[Keyoke]

So, what should I read? I've never read a Horror Novel. I've read Scifi and Fantasy. And yes, before you send me to the recommendation thread, I have a few choices that I am toying with.


Stephen King - The Stand, or his Darktower series.

Dan Simmons - Children of the Night, or Carrion Comfort. Though, in Carrion Comfort, do we have good guys fighting off the evil?

I do want to try a Horror novel, but, I do like to have a sense of "good".. meaning, good vs evil..

Anyways, just let me know. :)

Keyoke

[dragondrool]

Of the King books you list, I'd go with The Stand (but make sure it's the uncut version).

Of the Simmons books, I'd go with Summer of Night. I've read the recent followup, A Winter Haunting, and didn't care for it. If you like Summer of Night, and it's nostalgic feel, you might read King's It as well (but skip the cheesy mini-series).

One of the very best horror novels I've ever read, besides It (which is better than Summer of Night, though similar), is Robert McCammon's The Wolf's Hour. I don't know if it's still in print or not, but it's definitely worth hunting down. A werewolf in Nazi Germany is an intriguing thing.

[Eldanuumea]

The Stand is a must. And of course, you will want to check out the classic works of Lovecraft.

[Iskaral Pust]

Dracula, Frankenstien, Salems Lot and Interview with the Vampire are classic horrors that need to be read.

[Eldanuumea]

I have Salem's Lot sitting in my to-read pile.
May I recommend George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream....not easy to find, but worth the effort.

I've just found a new writer.....from New Orleans, as a matter of fact.....named Poppy Z. Brite. I bought an anthology of Vampiric erotica edited by her, and then today got a novel called Wormwood. I'll let you know what I think of it when I'm done.

[Keyoke]

Well, after much thought..

I am going to start with the first two books of the Darktower series by Stephen King.

They sound good, and I have no idea what to expect. After that, if I like them, I'll start on The Stand. Of course, I'm fickle with books, so I may take a break between the stories.

I am looking forward to reading some books in the Horror genre. I've mainly stuck with scifi and fantasy all these years, but, I think it'll be nice to have a new genre to break them up.

Keyoke :cool:

[Kanin]

I guess I've never thought of the Darktower books by King as horror. I think they are more fantasy than anything else.

If you are looking for horror, you may be disappointed with the Darktower series. Although it's good, it may not be what you are looking for.

My recommendations:

Hell House by Richard Matheson

Salem's Lot by King

The Dark Half by King

Haunted by James Herbert

[Ouroboros]

I think the consensus would be that both 'The Stand' and the 'Dark Tower' series are works of fantasy as opposed to horror. Likewise, while I'm also a big fan of 'The Wolfs Hour' mentioned earlier ... its hardly a horror novel, more a WWII thriller which happens to star a werewolf.

If you're looking for classic introductions to horror then I'd second the recommendation of 'The Haunting' by Herbert and 'Hell House' by Matheson. Likewise, I'm a big fan of 'Salem's Lot', so ... you're all set.

[Soon Lee]

For sheer chills down the spine, I'd go for H.P. Lovecraft's better stuff. This is "Old School" horror. There are many anthologies available.

[Ouroboros]

There are also some fantastic tributes to Lovecraft out there, as well : some are short story anthologies, while a few are complete novels in his mythos? (Here I am thinking of the guy who wrote 'Necroscope'. ... can't think of his name offhand).