MobileRead October 2011 Book Club Nominations

[sun surfer]

I'll nominate three books and see if anything sticks:


The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James

I can't find a good short description of it (maybe someone else can) but it's about a governess who takes care of two children and begins to think that the house may be haunted by sinister spirits that could do them all harm.


The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The classic supernatural thriller by an author who helped define the genre. First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers-and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.


Ghost Story by Peter Straub

"The terror just mounts and mounts." - Stephen King

"The scariest book I've ever read....It crawls under your skin and into your dreams." - Chicago Sun Times


"In life, not every sin goes unpunished."

For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past -- and get away with murder.

Peter Straub's classic bestseller is a work of "superb horror" (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time -- and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.

[Ron.]

I'll second Ghost story, been meaning to read that...

[issybird]

Second Turn of the Screw.

[lila55]

I third "Turn of the Screw".

Also I would like to nominate "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin.

My second nomination ist "Psycho" by Robert Bloch.

[Boreads]

I'll third Ghost Story.

[vavapne]

I second 'Sven the zombie slayer' by Guy James.

[John F]

I'll second The Monstrumologist.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Storm Front is an error. It's not a horror story.

Originally Posted by dreams

I found the book listed at the below sites under a mostly Fantasy Genre....So, it appears that Storm Front is not a Horror choice.

I'll wait for the Grand Muckity-Muck to chime in on this.

Publishers Weekly speaks of "the strangest characters and creatures—including gentleman gangster Johnny Marconi, his henchmen, a sexy female werewolf and Bob, the British-accented talking skull." Wikipedia speaks of one character "grappling with monster-sized scorpions." The book may indeed be a "mostly Fantasy Genre", but I think the werewolves, monsters, talking skulls, and supernatural elements more than qualify it for acceptance into this month's horror genre, so I will allow it. Members will have the final say with their votes.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I'll nominate three books and see if anything sticks:

...Ghost Story by Peter Straub....

Originally Posted by Ron.

I'll second Ghost story, been meaning to read that...

Originally Posted by Boreads

I'll third Ghost Story.

This doesn't appear to be available as an ebook.

[BenG]

I'll second The Haunting of Hill House.

[John F]

I'll third Storm Front.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I couldn't wait. Just finished reading The Island of Dr. Moreau. Awesome. H.G. Wells has quickly become my favourite old-school author.

I'll probably read one of the other selections nominated to boot. I'm still saving my two other nominations although there's a couple I might second.

Plus several million for letting the voters decide. Categorization is difficult for many things and many things don't fit in one box. Let the nominators and voters choose if the book is worthy for the category at hand.

[BenG]

This is as much alternate history as horror but I want to nominate Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. The book tells us what might have happened if the heroes of Bram Stoker's Dracula had failed and the Count had succeeded in relocating to England. It would be a fun read especially since Dracula was a previous book club selection.

http://inkmesh.com/ebooks/anno-dracu...s=anno+dracula

Here's the link for Amazon since it isn't listed on Inkmesh

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ie=UTF8&lc=as2

Amazon.com Review
As Nina Auerbach writes in the New York Times, " Stephen King assumes we hate vampires; Anne Rice makes it safe to love them, because they hate themselves. Kim Newman suspects that most of us live with them . . . . Anno Dracula is the definitive account of that post-modern species, the self-obsessed undead."
In this first of what looks to be an excellent series, Victorian England has vampires at every level of society, especially the higher ones, and they engage in incessant intrigue, power games, and casual oppression of the weak--activities, as we know, that are all too human. Numerous characters from literature and from history appear in both major and cameo roles. Spectacular fight scenes, stormy politics, and a serial vampire killer keep the action lively. A scholarly bibliography is included.
From Publishers Weekly
Queen Victoria consorts with Count Dracula in this ingenious historical romp peopled by historic characters.

Some more blurbs (no real spoilers, it's just long):

Spoiler:

"Kim Newman's Anno Dracula is back in print, and we must celebrate. It was the first mash-up of literature, history and vampires, and now, in a world in which vampires are everywhere, it's still the best, and its bite is just as sharp. Compulsory reading, commentary, and mindgame: glorious." - Neil Gaiman

"Politics, horror, and romance are woven together in this brilliantly imagined and realized novel. Newman's prose is a delight, his attention to detail is spellbinding." - Time Out

“Stephen King assumes we hate vampires; Anne Rice makes it safe to love them, because they hate themselves. Kim Newman suspects that most of us live with them… Anno Dracula is the definitive account of that post-modern species, the self-obsessed undead.” - New York Times

“Anno Dracula will leave you breathless... one of the most creative novels of the year.” - Seattle Times

“Powerful... compelling entertainment... a fiendishly clever banquet of dark treats.” - San Francisco Chronicle

'A ripping yarn, an adventure romp of the best blood, and a satisfying… read' - Washington Post Book World

"The most comprehensive, brilliant, dazzlingly audacious vampire novel to date. 'Ultimate' seems an apt description... Anno Dracula is at once playful, horrific, intelligent, and revelatory." - Locus

"A marvelous marriage of political satire, melodramatic intrigue, gothic horror, and alternative history. Not to be missed." - The Independent

"Anno Dracula is the smart, hip Year Zero of the vampire genre's ongoing revolution." - Paul McAuley

"Kim Newman brings Dracula back home in the granddaddy of all vampire adventures. Anno Dracula couldn't be more fun if Bram ...
Product Description
"Kim Newman's Anno Dracula is back in print, and we must celebrate. It was the first mash-up of literature, history and vampires, and now, in a world in which vampires are everywhere, it's still the best, and its bite is just as sharp. Compulsory reading, commentary, and mindgame: glorious." - Neil Gaiman

"Politics, horror, and romance are woven together in this brilliantly imagined and realized novel. Newman's prose is a delight, his attention to detail is spellbinding." - Time Out

“Stephen King assumes we hate vampires; Anne Rice makes it safe to love them, because they hate themselves. Kim Newman suspects that most of us live with them… Anno Dracula is the definitive account of that post-modern species, the self-obsessed undead.” - New York Times

“Anno Dracula will leave you breathless... one of the most creative novels of the year.” - Seattle Times

“Powerful... compelling entertainment... a fiendishly clever banquet of dark treats.” - San Francisco Chronicle

'A ripping yarn, an adventure romp of the best blood, and a satisfying… read' - Washington Post Book World

"The most comprehensive, brilliant, dazzlingly audacious vampire novel to date. 'Ultimate' seems an apt description... Anno Dracula is at once playful, horrific, intelligent, and revelatory." - Locus

"A marvelous marriage of political satire, melodramatic intrigue, gothic horror, and alternative history. Not to be missed." - The Independent

"Once you start reading this Victorian-era thriller, you will not be satiated until you reach the end." - Ain't It Cool

"Anno Dracula is the smart, hip Year Zero of the vampire genre's ongoing revolution." - Paul McAuley

"Kim Newman brings Dracula back home in the granddaddy of all vampire adventures. Anno Dracula couldn't be more fun if Bram Stoker had scripted it for Hammer. It's a beautifully constructed Gothic epic that knocks almost every other vampire novel out for the count." - Christopher Fowler

"The most interesting take on the Dracula story... to date. Recommending this one to all those that love Dracula and historical fiction!" - RexRobotReviews

[BenG]

And as you can see from my signature I'm reading the sequel. Unfortunately, I had to buy a used paperback. I also want to read the third sequel Dracula Cha Cha Cha which moves the story to 1959.
But the original is a self-contained novel so the sequels aren't necessary to the story.

[Condillac]

I'll second Psycho.

I'm not sure if it fits but I would like to nominate "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole.

Plot Summary (Wikipedia)

Spoiler:

The Castle of Otranto tells the story of Manfred, lord of the castle, and his family. The book begins on the wedding-day of his sickly son Conrad and princess Isabella. Shortly before the wedding, however, Conrad is crushed to death by a gigantic helmet that falls on him from above. This inexplicable event is particularly ominous in light of an ancient prophecy "That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it." Manfred, terrified that Conrad's death signals the beginning of the end for his line, resolves to avert destruction by marrying Isabella himself while divorcing his current wife Hippolita, who he feels has failed to bear him a proper heir. However, as Manfred attempts to marry Isabella, she escapes to a church with the aid of a peasant named Theodore where Manfred cannot touch her. Manfred orders Theodore's death while talking to the Friar Jerome, who ensured Isabella's safety in the church. When Theodore removes his shirt to be killed, Jerome recognizes a marking below his shoulder and identifies Theodore as his own son. Jerome begs for his son's life, but Manfred says that Jerome must either give up the princess or his son's life. They are interrupted by a trumpet and the entrance of knights from another kingdom who want to deliver Isabella. This leads the knights and Manfred to race to find Isabella first. Theodore, having been locked in a tower by Manfred, is freed by Manfred's daughter Matilda. He races to the underground church and finds Isabella. He hides her in a cave and blocks it to protect her from Manfred and ends up fighting one of the mysterious knights. Theodore badly wounds the knight, who turns out to be Isabella's father, Frederic. With that, they all go up to the castle to work things out. Frederic falls in love with Matilda and he and Manfred begin to make a deal about marrying each other's daughters. Manfred, suspecting that Isabella is meeting Theodore in a tryst in the church, takes a knife into the church, where in fact, Matilda is meeting Theodore. Thinking his own daughter is Isabella, he stabs her. Theodore is then revealed to be the true prince of Otranto and Matilda dies, leaving Manfred to repent. Theodore becomes king and eventually marries Isabella because she is the only one who can understand his true sorrow.

Amazon Review

Spoiler:

Manfred is an usurpator who wants to consolidate his reign over Otranto. So he tries to marry his weak son to Isabella, heir to a more legitimate prince. But there is an old prophecy which warns against such moves, and the day of the wedding a gigantic iron helmet falls over Manfred's son's head. Then, a creepy -mostly funnily creepy- tale develops. But the plot, though wild and entertaining, is the least important thing about this 1764's novel.

The really attractive, entertaining and literarily important thing is the creation of stereotypes: the foul weather; an ancient, dark castle full of closed halls, secret passages, corridors and doors; frightening apparitions; wicked tyrants desperate for fertile women; virtuous and pure ladies; heroic lads; dark and cold forests where ghosts appear, etc. Walpole, who seems to have been an interesting man, must have had enormous fun writing this tone-setting book, which has had plenty of children in literature. When I read it I kept imagining the scenes, the settings and the weather, and it was great to imagine it come alive. Literarily imperfect, it is fun to read and to discover where many of the commonplaces in Gothic literature come from. Well worth it.