Well, this was an interesting year of
reading for me.
Very cool stuff that seeped through the woodwork and into my
brain forever. Truth be told, this was probably one of the best years of
reading for me in terms of content.
From vampires and zombies to Charles
Dickens and Jeffrey Dahmer – this was a great year. All of these books are
highly recommended and you can easily pick them up at your local library (minus
Wool) or at Amazon.com for a rather cheap price.
That said, please enjoy my Top Ten Books of 2012:
A very creative science fiction
'collection' of post-apocalyptic stories by Hugh Howey. Take the word
'collection' with a grain of salt, because - put together - the six stories
complete a dream novel come true for this up-and-coming writer who gained a
cult following on Amazon.com. Kudos to Howey for taking the science-fiction
genre in a new, interesting direction. Without giving too much away, he's
created a thriller, a murder mystery, a horror story all merged with fantastic
dialogue and character development. Highly recommended. This collection, yet
again, gives all budding novelists hope that there are other avenues to achieve
success then simply receiving a pile of 'rejected' letters from well-known
publishers. And, quite frankly, if your work is good enough, self-publishing
just may be the way to go. Looking forward to reading more of Hugh Howey's
work.
Stephen King rated Simmons' The
Terror one of his favorite books of the year back in 2008. I picked it up and,
after a couple months, finished it and was flattened by the extensive story
line, great characters and fantastic dialogue. Fast-forward to 2012. I heard
about this funny book called Drood. Well, again, after a couple months, I've finished what I believe has
been the best book that I've read in a handful of years. Fantastic book.
Fantastic writing. Great eerie storyline. And Simmons, the bastard. This guy had to have
sold his soul to the devil. To be able to write this well, keep the storyline
arcs intact, add to that such inter-weaving storylines as well keeping the
exact dates and times of the original Charles Dicken's life while spinning an
original boogie-man story. And to have the narration of from the narcissistic
Wilkie Collins instead of Dickens is pure creative genius (a word I do not toss
around very easily when referencing any medium be it film, illustration,
literature and painting). The fact that this book kept me enthralled through
its 750+ pages is inconceivable. But it did. And it's a damn fine book. It
makes me want to revisit and read for the first time some of Dicken's works
including THE BLEAK HOUSE and OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. And let's not forget about the
title character the book is all about...DROOD. An interesting creation. A great
idea for a book. And an overall genius novel that isn't getting nearly enough
press. Bravo, Simmons. Bravo. I thought no writer could top THE TERROR. And, lo
and behold, you've topped yourself.
What a cool book that harks back to
the days of film-noir and 'interesting' detective stories. With dabs of SIN
CITY mixed in with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE DA VINCI CODE
and a little EYES WIDE SHUT, Brian Evenson creates a stunning, shocking, bloody
read that's packed with twists and turns a plenty not to mention a little
ambiguousness to keep you on your toes. The plot follows the lead character,
Kline, an undercover cop who lost his hand to a crazed maniac, as he slowly gets
entangled into a cult of people who cut off their arms to get closer to God.
It's weird in all the good ways. And the dialogue, the dialogue is fantastic.
Worth picking the book up alone. Very reminiscent of the old detective movies
and, as a friend reminded me, Quentin Tarantino. I can't seeing this being made
into a movie due to the violence and bloodshed. So, check it out in print form
because it's a very fantastic read. Come to think of it, this is more of a
horror novel than a detective book. Not for the squeamish. Check er out!
Fantastic book about a group of guys
in Bath, Ohio, who happened to be buddies with Jeffrey Dahmer. Illustrated and
written by Derf, this is a very cool, interesting fly on the wall story about
Dahmer's teenage life as well as his first murder, which occurred in Bath.
Being a (former) Bath, Ohio, resident and living about 1/4 mile away from the
former Dahmer residence, it's interesting to see Derf mention and draw and
refer to some of the popular landmarks including the school, the restaurants,
the mall and the roads and highways of Bath. Like I said, it's a well-written,
very well drawn book. Read the footnotes section at the back for even more
jaw-dropping information.
Very good book. Right from the first
chapter, you're wondering 'Where in the Hell
is this going?'. Pollock takes you on a fun, entertaining, dare I say
disgusting ride into the filth and underworld of Southeastern Ohio. If you've
read KNOCKEMSTIFF, you know exactly what you're in for. The characters, the
locales and the interesting situations they're put in come together to create a
fantastic story 'Natural Born Killers meets Gummo'. Pollock has a knack for
dialogue. He can write for dimwits like no other, but he also has a knack to
get inside the mind of each character and converse in a way that makes them
100% believable. Great book. Be warned though, it's a bit squeamish in places.
This ain't Highlights For Children. But, it's worth the ride. Check ‘er out.
Also, if you don't know about Pollock, check out his inspiring back-story. He
gives me hope for my personal publishing future every time I think about him.
Good book. Great read. Again,
McCarthy is a delicate master of the English language. He really gets inside
the main character's sick and twisted mind. But, is Lester Ballard really a
serial killer or is he just a screwed up, perverted, sadistic individual? And,
I guess, is there a difference? In any event, a nice quick read. The chapters
move along at a fast pace. Like THE ROAD, ALL THE PRETTY HORSES, BLOOD MERIDIAN and, of course, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, McCarthy can write great dialogue and
he pulls it off fantastically with this little story - especially Lester's
remarks and thought process as he relates to the townsfolk.
Great book. Martin is very honest in
his representation of his rise to fame. It didn't happen overnight. It took
time. In fact, it took lots of time. Maybe half of his life. It also took a lot
of failures. In fact, lots and lots of failures. If there's anything to be
learned from Martin is that when you get knocked down, you stand back up and
continue to strive for your dreams no matter what they may be. Martin offers up
an intimate portrait of his childhood, his dreams and his constant internal
strife with his father, which - as it appears - fueled his fire for success
even more. In addition, this book can be a great self-help book for people who
fear presenting in public. Everyone fails in life at some point. The most
important thing is what you do after that happens. Martin's story can serve as
a motivating lesson to everyone out there about tenacity, creativity,
dedication to your craft and never giving up on your dreams. What a great,
quick, entertaining and - most importantly - motivating read
Robo-fantastic. Prior to reading this
novel, I read a couple reviews from literary snobs who thumbed their nose at
this book. My question was 'Why?' This is pure Robot Pulp. And it's freaking
awesome. Daniel H. Wilson has done his homework and has intricately played out
a potential robot apocalypse on mankind. After reading WORLD WAR Z and then
this book (both sort of 'found footage/interview type' books, I can honestly
say that Roboapocalypse stands on a higher pedestal. Why? Well, the character
development is there, the dialogue is there and the action and thought
processes of all characters isn't one-dimensional. A definite page turner a' la
works of Koontz, Grisham and James Patterson - Wilson writes action sequences
extremely well - and there are plenty. I really don't want to give too much
away. However, I would say snag this book up and read it before Steven Spielberg
begins production of the film version later this year - for a 2013 release.
Highly enjoyable, action packed, thought-provoking and - simply put -
ROBOTASTIC! Check er out.
Kudos to Max Brooks for his very,
very deep thinking on the eternal question, "What would happen if the
entire world were overrun with zombies?" Seriously though, my hat goes off
to Brooks for ruminating on the subject for days and days. Very thorough
thought process indeed. What would the army do? Where would people go? How
would they survive? What happens when it freezes? Does the army get involved?
What about zombies that end up in the water? Brooks creative minds answers
these thought-provoking questions, and much more, through faux one-on-one
sit-down interviews with a number of heros and witnesses to the zombie war.
Which brings me to the one fault I have for this book. I thought the narrative,
or rather the storytelling process (first-hand accounts) that Brooks thought up
to tell his story was a bit weak. I'm not sure if having a regular,
straight-forward fiction novel would have done it justice, either. However,
having read Justin Cronin's vampire apocalypse fantasy THE PASSAGE as well as
Brook's WORLD WAR Z side by side, I can honestly say Cronin's work - a
straight-forward fiction novel - rises to the top. That said, I'm looking
forward to the film. If they toss half the imagery and ideas that Brooks thinks
up in this book, it's sure to be a cool flick.
Wow, what a monster of a book, but
well worth the one month of reading in the end. A new, unique take on the
Vampire mystique, Cronin's book covers a present day America followed by an apocalyptic
America 100 years later. The cast of characters he creates talk, speak and feel
lifelike, the decisions they make speaks to the characters themselves and the
journey all of these characters travel is also enjoyable and creepy. Keep in
mind, this is a graphic book with plenty of bloodshed and murder. Cronin also attacks
the action sequences in the book with fervor and passion. He paints a very
comprehensive picture of landscapes and scenery. Some beautiful writing
thoughout the more than 700 pages made me a bit jealous, which is always a
compliment to the author. Comparisons to WATERSHIP DOWN came to mind often as I
was reading this book. I'm not sure how much more there is to say besides the
creatures and the overall storyline do, in fact, bring some comparisons to films such I AM
LEGEND (and the book), THE DESCENT as well as Guillermo Del Toro's BLADE 2.
That said, the book stands on its own as a great piece of fiction. I understand
there are two more yet-be-released books in the Passage series, which makes
sense considering the open-ended finale. Looking forward to the second book of
the trilogy, THE TWELVE.
Interested in more great reads from Eimer's past? Check out these posts:
Interested in more great reads from Eimer's past? Check out these posts:
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