals show up in the most unlikely surroundings. He never strays far from the spare prose and most of the novels are dialogue driven, real pacy reads. There's been many a time i've thought "oh gawd, 450 pages!" but i usually get him read a lot quicker than most novels half that length. As you liked the short stories too I'd suggest Dreadful Tales, a patchy but fun collection including the ace zombie novella Mop Up.Before the board, I'd never even heard of Richard Laymon. The first couple of his books I read (after Dem's championing) absolutely blew me away. Bushwick - I think you'd enjoy Savages and Island. As Dem says he does tend to repeat himself , so after enjoying The Midnight Tour and Flesh, things got a bit samey, and I found him very exasperating to read. Had a bit of a comeback recently. Enjoyed most of The Travelling Vampire Show, apart from when it went crazy apeshit bonkers at the end (now there's a change) but Darkness, Tell Us and Blood Games have proved very good, if not outrageous, reads. Still got a few hanging around. And at least one of the above mentioned red shorts. |
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Post by benedictjjones on Mar 11, 2009 15:50:53 GMT
'revelation' c j sansom
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Post by justin on Mar 11, 2009 16:14:10 GMT
Damnation Alley by Roger Zelzaney.
It may be SF but dismiss that shlockly film of the same name. Very counter-culture, features Hell's Angels, trippy imagery and boy oh boy did ever 2000AD rip it off for The Cursed Earth saga. Recommended.
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Post by killercrab on Mar 11, 2009 17:07:09 GMT
But they never denied the fact that Damnation Alley was the inspiration! The Cursed Earth was the first Dredd epic and it's bloody brilliant - two sequences banned outright from reprint - the Burger Wars and the stuff with the Jolly Green Giant. Vampire robots , flying rats and Spikes Harvey Rotten with grenade in ear and of course the Valley of the Gwangi T-Rex episodes. 2000AD have always been best when using popular culture and this is a great example. DA also inspired a shite movie. It's what you do with the inspiration that counts.  KC |
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Post by H_P_Saucecraft on May 8, 2009 0:11:20 GMT
Having a bit of a Hutson blitz at the moment. Read Assassin - I noticed Hutson seems to have a particular fondness for headshots, splattered brains & broken noses (crops up in other books as well) . Currently got Unmarked Graves, Captives & Chainsaw Terror on the go. Also just borrowed Necessary Evil & Twisted souls from the library. I think you either love Hutson's work or Hate it (there may be some middle ground, e.g. caroline's liking for his short stories), I definitely fall into the former camp. I just like his unapologetic stance. I've only found one short story by him listed on fantastic fiction, anyone know if he has a collection? or has he simply not done enough short stories to fill a collection? With the Hutson pile I have, I'm wondering when I'll get to the Hamlyns  |
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Post by killercrab on May 8, 2009 1:57:26 GMT
Glad you asked - I've been on a mini NEL kick again recently! Just finished WHO SUPS WITH THE DEVIL? which I really liked. Kind of slow in it's police procedural way - a creepy nun with disfigured face is all I can say or ruin the book. A good solid 7/10 . Currently reading NIGHT OF THE WARLOCK - once I got over the fact it's set in the US - I got into it. I prefer my NEL horrors with a UK backdrop but this feels a bit like Lory's Dracula books which is okay! Not far into WARLOCK and the pace is hotting up. Desperate to get hold of some more of Brian Ball's work like DEVIL'S PEAK and LESSON FOR THE DAMNED and will go the not finding it in a shop route ( my prefered buying outlet) if need be. I absolutely loved his THE VENOMOUS SERPENT. I hate to say it but I tend to read up about this particular era over at the old site as I think rightly this has become mostly the anthology forum it was destined to become. KC |
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Post by dem on May 8, 2009 17:47:10 GMT
I hate to say it but I tend to read up about this particular era over at the old site as I think rightly this has become mostly the anthology forum it was destined to become. KC I think it tends to go in cycles, KC. At the start we had all the NEL's we'd collected between us over the years to choose from, and we tore into them, but sadly many of the original crew who went about reviewing them have moved on. Me, i've just run out of Nels to write about.  But at least we've got back to being a pulp board again after the unhappy November spawned a monster episode, it's just that the Pre-War/ Wordsworth interest stuff has had more of a look in of late whereas it didn't get much attention before. I'm sure the Nel/ 'seventies stuff will have its day again, and mostly thanks to Dave, there's still plenty of action on the Hamlyn nasty front. |
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Post by bushwick on May 15, 2009 16:42:17 GMT
Two very 'rough' books in a row, firmly aimed at the bitter divorced man/hormone-crazed teenage boy. Very impressed (if that's the right word) with both and will get round to reviews hopefully but they are, "Brannigan 3: Mark Of The Rattler" by Tom Ryan (Centurion, 1975) and "Phoenix: Dark Messiah" by David Alexander (Star, 1987).
The former is an American Western obviously influenced by Edge and the like, dumbed down but snappily handled, with ludicrous graphic violence, rape, incest, racism, hitting lasses etc. Had always avoided the US Westerns as was under the impression most of them were a bit tamer than UK counterparts, but this is pretty ridiculous. Can't find anything out about this series.
The latter is a Deathlands rip-off thing. The hero is Magnus Trench aka Phoenix and the villain is one Luther Enoch. Cardboard characters, page upon page of weapons fetishism, extreme violence described in detail to the point of parody (probably the most extreme I've read), women being horribly raped (all written like hardcore porn) then being fine a minute afterwards. Had to put book down at points and shake my head. Wholly indefensible. I've got number 2 as well. Does anyone have any more details of this series?
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Post by bushwick on Sept 30, 2009 13:17:46 GMT
Got major computer problems and a lack of time so can't do scans/proper reviews, but wanted to put in my tuppen'orth and help get things back on track after all this BFS bullshit beef.
I recently read Earth Lies Sleeping, the first Simon Rack novel by Laurence James, and loved it. Fast moving, consistently exciting, audacious plotting...plenty of signature LJ stuff like creative and grim torture scenes, cheeky references, and cross-genre action - it's SF but it reads like one of the WolfsHead books. Recommended for pulp action lovers.
Am currently on with Night Demon by Dillibe Onyeama. What a bloody strange book. Is there a thread for that already? Sure I remember seeing one. Anyway, everything about it screams early-70s NEL (the brief length, the cover art, the way it's written) but it's a 1982 Sphere. Quite wordy and long-winded thus far but worth sticking with I reckon. Very bizarre concept regarding a young Biafran man relocated to the UK who is planning a military coup in Nigeria. His dead grandfather, a power-crazed tribal leader, is getting in touch with him from beyond the grave to help him in his quest by hooking him up with some voodoo dudes. There is Soviet involvement and spying/espionage too. Don't think this will turn out very gory but the bizarreness and the ten-years-too-late writing style make up for it with quirks.
Oh shit, forgot, I also read an old Manor Book, an Executioner-type thing called 'Check Force: 100 Megaton Kill' by Ralph Hayes. Good fun, about an ex-KGB and ex-CIA man bonding together through mutual respect, to save humanity in the face of a shadowy secret organisation who are trying to stir shit up in the Cold War by starting WW3 then stepping in to the resulting post-apoc power vacuum. This had some silly violence (like a poor lass being fed into a paper shredder), but the overriding impression is the strong bond between the two lead characters. They really care about each other, it's heart warming to read. Easily the gayest Men's Adventure title I've read.
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) minus Killer Crabs & Human Sacrifice (I keep searching).
But at least we've got back to being a pulp board again after the unhappy November spawned a monster episode, it's just that the Pre-War/ Wordsworth interest stuff has had more of a look in of late whereas it didn't get much attention before. I'm sure the Nel/ 'seventies stuff will have its day again, and mostly thanks to Dave, there's still plenty of action on the Hamlyn nasty front.