|
User
Reviews 3
Approval 80%
Soundoffs 3
Album Ratings 1094
Objectivity 69%
Last Active 02-01-22 6:56 pm
Joined 06-15-11
Review Comments 18,527
| | Books I've Read This Year Ranked (+want to read) | | 45 |  | Ulcerate
Stare Into Death and Be Still
(Want to read) The Fisherman - A friend told me that I'll dig this if I like Lovecraft. I like Lovecraft, so yeah. | | 44 |  | Ulcerate
Shrines of Paralysis
(Want to read) Fantasticland - Highly rated on Amazon/Goodreads | | 43 |  | Dying Fetus
Reign Supreme
(Want to read) The Troop -Highly rated on Amazon/Goodreads | | 42 |  | Dying Fetus
Destroy the Opposition
(Want to read) The Twisted Ones - Highly rated on Amazon/Goodreads | | 41 |  | Behemoth
The Satanist
(Want to read) The Woman In Black - Apparently the movie is terrible, but the book is fantastic. Thankfully, I have avoided the film thus far, so I am excited to go into this one blind. | | 40 |  | Behemoth
Zos Kia Cultus (Here and Beyond)
(Want to read) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - This has been assigned to me in class when I was younger, but I just sparnotes-ed it like everyone else. I'm overdue in reading this story. | | 39 |  | Nile
Annihilation of the Wicked
(Want to read) Imagica - This has been sitting on my bookshelf since last summer and it is as big as five normal sized books. I've been meaning to read more Clive Barker, and I owe it to my uncle to read this one next, but goddamn is it intimidating. | | 38 |  | Immolation
Close to a World Below
(Want to read) Infected trilogy -The premise of this seems pretty awesome and fast paced. My body is ready. | | 37 |  | Gorguts
Obscura
(Want to read) Hex - I dig witch stuff, so hopefully this holds up to the praise. | | 36 |  | Gorguts
The Erosion of Sanity
(Want to read) Intercepts - This has been recommended to me by several people. | | 35 |  | Gorguts
Considered Dead
(Want to read) The Terror - Apparently this is supposed to be Dan Simmons best book. It's already in the mail, I am super pumped to read this one. | | 34 |  | Cannibal Corpse
Torture
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark - Somehow I missed this one during my childhood. It was fun, but I think I caught this book about 20+ years too late in my life to enjoy it as it was meant to be read. | | 33 |  | Cannibal Corpse
Kill
Hannibal - This was actually not as bad as I was expecting. That being said, I read mostly amazing books this year, so this had to be pretty low. Very uneven and pretty silly in parts, by far the worst of Thomas Harris that I have read but still kinda fun (I'm never touching Hannibal Rising...that theater experience was enough). | | 32 |  | Cannibal Corpse
The Bleeding
American Gods - I think I have to recheck Neil Gaiman sometime soon. I know he is a "god" to his fans, but after reading this and Coroline I think he's enjoyable but not necessarily a master of literature. This was a very fun book for the most part, but nothing that elevated it to "amazing" in my mind. | | 31 |  | Cannibal Corpse
Tomb of the Mutilated
Hug Chickenpenny - The second Zahler book I have read. It's really just above American Gods for the heartfelt ending, but honestly this didn't do as much for me as many of the other books on this list. This was also rec'd to me by a huge Zahler fan who overhyped the HELL out of it, so that also didn't help. It was fine. | | 30 |  | Cannibal Corpse
Butchered at Birth
Kill Creek - Haunted house stories freak me out more than anything. That being said, this one didn't freak me out too much. This one was fun, but the characters were a little generic and the scare scenes seemed to be mostly rehashed from other stories, but with a few interesting twists. | | 29 |  | Suffocation
Pierced from Within
Let The Right One In - Another one where I acutally prefer the film. This one had another subplot which was terrifying and not included in either film, but other than that, the writing was not of the same caliber as the filmmaking - although that could be because it was translated into English. This was more plot heavy, but I prefer the atmosphere of the Swedish film. | | 28 |  | Suffocation
Despise the Sun
The Hellbound Heart - Basically the same exact thing as Hellraiser with one or two changes (and a much more disgusting opening chapter/sequence). It's solid, but Hellraiser is more something I admired than actually enjoyed. | | 27 |  | Suffocation
Effigy of the Forgotten
Doctor Sleep - This sequel RULES. Totally different than The Shining and it took me a bit to get used to (I read this before the movie came out) but I ended up really loving it and where King took Danny as a character. | | 26 |  | Obituary
Cause of Death
Night Film - Fun experimental writing, with newspaper clippings telling part of the story as well as an app where you could find more info on the mystery. Great characters fun noir setting but the ending was a bit lackluster. | | 25 |  | Obituary
Slowly We Rot
The King In Yellow - This was a hard one to rank. I absolutely love 3-4 of these stories, and the first short story in this collection is one of the freakiest I have ever read, but there are a bunch that are rather dull imo. | | 24 |  | Coroner
Mental Vortex
The Silence of the Lambs - This movie is in my top 5 of all time. The book included some story elements that I wold have loved to be in the movie, but tbh the movie had better pacing/directing was better than Harris writing imo. I am really glad I read it, and it was really great, I was just expecting something a little bit more given the high bar of the film. | | 23 |  | Coroner
No More Color
We Have Always Lived In This Castle - A psychological dark comedy thriller. An interesting read, with a really enjoyable main character and a creepy as hell setting. | | 22 |  | Coroner
Punishment for Decadence
Elementals - From the screenwriter of Beetlejuice! It has the same energy of that film, but it's far more creepy. | | 21 |  | Ripping Corpse
Dreaming With the Dead
The Ruins - I actually didn't love this while reading it. It felt more like torture porn than actual horror - but it has stuck with me, and is far more psychological than I initially gave it credit for. | | 20 |  | Morbid Saint
Spectrum of Death
Red Dragon - Don't see any of the movies, read this book instead. | | 19 |  | Demolition Hammer
Epidemic of Violence
Summer of Night - Dan Simmons, hurray! Basically a Stephen King plot (bunch of kids in 1960 have to fight a town of evil during summer) but with better pros. | | 18 |  | Dismember
Like an Ever Flowing Stream
Something Wicked This Way Comes - First Bradbury I have read in some time. Incredibly imaginative, creepy and adventurous. | | 17 |  | Morbid Angel
Covenant
Head Full Of Ghosts - People seem to be pretty split on this one, but I loved it! I was very impressed with the constant writing style change ups, and even though it is controversial, I absolutely love the ending. Not necessarily a scary read imo, but a really great one nonetheless. | | 16 |  | Morbid Angel
Blessed Are the Sick
I Am Legend - Very Twilight Zone (it is Richard Matheson) - but it reads like one of the best Twilight Zone episodes of all time. Classic for a reason - read this instead of watching the movies! | | 15 |  | Morbid Angel
Altars of Madness
Beloved - A very difficult novel to get through because of the subject matter, but one that is important. For those that don't know, this is about an escaped slave who is haunted by her deceased daughter. It's rough stuff, but great literature. RIP Toni Morrison. | | 14 |  | Entombed
Clandestine
Stepford Wives - Ira Levin FTW. Hilarious dark comedy with a haunting ending. Most people know the story ( I did) but Ira Levin is one o those authors that you should read anyway because his writing style is so fun. | | 13 |  | Entombed
Left Hand Path
Wraiths of the Broken Land - Wow. This is a book I cannot recommend to that many people at all. Sex slavery/humiliation in its most graphic detail, this book is beyond upsetting. But if you can handle this sort of story, it's one of the most violent, gripping tales I have ever read. I mean, it's Zahler so it's obviously problematic, but I like this more than any of Zahler's films. | | 12 |  | Pestilence
Consuming Impulse
Heart Shaped Box - Written by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son. This is another one of those heart pumping/page turning books. It is also about a metal musician, so props for that. I actually like Joe Hill's writing a bit more than King's because it's more to the point and less bloated, allowing for me to be on edge more consistently. | | 11 |  | Cryptopsy
None So Vile
The Stand - This is one I have been meaning to read for 16-17 years. Everyone always cited it as King's best, and while it might technically be his best, I personally disagree. I prefer Carrie, The Shining, Pet Semetary, etc. but that is mostly because the religious themes and ending did not work for me at all. That being said, this has the most epic feel out of anything I have read this year, and it is absolutely stunning how real all of these characters/world felt. | | 10 |  | Cryptopsy
Blasphemy Made Flesh
Come Closer - This isn't higher because it's a bit simple, but in terms of fear/anxiety inducing - wowwww. This is basically a novella in length, but it stuck with me harder than most epics. This is terrifying stuff - I recommend it to anyone wanting to get scared in a short period of time. | | 9 |  | Deicide
Legion
Rosemary's Baby - If you've seen the movie, you've read the book. This one didn't hold me on the edge of my seat me as much for this reason, but Ira Levin's writing kept me completely engaged and this is still one of the best stories of all time. | | 8 |  | Deicide
Deicide
Ghost Story - I didn't really expect too much from this book given the title and the faint praise of a couple of my friends, but this personally creeped me the hell out. And that's impressive, since it's a story about a bunch of old dudes in a story that's as blandly titled as "Ghost Story." But man, this story went in directions that I seriously didn't expect. | | 7 |  | Death
The Sound of Perseverance
Hell House - One of the scariest books ever. Seriously, I felt like Nicholas Cage stuffing his face in cocaine in the movie Mandy while reading this thing. The only reason this isn't above The Shining is because the very ending is not quite as amazing as the rest of the novel. Everything else is insanity. | | 6 |  | Death
Symbolic
The Shining - A classic that I have started many times as a youth, but never got too far into because "I've seen the movie." Anyone who has read the book and seen the movie will know how stupid this is. I actually still do prefer the movie, due to a few cheesy sections in the book, but it was fascinating to learn way more about the characters and plot, as well as learning why Stephen King hates the movie (it's totally understandable). | | 5 |  | Death
Individual Thought Patterns
House of Leaves - This took me about four tries to really start going. Probably the most challenging book out of the bunch, but once I was invested, I was invested. This isn't my #1 most enjoyable out of the year, but it definitely managed to seep into my mind and make me feel like I was going insane moreso than any novel I have read this year. Experimental writing is something I am not used to, but I cannot imagine anyone being prepared for this one. | | 4 |  | Death
Human
Carrion Comfort - DAN SIMMONS!!! My new favorite author out of all of the new authors I have read this year. This book sounds a little silly on the surface (psychic vampires, lol) but how it is written is so terrifying that I was beyond impressed. Every character was multi-dimensional, there were epic level battles that still managed to be horror, and historical events were explored without being cheesy video game Nazi zombie garbage. A+ | | 3 |  | Death
Spiritual Healing
The Haunting of Hill House - Goddamn Shirley Jackson, God-freaking-damn. Tbh this was a story that didn't freak me out as I was reading it (even though I was incredibly invested in the characters), but those last couple of pages have haunted me months later. Classy horror at its classiest. | | 2 |  | Death
Leprosy
Dracula (reread 15 years later) - Hollllyyyyy shit, this language is beautiful. I know it's cliche to put Dracula and Frankenstein so high, but these two are so intensely powerful that they truly are unmatched, over a hundred years later. | | 1 |  | Death
Scream Bloody Gore
Frankenstein (reread 15 years later) - Wow. I don't think this is necessarily the scariest novel of all time, but in terms of philosophically interesting/themes/characters, etc this is a masterpiece (obviously). The origin of a ton of sci-fi as well as horror, rereading this at a time in my life when I don't have to think about taking a pop quiz on it was far more satisfying. Probably the most emotional horror novel I have ever read. | |
chemicalmarriage
05.04.20 | Props to you that's a lot of books read. Makes me feel like a lazy idiot. Not that I'm not, it just makes me feel like one too. Definitely turned the focus from your awesome list to my own bullshit. Another job well done. Cheers | zakalwe
05.04.20 | I’m 3/4s of the way into the third book of The Faithful and the Fallen series and have been enjoying it. Recommended for beard nerds who’ve never kissed a bird. | DarkSideOfLucca
05.04.20 | Holy shit, finally done - that took forever.
@chem -Thanks, man! And it's all good, before last year it has been several years since I've read anything so I've been trying to catch up, aha
@zak - Haven't heard of those, but I'll check them out and possibly add them to the list! | Gallantin
05.04.20 | Don't get too hype for The Fisherman. It's 95% a great setup for absolutely 0 payoff. The ending was awful. | Gallantin
05.04.20 | Rn I'm reading a lot of Jeff Vandermeer's stuff. I like his prose, but the stories themselves can be kinda shakey. | NorthernSkylark
05.04.20 | just finished a farewell to arms, fucking crushing that one. | Thalassic
05.04.20 | Read Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | reading what are you literate what a nerd
🤓 | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | i lash out at others because i crave inclusion & i dislike myself | ElioG
05.04.20 | Pretty good list! House of Leaves is just incredible... Btw, if you are into movies, you have to watch the first movie in the Hannibal series, "Manhunter" - 1986, the first and best adaptation of Red Dragon with Brian Cox playing Lecter. | BeyondCosby
05.04.20 | I read Rosemary's Baby this year and was blown away by it. Hands down one of my favorite books of the year. | AlexKzillion
05.04.20 | That’s a lot of fucking books I’ve only read 2 this year | Lord(e)Po)))ts
05.04.20 | house of leaves is over 700 pages long and the 'gimmick' is only present for a brief fraction of that. the device is used to serve a crucial narrative purpose so calling it a 'gimmick' is a bit cheap. | Lord(e)Po)))ts
05.04.20 | Out of context it sounds like a gimmick but yeah I wouldnt dismiss it over that, it's really good | DarkSideOfLucca
05.04.20 | @Gallantin - Good to know, I may skip that one tbh because my "to read" list is getting longer by the day, and I was meaning to take a break from reading after this binge aha
@Northern Sky - Fuck yeah dude, that's a classic m///
@Thalassic - Duuuuude, that book rules. Wraiths of a Broken Land reminded me of that a lot.
@Joe - bb ilu stop hating us
@ElioG - Manhunter is a lot of fun, but I actually prefer Hannibal TV show interpretation of that story - less 80s synth lol | DarkSideOfLucca
05.04.20 | @Beyond - Helllll yeah dude, I just read that like a month ago. Ira Levin fucking rules.
@TheMrAlex - if it makes you feel any better, I went through like a 3 year period where I didn't read shit lol, this is me making up for it
@Darius - I mean...I guess it SOUNDS like a gimmick, but tbh how that novel was constructed is a major reason why it sinks into your head so much. Reading that particular story with how its arranged actually makes you feel like you're going crazy and it would not have worked nearly as well at all if it didn't force you to read it in a certain way. I guess people can call it a gimmick, but it's really not. Check it out bruhhh
Also yeah, what pots said | Thalassic
05.04.20 | Wraiths of a Broken Land was pretty good yeah. It lacks the feverish vibe to be compared to the almighty Blood Meridian though.
House of Leaves is extremely good. I have a copy of that one at home as well. There were times while reading the book where I was feeling uneasy without knowing why exactly I was feeling uneasy. I don't know what trick he pulled. | klap
05.04.20 | personally thought the Fisherman was fantastic, one of my favorite horror books of last few years
highly recommend the Terror if you like other Simmons stuff (which it seems you do) and the Troop was one of the gnarliest books I've read in the past few years | ElioG
05.04.20 | Graham Masterton is another terror master. | ChoccyPhilly
05.04.20 | Absolutely love House of Leaves. Lingered in my mind for so long trying to build up interpretations. | zakalwe
05.04.20 | Fucking hated it, read it when it came out. Absolute load of arse. | evilford
05.04.20 | Why read when u can flip on the tube?
Cuz it's not the same. What do you think I'm reading? HeeHaw the book? | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | ly2 lucca | DarkSideOfLucca
05.04.20 | @Dump - That's good! I like Harris a lot, but tbh I like the movie Silence and the TV Show Hannibal more than his actual writing. He has a very straight forward writing style - not necessarily bad, but overall not as awe inspiring as many other authors. Maybe Hannibal will grow on me, I just finished it like a day ago lol
@Thalassic - Agreed, Blood Meridian is better than Wraths by a lot, but it still was the first book that reminded me of Blood Meridian since I read it. Went through a hard Cormac McCarthy phase where I read all of his stuff, but nothing beat that for me.
@klap - Hmm...ok fine, I guess I'll keep Fisherman on the list aha, excited to see where I stand on it.
And The Terror is the next book I'm reading (it's on the list here of books I'm gonna read!)- I fucking love Dan Simmons and everyone tells me that's his best, so I am pumpeddddd
@ElioG - Haven't read him - where should I begin? | DarkSideOfLucca
05.04.20 | @Choccy - Yeah man, I actually had my friend explain a lot of the stuff to me because she studied it for like a year in her graduate course. I feel like 40% of it went over my head on first read, but there is a tonnnnn of stuff there I would not have caught if not for her. That book is extremely layered.
@zak - which one did you hate?
@evil - Only use the tube with lube bb
@Joe - < 33333 | ChoccyPhilly
05.04.20 | The last chapter where Navidson enters the house for the last time and it starts with 'No one should have the enter the abyss alone' was so much hype. I was so ready for the epic journey it was about to take me on.
I don't think I particularly understood the entirety of it but I got plenty from it and my interpretation covers about 90% of loose ends. Took me like 2 months to be satisfied with that conclusion post read though | rockandmetaljunkie
05.04.20 | Just finished reading Crichton's Jurassic Park, such an incredible book. From the same writer, I've also read "Sphere", "Timeline", & "The Lost World". Need to find more of his books. I just love his novels. | dbizzles
05.04.20 | Lots of good shit here. I think about Frankenstein's monster bounding that mountain all the time. Also, glad you came around on House of Leaves- it's worth every word. | dbizzles
05.04.20 | @Choccy, I loved that book more and more everyday after I finished it. Wasn't really sold on the ending or the book as a whole right away. Weird how that happens. | ajcollins15
05.04.20 | Dang I was thinking about doing the same kind of idea with the books I am reading...but cool list! | CosmicPie
05.04.20 | I'm about to get into Hyperion by Simmons after I finish The Blade Itself by Abercrombie. About 150 pages in TBI, and it's a fun read... I appreciate the dark humor... But I keep feeling like there's something a bit flat about it, idk. | CosmicPie
05.04.20 | I read the Prologue to Hyperion and it's seems like it's right up my alley. I may just drop The Blade Itself for now and get into Hyperion. | EyesWideShut
05.05.20 | Been thinking of some books myself, any of yall read Off Season by Jack Ketchum ? | aydross121
05.05.20 | Nice list. I loved the Navidson record section from House of Leaves so much I've reread it ignoring the Truant stuff, which I found a bit boring.
Not sure if your tempo, but check out the Three Body Problem trilogy, not overtly horror by any means, but it depicts elements that would be considered cosmic horror, but are always explained by a much more advanced technology than ours. | Divaman
05.06.20 | I was going to recommend Carrion Comfort to you, but I see you already got to it. I watched the film version of The Ruins recently, and it was better than I had been led to believe. | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | i remember they banned those scary stories books in my library when it was in 4th grade | dbizzles
05.06.20 | Ayyyy, btw I read both Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion this year. No idea how they stack up to the books you read or if they’re even the same style, but both were very very very good. The Shrike is one of the coolest fucking characters I’ve come across in some time. Would make a great series- live action or animated.
Also, aydross, I’ve been hearing about Three Body Problem. Hoping to get to it this year as well. | aydross121
05.06.20 | @db Three body is so worth it, best scifi in a long time imo. Don't forget to check out the whole trilogy, each book gets better.
It's been a while, but Hyperion i remember being very good. | nightbringer
05.06.20 | Three Body Problem trilogy is good. I enjoyed it. But didn't quite hit my interests. I found it more interested in exploring scientific questions than philosophical questions, and while the scale of the story is huge, the downside is that the characterisation is pretty flat. | nightbringer
05.06.20 | I'm reading Octavia Blake's sci-fi trilogy, Lilith's Brood right now. Definitely more up my alley. | Thalassic
05.06.20 | I'm reading Stephen King's IT atm | Anthracks
05.06.20 | House of Leaves is one of the worst books I have ever read. Waste of paper. I find it so questionable that people find it frightening - I cringed the entire book.
Three Body Problem is excellent. Characterization critique is valid if that’s important to you BUT most huge huge in scope sci fi is like that because it’s clear the characters aren’t the focus but the conflict is (e.g. Foundation, Dune). There were no issues with book two in terms of character development - it’s the most literary of the three. | ReturnToRock
05.06.20 | The Hannibal books are solid if unspectacular.
American Gods is ruined by the ending in my opinion.
Something Wicked is good, but I can't get on with Bradbury's writing. It reads weird.
Dracula is good.
The Shining and Doctor Sleep are both great, though the first is head and shoulders above the sequel. 'It' and 'The Green Mile' are my favourite Kings though (speaking of good film adaptations...)
Woman in Black is worth a read.
Jekyll and Hyde is old-timey but achieves that creepy atmosphere authors of the time were so adept at creating (which the modern, but written in faux-Gothic style, Woman in Black also achieves expertly). Also worth a read. | ReturnToRock
05.06.20 | @rockandmetaljunkie J-Park is by far Crichton's best alongside Congo (I know, but the book is legit great!) State of Fear, Timeline and Micro (co-written with someone else) I find his worst. The Andromeda Strain his most boring. The rest are fair to middling - The Lost World is certainly better than the movie at least. I've 'grown out' of him by now though. | rockandmetaljunkie
05.06.20 | cheers mate
I honestly don't want to read congo cause the movie was utter shit, dumb decision i know (cause the books are always better than the films) but there's something about the plot that i genuinely dislike. Should I change my mind?
About Crichton in general, he is a great storyteller and when i want to read something more casual and easier to "understand" he's my no.1 choice. But if you need books with "deeper" meaning and plot you might wanna search for something else. | ReturnToRock
05.06.20 | @rockandmetaljunkie should you read Congo? In a nutshell, yes. It's a LOT better than the film. There's no Romanian Tim Curry and no dumb talking backpack for Amy (she uses straight-up sign language.) There's also a LOT of research/science facts about 'talking'/signing apes which lends it all some plausibility.
With that said, if your problem with the plot has to do with any of the adventure elements, these are all still in the book - killer white gorillas, lost city in the jungle, precognitive abstract-painting ape, and so on. | rockandmetaljunkie
05.06.20 | cheers RtR, and thanks for the info | ReturnToRock
05.06.20 | EDIT: No Homolka in the book at all. He is a creation of the movie (and yes, helps bring it down considerably.) | aydross121
05.07.20 | Reading The Fisherman right now. The beginning is kinda cliche, but supposedly it gets better. | aydross121
05.23.20 | Ok The Fisherman kinda pissed me off. Reads like a reddit creepypasta trying to emulate lovecraft while also trying to strike a netflix original movie deal. | Gallantin
05.23.20 | I think the prose was good and the story within the story was pretty good, but the actual modern day story is pretty rubbish and the ending sucked. | Gallantin
05.23.20 | I just finished reading Borne by Jeff Vandermeer. It's not very good. | grannypantys
06.07.20 | I just finished Hannibal too. It's crazy how successful he was a waging war against Rome. |
|
