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Post by Vaughan on Sept 5, 2009 20:57:07 GMT
Okay, stick with me for a bit.
I know there are authors here, and I've posted some of my short stories as well, so I know a little about the creative process.
However, when it comes to buying/reading horror novels I'm stick somewhere between 1960 and 1990. There are loads and loads of titles to read, I have a huge backlog as it is, and I don't own a tenth of what I'd LIKE to own!
So a serious question - what's the attraction of new horror titles? What am I missing out on?
I checked my local bookstore and looked at the horror section, and it was full of really poor looking Vampire stories. Urgh! Bad book store......
The last two "modern" books I read were World War Z by Max Brooks - which I thought was excellent, and Stephen King's Cell - which was God awful. I looked at the other Brooks title "Zombie Survival Guide" and found it poor.
Given my love of horror from the 1960's through 1990's, what might I enjoy today, and why?
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Post by shaun on Sept 5, 2009 21:35:17 GMT
It's only my personal opinion, but old novels often feel what they are, which is dated. They deal with subjects from an age that's no longer relevant. This goes for all fiction I read, and not just horror. I often find the language is archaic too, which for me is hard to read. But as I said, it's only my opinion.
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Post by Vaughan on Sept 5, 2009 21:45:55 GMT
It's all about opinions mate! ;-)
It's true - most of what i read has aged. However, it doesn't bother me a bit. For instance, I watch silent cinema, black and white films, and all sorts of old TV shows. They're also "dated" in many ways.
However, if the story is good then it becomes more important than the mechanics, if you know what I mean.
I must admit I don't ever address the "relevance" of what I read - but then when it comes to Worms, Slugs, and Crabs, I don't personally think it matters.
I've written some short stories for this web site - and I'm aware that I have a style of writing that is "aged" shall we say. It's how my imagination works, how I see and hear things. I have no street cred at all. ;D
Always interested in opposing views!
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Post by Vaughan on Sept 5, 2009 21:53:42 GMT
I want to add..... when I'm watching an old movie (silent or otherwise), or for that matter reading an old book - I soon forget the "dated" nature of it. I think it's because those elements that have dated are now all a matter of "Style" to me. A different style to the quick fire, quick cut styles of today, for sure. But they're not "old" as much as they are simply another style.
At least, that's how I see it.
I keep promising myself I'm going to write that novel - and when I do I'll be aiming for a GNS vibe - he's a man worth emulating.
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Post by ianfaulkner on Sept 6, 2009 3:17:05 GMT
I think there are some valid points here. A good read is a good read...if it's well constructed, relevant and has a universality then it doesn't really matter if it was written yesterday or decades ago. Class is class. And I agree about the GNS comment...that guy (pardon the pun) has some real class!
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Post by ianfaulkner on Sept 6, 2009 3:18:50 GMT
Oh, and yes, I agree with your other comment Vaughan...far too many 'cookie cutter' vampire novels out at the moment.
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Post by shaun on Sept 6, 2009 7:46:40 GMT
But probably my most important reason for buying new horror is that I'm supporting the genre I love. The money is going into the authors pockets, compared to buying old second hand novels, where the author gets nothing; then if enough copies sell, the publishers will see that horror is still a vibrant genre and continue to accept and publish new works. For too long, horror has been in the doldrums. It's only by supporting it and buying the books that it can grow and continue to be published. Remember, one day, todays horror is going to be the horror of yesteryear, and it would be sad to think that the only legacy we can leave is that horror died because no one bought it any more.
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Post by Vaughan on Sept 6, 2009 14:14:40 GMT
Yeah, I can see that, Shaun.
Still, we'll probably never go back to the good old days - there are a lot of smaller presses now, and I don't see the majors getting too far back into the genre - do you?
That doesn't have to be a bad thing, of course.
One thing that I think gets missed is the inventiveness of a lot of those early books. We can look back now at the nostalgia of Rats, Night of the Crabs, and Worm etc. But the fact is the authors were having a really good time letting their imagination go wild. Yes they worked within a formula, but it's a formula the public had accepted and even embraced. You can trace the formula usd in Night of the Crabs way back to the 1930's. And it's still being used in major action movies today. It works. In the end, it doesn't need reinventing. But you have to work with it. I don't think people want a radical departure, it only takes a slight variation to the formula to cause surprise. Maybe I have that wrong......
Of course, as I've said - the offerings at my local bookstores are awful. I don't want a fecking Buffy-esque Vampire story. Not even a little bit. It could age forever and it won't interest me.
Horror in the doldrums? I follow cinema a lot, and actually horror movies have been doing very well as of late - and people have become more accepting of foreign cinema getting over their dislike of subtitles. Consequently they've been able to enjoy some great foreign movies in the genre. Some are poor, but many are very very good!
I'm not sure about horror fiction, and I guess that's what you're talking about. I'm one of those that have only just returned to the fold. I only started reading horror novels again in the last few months. I'm indulging my nostalgia and having a good time!
Let me ask you this.......... or anyone really...... I love Guy N. Smith - James Herbert - Graham Masterton - Robert McCammon - and many pulp guys. So who in modern times is writing like them? I adore Night of the Crabs - so who should I be reading, in mdoern terms, to get a dose of what I like?
Anyone got any recommendations?
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Post by ianfaulkner on Sept 7, 2009 2:18:03 GMT
You know, I can't think of anyone that I could honestly recommend that writes in the style of Herbert...the guy is a genius...his stuff got me into the whole literary horror genre in the first place...the 'Survivor' it was, in actual fact. I have everything he has done...but 'Domain' has to be my favorite I think. Writers of his caliber and imagination ('The Spear' as an example) are few and far between...myself as an author can only humbly look on his work and admire from afar.
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Post by Vaughan on Sept 7, 2009 3:22:59 GMT
It's as much the subject matter as anything else for me.
I watch a lot of movies, and the problem with many recent horror films is that they're far too nihilistic. No hope, not moral centre, just plain old people being mean to other people. And it's just no fun. "Edge" has become how sick you can get, how demeaning people can be, how nasty.
And you know, that's not the fun of the old movies at all. Nor of the books I read.
I wouldn't mind finding some modern authors who wrote, at least, in the spirit of the old masters.
I'd also add, many of the authors I've enjoyed aren't at the level of a Herbert - I'd even say they're relatively unknown. Herbert deserves his kudos, of course.
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Post by ian on Sept 7, 2009 7:04:39 GMT
Hi Vaughan. I'm sorry but off the top of my head I can't think of anyone who ... oh wait, Try Hammerhead by Garry Charles. Now I was going to say before I so rudely interrupted myself was you could hunt down some of the older works of Shaun Hutson say before mid 90's. If you are prepared to forgive his mechanical and analytical style he describes damage to flesh that is.
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Post by Vaughan on Sept 7, 2009 10:50:34 GMT
I think I metioned it elsewhere - but I have 8 or 9 Hutson novels waiting to be tackled here. I'll report back.
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Post by ianfaulkner on Sept 7, 2009 20:53:04 GMT
I read a good one the other day I found at my local Half-Price-Books...very atmospheric involving witchcraft and time travel...I'm pretty sure it's a 'juvenile' by Robert Westall and it's called 'The Devil On The Road'...well worth a read. Here's a quote from Wikipedia on the subject:
"The Devil On The Road" is a particularly good example of Westall's sophistication and subtlety when dealing with the supernatural and of his ability to tell a story which is both contemplative and entirely gripping".
That's a good recommendation if ever I heard one!
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Post by steppedonwolf on Sept 7, 2009 23:42:10 GMT
I read a good one the other day I found at my local Half-Price-Books...very atmospheric involving witchcraft and time travel...I'm pretty sure it's a 'juvenile' by Robert Westall and it's called 'The Devil On The Road'...well worth a read. Here's a quote from Wikipedia on the subject: "The Devil On The Road" is a particularly good example of Westall's sophistication and subtlety when dealing with the supernatural and of his ability to tell a story which is both contemplative and entirely gripping". That's a good recommendation if ever I heard one! That's a cracking read. Goes back in time to Civil War England. Loved this book as a kid. Can't believe this originally came out in 1978. Where are the years going?
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Post by ianfaulkner on Sept 8, 2009 0:49:59 GMT
Too damned quickly that's where!
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