Robert's comments
(member since Jan 31, 2009)
Robert's comments from the Literary Horror group.
(showing 1-20 of 115)
Hey, Doug, was it you that recommended Reginald Hill to me? I've only read the one book so far but quite enjoyed it.
Oh, and thank you for ordering THE PINES. (I hope we're still speaking after you've read it.)
Another fan for THE GATES! Yes!
Christopher Fowler? You mean like the "peculiar crimes" books? I've always been curious. Do you like his stuff?
I did pick up one of the Twilight books in a bookshop once, flipped through it, shuddered, and put it back. However, I laughed all the way through the movie. The scene where the dreamboat vampire takes the girl to her prom but is too much of a gentleman to bite her, even though she's begging for it? I thought I'd die.
Yes. Maeve Binchy and Rosamund Pilcher. (My guilty secret!)
<<I am a sucker for cute space aliens>>
Aren't we all?
Wasn't somebody talking about Michael McDowell's books? That's another author we lost way too soon.
Jeannie --
Thank you for the kind words. And I will absolutely let you know when I have a new book out. The new novel -- WILLY -- has been making the rounds, but so far the responses have all been of the "too literary" variety. (And what should a book be if not literary? Musical? Athletic?) The few places that have wanted it so far did not offer very attractive contracts ... but I'm working on a deal for 2010 that could be very exciting. Plus there've been a couple of offers on my new novella -- WOOD -- but I'm playing hard to get!
Rob
Groovy!
Rob, I can't tell you that! (So many of these writers are colleagues and acquaintances -- it's why I can't write book reviews anymore.) Carl, it's not really that odd. I get asked for blurbs pretty much every week and have lately started begging off myself. (It's such an odd business. In what other field would you constantly be asked to recommend ... your competition?)
I'm loving THE GATES. I enjoyed THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS, but it was more of a metaphorical fable than I was expecting. THE GATES is smart and funny and an absolute roller-coaster ride. Let's face it, talent is talent.
There was a day when I wouldn't have touched a YA novel either. Of course, the Harry Potter books changed all of that. (And so much of what gets published in the horror genre really is written on a YA level, even if it doesn't say so on the cover. I have a hard time with three of the books on your list for that very reason.)
Carl, I don't know NIGHTMARE HOUSE. Sounds intriguing though. Are you enjoying it? Doug Clegg has always been very nice to me ... even though he's the only writer I've ever approached for a blurb who was 'too busy!'
Hey, Robert --
I'm very touched that you want to read my work. Been meaning to mention that. I still get a huge kick out of the love it/hate it responses "The Pines" and "The Shore" continue to provoke. (By this time next year, the trilogy should be complete.) But "Martyrs & Monsters" is the one that's closest to my heart.
Oh, and "The Keep" is my favorite F. Paul book. It would be fun to read it in conjunction with McCammon's "They Thirst." Plus Jeremy Shipp's "Cursed" is a hoot -- I think you'll like it. (I loved Charlie Grant. He was a great guy, and I'm still good friends with his wife. It's so wonderful that you're reading his stuff.)
Cool!
Late fall ... getting dark early ... all the leaves are off the trees. I've got enough firewood to last through the winter and an equally impressive stack of books.
John Connolly's "The Gates" is sheer delight. Kind of a Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comedy, cleverly disguised as a children's book. (His "The Lovers" was also remarkable.) Recently enjoyed Sarah Langan's "Audrey's Door" and Christopher Ransom's "The Birthing House." I'm also dipping into both Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment" and Delany's "The Einstein Intersection." Plus I'm hearing great things about "Her Fearful Symetry," which I suspect will have to be next. (Plus Greg Gifune's "Kingdom of Shadows" is shipping. Can't wait.) All of which is interfering with my plan to read all of Daphne du Maurier before the first snow.
We should probably stop hijacking this thread about Garrett's work. I'm off to start a thread about current reading. Join me?
Lot you know.
<<Robert Dunbar was very good and creepy!>>
Great. I want that on my tombstone.
<<'Madam Crowl's Ghost and other stories'by Le Fanu edited by MR James>>
Oh, how wonderful! Yes. A nice fire. A little brandy ... now if we could just arrange a thunderstorm ...
"Audrey's Door" is wonderful, literate and skillful -- my kind of book. And the door John Connolly arrived today. Be still my heart! Plus I just pre-ordered Greg Gifune's new one: Kingdom of Shadows.
(Bierce's "The Boarded Window" is one of the great horror stories of all time. Just thinking about it gives me actual goosebumps.)
Again, your chanting the names of all my favorites. What? Were we separated at birth?
Blackwood in particular ...
Good to see you here, Robert. The Dark Descent was great (especially the Charlie Grant story), and Great Tales of course should be required reading for all civilized people.
Jeannie, I love Robert Aickman -- how wonderful that you're reading The Wine Dark Sea. I didn't think anyone was reading this sort of thing anymore. Very encouraging!
Literary Horror
