Jack Tripper > Recent Status Updates

I’ve been wanting to read this one for decades thanks to Karl Edward Wagner’s write up in Horror: The 100 Best Books, so I’m thankful that an affordable edition is finally available.

Looks like it’s becoming a tradition for me to read this book every 5 years or so. I’ve yet to discover another one with the same feeling of being trapped in a delightfully dreadful dream world — only a dream world with very real stakes.

I already read this gem several years back, but when the mood for a “17th century castle besieged by an unstoppable eldritch horror”-type tale arises, you have one option basically. And it’s a good one.

(BTW the entire novel is included in the 1992 Ramsey Campbell-edited antho Uncanny Banquet.)

Odd to see the term “hair metal” used in a story that takes place in 1983. I’m pretty sure that term didn’t really come about until the very late 80s/early 90s. It was all just called heavy metal then. I don’t remember hearing it until grunge and alternative rock broke, possibly slightly before, to differentiate bands like Poison from Metallica and Slayer. But maybe “Hair Metal Harry” was a trailblazer.

Harlan Ellison on Ramsey Campbell, 1980: “Ramsey Campbell is very strange. Whenever I go to England, Ramsey Campbell shows up, somehow. I’ll be walking down the street and allofasudden Ramsey Campbell will pop out of a doorway and say (adopts an eerie, soft, whispery voice), ‘Will you write something for my new anthology, about sewers,’ and I scream and run. Really eerie.”

I just love the mental image this creates.

I’ve never been one to reread books often (too many unread ones on my shelves), but I’ve been doing it a lot with my old favorites lately and figured it was time to revisit this. It’s one of my absolute favorite horror reads in recent memory, but I hesitate to hype it too much considering it’s damn hard to come by. Though maybe I should hype it up so maybe it gets enough attention for some publisher to reissue it.

So just a few hours after I repost a recent review where the entire book had just been deleted off GR and my review locked with no comments allowed (I found another entry), some vindictive power hungry librarian deleted this entry as well. Every other issue of the comic series is fine to stay up, but if I review it it’s gone. Fuck Goodreads.

It’s time. In the 10-plus years since I last (re)read this, still nothing has come close to unseating it as my personal pick for scariest novel ever. I’ll see if I still feel that way.

What was the worst thing you’ve ever done?

I won’t tell you that, but I’ll tell you the worst thing that ever happened to me … the most dreadful thing …

I’ve read a lot of Harrison’s work over the years and, other than a few shorts (like the excellent “Egnaro”), I’ve never really connected with any of it. Something keeps drawing me back, though, and I’m glad I never gave up because this is pretty damn brilliant so far. I’m not sure if it’s really better than his other novels I’ve read, or if his dense, poetic prose just finally clicked with me after all these years.

I’ve been wanting to read the late, enigmatic weird fiction author Avalon Brantley for a long time, but most of her work is hard to come by for a decent price. Thankfully this one, written under a pseudonym, was only a few bucks on Kindle. That may change once Zagava reprints this in a fancy hardcover later this year, though. Too early to tell what it’s even about yet, though it is beautifully written.

”The phone lines must be down” are some of my favorite words when reading a horror novel. I probably grinned like a maniac when I got to them here. Only took 132 pages. And some bad voodoo’s going down on the small Caribbean island of Carrefour.

What the hell, I’m going for it. Don’t you judge me.

I might just have to put this one on hold, as I’m not really in the right mindset for mega-cheese in my horror at the moment, especially after reading high quality stuff like Lucius Shepard and a couple brilliant tales in The Year’s Best Horror Stories X. I love me some Z-grade schlock on occasion, but now just isn’t the time, especially when it’s 444 pages. Or maybe I’ve finally outgrown my love for 80s trash?

Nah.

I’m normally not one for horror novels from the killer or disturbed mind’s perspective, as I like to be able to relate to the characters in some way, but this one belts along at a nice clip and is thoroughly entertaining. Unfortunately the surreal twist was ruined for me by the back cover copy. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have read this had I not seen that, so fair play. So far I fail to see why this is so unknown.

I’d just like to bring to your attention the fact that “The Voice in the Night” (1907) is one of the very best and most unnerving sea-based weird tales I’ve read. Masterpiece.

Earlier today I decided to re-read the excellent Michael McDowell interview included within and the next thing I know I’ve finished half the book. A must for fans of 80s horror fiction who want some insight into some of the top writers and the industry in general.

Holy hell I forgot just how good this book is. Great characters, and ultra creepy despite taking place mostly during the day. Yet, cozy at the same time. The end of chapter 11 is one of the most chilling scenes I’ve read lately. At least, the way I pictured it was damn chilling (I’ll just say “sand girl” and those of you who’ve read it should know what I’m talking about).

I wasn’t expecting this to be released until next month, but to my surprise it was in my mailbox today (sometimes it pays to order directly from the publisher). I’ve been waiting years for an English translation of this.

No matter how many times I read Ligotti's "Dream of a Mannikin", it never fails to freak the shit out of me. "Become as we are, sweetie. Die into us."

All time great.

I told myself I was done with T.M. Wright, as I've never had much luck with his work thanks to his dialogue, where everyone has to say each other's name constantly while speaking. His books keep calling to me though, and after seven years I'm ready to give him another shot. Also, since this one's first person, maybe Wright won't feel the need to do that annoying dialogue thing as much (to denote who's speaking).

So far this is MUCH better than I expected considering John G. Jones' only other novels are all those Amityville sequels. Seemingly inspired by Catch Me If You Can, it reads like a fast-paced airport thriller, about an expert conman on the run from some drug dealers who were taken for millions, when reality begins to slowly break down, impossible coincidences start ocurring, and the supernatural invades his life.

There must be a rogue librarian here that gets enjoyment out of deleting various editions of books for some reason, which then causes my ratings and reviews to revert to a foreign language edition or even an entirely different book that happens to have the same or similar title. It's really annoying, as I'm extremely anal about choosing the exact edition I'm reading.

This is surprisingly good so far, sort of Straub-esque (circa Floating Dragon), both plot-wise and writing style-wise. It's not the typical "vampires in small town" Salem's Lot ripoff that the back cover copy would suggest. There's actually a lot of freaky tripped-out stuff going on in Oldenburg, Oregon. I dig it (famous last words).

It's pretty rare for me to re-read a book after only 5 years, especially so for one that I didn't give 5 stars. But this one has stuck with me, always taunting me for not giving it all the stars. So I suppose I'm here to figure out why I didn't, when I should be checking out one of the many unread Campbell novels and collections that are sitting on my shelves.

Even though the top review here on GR (by Kevin) is pretty negative, his mention of it being a cosmic horror tale that eventually devolves into a cheesy mishmash of vampires, guns, Satanic cults, karate, etc. totally sold me. I dig all that stuff in my trashy 80s horror. Here goes nothing.

I read this over 20 years ago and thought it was a bit of a mess, to tell the truth. I dug the parts dealing with the house, but the Johnny Truant sections were torturous. I kept thinking about this book throughout the years, however, and figured it was about time I gave it another shot (though I may skip Johnny Truant if he starts pissing me off).

I wish there were more fantasy/horror mash-ups like this out there, combining typical wizards and warriors fantasy with Lovecraftian eldritch horrors. I've only just started, but so far Hambly is pretty adept at creating an atmosphere of unease and creeping dread, and I have a feeling I'll be devouring a lot more of her work in the near future.

I've long thought that I'd never experience the same level of uncanny frisson I feel while reading Ligotti with any other author, but damn does Mr. Clark seem intent on proving me wrong. The hundreds of nightmare-inducing illustrations (also by Clark) only enhances the otherworldliness.

I just noticed it's been almost a year since I'd read any 80s/90s Zebra trash. That should be a good thing, since they rarely live up to their amazing premises, but I don't know how you can screw up "12 teens haunting a school and exacting revenge after being duped into killing themselves."

Every time I see this book on my shelves I feel a strong sense of guilt for having never read it, so I figured it's about time I trade in that guilt for some deep depression.