The statement that blood and gore in a book was the equivalent of a jump scare was brilliant. It's the same way for me. I'd rather have a creeping sense of dread, subtext and psychological horror. That's not to say I dislike blood and gore on occasion, but it doesn't belong in **every** story. :-)
Refreshing. Saw that King wasn’t included and immediately clicked. As much as I like king, everybody knows him so it is easier to find and experience new authors and novels.
The Ruins is an incredible book. It's gross, dark and super depressing. I admire the fact that it unnerved me so bad that I never want to read it again.
Matt Stryker the Ruins is a great metaphor for modern man suffering at the hands of primordial elements, the cell phone part he mentions is genuinely dark and hopeless.
Just picked it up after reading this thread. I saw the movie in elementary school and thought it was cool but I haven't seen it since so the overall story totally went over my head. I could rewatch the movie and it would seem like a new movie to me so it's a perfect time to read the book.
I'm finishing up American psycho by Brett Ellis.....some disturbingly awesome parts....it's way better than the movie...read the book first if you haven't watched the movie...recommended
Love this! Just what I needed this year. It would have been helpful if you would have just held the book still in front of the camera for a few moments, but with pausing at the right time, I could catch a glimpse of the cover and author name spelling. Great list!
You seem so nice! I just stumbled across you because I saw you holding up The Ruins! Thats one of my faves & I knew you'd have good taste in books if that was on there! So happy I found a cool new channel to subscribe to!
I'm so excited. Half of these are already on my TBR. You are the first person I hear mention the PiloFamily Circus. I came across this when researching circus books and immediately put it on my TBR. Also, I tried reading Ghost Story over 10 years ago but couldn't get into the writing style and DNFed it. Wish I hadn't unhauled it because I've been wanting to pick it up again.
Just found your channel, E. Great stuff! I totally agree with you on “Ruins”. I read it a couple years ago and some of those scenes are still with me. Also, I thing the author wrapped it up perfectly. Very satisfying ending, at least for me.
I love your lists--you make me want to devour these books again...and buy the ones that I haven't. (Just bought three of your recommendations while watching this!) The Terror--Amen brother! Thanks for mentioning the Drood; I loved that book! So glad you mention Peter Straub, but did you read Floating Dragon? It's one of my all time favorites. Also, what about Clive Barker? I think Imagica and Great and Secret Show are two of the coolest horror novels of all time. Read them if you haven't already!
Great list man will be definitely reading some of those specially The Terror and Night Film. Also I'm quite curious what's your opinion on Paul Tremblay as a writer?
Thank you so much for this list! I'm looking for good Horror in the same way you like it. Dread, and the like. Added all of these to my list. Thank you!
The Ruins was awesome. Almost quit after about the first 50-pages. Mathias wasn't a bad dude, though. Probably the ONLY genuine character in it. -chirp chirp chirp-
Awesome video! I was pleasantly surprised to see Night Film! Night Film was an impulse buy for me as well, at B&N way back around it’s release. Stanislas Cordova was a character so awesome, I wished he was real.
Great video! Absolutely agree on The Terror! I can't wait to start Drood next as I've been looking forward to that one for awhile now. I'm dying to read Kin, The Ruins & Night Film. Kin sounds amazing & right up my alley. I also agree on Straub, I enjoy his work but he is so vague. Often times I have no idea what I just read & wish he would be a little more forward. I couldn't agree more with The Terror though, I'm nearly finished & it does not feel like I've read nearly 1000 pages at all. IT by King was the same way. Have you ever heard of the Dyatlov Pass Incident? Man, that's an eerie true story & I would love to see Simmons tackle that. I also have to agree on what you find horrifying & what you like best in your fiction. I read King for years & only recently began to branch out, & I've tried to go according to reviews & recommendations but all the "body horror" stuff loaded with gore I keep getting turned toward doesn't do it for me. I've found my definition of "horror" to be different from others. Sure it has it's place but I'll watch a slasher movie if I want that. Everyone keeps saying Laymon Laymon or you must read Jack Ketchum & yes I respect their work & what they've done for the genre but jeez.. I'll take The Terror over that stuff any day or even Bone White by Malfi. By the way I've heard great things about Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, especially if you enjoyed The Terror. It's a ghostly tale taking place during an expedition in the 1930's I believe, and she also has a story called Thin Air taking place in the 30's during a climb to the Himalayas, if I'm not mistaken. Thanks for the video sir & the rec's!!
Great review on the book recommendations. The Terror finally made it into my hands after putting it aside for way too many times. Plus you have positive energy for the books you recommend.🤘
Just watched your video for the first time. I've watched several book reviews, and I think I like yours the best. I like the way you specified this video as best horror novels not by Stephen King." Have to find out how those film negatives turned out. I copy down titles and the authors, in a search for more books to read. If you could hold the books up so they're easy to view for a few seconds longer, that would be great. Otherwise, its all good, nice smooth delivery, easily understood dialogue, good explanations!
Hey man thanks to your channel I just finished Night Film. Wow I loved it great suggestion. I'm at the book store now revisiting this video for another suggestion. Keep up the great work - Justin Levi
The terror sounds so good, i mean every book on this list sounds interesting, i only heard of night film before and it's on my tbr so thank you for this video!
Hi, I am just starting out in the horror fiction genre and I am quite impressed by your list compared to other book tubers out there. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for horror books that are centered around creepy children? Thank you for your videos.
this video inspired me to read "The Grip of It" and i could not be happier. thank you sincerely for the recommendation, and i very much look forward to watching more of your videos
I am always intimidated by long, slow burn novels. But I love 'The Thing' and am willing to try any horror book set in the arctic. I am going to pick 'The Terror' from your list and will start reading tonight. I hope I won't be disappointed. Thanks for the recommendation. I think you are my fav booktuber!
Thanks again for the recommendation of 'The Terror', E.! İt's an amazing novel with a very dense atmosphere and interesting characters. İ read the first 200 or more pages in a rush, but then my vacation ended and İ didn't find the time to continue. Now I'm at it again, halfway through, and boy does this get dark. My personal highlight so far was the morbid party they have. From the beginning of the description of the differently colored rooms and the masks of the participants İ knew this was a direct reference to one of Poe's both shortest and most beautiful stories: 'The Masque Of The Red Death'. Haunting!
I'm starting to get back into reading books more. It takes me a little longer to read than most people I know, and that's probably the reason why I haven't read more in a recreational sense. In my reading history, I have digested mostly science-fiction, but I'm getting more involved. I've read some Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Michael Crichton. I love horror movies, so what the heck. I like your videos, so I'll be checking more of them out. Thanks.
Glad you mentioned Drood by Dan Simmons, I adored it, he got the Victorian Opium den underworld simply brilliantly, and I loved The Terror too. I want to read the rest of his works on the strength of both of these. Ghost Story is one of my favourites too. More recently, I adored Hex. It scared the eeby jeebies out of me, that witch ( shudders), oh and last year Neville’s The Ritual was pretty damn terrifying too. There is one scene in the middle of the woods, one of those what’s out there moments, when I had to stop listening to the audiobook at night in the dark and was sat upright, all lights a blazing scared rigid! That rarely happens.......
Good recommendations, I really need to branch out past SK so some of these will work swimmingly! So one good turn,I recommend ColdHeart Canyon-Clive Barker (Barker is hard to get into, but this was familiar) And best Non-Horror I've found in a long time Ready Player One-Ernest Clive (Skip Player Two)
Ohhh my gosh!!!! A good horror review channel!!! I loved the ruins it was great that thumbnail sold this video to me and now I have a new fave booktuber!! Thank you so much for the video- agree was really satisfying to see those cussbuckets get got in that book! Will check out the others thank you :))+ hope you are keeping safe and well :)
@@EdwardLorn good thanks so far! And delighted at the moment as I am watching your king ranking- I don't necessarily agree but love your rationale for your choices :) so fun to see others views on a favourite author :)
Great list. I really need to finally read The Ruins. I'm going to buy Kin soon. I finished Blanky and enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty good. Ooh, I'll have to check out Ghost Story too. A homie gave me a ton of Dan Simmons books, and I'm really hyped to get into his work. I just added Night Film to my wishlist.
+mspoetic888 I will Dan Simmons is not always good. He's always engaging. Also he can be preachier than King, but in the opposite direction. That comes through in some books and not others tho.
Thanks and congrats for such a professional video. These days It is hard to find a low key, convincing and informative video on readings. Hope to see more videos. Regards from Spain!
The terror is not only a book its an experience ,no amount of words would describe how good is this book to me , i dont know but this book set my imagination into motion when i was readin it , its a cinematic book
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this video. Every horror recommendation video I see is full of Stephen King books and I’m over it. He’s not the only horror writer!
The Terror is in my top 10 favorite books! Like you said, even though it is so long it just flies by. When I reread it I always find myself reading it in 100+ page chunks at a time haha. Such a gripping book
Hey guys i am not able to find the book as same as he showed that is the ghost story by Peter Straub. I need the same book cover as he had shown. Can anyone tell me the link? by the way, it is not available as same as in amazon.
Man I love these reviews! They bring me so much joy. I really like the book The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova it's one of the few books other than IT and TheShining to creep me out.
First time viewer. I'm really impressed with how you talk about books. Liked and subscribed. Also, I have to know, what was on those film negatives? WHATS IN THE BOX?! 😉
Love Dan Simmons. Just finished Summer of Night and A Winter Haunting...superb! Gonna check out The Terror for my next read (currently reading Ghost Story by Straub)
Thanks for giving me some new authors to check out. I slightly disagree on Dan Simmons. I’ve read both ‘The Terror’ and ‘Drood’ the former I loved the latter was frustrating. Sometime after I had read both I happened to pick up one of those paperback horrors from the “eighties” also written by Dan Simmons. ‘Carrion Comfort’ knocked my socks off! One of the best if not the best horror novels I’ve read. Give it a try if you get the chance. I highly recommend it.
Thanks, man. I really liked the Ruins too and Scott Smith's other novel, A simple plan (which is not really horror but is super suspenseful nonetheless) I keep wanting him to write another book! I tried Ghost Story due to other rave reviews but could not get through it and same thing with The Terror, the 900 pages felt to me like 9000 rather than your 300! But you make me want to give it another try. I know I am not going out much on a limb but anyone consider Let the RIght One in by John Vindqvist great? (I know you are not much into Vampires, Edward Lorn but to me it's a classic. Well a neuvo classic anyway). Thanks for the list and video- a lot of great leads for me to follow!
I am actually not a reader currently (haven't had the time since school has had me focusing on math non-stop). All the books I read are in the single digits. Now that I have a job, I want to get into reading, and since I am a horror fan, I thought I would start with horror. Are there any books that are similar to the paranoia filled-type story similar to John Carpenter's The Thing, or stories where the great turns out to be humans becoming monsters due to fear (like King's The Mist)? Psychological and cosmic horror are definitely my favorite. Also planning on looking for some horror manga. Japanese sure know how to make quality horror. I am definitely subbing cause I think your channel can help me throughout
Check out my Manga playlist. For horror lit, maybe try Hailey Piper's THE WORM AND HIS KINGS. It's cosmic horror. If I can think of something similar to THE THING, I'll let you know.
Hi E, I am new to your channel, so doing lots of catching up! Just wanted to let you know I am currently reading "Night Film" thanks to your recommendation and really enjoying it.
Hi E, I finished reading "Night Film" last night. I really enjoyed it, but felt the final 100 pages or so wasn't so strong as the rest of the book (I don't want to give spoilers for anyone). Again, thank you for the work you put into your channel, you have invigorated my reading! I am now due to start reading "The Outsider" by Stephen King.
I am trying to find your recommendations with the book titles as well as the authors. I found a list of all of your books, and a recent list of books you recommended but do you have a list with titles and authors that you have recommended on this video? I could not find these books listed anywhere. Can't wait to start reading your books. Any suggestion on where to start? I really enjoyed listening to your reviews - You have a very calming voice. Ever considered reading your own books for audible or something similar? I wonder why more writers do not allow one or two of their audio books on you tube free. It seems as if it would be free advertising. I have bought many books AFTER listening to an audio book by an author I had never read before. One of my all time favorite audiobook "finds" was titled THE HIKE by DREW MAGARY - I have no idea what genre to put that book into. Horror/Fantasy? One of the most original and twisted books I have ever read. (Listened to) I immediately set out to buy anything and everything I could find by him. I am now reading a book he wrote called THE POSTMORTAL and loving it! If not for the free listen on YT I would not have known about this amazing author. Highly recommend his books to everyone. The Hike is on RU-vid to listen to now. Hope your Mom is doing better. Take care and sorry I went on so long. So glad I found your YT channel. Take care of yourself. Sending healing and loving thoughts to you and your family.
The Terror has got to be one of the best books I've read. There is so much information density, and I think this must be in part due to the reality that the story is based on.
