The Dark

James Herbert
1980
ISBN 0330376209 

Bishop, paranormal investigator and skeptic, finds himself confronting an idea that goes against every scientific theory he has - that evil has managed to become a physical force, invading the minds of Londoners.  The evidence - and the bodies - pile up, but how can it be stopped?

Written in 1980, this book easily translates to the present day.  The medical and scientific terminology still fits, and serves to deepen the disquiet this book brings to the reader.

The tension builds smoothly, and I did find myself how any kind of ending could fit within the remaining pages and still do justice to everything that preceded it - and with the resolution presenting itself in the final few sentences, I was a little disappointed at the sudden, rushed climax.

The afterword tempered that slightly, but I would have liked it to be a bit more detailed.  Even so, this was a solid horror based on the scariest of ideas - that of man indulging in his darkest thoughts.

Finished 06.10.13

Something Wicked This Way Comes

By Ray Bradbury

I've never read any of Bradbury's book before, but this one popped up as a book club read.  It took me the first half dozen chapters to slow down enough to savour the way it had been written, and once I settled into the poetic, hazy imagery, I really enjoyed it.

I know that a lot of other, more talented authors have said a lot about Ray Bradbury and his writings, so I'm not going to try and describe the story itself - except to mention that it was different to in-your-face gory horror that abounds today.  Poetic, imaginative and beautiful, I thought it was superb.

The Fog

James Herbert
1975
0-450-03045-8

Nothing is as insubstantial as fog, so when it's the enemy, how do you fight it?

An earthquake releases a fog into the English countryside, where it roams at the mercy of the wind, sending any creature it touches completely insane. Holman, exposed and apparently immune, is left to try and convince that his story isn't fantasy, and to figure out how you fight a mist.

This is one of those horrors that unnerve you - there is normality mixed with unimaginable craziness. There is no central bad guy; everyone has the potential to lose their mind, so there is an uneasiness rather than an out-and-out fear, which seems even scarier.

There were several points in this book where I had to put it down altogether to get my head around what was happening, but it was also a story where I really had to know how it ended.

There was one thing that I thought was missed from the ending - the fate of McLellan's family wasn't told - but aside from that I thought this was riveting, and made more so for two reasons: it was set in England rather than America, and it was written in the 70s, so there wasn't the annoying convenience of technology like mobile phones and the internet.

Another reason why James Herbert is becoming my favourite author.

Date Finished: 20/03/08
Year Total: 10

Desperation

Stephen King
1996
ISBN 0-340-65428-7

Random people, pulled together by a psychotic cop and promised living hell before death, caught in a desert town under a dust storm, fenced in by strangely obedient coyotes and buzzards.

This book started off like a TV movie that I had to sit through once, so the first dozen pages were passed wondering if it was that movie (and feeling pretty pessimistic about the rest of the story), but it veered off in a whole new direction pretty quick. Once I realised that there were no evil gangs of truckers, and that King's story was far more interesting, I started taking more notice.

This is classic King: the story takes place over one night, yet fills over a thousand pages with the history of people and places. An urban legend turns out to be horribly true, and the small band of arrested travellers realise that they are the only ones who can bring a halt to the insanity around them. The climax is built at a breakneck speed, and you don't really know what's going on until it's happening, so it's hard to put down (must know what happens next!).

I like the amount of detail that King injects into story, as I think it brings a richness to the tale that a lot of other horror writers lack, so the size of this book didn't faze me, although it did become a personal challenge to get it finished as quickly as possible. I'm not sure I'll feel compelled to re-read this story, but the first attempt was pretty enjoyable.

Date Finished: 14/11/07
Year Total: 38

The Secret of Crickley Hall

James Herbert
2006
ISBN 0-330-41168-4

I've loved James Herbert books since seeing Haunted, the movie based on his book, but tend to stumble over them by accident rather than set out to buy one. This one was no exception, and has been one of the best surprise finds this year.

Gabe and Eve Caleigh, both struggling to deal with the disappearance of their son Cam, leave the city and move into Crickley Hall, a forboding manor outside a tiny village. Even before they hear the tragic history of the house, they find out they aren't the only ones there, but refuse to leave.

This is one of those rare stories that stays interesting and stays as tense at the same time. This book actually made me nervous, which never happens. Herbert can create such a tense, terrifying scene that your skin will crawl.

The climax is good without being overly sappy, and although it's a horror, you still finish with a smile. I really enjoyed this - as much as Haunted, if not more.

Date Finished: 13/10/07
Year Total: 33

Odd Thomas

Dean Koontz
2004

Recommended to me by several people on the 50 Books group, I wondered how good yet another 'I see dead people' story could be, especially one that featured Elvis.

Odd Thomas lives up to his name - he is both funny and screwed up, just the right combination for a hero you can't help but like. His circle of friends are just as screwy, which seems to ground Odd as he moves in a world haunted by people and shadows alike.

I wasn't so keen on the way the ending was written, as I felt that I was deliberately misled, as opposed to just missing something subtly implied. Still, I enjoyed the rest of it, and will definitely keep an eye out for more Odd Thomas books.

Date Finished: 24/03/07
Year Total: 8

Dark Delicacies

Edited by Del Howison & Jeff Gelb
2005

Seeing as I'm neither a connoisseur of neither horror or short stories, I began this book with trepidation. The only horror I read is Stephen King, who stuffs his tales with so much detail you get lost in it. In these stories, by definition only a handful of pages long, every detail is important somehow, and everything else is stripped away, leaving you with the bare, bloodied bones of the story.

Each story left me feeling uneasy and uncomfortable, although there were no moments when I lost myself enough to feel fright. I'm not sure that wasn't the idea though - fright can be dispelled with the flick of a lightswitch, whereas the uncomfortable feeling settled like the aftertaste of too-greasy food.

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed these stories. They were just the literary ad-break I was looking for.

Year Total: 7
Date Finished: 21/03/07