My Top 6 Horror Books of 2016

I only managed to read 37 books this year (I usually average 65 or more), but a busier than usual writing schedule kept my reading in check. I had a hard time with a top 10, as I found a lot of "ties," so here are my 6 faves from 2016:





1- THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS by Jason Arnopp: A perfect blend of horror and humor, paranormal and possession, with guest appearances from real life film directors and footnotes from the protagonist's brother, at times this feels like serious non fiction. Arnopp's novel was the most difficult for me to put down this year. So. Damn. Good.




2- A LONG DECEMBER by Richard Chizmar: Question: How many collections of this size (35 tales) can feature so many consistently solid stories? Answer: very few. A fantastic career-spanning door-stopper of a book you'll surely be revisiting.



3- STRANDED by Bracken Macleod: Arguably the scariest read of the year, MacLeod's arctic chiller brings both THE THING and SURVIVE! to mind yet has plenty of weird tricks up its sleeve. A genuine page turner highlighted by some spectacular prose.



4-THE SADIST'S BIBLE by Nicole Cushing: After blowing my mind last year with her incredible novel MR. SUICIDE, Cushing's follow up novella is every bit as disturbing, thought provoking, and eerie as you'd expect. Excellent.



5- BLISTER by Jeff Strand: Easily my favorite Strand novel since his 2006 thriller PRESSURE, this quirky creeper dealing with a man on a forced vacation who meets a hideously disfigured girl is as charming as it is bizarre. Wow. First time I ever referred to a horror novel as charming, but, hey...



6 -RETURN OF THE OLD ONES: APOCALYPTIC LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR edited by Brian M. Sammons: I'm as tired of the "Lovecraftian" subgenre as I am of zombies, but editor Sammons has assembled a fantastic collection here, sectioned into three eras (before, during, and after the Old Ones return). One of the finest anthologies of the year regardless of your feeling toward the HPL Mythos trend. A great blend of veteran and newer authors.

~~~~~~~~~~~I also read a lot of non fiction this year, most as research material for my novel in progress, and I found myself reading an alarming amount of rock music biographies. The one that has stuck with me the longest is:

STICK IT! MY LIFE OF SEX, DRUMS, AND ROCK 'N' ROLL by Carmine Appice (with Ian Gittins): From his time with Vanilla Fudge and proto-grunge band Cactus, to his breakout rock stardom playing with Rod Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne, Carmine's bio is full of some legendary stories you may have heard rumors of, and a lot of new stories shared here for the first time about his upbringing in Brooklyn, NY. Carmine partied as hard if not harder than the best of them, yet never let the booze and weed affect his drumming skills or overall professionalism. His fame caused him to get kicked off Ozzy's Bark at the Moon tour, yet he bounced back with several other projects. One of the more intriguing bios of any musician out there.