Horror Aficionados discussion

Those who read and remember my occasional posts probably know I love ridiculous- even BAD- horror novels with a kitschy plot device. I love a good Peter Straub or Shirley Jackson tale, but there's just something about an evil rocking horse or killer doll wreaking havoc that makes me all warm and fuzzy. Naturally, I figured was up my alley.William W. Johnstone I'm currently reading Rockinghorse. I'm also finding myself significantly underwhelmed by the book, particularly the sparse writing style and paper doll characterizations. Any readers who love kitschy horror willing to weigh in on him? Is Johnstone worth the time?

I actually liked the Cats Cradle and the sequel to that.

I read . Both were a while ago, I remember them being just ok with neat covers.
The man was insanely prolific, I don't know how much quality can be realistically expected, but they were fun enough.

I think if they're fun, that's good enough for me! Maybe Rockinghorse just has a slow start. But yeah, Johnstone was insanely prolific. We have a ridiculous number of his westerns at my workplace.

That actually sounds like a good story.Stick with it and let me know if its any good. I love authors from the 80s.

Im really thinking about rereading cats eye. The first one was pretty disturbing and some of the happenings is cats eye kinda stuck with me. Very creepy. It is a little slow which is why I stopped reading it but I think I will give it another shot:)

Thanks Kyle. Ive actually never read John Saul.

I remember reading the first few pages of Night Mask by W.W.J. and being so terrified i returned it. Of course i was alot younger then and wonder if it was really that bad.

Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: "A great author from the 80's is John Saul. [bookcover:The Un..."

I'll give them a read, Kyle! Sadly, it seems most horror with ridiculous villains or plot devices come from the Eighties. I mean... Satanic rocking horse. How often do you see that these days?

Well, I can't imagine they were horribly cliched in the Eighties. You know, until the massive rush of them. But I'm one of those people who honestly LOVES those cliched plot devices. That level of ridiculousness is part of the appeal the horror genre holds. I know I'm in in the minority on that one. Currently, Johnstone strikes me as the written form of a B-grade horror film. It's amusing me at this point, but in the sort of way where you keep reading something to see just how bad it will get before the end.

At the very least, I will make it a point to find time to read "Nathaniel" after "Rockinghorse".

Love me some schlocky 80's horror but ashamed to say I've never read Johnstone's horror (I'd read one or two of his post-apocalyptic action/adventure novels way back in the day), but having said that, yeah, Johnstone has written tons of novels, horror, action/adventure, and westerns.

Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: ""Nathaniel" is a great, solid horror novel, Emily. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."

I'm sure I will! I've found that the people in this group have rather good taste. I always trust their recommendations. I... would not always trust mine.

Chris- oh, Lord, his books are so bad. The father in this novel was hit upside the head by something Generically Evil and was found with a bump on his head and his arm aching. His arm ached because... a rocking horse had been tattooed on his arm while he was unconscious.

I'm going to just let that sink in. It's so horrible it needs two robots and some nice guy trapped in space riffing this book. If that's your sort of thing, you very well might enjoy Johnstone! I'm very on the fence about reading his other works, but I'm also cackling too hard to care about the wonderful books I'm missing.