Reddit mentions: The best british & irish horror books

By you don't think you are good enough for Stephen King type stories, do you mean your reading level isn't good enough or your "this is too freaking creepy for me to read anymore so I have to put it down now" level isn't good enough?

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett was one of my favorite books when I was 14. That book led me into the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett and into the Sandman graphic novel series by Neil Gaiman. Then Gaiman released Neverwhere and that's an absolutely amazing story as well!!

The Dresen files series by Jim Butcher is a great series. It starts off a bit shaky in the first book, but it's still enough of a kickass book that you are hooked and want to read the rest of the series.

Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore is a great story with a good sense of humor. He is one of my favorite authors, and most of his books are ones that you can reread and they're still as entertaining.

Also when you are looking for more suggestions, you can refer to this handy dandy flowchart for the top 100 science fiction/fantasy books of all time. There are some amazing authors and amazing books listed, so hopefully you find some more good reads on there too!

Anyways, having looked over my bookshelf, here are some recommendations purely for the sake of recommending. Maybe not spot on what you're looking for, but why not...

Neverwhere. A book I've read about nine times. Because it's awesome.

Time Traveler's Wife. Kind of established/re-ignited my hope and sense of romance. My father isn't much of a reader and usually takes months to go through a single book, but after losing his wife, my stepmother, he went through this in a week and thanked me profusely afterwards.

Island. I'll tell you right off, it's one of those 'intelligent reads'. The end is proclaimed early, it comes as predicted and it's depressing, but the book overall is nice. You read it first, to check :)

Gates of Fire.

Born To Run. Just read this recently. Fun, interesting, quick.

Bit late, but seems we have similar taste, so here are some things I really love:

House of Leaves - not a straightforward read, but it's worth sticking with it; the labyrinthine structure of the narrative mirrors that of the house, and is an overwhelming presence, a character in its own right. The story itself is ambiguous, fragmented, ultimately unresolved, and stubbornly avoids any traditional narrative satisfaction, an exercise in open-ended uncertainty, so if you crave narrative closure, this probably isn't for you. But if you can tolerate the ambiguity, it's a book you can get thoroughly lost in.

Good Omens - since you're a Pratchett fan, you've probably read this collaboration with Neil Gaiman. If you haven't, you're in for a real treat - one of his best.

Anything by Phil Rickman. The Merrily Watkins books are essentially supernatural detective stories, based on the traditional folklore of the borderlands between England and Wales, with a little exorcism on the side. My favourites are his early books, especially The Man in the Moss and December.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury classic evoking the fears and freedoms of childhood. Wonderfully and weirdly atmospheric. If you like it, you should also read Dandelion Wine - not genre, but in Dandelion Wine he perfects his evocation of childhood, and personally, I think it's his best book. The realities of life, death and mortality, along with its wonder and mystery, seen with the clarity of childhood. And none of the usual rose-tinted 'innocence'.

Thank you kindly for your nice words!

Recommendations wise...hmmm. If you've heard of Zero Punctuation before, than the name Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw will be familiar. He has written two fantastic books: Mogworld and Jam that are in the comedic narrator lead style - I highly recommend them!

Anything by Sir Terry Pratchett, though usually in the third person style, I have found to be an easy and funny (edit: hilarious, clever, there-aren't-enough-pleasant-adjectives-to-display-my-love-for-his-writing) romp. Who else? Umm.

I'm struggling to think of more, sorry. Er, my novels? That is, when I get around to finishing the damn things.

/r/Books may be a good place to ask. I'm drawing a blank, sorry.

I recommend Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw (the guy who does the Zero Punctiation reviews)

It's a Sci-Fi book about an apocalypse of Jam. Yes, Jam. It's very very good and very funny.

I would like this book as it completes the trilogy. I would also recommend this, but you'd need to start with the first trilogy (the Farseer Trilogy) which is wonderful.

Advantages:
Swearing is fun
Adds realism
Good way for characters to express frustration

Disadvantages:
Can't really sell it to kids, but it's a zombie apocalypse story so that probably wouldn't happen anyway
Can't think of any others, really


And on the whole - "I don't want to call them zombies" thing. Personally, I think that, if they are zombies, you should call them fucking zombies. I'm not a fan of the "don't say the zed word" thing. It's just silly. We know they're zombies, don't pretend they're not. There are a lot of zombie stories that try to be different, but still basically are zombie stories - maybe the zombies are fast, maybe they're intelligent, maybe they're fungus monsters. But they're still basically zombies.

It could be good to just have the apocalypse be caused by something else. Maybe it's dinosaurs. Maybe it's [jam.] (https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/Jam-Yahtzee-Croshaw/1595829571) Or have it set somewhere other than a modern day first world country, for example. Pretty much every twist on the zombie story has been done.

If you want a story that feels a bit different, don't write a zombie story.

The collection I usually recommend is The Wine-Dark Sea, which has "The Trains", "The Inner-Room", and "Into the Woods", three of my favorites. But, if you would like more with slightly closer to the rhythm/style of "The Hospice", you can do Cold Hand in Mine, which has "The Swords", "Meeting Mr. Millar", and "The Same Dog". Besides those six stories, I'd probably next recommend "Ringing the Changes", probably his most famous, and "My Poor Friend" which I think was the first I ever read and the one that got me into his style.

I read the Titus Crow series a while back, it's collected into 3 paperbacks which are each pretty cheap these days.

I recommend it for Lovecraft mythos fans. The stories and characters are a bit out there, but the setting and overall feel of the books is just right for a Lovecraft novel.

Edit (minor spoilers): Titus Crow is Lumley's equivalent of Sherlock Holmes in that world. Fairly early on (if I remember correctly), he basically gets his own Tardis. Even though I found the characters a bit less than believable, Lumley mostly just had his characters explore the world with his time/space travel machine. This was a great overview of Lumley's take on Lovecraft's universe...not just self contained stories.

Do you like Neil Gaiman? More to the point, have you read Neverwhere? It is that extension you want and the prose is just gorgeous.

For unique, I'd say The City of Dreaming Books. It is particularly good if you haven't read any of Moers other books beforehand.

Check out the "Tomes of the Dead" series. It essentially drops zombies into various historical settings. I've only read Viking Dead, but it was pretty entertaining. Rather like a novelization of a black metal album cover.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

The Turing-completeness of PowerPoint is a plot point in Charles Stross's amusing and excellent Lovecraft-meets-Fleming novel The Jennifer Morgue: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O2NEI8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Ah I see, thanks for your insight! It looks like Kindle and paperback editions of Jam are available in case I don't like the voice - thanks for the heads up!

My perennial favorite around Holloween is Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes". I wouldn't classify it as a thriller necessarily, but it's truly a classic work of dark fiction and I find myself going back and giving it another read through every few years around this time to get in the Halloween mood.

Also, I highly recommend this collection of horror short stories by Algernon Blackwood. Ideally you should read "The Willow" to a group around a campfire if you really want to get freaked out.

How about a haiku?

I 'd like a pet cat

But pet cats do not like me

So I have eight dogs.

Book, please! Thanks for the contest <3

For some more adult and gritty rodent fiction, check out http://www.amazon.com/King-Rat-China-Mieville/dp/0312890729
Loved it. Mieville's got a lot of good stuff out there now.

This is in no way related to the books you listed, but I just read it a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it (free via my amazon prime membership) - Don't Let Me Go

The Hater series was also pretty engrossing - Hater by David Moody

I have some other suggestions that probably wouldn't appeal to men...

Charlie Stross' Laundry series (The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue and The Fuller Memorandum) are available on Amazon as Kindle downloads, and I highly recommend them, being a witty and amusing blend of Mythos and James Bond.

Not technically stories but there's this

https://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Invictus-Sourcebook-Ancient-roleplaying/dp/1568823053

And this, which are actual stories set in this time period, accompanies it

https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Cthulhu-Invictus-Stories-Battling-ebook/dp/B016R3G2RS/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495350990&sr=1-2&keywords=cthulhu+invictus

And then this guy, which I've heard is quite good.

https://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Campaigns-Ancient-Rome-Osprey/dp/1472816005/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495350936&sr=1-5&keywords=cthulhu+war

Yep, Blackwood was special, I was lucky enough to get a pristine second hand copy of his tales of terror and darkness.

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Terror-Darkness-Algernon-Blackwood/dp/0600303470

I put this link here for a rare and voluminous book, that is now out of print and going for a song get it immediately.

I think it's already been made..at least a few times...

edit: Here is the best one....
And another

Besides the aforementioned Hitchhiker's Guide series, I can recommend Mogworld and JAM, both by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. (Yes, that one.)

I can't think of anything else I'd recommend offhand.

This book. I really enjoyed Croshaw's first book 'Mogworld', so I'm highly interested in reading his next book.

Also, X-Ray and Vav.


LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT'S STOP.

Only four Books:

The Box Man - Kobo Abe didn't really like it. Strange book.

King Rat - China Mieville

Damned - Chack Palahniuk

Ich habe die Unschuld kotzen sehen - Dirk Bernemann

I also read Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis It' a Comic/Graphic Novel I read the whole series except for Issue 0. I also read a lot The Sandman - Neil Gaiman Not the whole series but almost. And I always enjoy Stories from Don Rosa.

Recommendations: Bukowski.

Brian Lumley's Titus Crow Trilogy might interest you. I compare it to a slightly darker version of the Laundry Files.

Yahtzee Croshaw's bleak vision of the future is coming to pass!
http://www.amazon.com/Jam-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595829571

Yep.

http://www.amazon.com/Jam-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595829571

Same with me. Except I didn't like Good Omens either.

Neverwhere, though, I liked.

ARMA 2: Combined Operations. Reason? I want to play DAY Z. Not because it's fun or anything. I want to play...as training.

Any day, any time, anywhere, they will come. Zombies. The undead. What was once thought to be deceased has turned into a flesh-eating monster. And frankly, it's terrifying. We don't know who will be on our side. We can't recruit anyone this early. They'll all think we're crazy.

I, however, don't need to recruit anyone. I have been preparing for the day when the parasitic beasts break down my door and masticate on my internal organs. I bought Books. I read websites. Hell, I've even fortified my home. I have repellent on stand-by near my front door, along with some wood, guns, and flamethrowers. You have no idea how hard it was to smuggle a flamethrower from Indonesia.

But, in all my training, there's one thing that they don't teach you: how zombies act. no one's ever seen one of those fuckers. It's certainly a problem, because it's key to predict their movements before they strike. I've heard about this DAY Z for a while now. Supposed to be a realistic zombie simulator. You're in a wasteland with nothing and you need to use teamwork to stop the invading hoard. Sounds pretty good to me. I'll play it, study it, learn their movements, and try to survive as long as possible. Then, when they come, I'll be even more ready. Ready to protect my family, friends, and country from the undead. Ready to stand up to the devil's army themselves.

Also, all my Steam friends have it and they keep telling me to get it.

You joke....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1906512337

Movie:
Adaptaion of Yahtzee Crashaw's Jam:
http://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/1595829571

ever read the book Neverwhere?

read

Link to Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

Seek ye The Transition of Titus Crow

First thing I thought of:

https://www.amazon.com/Jam-Yahtzee-Croshaw/dp/1595829571

This one:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/0385292163
and this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Zompoc-How-Survive-Zombie-Apocalypse/dp/1906512337/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321992966&sr=1-1

Nuff said.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman?