magog
New Face In Hell
Posts: 7
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Post by magog on Feb 13, 2023 22:34:47 GMT
Dear dem bones!
In "The Best of The Scream Factory" ed. Peter Enfantin, Robert Morrish has a section "The Top Ten Horror Titles the of 80s" (Issue 7, page 47).
Be so kind as to share the information what these titles are and if you attach a photo, it will be perfect generally.
Yours Truly,
magog
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Post by dem bones on Feb 14, 2023 9:38:59 GMT
10. Kirby McCauley [ed.] - Dark Forces
9. Joe R. Lansdale - Night Runners
8. Robert R. McCammon - Swan Song
7. Clive Barker - The Books of Blood
6. Dan Simmons - Song of Kali
5. Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs
4. Stephen King - Pet Semetary
3. Dean R. Koontz - Watchers
2. Stephen King - Misery
1. Thomas Harris - Red Dragon
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magog
New Face In Hell
Posts: 7
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Post by magog on Feb 14, 2023 10:12:12 GMT
A Lot of Thanks!
It is valuable for me that the hit parade was compiled in 1989, so to speak, on fresh tracks.
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Post by andydecker on Feb 14, 2023 10:27:27 GMT
10. Kirby McCauley [ed.] - Dark Forces 9. Joe R. Lansdale - Night Runners 8. Robert R. McCammon - Swan Song 7. Clive Barker - The Books of Blood 6. Dan Simmons - Song of Kali 5. Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs 4. Stephen King - Pet Semetary 3. Dean R. Koontz - Watchers 2. Stephen King - Misery 1. Thomas Harris - Red Dragon
Hm, like all lists this is more or less subjective, but two Thomas Harris novels? Come on! Maybe one those, and even that is reaching.
The McCammon is very debatable, this Koontz is just another of his dog novels, he wrote much better books in the 80s, and I will never get what is supposed to be so wonderful about King's Pet Semetary. 10 novels are not much, I know, but where are the British writers?
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magog
New Face In Hell
Posts: 7
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Post by magog on Feb 14, 2023 10:55:44 GMT
but two Thomas Harris novels?
Maybe the whole point is that at that moment he was at the peak of popularity?
but where are the British writers?
I would love to get acquainted with the hit parade of British authors specifically for the 80s and not necessarily limited by the narrow limits of the number 10.
I have only 3 names in my head during this period.
The Books of Blood
Hmmm, It looks like Clive Barker has been in Hollywood so long that everyone forgot he was English. |
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Post by andydecker on Feb 14, 2023 13:43:06 GMT
but two Thomas Harris novels?
Maybe the whole point is that at that moment he was at the peak of popularity? Of course this is the reason, but it is not necesserily a good reason for a top ten list :-) Hmmm, It looks like Clive Barker has been in Hollywood so long that everyone forgot he was English. :-) Indeed.
(Of course I should have written more British writers.)
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magog
New Face In Hell
Posts: 7
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Post by magog on Feb 14, 2023 18:17:15 GMT
(Of course I should have written more British writers.)
So, we have Campbell, Herbert, Barker....Two novels each, following the example of Harris, or are there other notable works under the English flag during this period? My curiosity was ignited to the extreme. But I agree that one of these names would be enough for an ordinary nation. In terms of genre, not so much abounding. |
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Post by andydecker on Feb 14, 2023 20:34:52 GMT
(Of course I should have written more British writers.)
So, we have Campbell, Herbert, Barker....Two novels each, following the example of Harris, or are there other notable works under the English flag during this period? My curiosity was ignited to the extreme. But I agree that one of these names would be enough for an ordinary nation. In terms of genre, not so much abounding. I wouldn't put all the following in a top 10 list in terms of quality - even if they wrote some great books in their niche - but there were: Peter Haining, Brian Lumley, Guy N. Smith, Graham Masterton, Shaun Hutson. In the starting blocks at the end of the decade were Stephen Jones and Stephen Laws. And I guess there were quite a few writers who only did one or two novels ever.
The original list also has some serious gaps. No love for T.E.D. Klein, Michael McDowell, Skipp&Spector, Peter Straub, Richard Laymon, Charles L. Grant?
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Post by Knygathin on Feb 15, 2023 9:14:23 GMT
The original list also has some serious gaps. No love for T.E.D. Klein, Michael McDowell, Skipp&Spector, Peter Straub, Richard Laymon, Charles L. Grant?
And no Thomas Ligotti. "Top Ten". Top what? Top quality? No, top selling. Such lists are always commercially driven. A charade written by bribed journalists to fool the masses into buyng more copies. |
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Post by dem bones on Feb 15, 2023 12:03:42 GMT
The Top Ten was based on a poll of 100 writers and editors. And:
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Post by andydecker on Feb 15, 2023 14:01:36 GMT
Interesting. They took the dates seriously. I wondered about Straub's Ghost Story missing, but I looked it up and it came out in 1979.
The majority I never read. Neither the Straub novels nor Wilson, Tessier or Süskind. (Only saw the original movie of the last, not the tv "re-imagining") Which is also not really a horror novel IMHO, but I can see why it was included.
They Thirst by McCammon is my favorite of his production of that time. I love Martin for some of his short stories, but I thought Fevre Dream deathly dull. But I hasten to add that I read it years later after dozens of vampire novels and was already tired of them. (Still on the fence if Armageddon Rock is worth the effort or not.)
Never read Carrion Comfort. At the moment I have not much patience or the stamina for so long novels.
Also never heard of Katherine Dunn. Will have to look her up.
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gog
New Face In Hell
Posts: 6
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Post by gog on Feb 15, 2023 15:30:23 GMT
The Top Ten was based on a poll of 100 writers and editors. And:This option is much more interesting. It seems that when compiling "Horror: The 100 Best Books" in the 2000s, this list was remembered again. I only read "Usher's Passing", "It" and "The Keep" |
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