Reading Fantasy / Horror in September 2026

[Hobbit]

Welcome to September!
And if it is, that means that we are heading into Autumn here - darker nights, warm lights, lots to read!


Cover of "The Magazine of Fantasy & SF", September 1963)

(Last month's discussion of Fantasy/Horror books is HERE. )

It is the usual message here - this thread is where you tell us about what you've been reading in Fantasy/Horror this month.

Remember, good or bad, we still want to know what you think.

Hobbit/Mark

 

[Westy]

I read Dust of the Dead by Michael R. Fletcher. It's told from two POV's - Aakifah is drawn back from her retirement as shairf (sheriff) to track down two missing girls, and Khayrat is tasked to learn to become an unraveller, and then assassinate the opposing royal family. Both access a magic system called the listening world, which gives them power but takes something at the same time.

A good read, bloody and uncompromising as expected from the author, but also with a lot of introspection and soul searching from the main characters. The two plot lines cleverly converge for a ferocious showdown.

 

[Randy M.]

Having finished Black Water 2 edited by Alberto Moreno, I seem to have lost some reading momentum. I'm now better than half-way through The Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo, and probably should have had it finished off last week. Oh, well.

Next up? I have three in mind but not certain which one I'll pick.

 

[blailock]

September is my birthday month, and I will be treating myself with my first reading of It by King. I have the paperback, and man is it thick and has tiny type. I'm about 80 pages in and loving it so far. I hope I can finish it this month. Haha

 

[Hobbit]

September is my birthday month, and I will be treating myself with my first reading of It by King. I have the paperback, and man is it thick and has tiny type. I'm about 80 pages in and loving it so far. I hope I can finish it this month. Haha

Happy birthday for this month, blailock! Here in the UK, IT is available for the Kindle for 99p at the moment. Just for today, I think, though.

 

[Cicero]

September is my birthday month, and I will be treating myself with my first reading of It by King. I have the paperback, and man is it thick and has tiny type. I'm about 80 pages in and loving it so far. I hope I can finish it this month. Haha

On critic described it as a towering epic of horror and it's all of that and far more.

 

[Raf]

On critic described it as a towering epic of horror and it's all of that and far more.

I didn't find it so. Of all of King's books, this needed an editor the most. And I'm gonna stop there because blailock hasn't read it.

 

[Westy]

Of all of King's books, this needed an editor the most.

I think Tommyknockers fits this better. Though I last read IT 30+ years ago so a re-read might change my decision (but I do remember enjoying it a lot even though it was long).

 

[Hobbit]

If I remember right I quite liked Tommyknockers, even though it gets a lot of dislike. I liked the homage to 1950's SF movies, I think.

Most recently, the one I really disliked was Under the Dome, which surprised me to the point where I didn't finish it. It felt like King by numbers, that there was nothing I'd not read before. Or perhaps I just couldn't get The Simpsons movie out of my head...

Here I'm back on China Mieville's The Rouse, which at 300 pages has finally started to move. Could have easily got rid of those first 200 pages though. Will keep going at least for a while. May be more Fantasy than SF in the end - only 900-ish pages to go to find out!

 

[Fryan]

If I remember right I quite liked Tommyknockers, even though it gets a lot of dislike. I liked the homage to 1950's SF movies, I think.

Most recently, the one I really disliked was Under the Dome, which surprised me to the point where I didn't finish it. It felt like King by numbers, that there was nothing I'd not read before. Or perhaps I just couldn't get The Simpsons movie out of my head...

Yeah, Under the Dome is rough. I liked the initial concept, but it became pretty clear at one point in the book that King had NO idea what caused the dome and it all went downhill from there.

 

[Cicero]

Yeah, Under the Dome is rough. I liked the initial concept, but it became pretty clear at one point in the book that King had NO idea what caused the dome and it all went downhill from there.

The tv seres wasn't bad.

 

[Cicero]

If I remember right I quite liked Tommyknockers, even though it gets a lot of dislike. I liked the homage to 1950's SF movies, I think.

Most recently, the one I really disliked was Under the Dome, which surprised me to the point where I didn't finish it. It felt like King by numbers, that there was nothing I'd not read before. Or perhaps I just couldn't get The Simpsons movie out of my head...

View attachment 1076Here I'm back on China Mieville's The Rouse, which at 300 pages has finally started to move. Could have easily got rid of those first 200 pages though. Will keep going at least for a while. May be more Fantasy than SF in the end - only 900-ish pages to go to find out!

King was amide red Quatermass and the Pit a that Tommyknockers was homage. I like it but. It's a flawed book and could have been far better than it turned . he minseres wasn't great but it was entertaining.

 

[Raf]

I think Tommyknockers fits this better. Though I last read IT 30+ years ago so a re-read might change my decision (but I do remember enjoying it a lot even though it was long).

I liked it better than "It". I'm behind on SK though. I've not read anything of his since 2008-ish.

 

[Cicero]

I didn't find it so. Of all of King's books, this needed an editor the most. And I'm gonna stop there because blailock hasn't read it.

Well I only read it ones and about 40 years ago maybe a re read might change my opinion of it .

 

[Cicero]

I liked it better than "It". I'm behind on SK though. I've not read anything of his since 2008-ish.

The last book I read by him was The Cell which was a interesting take on the zombie genre.

 

[blailock]

I think Tommyknockers fits this better. Though I last read IT 30+ years ago so a re-read might change my decision (but I do remember enjoying it a lot even though it was long).

I have heard the same about Tommyknockers. I haven't read it yet though, so I've got that one to look forward to also.

 

[Cicero]

I have heard the same about Tommyknockers. I haven't read it yet though, so I've got that one to look forward to also.

At the time I read it , I enjoyed it. It does entertain.

 

[Westy]

I have heard the same about Tommyknockers. I haven't read it yet though, so I've got that one to look forward to also.

I still liked it and definitely worth reading, just a shame it wasn't trimmed down (apparently he had great struggles with alcohol and cocaine at the time, and it shows ) - but could have been one of his best!

 

[Hobbit]

Yes: it was not long after the car accident that nearly killed him. (Can you imagine what a loss that could have been?) And I am also quite behind on my SK reading. Last one for me was Fairy Tale, which started really well then got bogged down in the middle a bit before picking up at the end. (Bit like a Netflix series, really.)

Side note: I was asked by an ex-colleague today who wanted to try IT whether it was a good one to start with. (He's a historian who doesn't really read horror.)

My suggestions instead were: 'Salem's Lot (for traditional King horror), Four Past Midnight/Stephen King Goes to the Movies (for Shawshank Redemption, etc), Hearts in Atlantis, 11 22 63 & the Mr Mercedes series. Would've added The Dead Zone or possibly Needful Things, or Later, but I didn't want to give him too many.

Thoughts?

 

[Cicero]

Have any of you ever read Ramsey Campbell ? He's a Uk writer quite prolific and quite good or so ive found him to be . I've read several of his books , he's what you might call an either or writer meaning either you like him or don't there's no middle ground with him.
The Hungry Moon
Midnight Sun
Ancient Images
Cold Print

My favire sing short story by him Down There .