| Author | Message | ||
     Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 74.198.28.209 |
It's that time, I suppose. What are the best books you've bought/read this year? | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.161.138.249 |
In no particular order and off the top of my head- horror/dark fantastic: The City and the City by China Miéville One by Conrad Williams Fugue State by Brian Evenson The Essential Ellison by Harlan Ellison Cold to the Touch by Simon Strantzas A Special Place by Peter Straub The Collector by John Fowles The Witnesses are Gone by Joel Lane Bad Things by Michael Marshal The Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliot And there is still fifteen days left! And I'm forgetting stuff. So my real list is January! Creatures, Dome, Finch STBR this Christmas! And back to the Copenhagen summit! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.106 |
My best reads of the year (in no particular order) include a lot of older stuff and a few re-reads: THE INFLUENCE - Campbell MIDNIGHT SUN - Campbell ALL THE WITNESSES ARE GONE - Lane ONE - Williams BEASTS - Joyce Carol Oates THE REACH OF CHILDREN - Lebbon HIGH RISE - Ballard THE DROUGHT - Ballard BLOOD MERIDIAN - McCarthy BAD THINGS - MM Smith 2001: A SPACE ODYSSY - Clark LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - John Ajvide Lindqvist NAME OF THE ROSE - ECCO THE SHADOW OF THE WIND - Ruiz Zafon CRIME AND PUNISHMENT - Dosteovsky RENDEZVOUS IN BLACK - Woolrich I haven't included any short story collections, as I'm yet to finish one this year (but I am reading 15 of them). Also, most of the newly published stuff I bought this year is sitting on the TBR pile... | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.202.210.68 |
JLP's best reads of the year are: (In the order I read them) THE EXAGGERATED MAN - Terry Grimwood HOW TO MAKE MONSTERS - Gary McMahon NACHTMAHR - H H Ewers THE VESUVIUS CLUB - Mark Gatiss THE DEVIL IN AMBER - Mark Gatiss THE BLACK GONDOLIER & OTHER STORIES - Fritz Leiber THE EDGE & OTHER STORIES - Charles Beaumont THE OTHER PASSENGER - John Keir Cross VARDOGER - Stephen Volk GROANING SHADOWS - Paul Finch GHOST REALM - Paul Finch TALES OF TERROR - Guy de Maupassant DIFFERENT SKINS - Gary McMahon | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.182.116 |
What about Ghouls in My Grave, Your Lordship?  | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
Just missed being in the top 13 my friend, as did many others | ||
| Giancarlo (Giancarlo) Username: Giancarlo Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 85.116.228.3 |
Hey Karim, what's "FINCH STBR" as your expected X-mas reading? Is there any new Paul Finch coming between X-mas and January? I can't track anything of the sort. Anyone knows? | ||
| Paul_finch (Paul_finch) Username: Paul_finch Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Hello Giancarlo - I wouldn't normally use this forum as a means of self-promotion, but seeing as you asked. My next book, WALKERS IN THE DARK will be launched at World Horror in March. I also have a few stories and novellas due out soon: PROFANITIES has just been published in EXOTIC GOTHIC 3, WE, WHO LIVE IN THE WOOD will appear in the next issue of BLACK STATIC, THE DOOM in the next BLACK BOOK OF HORROR and, for those interested in DR WHO, my DR WHO audio drama, LEVIATHAN, will be out from Big Finish in January, starring Colin Baker etc. Again, sorry for the advertisment, but as someone asked it seemed polite. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.190.2 |
* = not finished yet reading ** = reread THE MASTER SNIPER -- Stephen Hunter THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS -- PG Wodehouse VERY GOOD, JEEVES! -- PG Wodehouse TAMING A SEAHORSE -- Robert B Parker THE LOVERS -- John Connolly THE GATES -- John Connolly E PLURIBUS UNICORN -- Theodore Sturgeon* WAKING NIGHTMARES -- Ramsey Campbell* Comics: JLA (entire run plus spin-offs)-- Grant Morrison** JLA: YEAR ONE -- Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn** FANTASTIC FOUR vol 1 -- Mark Waid The rest of Mark Waid's FF run ** DAN DARE -- Garth Ennis THE UNCANNY X-MEN: BEYOND THE FURTHEST STAR -- Chris Claremont STREETS OF GLORY -- Garth Ennis FALLEN ANGEL -- Peter David THE NEW FRONTIER -- Darwyn Cooke ANIMAL MAN Vols 1-3 -- Grant Morrison** BATTLEFIELDS -- Garth Ennis WAR STORIES -- Garth Ennis ** SCARLET IN GASLIGHT -- Mike Powell THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS -- Frank Miller** BLAZING COMBAT -- Archie Goodwin and various artists Bit disappointed my prose list isn't longer but I've found a lot of novels I've read this year to be a bit underwhelming. Not necessarily bad books but they just didn't grab me. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Paul - who's publishing WALKERS IN THE DARK? That's certainly one I need to pick up. Great title, btw. | ||
| Giancarlo (Giancarlo) Username: Giancarlo Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 85.116.228.3 |
Thanks a lot, Paul! I understand your ethical objection to self promotion in the Forum, so I appreciate your kindness even more. Now the mouse is off the sack, am I allowed to ask who's publishing "WALKERS"? I'm sorry to bother but I'd like to know in order I can plan securing the book. Otherwise, it would be to me like a "damnatio ad bestias" (you know, I live in Rome, in the shadow of the Colosseo and what had been happening there for centuries...) | ||
| Alansjf (Alansjf) Username: Alansjf Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 93.96.45.148 |
Novels: Far Dark Fields - Gary A. Braunbeck Creatures of the Pool - Ramsey Campbell Last Days - Brian Evenson The Red Tree - Caitlin R. Kiernan Madness of Flowers - Jay Lake House of Windows - John Langan Audrey's Door - Sarah Langan Handling the Undead - John Ajvide Lindquist The City & the City - China Mieville Finch - Jeff Vandermeer Palimpsest - Catherynne M. Valente Slights - Kaaron Warren One - Conrad Williams The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon Collections: Pictures of the Dark - Simon Bestwick Just Behind You - Ramsey Campbell The Shieling - David Constantine Fugue State - Brian Evenson Mr Gaunt & Other Uneasy Encounters - John Langan A Is For Alien - Caitlin R. Kiernan Objects of Worship - Claude Lalumiere The Terrible Changes - Joel Lane Different skins - Gary McMahon Monstrous Affections - David Nickle Dear Husband - Joyce Carol Oates The Catacombs of Fear - John Llewellyn Probert Northwest Passages - Barbara Roden Cold To the Touch - Simon Strantzas Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned - Wells Tower Anthologies: Poe - Ed., Ellen Datlow Lovecraft Unbound - Ed., Ellen Datlow The British Invasion - Ed., Christopher Golden, et all Cern Zoo (Nemonymous Nine) - Ed., D.F. Lewis Conjunctions 52: Betwixt the Between - Eds., Bradford Morrow & Brian Evenson Tesseracts 13 - Eds., Nancy Kilpatrick & David Morrell Songs of the Dying Earth - Eds. George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois American Fantastic Tales - Ed., Peter Straub Short Stories/Novellas (If I was editing a Best of the Year anthology, this would be the TOC): 'The Crevasse' - Dale Bailey & Nathan Ballingrud 'Open the Door and the Light Pours Through' - Kelly Barnhill 'Strappado' - Laird Barron 'Catch Hell' - Laird Barron 'Jindivik' - Simon Bestwick 'The Hours of the Dead' - Simon Bestwick 'Tis Pity He's Ashore' - Chaz Brenchley 'each thing i show you is a piece of my death' - Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer 'Because your Blood is Darker Than Mine' - James Cooper 'The Baleful Dead' - Paul Finch 'The Pelican Bar' - Karen Joy Fowler 'Hungerford Bridge' - Elizabeth Hand The Witnesses Are Gone - Joel Lane 'The Wide, Carnivorous Sky' - John Langan 'The Chair' - Gary McMahon 'In the Skin' - Gary McMahon 'The Familiars' - Micaela Morrisette 'Yellow Teeth' - Adan L.G. Nevill 'The Radejastians' - David Nickle The Language of Dying - Sarah Pinborough 'The Goldfinch' - Nicholas Royle 'Birchiam Pier' - Tony Richards 'Dowsing For Shadows' - Karen Russell 'Dog-Eared Paperback of My Life' - Lucius Shepard 'Shadow' - Steve Rasnic Tem 'One Day, Soon' - Lavie Tidhar 'Salmon Widow' - ? 'Mellie's Zoo' - ? | ||
| Paul_finch (Paul_finch) Username: Paul_finch Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Zed and Giancarlo - WALKERS IN THE DARK will be published by Ash-Tree Press. Thanks for the interest. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Ah, so we're to be stable mates, then? :-) My Ash Tree collection, PIECES OF MIDNIGHT, is due out in the New Year. (Plug ends)  | ||
| Paul_finch (Paul_finch) Username: Paul_finch Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Bloody hell, that's more money I'll be spending at World Horror. | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.10.20.129 |
Giancarlo, FINCH by Jeff VanderMeer. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Followed, presumably, by (FACTS IN THE CASE OF M.) VANDERMEER by Paul Finch. | ||
| Paul_finch (Paul_finch) Username: Paul_finch Registered: 11-2009 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
This is getting surreal. | ||
| Michael_kelly (Michael_kelly) Username: Michael_kelly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 174.88.55.175 |
Hey Alan, I'd buy that Year's Best! | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Let's see, I've been reading books by the truckload in 2009: GENERAL NOVELS: ‘The Vodi’ by John Braine ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’ by Charles Dickens HORROR NOVELS: ‘Cabal’ by Clive Barker 'Mister B. Gone' by Clive Barker 'The Claw' 'Incarnate' 'Obsession' 'The Hungry Moon' 'The Influence' 'Ancient Images' 'Midnight Sun' by Ramsey Campbell ‘The House On The Borderland’ by William Hope Hodgson ‘The Ceremonies’ by T.E.D. Klein ‘The Beetle’ by Richard Marsh ‘The Devil Rides Out’ by Dennis Wheatley SCI-FI NOVELS: ‘Foundation’ ‘Foundation And Empire’ ‘Second Foundation’ ‘Foundation’s Edge’ by Isaac Asimov ‘Concrete Island’ ‘High Rise’ by J.G. Ballard ‘Methuselah’s Children’ by Robert A. Heinlein ‘Lest Earth Be Conquered’ by Frank Belknap Long FANTASY NOVELS: ‘The Owl Service’ by Alan Garner ‘Pincher Martin’ by William Golding ‘The White Bone’ by Barbara Gowdy CRIME NOVELS: ‘A Gun For Sale’ ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene ‘The Maltese Falcon’ by Dashiell Hammett ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ ‘Ripley Under Ground’ ‘Ripley’s Game’ by Patricia Highsmith COLLECTIONS: ‘A Sense Of Reality’ by Graham Greene ‘The Minority Report : The Complete Short Stories Of Philip K. Dick : Volume 4’ ANTHOLOGIES: ‘The 9th-18th Pan Books Of Horror Stories’ edited by Herbert Van Thal ‘The 9th-17th Fontana Books Of Great Ghost Stories’ edited by R. Chetwynd-Hayes ‘The 9th-17th Fontana Books Of Great Horror Stories’ edited by Mary Danby MY HORROR READ OF THE YEAR: 'The Ceremonies' by T.E.D. Klein MY READ OF THE YEAR: 'Brighton Rock' by Graham Greene | ||
| Alansjf (Alansjf) Username: Alansjf Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 93.96.45.148 |
Hey Alan, I'd buy that Year's Best! Great. It'll be 2 volumes though, because of all the novellas. And if you order the Ultra Rare OMG How Much! Limited Slipcased Edition, you get a free bookmark! | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 81.155.107.64 |
Best read in 2009 (3 Feb 09): tamar_yellin - Tales of The Ten Lost Tribes (17 Feb 09)the_reach_of_children__by_tim_lebbon (21 Feb 09): the_impelled__other_headtrips_by_gary_fry.htm (7 Mar 09): World Wide Web And Other Lovecraftian Upgrades - by Gary Fry (15 Mar 09): UNBECOMING And Other Tales Of Horror - by Mike O'Driscoll (20 Mar 09): The Ephemera - by Neil Williamson (25 Mar 09): Somnambulists - by Allen Ashley (11 Apr 09): Sanity and Other Delusions - by Gary Fry (12 Apr 09): sleepwalkers__marion_arnott (15 Apr 09): ISLINGTON CROCODILES by Paul Meloy (20 Apr 09): mindful_of_phantoms.htm by Gary Fry (6 May 09): The English Soil Society - by Tim Nickels (27 May 09): Mostly Monochrome Stories - by John Travis (30 June 09) Bull Running For Girls - by Allyson Bird (6 July 09) The Terrible Changes - by Joel Lane (9 July 09) Pictures of the Dark - by Simon Bestwick (20 July 09) Primeval Wood - by Richard Gavin (30 July 09) The Exaggerated Man - by Terry Grimwood. (30 July 09) Cold to the Touch - by Simon Strantzas (1 August 09) Bloody Baudelaire - by R.B. Russell (2 August 09) The Night-Farers - by Mark Valentine (4 Oct 09): Different Skins - by Gary McMahon (23 Oct 09): All God's Angels, Beware! - Quentin S Crisp ==================== Thanks, Alan, for choosing CERN ZOO in your anthology category. | ||
| Richard_gavin (Richard_gavin) Username: Richard_gavin Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 69.157.38.37 |
Thanks for the nod to Primeval Wood, Des. Glad to see it made your Best Of list. I'm working on my list and plan to post it here sometime in December. | ||
| Chris_morris (Chris_morris) Username: Chris_morris Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 12.165.240.116 |
2009 was not a great year, imho, for fiction. I struggled to find contemporary work that appealed to me, and, when I gave up and decided to try some critic-approved novels and story collections, I came away disappointed. I did better by retreating into older work, which you'll see reflected in my (meager) selections here. Best of 2009, in alphabetical order: Barthelme, Donald - Flying to America Bellow, Saul - Humboldt's Gift Dyer, Geoff - Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi Evenson, Brian - Fugue State; Last Days Frisch, Max - I'm Not Stiller Larsson, Stieg - The Girl Who Played with Fire Nabokov, Vladimir - Pnin; The Real Life of Sebastian Knight Tower, Wells - Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned Ungar, Hermann - The Maimed | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 81.155.107.64 |
Richard, your OMENS would have made the list, too, except I read it in December 2008. | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 81.155.107.64 |
I would like to add: 'How To Make Monsters' by Gary McMahon as I read this in very early January 2009 not December 2008 as I originally thought. | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.198.99.246 |
Joel: Followed, presumably, by (FACTS IN THE CASE OF M.) VANDERMEER by Paul Finch Paul: This is surreal ___________ HA! I would also add 'Stranger Things Happen' By Kelly Link,'In the Skin' by Gary McMahon, 'Nemonymous 2' edited by D.F. Lewis, 'Inferno' edited by Ellen Datlow, and the short, 'The Safe Children' by Tom Fletcher' | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.227.78 |
Here's one I don't think anyone has mentioned yet: Tide of Souls by Simon Bestwick. An Abaddon 'Tomes of the Dead' novel that stands up (and even shambles) very well in the wider supernatural horror genre by virtue of its author's deep grounding in the ghost story tradition and sure feel for the inner conflicts of his characters. The same author's collection Pictures of the Dark has been much discussed here, so I'll just add my voice to the chorus of praise for its tough-minded and tender-hearted urban myths. Sarah Pinborough's novella The Language of Dying was also among the best new books of 2009 for me: a painful and beautifully orchestrated blend of traumatic reality, bitter memory and the supernatural. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.78.35.185 |
I noticed this year that I was getting tired of short stories, so I mainly read novels. And I rediscovered the pleasure of reading cutting edge SF. My fave book of the year is likely "The Wind-up Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi; closely followed by the 840 page autobiographic behemoth manga "a drifting life". While I had to force myself to read short stories, I did love Mark Valentine's collection a lot. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Best book of the year by a long way for me was Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb. Books like that are the reason I read. full stop. | ||
| Clive (Clive) Username: Clive Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 81.151.116.69 |
First post to the forum so a good place to start perhaps. Hello everyone. Some favourite reads from 2009 for me were... Novels... Cocaine Nights: J.G. Ballard The Ceremonies: T.E.D Klein Game Of Thrones 1: George R R Martin One: Conrad Williams Pale View Of Hills: Kazuo Ishiguro Through A Glass Darkly: Bill Hussey Short story collections... The Shieling: David Constantine The Cranes That Build The Cranes: Jeremy Dyson Lovecraft Unbound: Various The New Uncanny: Various Under Old Earth: Cordwainer Smith Ballad of the Sad Cafe: Carson McCullers The Dream Archipelago: Christopher Priest Non-Fiction... Wisconsin Death Trip: Michael Lesy Photography and the Body: John Pultz Grimoires, A History of Magic Books: Owen Davies I Am Alive An You Are Dead, PhilIp K Dick Biography: Emanuelle Carrere Hand To Mouth: Paul Auster Comics... Pim & Francie: Al Columbia Palomar: Gilbert Hernandez Batman & Robin: Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely Real standouts for me were the utterly wonderful short stories by David Constantine. Really blown away by that discovery. And the insane graphic novel come scrapbook come art piece, 'Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days' by Al Columbia. I've been a huge fan of the almost reclusive Columbia since he appeared in the early 90s. This recently released book from Fantagraphics is stunning. I'm convinced that at the moment it is my favourite book EVER!! I read it about 5 times in the first week of having it. It really does pay off a careful study. At first glance it appears to be a book of sketches and proofs but with a careful read the narrative slowly emerges. Amazing book. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.47.27.75 |
Welcome to the board - Clive! | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.190.137 |
Welcome, Clive! | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.176.126.207 |
Hi Clive! | ||
| Clive (Clive) Username: Clive Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 81.151.116.69 |
Thanks for the welcome! A couple more that come to mind. Transition: Iain Banks A real return to form i thought after a few years of some quite dull books. Yeh, it's messy and all over the place in a kind of Moorcock/Jerry Cornelius way but i really liked that about it. The City & The City: China Mielville I loved this. Really like everything i've read of Mielville so far but this is my favourite. I'm a huge fan of writers like Kafka and Schulz and their influences here really shone through. Great stuff. | ||
| Stephen Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Iain Banks is one of those authors I've been meaning to get into for years - ever since reading 'The Wasp Factory' and enjoying the TV adaptation of 'The Crow Road' so much. It also appeals to me that he has carved out parallel careers in "serious literature" and hard science fiction and would appear to be equally good at both. |