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Book Recommendations > What else should I read?

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message 1: by Samantha A (new)

Samantha A | 158 comments I would love to branch out from what I am currently reading. I have a bunch of (17) King novels, and all of Joe Hill's novels and want to read more horror/suspense. What else should I read?

I have Ghost Story-Peter Straub and The Ruins-Scott Smith already (Though I haven't read them yet)

Which H.P. Lovecraft books should I start with? What other authors/books are good?

Help! :D


message 2: by Samantha A (new)

Samantha A | 158 comments Oh and I'm a big fan of Lisa Gardner.. although she is not horror.


message 3: by Duane (new)

Duane (duanemincel) | 6 comments I have not read any Lovecraft yet, but do haveThe Complete Fiction sitting on my shelf. I'm pretty sure it has everything he's written (the title dictates) and it was only 20 bucks at B&N. I could ramble on and on about the King books you need to read. I've recently been diving into older, classic horror. Richard Matheson's I am Legend and Other Stories and A Stir of Echoes were great. Robert Bloch's Psycho was amazing.


message 4: by Samantha A (new)

Samantha A | 158 comments I had I Am Legend in my hand the other day but I put it back, not sure why.


message 5: by Gregor (new)

Gregor Xane (gregorxane) | 420 comments You should read Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. It's crazy scifi horror. Fast-pasted, relentless, and disturbing.


message 6: by Carly (new)

Carly (queen_of_darkness) | 175 comments Psycho-Robert Bloch
Richard Laymon books are good


message 7: by Squire (last edited Jul 09, 2013 03:55AM) (new)

Squire (srboone) | 1043 comments I started my Lovecraft journey 40 years ago with "At the Mountains of Madness." It made me a fan. For a lot of people "The Call of Cthulhu" was their starting point.

I was pleased to find out that the movie Prometheus was a really just a reimagining of that story; but was distressed to find out that Guillermo Del Toro abandoned his ATMOM project because he flet that it would have been viewed as a Prometheus clone.


message 8: by Justin (new)

Justin (justinbienvenue) | 3047 comments Samantha if your into indie authors I suggest going on the New Releases folder and seeing if any of those interest you. I have a book in there myself but I actually listed to reader like 5 others because their books sounded quite interesting.

Worth checking out, just a suggestion.


message 9: by [deleted user] (new)

If you've never read Lovecraft before, I recommend starting with Herbert West Reanimator. It's the easiest one to read. And can be a tester to his style. Then I'd say work through the Cthulhu stories. And then tackle At the Mountains of Madness. It is his best, in my opinion, but can be pretty dense for a first time reader. It was for me anyway. I had to stop and go back to it after I'd read more. Another one I love is, The Color Out of Space. You could read this one before Madness too. It fits into his mythos .


message 10: by Phil (new)

Phil Wolf | 134 comments Traci L. wrote: "If you've never read Lovecraft before, I recommend starting with Herbert West Reanimator. It's the easiest one to read. And can be a tester to his style. Then I'd say work through the Cthulhu stori..."

Great choices Traci. If you start with Herbert West, get ready for the 20's racism. Though I liked that story, in my opinion, I would start out with The Dunwich Horror because, well, it's my favorite. It also has all the bells and whistles such as the Necronomicon, a smattering to the Cthulhu Mythos and one of the neatest prologues I've ever read. There is racism that is really more classism in my opinion. I also agree with you Traci about At The Mountains Of Madness. There is a whole lot there to wade through unless maybe you are intense and like a good challenge.


message 11: by Paul (new)

Paul Levas (paul_levas) if you like short horror stories, check my site. see if you're interested Samantha. http://paullevas14.wix.com/Horror-Author

hope you enjoy.


message 12: by Todd (new)

Todd Russell (toddrussell) | 118 comments Samantha - there is a great list of celebrated horror books here in HA:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

For those stuck on what to read, that seems like a good place to start.


message 13: by Juan (new)

Juan Carlos | 2 comments Wanna recommend u all one of my favourites, yet not so much well known. U can find buch of stories which will grab u right into the story, and u won't be able to stop reading nor to move out of the bed. Pretty much scary, as well as a little bit erotic, that's what everyone loves, isn't it? :)) Oh well, the book is [B]Cozy Chilling Bedtime Stories [/B] by Gibey.


message 14: by Squire (new)

Squire (srboone) | 1043 comments A recent horror read that I liked well enough to immediately reread was The Wicked by James Newman. It's a retro-romp through the best of the 80s horror conventions that is a fun, turbo-charged experience. I haven't read anything else by Newman, but this was a stand-out.


message 15: by Kate (new)

Kate | 3525 comments Here are a few good authors to have a look at:

Jeff Strand mixes humour and horror really well. Dweller is an amazing read.
Kealan Patrick Burke is great at creating atmosphere in his books, try Kin or Turtle Boy(this is free on kindle, it's the first instalment in the Timmy Quinn series).
J.A.Konrath does thriller, horror and sci-fi (also uses Kimball and Kilborn). I've read quite a few of his books now and they have been solid 4/5* reads. Try Afraid as it's one of his best. He usually puts out quite a few freebies for kindle so keep a look out on ammy.
Hope this helps. :)


message 16: by Adam (new)

Adam Light (goodreadscomadamlight) | 964 comments Check out Blake Crouch as well. I'm reading Desert Places (Andrew Z. Thomas/Luther Kite Series - Book 1) by Blake Crouch and it is very good so far. Kate has a bunch of good suggestions up there, too.


message 17: by Kate (new)

Kate | 3525 comments I enjoyed Desert Places, it lagged a little in the middle but finished strongly.
I loved Locked Doors which is the sequel a much faster paced read that included more Luther Kite. :)


message 18: by Adam (new)

Adam Light (goodreadscomadamlight) | 964 comments I'm on page 77 of Desert Places and still have no idea who Luther Kite is. Reminds me of Pressure by Jeff Strand a little bit.


message 19: by Matthew (new)

Matthew (mpontiff) | 127 comments Adam, you can find more Luther Kite in Konrath/Kilborn's Shaken and Stirred novels. Stirred was written with Blake Crouch to end Jack Daniels' and Lither Kite's series. Serial Killers Uncut has him also and is another Konrath/Crouch book. Just read the whole series; it's a lot of fun ;)
Still waiting on the sequel to Draculas and Origins from him...


message 20: by Ron (new)

Ron | 373 comments Samantha wrote: "I would love to branch out from what I am currently reading. I have a bunch of (17) King novels, and all of Joe Hill's novels and want to read more horror/suspense. What else should I read?

I ha..."


If you want novels in the newish category:

Caitlin Kiernan: Either The Drowning Girl or The Red Tree

Robert Dunbar just put out a rippin' good book called: Willy

If you like the Lovecraft and have an interest in Brit Lit, check out: A Pretty Mouth


message 21: by Jason (new)

Jason Farris (goodreadscomjason_farris) | 2 comments I'd definitely recommend anything by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. There's a Penny Dreadful called Wagner The Werewolf that's awesome. And not to self-promote, but you might really enjoy my own novel, Bring Forth The Night . It's a traditional vampire tale with a modern spin.


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