Are you reading or have you recently finished any dark fiction that you would like to share with the group?

I just started THE STAND by Stephen King, a modern classic of apocalyptic fiction. Being such a huge fan of his, I can't believe I'm just now reading it. I've owned it for many years and just never had the time to read such a thick book. But I'm making time, since I read THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy and really want to become more well-read in the subgenre. I'm only 100-odd pages in, and its just perfect King-in-his-prime. Fans of his, you know what I mean. I'll definitely open a thread once I'm done, unless someone beats me to it!

I'm reading Bridge of Birds & Mistborn right now - neither are dark really. Bridge of Birds has been great, in fact very light hearted! Just started Mistborn but it's looking good so far.

I've got The Stand on my shelves & keep meaning to read it. Too many books!

Books I've started and are taking a rest for a day while I read THE STAND are:
20th CENTURY GHOSTS
GRAVE SURPRISE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
MORTIFIED

All but MORTIFIED qualify for this group's discussions, I think. I'm trying to read as much as possible before the fall semester begins.

I reading Let the Right One In which is really dark, even for a vampire novel. I don't know what's scarier; the vampire or the novelist's drab and depressing description of the Swedish town it is set in.

I want to read that book soooo bad...have for awhile now. Then I saw the film and want to read it even more, cuz I think books are usually better and I loved the movie. Very bleak and definitely drab, although I can appreciate the cold right about now. Haha! Because the vampire is a child, its so much creepier...there's just something NOT RIGHT about that.

i loved the film let the right one in, and was glad i read the book after seeing it. i really liked both film and novel, and i appreciated what the director chose to eliminate from the book, which is rarely the case.

i read the stand years ago when it first came out and liked it a lot.

i am re-reading tolstoy's war and peace, which, no mater how i twist and turn it, does not qualify as dark fiction.

but i just finished flann o'brien's the third policeman, which was really dark, but that book exists outside of genre. a fascinating read and damn creepy in places.

Marvin wrote: "I reading Let the Right One In which is really dark, even for a vampire novel."

Let The Right One In is one of those books that sticks with you. I haven't seen the movie yet - but plan too soon.

I liked the darkness about let the right one in. I havent seen the movie yet either.

Im reading The Strain which has the same kind of dark feel, if not darker. If you like let the right one in then i am sure you will like the strain

I haven't seen the movie to LTROI either, hope to eventually. The Strain. Now that's a book I feel bad for. I probably picked it apart too much when finished. Everyone I know who read it enjoyed it. I'm reading Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch and planning on starting Sunglasses After Dark when I finish.

let the right one in was one of my favorite films from last year. it used the vampire mythology to examine what it is to be human, which is kind of why i read "dark" fiction and themes to begin with. it also stretched the vampire genre is interesting ways, which is refreshing at this point. i highly recommend it.

I agree Phillip. I also saw it as a unorthodox coming of age tale from the boy's perspective. I thought it was a beautiful, if dark and bleak, film. I am interested in what the director puts out next.

and it is so beautifully shot! the art direction is both subtle and flawless, in the way that colors and shadow and light are all perfectly balanced in every shot.

My husband always gets up and goes off to do something else, but I love watching all the extras on the DVD and I liked watching how the movie was filmed. When the director really CARES about how the movie is shot, cinematically, it shows. I took a film class at our local college just to be able to watch my movies more actively. Am I sad or what?

no, that's fantastic. why not train your eye and develop some sense of film vocabulary. i had never read much film criticism until i decided to start writing about film; i'm glad i did, i've picked up a lot of good essays (the BFI series produces fantastic little texts) and i've learned a lot.

Just finished Jack Ketchum's 'Cover'.....a dark book if I've ever read one.

Now starting Irvine Welsh's 'Filth'. Hopefully as dark as the cover blurbs make it sound!

rob!
what are you doing here?
it's so nice that you showed up!!!!

I stumbled upon it the other day.

Good to see you here, PG. A forum's always more interesting with you around.

thanks buddy....and back at you.

rob is currently serving time as my horror guru.

Excellent! Welcome Rob!

I am loving Good Omens but I need to return it to the library and I'm not sure about their book renewal policy. I recently finished The Red Badge of Courage, part of my read through of American Lit., and I was impressed/grossed out by the descriptions of war mainly because of when it was written and that it is considered young adult. Glad I wasn't forced to read it when young. I think it's the lowest ranked book on my shelves but I happened to enjoy it.

Red Badge of Courage does have some heavy imagery. I read it when I was young, and it was something that stayed with you for a long time.

War and Peace is a muvverfudder.

Every time I see War and Peace, or any other super thick book, I cringe. I used to love length. Now I prefer brevity, overall.

i'm not enjoying it as much as i enjoyed anna karenina. i may put it down. one hundred pages just to set up that one of the central characters isn't going to get a penny from the count's will...jeeze, what was i thinking? i read it a long time ago and pevear and volokhonsky translated it, so i thought i would read it again.....i've been doing a lot of that the past decade: going back and reading stuff i read in my 20's and 30's.

the last big book i read was thomas pychon's "against the day", his last book. i LOVED it, i can't remember enjoying a book as much as i enjoyed that one. the first 300 pages were a bit rocky, but after that the book just sailed along. he's SO DAMN FUNNY, and he seemed to love his characters in this latest book, and i can't always say that about his work. he has a new book coming out in august, a noir thriller set in los angeles...i'm a big fan, if you haven't figured it out yet.
;)

Have you read anything by John Twelve Hawks?? Some people speculate that the author is writing under a pen name, and some think its actually Pynchon...or one of number of other authors. He's pretty reclusive, never has met his editor and such...THE TRAVELER is his first in a trilogy, then THE DARK RIVER and the third book comes out later this year. I really enjoy them, although I wasn't thrilled with where the last book left me hanging. Looking for redemption in the final act...

i don't know that author. pynchon is also a recluse, of course.

I have not read any Pynchon, only Twelve Hawks. Has anyone read both authors? Did the style seem similiar?

Just finished The Awakening, available here for free download. And I'm full of opinions about it. Interesting, made me angry too. At least it was short.

I have had THE AWAKENING on my nightstand since the OLD HOUSE! Now I'm going to read it, for sure...I just can't tear my eyes away from THE STAND...well, except to fart around on this awesome site, that is. Ha!

I'm sure you'll have a bit to say about the book :) We can start a thread if you want to talk about it. I is available on Goodreads for free download everyone!!!

Sorry I keep shoving free downloads down peoples' throats but I can't help it, I love that we can get them on Goodreads.

I think its awesome. It took a few months before I found out, but I think its great that we don't have to search for them on public domain sites, its much more convenient on here. I need to go through all the choices, but I need to add more books to my TBR list like a need a hole in my head!!

i read the stand, we could talk about that. my room-mate gave it to me when i was really sick with the flu....cheeky bastard.

i remember liking how the characters were introduced and developed, so i think i preferred the first half of the book to the second half. i think i was only 22 when i read it, so i didn't have a lot of experience reading books that are over 500 pages. to me, the third act in particular, felt a bit long. the ending (i won't give it away) also felt like to big of a calamity - and the coda seemed almost unnecessary.

but i loved all the business of the dark one hanging out in the corn fields....that creeped me out. the young musician guy that has to get out of new york presented a great episode, when he's making his way through the tunnel to get out of manhattan....a great chapter.

Yeah, I'm past that, but just barely...I'll start a thread so we can talk about it..spoilers INCLUDED, and I'll read at my own risk since I should finish it soon!

Don't be hurt if I wait a day or two to look at it though, I want to get a little further in...

I've just started The Bloody Chamber which is a collection of fairy tale retellings with some dark twists. So far the imagery is amazing - "His wedding gift, clasped round my throat. A choker of rubies, two inches wide, like an extraordinarily precious slit throat."

Love the quote Shanon.

Just finished The Wendigo, another free download. Highly recommended, thanks for the rec Procella :)

Past the first chapter in Sunglasses After Dark. I'm definitely interested.

Kathryn wrote: "Past the first chapter in Sunglasses After Dark. I'm definitely interested. "

I was looking at that on your bookshelf just today. I noticed that one of the editions has it listed as a series but I couldn't tell from the author's page which books follow it.

Is Sunglasses After Dark part of a series or not?

Shanon wrote: "Is Sunglasses After Dark part of a series or not?..."

Midnight Blue The Sonja Blue Collection lists three books in the description, with In The Blood as #2 and Paint It Black as #3. I wish I had the collection but I guess I'll have to read each separately. I think it's something you would like as well, at least so far as I can tell. :)

I also picked up Preacher Vol. 1 Gone To Texas today from the library. I've been waiting forever for this one.

I recently finished The Idiot by Dostoevsky. The darkness of this novel lurks inside the lofty circle of friends the protagonist encompasses, like thorns of the flower hidden from sight until it sears the skin with a cool slice. While it is not a popular Dostoevsky piece it is worth reading for its dark portrayal of imminent death and simplistic perceptions in a harsh world.

So, when I read something like that I sometimes continue the theme and started reading The Gulag Archipelago, but 100 pages in I became so depressed and put it down, I actually drove to the library at lunch and returned it, then grabbed Swann's Way by Proust which is extremely light and airy!

So that is what I am reading now but I hope someone can recommend me another good read like The Idiot for when I'm done. I haven't read Crime and Punishment yet but I will, just not yet, I'm saving that one.

I've had The Idiot for ages but have not felt like reading it, in large part due to everyone I know exclaiming at how dark/slow it is. I'm looking forward to reading more FD but I'm easing into it, with The Double, The Gambler, and possibly Notes From the Underground, since I know Marvin is planning on reading it too. :)

I'll finish Sunglasses After Dark and The Willows tonight. Both are excellent.

I just started The Host... probably isnt dark fiction though!

'Filth' reminds me of a cross between Bad Lieutenant and American Psycho...with a thick Scottish brogue. Very dark. And misanthropic.

So I'm only in chapter 5 of Notes From Underground and it's quite different from Crime and Punishment and House of the Dead, the only other two FD books I've read. I'll admit I'm reading it slower than I normally read but not from the material being too difficult. I guess it's more that the book so far feels like one big rant or lecture. I'm not sure how much I like that.

Don't worry Kathryn, it will change into a plot structure very soon and you can link the lecture deal with the plot and come to a tremendous understanding of this individual. Hopefully it should all congeal into something you really like or can reflect on.

After 100 pages of airy Proust imagery I put down Swann's Way, its lack of plot annoyed me despite its intense sensual imagery so off it goes to the library.

Currently reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche. Cool poetic style but I'm not in love with it, although it does have some great moments.

Thanks Brian. I am more interested in the book now into chapter 9 but I'm still waiting on that plot you mentioned. :)

I was eyeballing Zarathustra yesterday but am trying to tackle some others first. Looking forward to hearing your opinion when you're finished with the book.

Jo wrote: "I just started The Host... probably isnt dark fiction though!"

Well, I'm not a huge fan of the book but there were some dark moments. Maybe more the whole idea of body snatching? That idea has always freaked me out!

I'd say body-snatching aliens would be considering dark fiction. Also, just muddling through Meyer's terrible writing skills (i.e. mispellings, etc.) can be torture, and THAT'S "dark"..haha! Just kidding...I read it, I'll admit it...

Lol i guess it is a little bit. Ive never read a body snatching book before but its really good. Ill admit im a Meyer fan. Please dont beat me up :)