Gee, Slay? I appreciate all the movie and television suggestions, but I’m really more of a reader. Have any leads on books coming out this month?
Indeedy, I do.
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 23 edited by Stephen Jones. Release Date: October 23, 2012.
I’m a big fan of anthologies if only because I don’t feel guilty if I only have time to dip in and out of the tome and consume a story here and there. I’ve found a lot of favorite authors this way – Tanith Lee, who I first found in a Year’s Best Fantasy collection, or Alfred Bester, who I found in a reprint edition of science fiction and horror stories.
This year’s collection features stories by Ramsey Campbell, Joe Landsdale, John Ajivide Lindqvist, and Evangeline Walson.
The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski. Release Date: October 16, 2012.
This month brings us the mass market publication of a Danielewski novel, which was previously released in two separate limited edition print runs of only 1000 copies each. Fans of The House of Leaves, this is not one to be missed.
“In this story set in East Texas, a local seamstress named Chintana finds herself responsible for five orphans who are not only captivated by a storyteller’s tale of vengeance but by the long black box he sets before them. As midnight approaches, the box is opened, a fateful dare is made, and the children as well as Chintana come face to face with the consequences of a malice retold and now foretold.”
The Twelve by Justin Cronin. Release Date: October 16, 2012.
The first book in this series, The Passage, was one of the best reviewed horror novels of 2010. The Twelve is the second in a planned trilogy.
“In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.
One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.”
This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It by David Wong. Release Date: October 2, 2012.
You know that book all your hip friends keep talking about, John Dies at the End? Well, this is the sequel.
“As the sequel opens, we find our heroes, David and John, again embroiled in a series of horrifying yet mind-bogglingly ridiculous events caused primarily by their own gross incompetence. The guys find that books and movies about zombies may have triggered a zombie apocalypse, despite a complete lack of zombies in the world. As they race against the clock to protect humanity from its own paranoia, they must ask themselves, who are the real monsters? Actually, that would be the shape-shifting horrors secretly taking over the world behind the scenes that, in the end, make John and Dave kind of wish it had been zombies after all.”
Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Release Date: October 2, 2012.
Lindqvist’s debut novel, Let the Right One In, was absolutely, hands down, one of the best novels I’ve read in the last several years, and the best vampire novel I’ve read in a decade. I’m willing to give anything else he publishes a try.
“A man finds a baby in the woods, left for dead. He brings the baby home, and he and his wife raise the girl in their basement. When a shocking and catastrophic incident occurs, the couple’s son Jerry whisks the girl away to Stockholm to start a new life. There, he enters her in a nationwide singing competition. Another young girl who’s never fit in sees the performance on TV, and a spark is struck that will ignite the most terrifying duo in modern fiction.”
15 replies on “31 Days of Halloween with Slay ““ Day 3, October Book Releases”
Thanks! I”ll be adding a couple of these to my list.
I felt so incredibly let down by The Passage that it will take a while I will touch anything by that author, but the last one sounds deliciously disturbing.
I consumed Cronin’s first novel. It was so, so good! It was definitely one of those stories that stayed with me a long time. I’m super excited for the sequel! Must check to see if I can snag it for my Kindle. :)
Scary books? I remember reading a lot of Stephen King when I was a teen, in broad daylight, in our living room. That was the only time I could read it. I don’t have much time during daylight hours to read, so I’m not sure that any of these books are in my future.
When I was in middle school, John Belairs scared the crap out of me on a regular basis. I moved on to King and Koontz in high school. I have no idea why, I slept with the light on for most of my young life because of scary stories, but I could not stop reading them.
As someone that doesn’t like scary movies, I do enjoy scary books. I loved House of Leaves, and have been meaning to read John Dies at the End – hubs enjoyed it, and I do trust his judgment, as we have similar taste in books. Â These all sound really good, and I think I’ll be getting some new reading material very soon.
I’m the same as you. I’ve never read Let the Right One In, but I’m adding it to the reading list now.
It is so good. Really, really good. Both movie adaptations were excellent in their own way as well.
OMG, Little Star. Let the Right One In is my absolute favorite vampire story EVER, and the only movie adaptation where I loved the book, the original movie (the Swedish version), and the remake (the American version). I’ve read that book probably half a dozen times already.
BRB, downloading the Kindle version.
Let the Right One In was genius. I’ve only read the book but it was excellent,had me totally enthralled and freaking out on a train in the middle of the day in the summer.
My favourite creepy/thriller book is Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick. It’s marketed as YA but feck that category shit. It starts with a teenage boy in a cabin with the frozen body of his father in 1910.
Ooooh I read that one! Â To add a much too enthusiastic comment.
Sooooo gooooood.
Sedgwick has also written lots of central European vampire novels, like My Swordhand Is Singing and White Crow.
Another book to add to my list!
I haven’t read the book, but the Swedish and American versions of the movie were both really good.  I didn’t have high hopes for the US version b/c well, there isn’t a good track record of remakes being watchable.
I know I said this in the post, but it is absolutely one of the best vampires stories I’ve ever read. And I agree — both film versions were shockingly good. It’s so unusual for that to happen.