ALWAYS
THE SEASON FOR READING
I love books, all year long, not just at Christmas.
However, if one is stumped for a good gift idea, books are a great
idea. Years ago, I gave Brave
New World to a relative, and only last year they admitted
that they read it at. The good thing? They really enjoyed it. Score
one for Evil Santa.
So what is in Evil Santa’s bag of reading
suggestions for the holidays? I’ll tell you of a few good
ones I’ve read this year.
Great fantasy fiction was dealt a blow this
July when David Gemmell succumbed to coronary artery disease. Although
his books Legend
and Waylander
are great works indeed, this year I read Stormrider,
a bloody novel of two warring armies. Full of strong characters
and backstabbing folks, it’s a thumping book to get you going
on David’s work.
Last June I was drafted at Hypericon
to appear on a panel dealing with religion. Then men on this dais
were smooth UK writer Steve Saville and Tim Powers. Run, don’t
walk, to get Power’s kick ass novel Anubis
Gates. If you love historical works of fiction that are
well told, you’ll devour this one.
Speaking of panels, at World Horror Con 06 in
San Francisco I found myself on a panel dealing with American Roots
in Horror. One author there, Rob Dunbar, wrote a superb novel The
Pines, re-released via Delirium Books (be on the look
out for his follow up). Dealing with The Jersey Devil
and much more, contact Shane at Delirium and demand a trade paperback
of this release of Rob Dunbar’s. It’s a great work and
readers would do well to lose themselves in the pages of the Pines.
If one is into horror, let me quickly recommend some titles available
at your local bookstores. The
Conqueror Worms
by Brian Keene shows us what happens after it has rained on
the world over 40 days and giant worms take over. The
Demonologist
by Michael Laimo is a chilling, stifling ride that will leave
you wanting more.
Blood Writ is a good place to start looking
at the works of James A. Moore. If you have a strong gut and a steady
hand, Survivor
by J.F. Gonzalez is a brutal, but incredible book. The
Dead Letters by Tom Piccirilli is moody and well written.
The
Arcanum is sort of like League or Extrordinary
Gentlemen with horror writers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
Harry Houdini, H.P. Lovecraft and others team up to clash with Aleister
Crowley and dire forces.
I really like anthologies. Maybe I’m alone,
maybe not. I highly recommend (and not just because I’m in
it) Deathgrip:
Exit Laughing from Hellbound Books for some
hilarious, nasty stuff. If mystery and murder are you bag, These
Guns For Hire takes the hitman idea to a new level.
Great writers like David Morrell, Max Allan Collins, Ed Gorman,
Monica J. O’Rourke, Jeff Strand, and Lisa Mannetti populate
this fun, harsh read.
Well, if you want to read some stomping fantasy for a low cost,
hey, I’m not so shameless as to not say, buy my novella Whore
of Jericho (from Pitch Black Books) or my other books
Thoroughbred
(Carnifex Press) and Godforsaken
(Behler).
2006
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