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Bryan Smith
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Bryan
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Aug 10, 2010 07:21AM
author of 'Depraved' and 'The Killing Kind'
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I loved both of those books. I wasn't too keen on The Freakshow.
I've only read Soul Catcher. I think that's what it was called.
I've read House of Blood and The Freakshow. I enjoyed both but they were very childish and easily forgotten. He reminds me of Simon Clark, but not British. The Freakshow was especially childish I thought but he has the ability to write well. He just seems to write what he likes, which is fine, it's just not my favorite kind of horror.
Has anyone read Deathbringer? Thoughts?I just finished it, haven't read Bryan Smith since House of Blood, which I don't remember liking, but it was years ago. He's very much in the same vein as Edward Lee, gore and guts wise, but definitely readable. I'm gonna check out Depraved as well.
Look, Tressa, I'm the right thread now :)
Sometimes I forget what thread I'm in when I go on a rambling spree.
Out of the books I've read by Bryan Smith, Deathbringer is probably my favorite. I liked The Freakshow as well. Depraved, The Killing Kind, and House of Blood were okay but not memorable for me. Actually, Deathbringer is the most memorable for me. Sometimes his writing bothers me. It seems a bit immature at times but his books are always fun and fast reads. I'd read more of his work if I could get them.
Did you read Queen of Blood, Adam? I presume it's a follow up to House of Blood, it's been sitting next to it on my shelf for quite a while, but I can't seem to make myself reread House of Blood and I don't like reading a sequel without remembering the original.The writing style I can get into, so long as I don't go into it expecting great literature...or good literature. There are some horror greats who can deliver both the scares and the prose, but sometimes one out of two ain't bad :)
huge fan of bryan smith and brian keene, and there is like 3 copies of queen of blood at this used book store by my house but due to reviews and the summary, i can't bring myself to buy it
a little off topic, but brian keene has just re-released his novella 'jack's magic beans' which includes 4 short stories as well, seems pretty cool, has anyone read it yet?
I haven't read Queen of Blood. I'm sure I will someday but House of Blood is my least-favorite Smith novel so it will be a while.
Bandit, you're right about Smith's writing being a little immature at times. Although I love Freakshow, I think I read (or tried to read) one or two of his other books but they just weren't as thrilling as Freakshow.Haven't heard of Jack's Magic Beans, Bryan.
I haven't heard of the new Keene book either but now I'm going hunting for it. Keene rarely lets me down. I think Urban Gotic was the only one I truely didn't like. Too damn lazy for a writer like him. Honestly, it's something I'd expect from Bryan Smith with the bad characters, worse dialog, and childish writing. I enjoy noels like that but they are everywhere and get old at times.
I agree about books like these getting old. I've read too many murder-by-number horror books, that's why I'm so effing excited when I read something like The Cannibal Withing, Survivor, and The Summer I Died.
I hated Urban Gothic and just flipped through it when I read 1/3 of the book.
Mod
I just finished it, haven't read Bryan Smith since House of Blood, which I don't remember liking, but it was years ago. He's very much in the same vein as Ed..."
I've wanted to read Deathbringer for years now, It's been staring at me from the shelf, I'll give it a go this month.
Mod
I HATED Urban Gothic, this idea has been written all ready, done well plenty of times and this was a shell of a book.. I could barely tell the characters apart and it was hard to care about their fate, making the whole thing without a point.
Kasia wrote: "Tressa wrote: "I hated Urban Gothic and just flipped through it when I read 1/3 of the book."I HATED Urban Gothic, this idea has been written all ready, done well plenty of times and this was a s..."
Bingo.
I honestly didn't think Urban Gothic was that bad, there are so many creep neighborhoods in philly with abandoned houses that could probably be just like the one in the book
For me, it wasn't so much the idea as the complete laziness of the entire novel. It could have been a lot better.
Tressa, I absolutely loved The Summer I Died and Survivor is one of the best novels I've ever read. Just incredible works.
Wow, always glad to meet another Summer I Died fan. I went in ready to hate Survivor, but although it's a rough read, I really liked it. It had a lot of gore, that's for sure, but it had some heart, too. The ending was tough but perfect.
Haha, actually Tressa, it was you who convinced me to read it. I saw all of your posts saying how amazing it was last year and they were pretty tough to ignore. Thanks a lot!!
what book survivor are you guys mentioning? by chuck palahniuk? i own that and it was really good, but i'm guessing thats not it, and to the lady who mentioned 'deathbringer' yeah i've seen that one several times but for some reason I just never want to pick it up and give it a go, i think the premise kind of didnt interest me.
oh god i'm suuuuch a retard, survivor by jf gonzale, have it, havent read it, but own it
the summer i died is AWESOME, Tressa got me onto that one, so i'll alway be grateful to her for tsid and pilo.
Bryan wrote: "oh god i'm suuuuch a retard, survivor by jf gonzale, have it, havent read it, but own it"LOL. Yeah, by Gonzalez. If you have it, read it soon. It's very disturbing but good in its own way.
I'm glad so many have read Summer I Died. Thanks for the heads up on the sequel, Bryan. You know I'll be there when it comes out.
I'm with Tressa. Survivor is totally unique and amazing. I read Survivor by Palahniuk and didn't like it all. Also read The Survivor by James Herbert haha. Liked that one.
Mod
LOL. Yeah, by Gonzalez. If you have it, read it soon. It's very disturbing but good in its o..."
Summer I Died was so goood..... omg, I'm still drooling, thank you Tressa!
My pleasure, lol. I had to email the author to get him to come to GR. Maybe if it's ever chosen as a group read he'd join the discussion. He seems like a really nice guy; very approachable. I know you'll want to read the sequel. Not sure what direction it could take, though. His Ratings Game is dark and humorous. I loved the two main characters. Sick, twisted, and funny.
I'm very surprised that Ryan C. Thomas doesn't get more recognition for his work. It seems everyone who has read his work has loved it, and I know TSID has gotten rave reviews, but if it wasn't for my research and Tressa recommending Ratings Game, I never would know it existed, and on amazon it says it won't ship out for 1-3 weeks which means it is a print-on-demand book so there isn't a high demand for them. A disappointment that more people don't know about him.
I gotta read TSID already, I've heard way too many good things about it, it's too bad our local library doesn't have a copy.
Ha. My library wouldn't buy such a bloody FANTASTIC book. You've got to read it, Bandit. I just noticed I didn't write a review for it. I must remedy that immediately.
can't find the book anywhere for less than $15 and I don't have an e-reader
There's a used one on Amazon for $6.95. I just wrote a review for Summer I Died. As much as I recommend it, can't believe I didn't write one already.
Tressa wrote: "There's a used one on Amazon for $6.95. I just wrote a review for Summer I Died. As much as I recommend it, can't believe I didn't write one already."I just checked and amazon doesn't seem to have any used copies cheaper than the new price. where did you see it, Tressa?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listin...There are different publications of this book, so it gets confusing.
oh, nice, thanks, that's betterif I don't get it for myself soon, I'm putting it on my birthday list, it's not very far away now
Just make sure you read it one day. My husband read it, but had to put it down halfway through and pick it back up later. He's normally a sci-fi and fantasy reader, but I've turned him on to some horror. He's a bigger Scott Sigler fan than I am now.
Good job turning your husband onto horror, Tressa...I tried to get my SO to read horror, but it didn't work. I blame my choice of book, maybe 90s Clegg was not the best choice, I'm still thinking of a perfect "introduction to horror" book, it has to be psychological, not gory.
Let me think about a book your SO would like. So, he doesn't like gore, huh? Hmmm. *drums fingers on desk*
I'm going based on the scary movies we watch together, psychological horror seems to be a safe bet.
please, I'd really appreciate some ideas, I've been staring at my bookshelves for months trying to figure it out
OK. I looked at my list and stayed away from the gory stuff.Here are some books that are low on gore but might meet your SO's criteria:
Let's Go Play at the Adams
Pressure by Jeff Strand
Abandon by Blake Crouch
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Horns by Joe Hill
The Ruins by Scott Smith
The Descent by Jeff Long
My Work is Not Yet Done by Ligotti
33 A.D. by David McAfee
Natural Selection by Dave Freedman
Small World by Tabitha King
These are very good suggestions, thank you, TressaI haven't even read all of those, Horns would probably be too much, The Ruins we saw in the cinema, so it might be a tough sell,I own Pressure and Descent...I'll see if they spark any interest
now I'm gonna look up the rest of these books, see what I'm missing out on
I was too lazy to add links, sorry. For me, Horns wasn't too gory, but had more of a psychological aspect as Ig tried to solve the mystery of Merrin's death. Oh, God. Everyone should try to wipe The Ruins the movie out of their memory and read the book. It's a thousand times better.Descent was strange but good. I loved the idea of a race of man living under the earth and coming up to steal people.
Oh, this is great: When Darkness Loves Us. Literary and dark but not gory.
I originally had thought that The Descent was the same as the movie The Descent about spelunking. That movie kicked butt. When Darkness Loves us looks amazing, def. gonna check the stores for it. It wasn't even on my radar till now, thanks.
Natural Selection makes me think of the history channel show on ocean predators that I fell asleep to on sunday night. All those creatures just look so terrifying and alien.
Small World sounds like evil "Honey, I shrunk the kids", Abandon I've never heard of before, but looks great, this totally gives me some new things to look for, thanks again, Tressa
No, the book The Descent is totally different from the movie. Yes, the movie is very good.When Darkness Love Us is amazing. I couldn't put it down. The story is unique.
Natural Selection is a fun, beach-type read. Fluffy but oddly engrossing. I loved every minute of it.
I haven't read Small World in 20 years, but the story has stayed with me. It's a good little book.
Hope you enjoy and your SO finds a treasure among them.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Vampyrrhic (other topics)Darkness Demands (other topics)
When Darkness Loves Us (other topics)
Ratings Game (other topics)
Depraved (other topics)
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