Horror Books > J Horror Books

Advantages: Nicely priced, well-selected stories, wide variety of genres
Disadvantages: James's prose can be painfully dense

...Henry James's writings, it is the novella, 'The Turn of the Screw' that is possibly the most widely-known, albeit his other, less psychologically troublesome works, such as 'The Portrait of a Lady' remain, perhaps, more widely *read*. The simple 'plot' of The Turn of the Screw is often described in straightforward terms which, really, are utterly spurious in the face of such deliberate ambiguity - James himself, in his foreword, indicates that the ...
...reader} think the evil...make him think it for himself'. To attempt, then, to indicate the most important parts of James's plot would be an exercise doomed to fail, given that James himself seemed not to know. The story might be taken as a psychological exploration in the style of much post-Freudian Gothic fiction, with its fixation upon the sublime and the irrational, and the effect of repressed sexuality upon the human mind. On the other hand, ... Read review

Advantages: A masterful Read
Disadvantages: I could have given it six stars

...of a previous publication and the basic plot appealed to my sense of the ridiculous. It came highly recommended by a variety of newspapers and authors alike, including the great Iain Banks, what more could I want? For once I am leaving author details to the end, a suggestion from another Ciao member. I read it in two sittings, the book is only 320 pages, but I did start it last night and reluctantly left it halfway through to finish it today. As ...
...horror stories to read it, the story is superbly mastered and is so evocative of the angst of children growing up in the sixties era that I found myself saying “yes, that is the way it was.” A story sketch ^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ I am defining this as a sketch, as the story or plot is so good to give much away, yet a plot needs some gist to capture the reader’s attention. The first chapter opens with a taste of what is to come and introduces the gang ... Read review

Advantages: An unheralded classic
Disadvantages: Can anybody get a copy?

...more eerie; this book, or the fact that nobody has offered an opinion on it. I hope to any God that's good that this book isn't deleted, because everyone should read it. After all, after a recent horror of a different sort at the cinema, it deserves to be devoured in it's purist form. (Sounds like I'm aching for a virgin sacrifice!) In case I confuse, I am referring to a recent film, 'The Haunting' with Liam Neeson, a truly shocking adaptation of ...
...this travesty of a film. The 1963 version found more success, mainly because it remained simple. What scares people? Things going bump in the night. That is what propells this book. A haunted house with a grisly history that hasn't had a quiet night since the first brick was laid. And that is what attracts a team of investigators, led by Dr. Montague, to spend some time with its secrets. The success of the scare however is not in gruesome images ... Read review

Advantages: Loveable characters, great ending, 500 pages.
Disadvantages: Too long for some?

Stephen King is arguably one of the best writers alive today, if not of all time. He made himself famous with books such as Carrie and The Shining, and more recent books such as Cell. He specialises in Horror books, although he has also branched of into fantasy books on several occasions. In my opinion this book is somewhere in between horror and science fiction. The story follows the struggles of single father Andy McGee and his adorable daughter ...
...have given both of the psionic abilities. Charlie has the ability to start fires using her mind, a talent known as pyrokinesis. She is the story's main character, and the government assosiation "The Shop" are constantly hunting her down in order to test and harness her seemingly boundless power. Stephen King portrays the struggles of the young girl (around the age of 7 in the novel), as she tries cope with her extraordinary power and the government ... Read review

Advantages: Heart felt, well written and hopeful
Disadvantages: a bit silly, and liable to rot your teeth

...of wise men and produced From The Corner Of His Eye. it was a different turn for the writter whose work has always been tinged with a basic desire for hope in all situations. Here the hope for the goodness in humanity is turned up a notch, where if we believe in someone as good as Bart and his mother we can also believe in the good of others. That all sounds a bit saccarine and the more I re-read it the more suggary it becomes but at the heart of ... Read review