Authors For Halloween - Rising Stars (483 hits)
Category: GeneralLabels: Article
Rating: 1.77 on 14 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by kaos-king (antius777) (View user info) at 2006-10-21 04:10:28 EDT
As Halloween approaches, many of us looking for a good scare reach for beloved novels of terror and horror to bring us closer to the season. How many times have we creased the spines of our favorite Stephen King book or gone back to be mesmerized by the words of Poe. We often find ourselves drawn to the bizarre short tales of Lovecraft and lose hours in the pages of a Barker masterpiece.
However, as this autumn grows to its peak, here at the time of nature's dying, let us explore a number of other authors who have given their all to the genre. These 10 rising stars in the field of Horror Literature are drawing acclaim for their dark prose, unique characters and original plots. Some have been quietly lurking in the background for years while others have burst new onto the scene, ready to leave their bloody mark.
In no particular order...
1 - KIM NEWMAN - Although born in London in 1959, Newman grew up in the country village of Aller, Somerset. Obsessed with Hammer Horror Films and the popular TV show "Dr. Who," he had written his first novel by the age of 15. He studied English at the University of Sussex and shortly after, returned to London in 1980.
Newman became a successful film critic and reviewer all the while selling many short stories to magazines in England and abroad. In 1985, he and Neil Gaiman published "Ghastly Beyond Belief: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of Quotations." That same year he wrote "Nightmare Movies: A Critical History of the Horror Film since 1968." He followed these with the novels "The Night Mayor" and "Bad Dreams."
In 1992, Newman released "Anno-Dracula." A speculative horror tale set in the end of 19th century England, it dealt with a struggling cast system rising up between humans and vampires. Not only writing about many social issues of that day, Newman gathered an impressive cast of characters from that period; real and from literature alike. (Vlad Tepes, the new Queen Consort, has imprisoned Sherlock Holmes on a hunch from Mina Harker. Jack The Ripper slays vampire women in Whitechappel while Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Moreau have combined forces.) His sequel, "The Bloody Red Baron" brings the characters into W.W.I and places Dracula as a Kaiser General, leading mutated vampires into the skies.
2 - EDWARD LEE - Born in 1957, Lee started out a career in the military. He was in the Army, then the United States Security Agency but left to become a police officer in Maryland. After a short stint as a college student, he decided to try his hand at writing. Over the next 20 years, Lee would bounce around the country from Maryland to Seattle to Florida.
He has published over 15 gruesome novels and had short stories published in a myriad of publications and anthologies. His latest so-called "pulp masterpiece," the novel entitled "Monstrosity" deals with a young woman who has been discharged from the military and now is the night watch at a clinic which may hold some deadly secrets. His "Etheress" series deals with a young woman, a mythic incarnate, who travels to Mephistopolis, the neverending City Of Hell. There she must use her abilities to navigate through the denizens of the realm to discover her destiny.
3 - JEFF LONG - Although born in Texas, Long has lived all through out the southern United States. He is a veteran mountain climber who has scaled Everest and Makalu several times as well as lead expeditions into Tibet. In 1977, he served three months in a Nepalese jail on smuggling charges. That experience led to articles about the CIA/Tibetan guerrilla movement and the 1990 democratic revolution in Nepal. He has also served as an elections supervisor for Bosnia in 1996 for their first democratic election.
When not climbing some of the most treacherous mountains in the world, Long can be found writing expansive horror novels from his home in Bolder, Colorado. "The Descent" dealt with the mythical Satan and his Infernal Realm coming to a stark reality as explorers in the near future discover a race of deep underground humanoids. His most recent book, "Year Zero" tackled the concept of the end of the world brought about by an ancient plague accidentally released. The few remaining scientists of Earth gather to find a cure, one that they believe can be obtained by cloning a unique DNA sequence - that of Jesus of Nazareth.
4 - DAVID MORRELL - A Canadian writer born in 1943, Morrell has lead a prestigious career and championed author's creative rights. He received his Ph.D. at Penn State in American Literature and has written over 28 books, including his first novel, the highly influential "First Blood," better known to movie-goer's as "Rambo I."
His 1979 book "The Totem" has made many lists of top horror novels, despite having no super natural elements to it. In fact, Morrell rarely succumbs to to the unknowns of mysticism in his work. In 2004, he stepped out and offered a collection of twilight zone-esque short stories in his anthology "Night Scape."
5 - THOMAS LIGOTTI - An enigma in the literary field, there are some who even doubt his existence. Although he has given sparse information on his background, it is believed he attended Wayne State University in the late 1970's and worked as an assistant editor at The Gale Group. He has published with various magazines and small presses, his quiet influence growing.
A master of short stories, Ligotti is known for his nihilism and atmospheric work. He often employes subtle word choices and repetitive phrasing in his stories to create a greater unease. "The Nightmare Factory" in 1984 and "Songs Of A Dead Dreamer" in 1989 are considered two of his most outstanding collections.
6 - BENTLEY LITTLE - Born in Arizona in 1960, Little went to school at CSU where he gained both a BA in communications and an MA in english. His master's thesis went on to become his first published work in 1990. "The Revelation" gained him that year's Bram Stoker Award. Untrusting of the media, he prefers to let his work stand for itself and be taken as the quality horror literature it is.
Willing to take a tale down its natural path, then drag it kicking and screaming miles further, Little has attracted fans of the most blatant and organic horror. In "The Store," he conjures up a conglomerate so large that its employees and patrons alike must pay a deadly price for the glorious goods inside. Mixing the deserts of Rio Verde and a vampire-like creature from China, his novel "The Summoning" takes the reader through a horrific tale of small town redemption.
7 - RAMSEY CAMPBELL - Born in Liverpool, England in 1946, Campbell is considered one of the greatest living "unknown" horror authors today. Heavily influenced in his early years by H.P. Lovecraft, he even had the chance to work along side August Derleth at the original Arkham House Press, creating the first batch of British Cthulhian Mythos. Ramsey eventually found his own voice and has created some of the most chilling horror of the last 50 years.
Campbell has won four World Fantasy Awards, ten British Fantasy Awards, three Bram Stoker Awards, and the Horror Writers' Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. While "The Face That Must Die" is a brutal psychological thriller, his collection "Scared Stiff" weaves tales of sex and death intricately together.
8 - DOUGLAS CLEGG - Clegg was born in 1958 in Virginia, but spent most of his youth in Hawaii. He has been a junior high English teacher, a publishing editor and worked in broadcast news. Since 1989 he's written and published more than 20 novels and penned near 45 short stories. He has won the International Horror Guild Award and The Shocker Award.
Clegg can shift his writing from subtle and almost archaic to fast-paced and modern. He has played around with just about every concept traditional to horror, usually throwing multiple ideas in together. A unsolved murder in a school for special children, secrets and strangers and dreams of blood; this is only part of "The Afterlife." A village goes mad when nightmares turn to flesh, all leaking from the evil in a house called Harrow in the book "The Abandoned."
9 - KEALAN PATRICK BURKE - Born in Ireland in 1976, Burke made the move to America a scant few days before 9/11. He sought to discover his dream of being a writer and in 2002, sold his first tale. Since then, he has written multiple novel, edited a number of anthologies and won the Bram Stoker Award.
In "The Hides" Burke conjures up a tale of childhood fears becoming all too real as the dead visit the living and a young boy must travel into another realm, one where terror is waiting. Once again the imagined horrors of youth are brought to life in the novella "The Turtle Boy" where disfigurement, acceptance and the supernatural are all twisted into one remarkable story.
10 - F. PAUL WILSON - Born and raised in New Jersey, Wilson has written over 30 novels in the genres of Sci-Fi, Horror and Thriller. He is most famous for his "RepairMan Jack" series and has received numerous literary awards. Multiple projects of his have been turned into films and he continues to dabble in all forms of media.
While "Legacies" is the latest in his RepairMan Jack series, a daring thriller about children with AIDS, Wilson's book "Midnight Mass" is something entirely different. While the Undead take control of America, an unlikely alliance of warriors and the devoted come together to fight back.
User Reviews
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2006-10-22 09:35:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i LOVE horror.
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2006-10-21 20:25:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice post idea. Very timely. They look scary.
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-10-21 16:14:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
oh boy
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-10-21 12:17:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hey kk...
An overlooked master of the grotesque is Rex Miller.
He created a character named Chaingang who appears in books like Slob, Savant and Butcher. This stuff is not high art, but it packs a punch and the main character is not easily forgotten.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-10-21 11:13:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-10-21 09:54:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-10-21 08:48:13 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-10-21 08:34:07 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-10-21 05:05:16 (#)
Ranking: 2
I REFUSE TO READ
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2006-10-21 09:42:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good idea.
Submitted by whiskey_jack (user info) at 2006-10-21 09:29:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I've had them all and not one can give decent head.
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-10-21 08:48:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-10-21 08:34:07 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-10-21 05:05:16 (#)
Ranking: 2
I REFUSE TO READ
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-10-21 08:34:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-10-21 05:05:16 (#)
Ranking: 2
I REFUSE TO READ
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2006-10-21 05:05:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I REFUSE TO READ
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-10-21 04:39:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I see Chroniclysm has been having a bit of the drinky-poo again...
I'm too poor to go to the bar this week. This makes me incredibly sad. Well, Ameretto Sours are the drink of the month at my bar, and that's kinda, um... gay. I didn't really care for the Gin & Tonics last month, but I'll be damned if I didn't drink a shit ton at $2 a glass. The night they were giving out free shots of SoCo Lime was a good night. I love SoCo, probably more than Scotch. Not as much as I love Vodka, however...
... wait, what were we talking about?
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2006-10-21 04:31:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I love Lumley's Necroscope series. A very different way to portray vampires. Gah, when those things have sex.............ewwwww!
Naw, only kidding. If I want a scary thing to read, I grab Cosmo. Gezum Crow! They (the editors & writers) must think women are insane or stupid or both.
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-10-21 04:25:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How many times shall you post during this dead time?
Seeding? Not like seeding in a tournament; more like burying seeds of perception to the voters.
Should I compete? Maybe a cleverly crafted alter over the weekend will equal the betting grounds.
Or maybe I'll just beat you..
omg just kidding please keep righting....
Obscure Heh.
Heh.
YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Yeaheaaaaaaaaaaaa.
YAYA...HAYA.
Hey....yo,,,hey. What's up?