The New and Improved Recommendation - Fantasy / Horror

**The Moye** · September 5th, 2012, 09:11 PM

I have just finish Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and I am looking for sum good urban fantasy along the lines of that book. Some one please help me out with sum suggestions.

**Danogzilla** · September 5th, 2012, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by The Moye

I have just finish Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and I am looking for sum good urban fantasy along the lines of that book. Some one please help me out with sum suggestions.

I haven't read either book myself, but I'm under the impression that Un Lun Dun by China Mieville is similar.

**Westsiyeed** · September 6th, 2012, 03:08 AM

Originally Posted by Danogzilla

I haven't read either book myself, but I'm under the impression that Un Lun Dun by China Mieville is similar.

I'd agree Un Lun Dun is similar but it's much more YA.

For alternative-world fantasy I'd also recommend Clive Barker's Imajica and Weaveworld (definitely not YA).

Jeffrey Ford's Well Built City Trilogy series is also very good.

**Randy M.** · September 6th, 2012, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by The Moye

I have just finish Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and I am looking for sum good urban fantasy along the lines of that book. Some one please help me out with sum suggestions.

Disclaimer: I haven't read a lot of recent Urban Fantasy, so this is very scatter-shot:

Fritz Leiber: Conjure Wife & Our Lady of Darkness (precursors of current urban fantasy, both are fine though I probably favor the latter somewhat)

Peter Beagle: A Fine and Private Place & "Lila the Werewolf" (also precursors, the latter a novella and a very good one) & Tamsin (a later novel, starts out urban then goes country; was originally published as a YA title)

Sean Stewart: The Resurrection Man (wasn't entirely satisfied with it on first reading, but it's gotten better in memory; I probably should reread it)

Lisa Goldstein: The Uncertain Places (published last year; wasn't entirely satisfied with it, but I didn't hate it, either -- parts of it pinged off my reading of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke and not to Goldstein's benefit. I suppose, if you expand the definition of UF to include historical fiction, then ...Strange... might also qualify since it mostly takes place in London)

Randy M.

**Ochos** · September 7th, 2012, 06:39 AM

Originally Posted by The Moye

I have just finish Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and I am looking for sum good urban fantasy along the lines of that book. Some one please help me out with sum suggestions.

I would have a crack at "The Chronicles of Amber" definately a good read especially if you get the omnibus edition.

**Rui Teves** · October 10th, 2012, 11:38 AM

I'm just getting into horror and wanted some recomendations. I've read so far "Something Wicked This Way Comes", "Fevre Dream" (don't know if it fits the genre), and I'm reading now "The Stand"(which I'm enjoying pretty much).

What I was looking was something that could really give me the chills. Already gave a look to the countdown to halloween thread, but nothing seemed to catch my atention.

**Randy M.** · October 10th, 2012, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by Rui Teves

I'm just getting into horror and wanted some recomendations. I've read so far "Something Wicked This Way Comes", "Fevre Dream" (don't know if it fits the genre), and I'm reading now "The Stand"(which I'm enjoying pretty much).

What I was looking was something that could really give me the chills. Already gave a look to the countdown to halloween thread, but nothing seemed to catch my atention.

Ouch!

Oh, well, that's how it is. The thing that scares one person may not scare another. And I'm not really sure if someone goes into a horror story expecting to be scared that it will work. Mainly the most effective horror I've come across left me disturbed or uneasy rather than frightened. Three books that disturbed me greatly on first reading were The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Ghost Story by Peter Straub and Pet Semetary by King. Two books that scared the bejesus out of me were The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (think that's right), but I was young and it is not a great book by any measure, and a non-fiction read, The Complete Jack the Ripper by Donald Rumbelow, which was strongly descriptive of what the Ripper did. Made the mistake of reading that last in an empty house at night and felt like trying to merge with the sofa's cushions and not come out until daylight.

Did you connect to some of the links to other threads? There are links back to the October Readings of 2010 and 2011. The former has some fairly extensive lists.

Of the titles above, did they all work for you? As for Fevre Dream, Martin meant it as horror as far as I can recall what he's said about it. But it's also s.f.

Randy M.

**Rui Teves** · October 10th, 2012, 01:42 PM

I certainly didn't meant to diminish your work at all, really sorry if it sounded like that. In fact I even ended up adding "Deadfall Hotel" to the List! I was looking for things other than short stories and collections, and the ones you listed (and I haven't checked the previous readings, I will right away!) didn't clicked.

Read "Bag of Bones" in my teens, forgot to mention.

Well, "Something wicked this away comes" introduced me to Bradbury, and I will read more things from him (pity he passed). I could put myself in their position and feel the fear and the tension, and all the tone of the novel was nice.

Altough I enjoyed "Fevre Dream" it dosen't strikes me as horror. Maybe my notion of it is a little off, as I said just starting to get into it.

And "The Stand" is being awesome!

I will check on previous years recomendationsn, and thank you for the ones above!! And again sorry.

**Randy M.** · October 10th, 2012, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by Rui Teves

I certainly didn't meant to diminish your work at all, really sorry if it sounded like that. In fact I even ended up adding "Deadfall Hotel" to the List! I was looking for things other than short stories and collections, and the ones you listed (and I haven't checked the previous readings, I will right away!) didn't clicked.

Read "Bag of Bones" in my teens, forgot to mention.

Well, "Something wicked this away comes" introduced me to Bradbury, and I will read more things from him (pity he passed). I could put myself in their position and feel the fear and the tension, and all the tone of the novel was nice.

Altough I enjoyed "Fevre Dream" it dosen't strikes me as horror. Maybe my notion of it is a little off, as I said just starting to get into it.

And "The Stand" is being awesome!

I will check on previous years recomendationsn, and thank you for the ones above!! And again sorry.

No offense taken, and you didn't diminish my postings. I was grinning as I wrote all that. But I was serious about what scares one person will be brushed off by another. Think spiders, or snakes, or the dark closet at the end of the hall from which you hear rustling whenever your back to it. Humor and horror can be individual that way.

Randy M.

**HeclaBull** · October 14th, 2012, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by Rui Teves

I'm just getting into horror and wanted some recomendations. I've read so far "Something Wicked This Way Comes", "Fevre Dream" (don't know if it fits the genre), and I'm reading now "The Stand"(which I'm enjoying pretty much).

What I was looking was something that could really give me the chills. Already gave a look to the countdown to halloween thread, but nothing seemed to catch my atention.

One of the horror-type books I've been reading in the lead up to Halloween is the Terror by Dan Simmons. It's very bleak, creepy and scary, as well as being very well written. It's given me the chills numerous times in numerous ways and I'm usually very hard to be affected like that from a novel.

**Rui Teves** · October 14th, 2012, 05:59 AM

Actually I've read half of it, cause here in Portugal publishers tend to split up books(Terror as a whole will be costing me more than 40e, go figure)... And I'm still looking for the second part. But I was enjoying it so far!

Thanks for the recomendation.

**mshnd06** · November 15th, 2012, 08:30 AM

Any thoughts on the authors Jennifer Fallon or Jude Fisher? They each have a series (or two) that have caught my eye but I've not heard much about either on this forum.

Also is Daniel Abraham's UF stuff any good? I think it's called Black Sun's Daughter and the pseudonym is MLN Hanover.

**Arkeus** · November 21st, 2012, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by mshnd06

Also is Daniel Abraham's UF stuff any good? I think it's called Black Sun's Daughter and the pseudonym is MLN Hanover.

I quite liked it myself. Some decent characters, interesting mythology, and fun enough twists.

**Ninefingers** · December 1st, 2012, 01:29 PM

Hey guys, first post here! And I'd like to start by giving a mighty recommendation of Glen Duncan's The Last Werewolf. Duncan isn't the best at constructing a plot, but his writing is simply too good for me to care. Take this passage.

“We found ways. This is the story, the human story, the werewolf story, the life story: One finds ways. Kissing, slowly, was one. Though dark-haired and dark-eyed she was fair-skinned, a sensuous contrast that required continual reapprehension. All of her required this (or rather all of my desire did), repeatedness, over again–ness. The beauty spot by her lip was one of a dozen or so scattered over her body. My new constellations. There was no performance, no pornography, just complete conversion to the religion of each other, that erotic equalisation that mocks distinction between the sacred and the profane, that at a stroke anarchises the body’s moral world.”

If you like fantasy that's as bloody as it is over-sexed, yet still intelligent, you can't go past Duncan's last two books.

**CrazyReader** · December 5th, 2012, 11:27 AM

Okay, I need a recommendation. I'm finding a lot of fantasy books these days are about thieves, assassins and things like that. But whatever happened to the good guys fighting evil type of fantasy? Like Wheel of Time for example.