Horror Aficionados discussion

I added this folder as a place to discuss Bizarro and Splatterpunk books. I feel they need their own section.

what exactly qualifies as "splatterpunk"?

Kelly wrote: "what exactly qualifies as "splatterpunk"?"

Here is the Wiki for it though I am not sure I agree with some of their author examples.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splatter...

Skipp and Spector,
Joe R. Lansdale
would Ed lee count? He's definitely gross enough

Someone said that James Herbert's early books, the Fog, the Rats etc, are early examples of splatterpunk. I dunno,there's so many punk labels now…

Marisella wrote: "Skipp and Spector,
Joe R. Lansdale
would Ed lee count? He's definitely gross enough "

I would vote Ed Lee into that group.

Larry wrote: "Someone said that James Herbert's early books, the Fog, the Rats etc, are early examples of splatterpunk. I dunno,there's so many punk labels now…"

I haven't read any of those. I'll check them out.

William wrote: "Larry wrote: "Someone said that James Herbert's early books, the Fog, the Rats etc, are early examples of splatterpunk. I dunno,there's so many punk labels now…"

I haven't read any of those. I'll..."
I've not read the Rats, but the Fog is great!

I wouldn't say they are splatterpunk, but Herbert's early books are fun reads.

I liked "Domain" the best out of his early books, I would say.

Shaun wrote: "I wouldn't say they are splatterpunk, but Herbert's early books are fun reads. "

Why would they not be examples. I have not read them so I wouldn't really know.

William wrote: "Shaun wrote: "I wouldn't say they are splatterpunk, but Herbert's early books are fun reads. "

Why would they not be examples. I have not read them so I wouldn't really know."

Splatterpunk was a term coined to represent graphic, gory, no holds barred fiction. Herbert's books don't go that far - at least not in my mind, unless I just don't find them that extreme.

Shaun wrote: "William wrote: "Shaun wrote: "I wouldn't say they are splatterpunk, but Herbert's early books are fun reads. "

Why would they not be examples. I have not read them so I wouldn't really know."
..."

They wouldn't be as extreme as the stuff we're getting now but then The Rats was written in 74 and the Fog 75.

His earlier stuff were the first books to feature graphic scenes of sex and violence. There's a minimum of plot, just enough to move to the next scene of violence.

Herbert was condemned and basically ostracised by other horror writers at the time because of the level of violence in his books. In nearly 40 years of writing horror he's hardly ever won any awards (and I don't think he's ever been nominated for things like the Stoker's) and yet up until recently he was the UK's best selling author, not best selling horror author, best selling author.

Yeh maybe his stuff isn't as graphic as say, Ed Lee, (although there is a lot of sexualised violence) his stuff is still graphic, gory and I'd say The Fog at least is "no holds barred' fiction; so I'd say he was Splatterpunk. But even if you think his stuff is too tame by today's standards, he's certainly where splatterpunk started.

Personally I hate these new labels people keep bringing up. To me its all horror,simple!

Larry wrote: "Personally I hate these new labels people keep bringing up. To me its all horror,simple!"

I agree with you Larry, I'm not a big fan of labels. They're needed to some extent though.

When you think about it, isn't "horror" a label of a certain type of fiction?

I just finished reading John Dies at the End and I personally would classify this as a bizzaro novel. For those that have read it, would you think this classifies as a bizzaro novel?

I could only get through 1/3 of John Dies. But definitely it's a bizarro, IMO.

i'm sorry, but this said new folder so i don't know where to ask this question, but has anybody read 'zombie' by joyce carol oates, it's about a serial killer who tries to find the perfect zombie/servant, i idk the premise seems interesting....any help or recos would be great!

Zombie is a good book and worth a read. I guess it's more of a novella, though. It's not very long but very affective. Oates is a wonderful writer no matter what subject she tackles. She can do it ALL.

Yeah I'm surprised there isn't more stuff here on Joyce Carol Oates.
I read one of her collections of short stories, kinda creeped me out with all the allusions to child molestations though.

I hate seeing her name in the contents of an anthology I intend to read. I find her an absolute bore.

I like everything of hers I've read. She's written so much, though, that there could be some clunkers in her biblio.

Stephanie wrote: "Yeah I'm surprised there isn't more stuff here on Joyce Carol Oates.
I read one of her collections of short stories, kinda creeped me out with all the allusions to child molestations though."

Her one book features a girl who makes it through her mother's gang rape trust me her stuff can be damned dark!

Rape: A Love Story. interesting novella but not one of my favorites. awesome author. i've been trying for a while to read each and every one of her novels. but man she's written a lot! so far, no disasters. but Zombie may be one of my lesser favorites. same with Black Water, which has a legion of fans and i'm not sure why. my personal favorites are Bellefleur and A Bloodsmoor Romance.

Bryan wrote: "a serial killer who tries to find the perfect zombie/servant..."

Jeffrey Dahmer!

Stephanie wrote: "Bryan wrote: "a serial killer who tries to find the perfect zombie/servant..."

Jeffrey Dahmer!"

I was thinking that too

Has anyone read either 'A MILLION VERSIONS OF RIGHT' by Matthew Revert, or 'SPARE KEY' by R. Frederick Hamilton, they are definitely bizarro/splatterpunk, They both look intriguing, so I'm going to order them soon...Any comments/reviews would be awesome!!

i keep wanting to order 'jack and mr. grin' but i havent heard enough about it to warrant the purchase, can anyone give me any insight into whether it's great,good or meh?

I enjoyed it, it's not as bizzaro as some of the other bizzaro novels I've read, but I felt it was better written than the few I've read so far. I didn't feel I wasted my money buy purchasing it.

thanks jerrod

If you're thinking of reading "Jack and Mr Grin" you should check out Andersen Prunty other works like "Morning Is Dead". I just got done reading it and fell in love with the whole story. Now I want to read all Andersen's Books. I can't wait to pickup "Jack and Mr Grin". Happy Reading!

i heard zerostrata was really well written and an intriguing story as well(for a bizarro novel), but thanks

Thanks, Natalie.

Just bought it at Amazon for the Kindle.

That's great to hear Tressa. I read that book to on the amazon kindle. Isn't that the best book device around. I've noticed I've been reading more since I got it. Enjoy the story I really think you will like it.

I love that I got it delivered immediately and I paid under three bucks, while I would have waited for the snail mail to deliver the eleven buck book.

I am reading way more with my Kindle. Don't know if it's just because of the novelty, or the fact that once I finish a book, I can immediately move on to my back log.

I love my Nook. E is the greatest, especially if the alternative is a 700 page hardback... a weird book that might as well go here is Happy Hour of the Damned. It is written like a supernatural Frommer's tour guide of Seattle. The rest of the story is about a newly made zombie who has a friend go missing. She is trying really hard to be a good friend and find her buddy, but keeps getting overwhelmed by the whole need-to-eat-brains thing. I laughed, but it was guilty laughter-- shame on me for thinking these things are funny.

Hey, has anyone read anything by Jeremy C. Shipp?? i want to order 'CURSED' and 'SHEEPS AND WOLVES' all of his book come highly recommended and have 4.5 or higher reviews on amazon and every other book/review site i've gone to....Although i havent talked with anyone personally about his novels, they definitely look promising! Can anyone give me any insight as to how his books are and what they are about? mainly the former 2 i mentioned, especially 'CURSED'-which looks like an occult horror novel in the vein of rosemary's baby with youth, so hopefully someone can tell me something about this author....

I too, am slightly confused by Slatterpunk. Would Ed Lee be considered a Splatterpunk author ? How about that book, Meat by D'Lacey ?

yes ed lee is vintage splatterpunk and meat by d'lacey is splatterpunk/horror..splatterpunk is just basically horror with excessive amounts of blood, guts, and gore. Violence is always enhanced.

Bryan wrote: "Hey, has anyone read anything by Jeremy C. Shipp?? i want to order 'CURSED' and 'SHEEPS AND WOLVES' all of his book come highly recommended and have 4.5 or higher reviews on amazon and every other ..."

Bryan - I've read Cursed and very much enjoyed it. Not exactly horror, compared to some of his short fiction I've read online and which shows up in Sheep and Wolves, but well worth the read. It's almost sweet in many ways, and quite unique in both content and style.

Also, Andersen Prunty's Morning is Dead is excellent. A great example of bizarro-ish horror.

I loved Morning is Dead by Andersen Prunty. An originally amazing read.

Morning is Dead, Zerostrata and The Sorrow King are all really amazing. Jack and Mr.Grin somewhat less so than those three.

Thomas Tryon ???? I just finished watching "The Other" (wonderful screenplay and acting by Ms.Hagen and the twins) and I stared to think.. Is Mr. Tryon an author worth seeking out ? Besides "The Other" and "Harvest Home", has he written primarily horror?

I read The Night of the Moonbow by Tryon and enjoyed it, the horror of it was subtle and psychological, it might not even be classified as horror by some, but in any case I thought it was a pretty well written and compelling book

Jerrod wrote: "I just finished reading John Dies at the End and I personally would classify this as a bizzaro novel. For those that have read it, would you think this classifies as a bizzaro novel?"

Definitely. A great book too. I liked it a lot. I read parts when he was releasing it online, so it was great that it was finally collected into a single volume.

Bryan wrote: "Hey, has anyone read anything by Jeremy C. Shipp?? i want to order 'CURSED' and 'SHEEPS AND WOLVES' all of his book come highly recommended and have 4.5 or higher reviews on amazon and every other ..."

Jeremy writes some good horror. I have talked to him a few times and he is very enthusiastic about his work and horror in general.

I have read Vacation and most of his short stories. I would recommend him without hesitation.

I couldn't get into Vacation at all. I have a copy of Sheeps and Wolves. Is that better than Vacation?

Sheep and Wolves is a lot of things. You'll have fun exploring it.