I began this tradition last year, so I’m going to continue it. I continue to read something like 150 books per year, mostly older stuff–I rarely find myself reading stuff that’s literally published in the year in which I’m reading it–and I read broadly. While the books I encounter in a given year are idiosyncratic, I know what I like and because of the sheer breadth of my reading material I come across, I know what a great book is. Two of these (the two Stephen King Dark Tower books) were re-reads, while the rest were all new to me. One of them (Sabrina) was a graphic novel and the rest were all pure prose. Two of them (Wolf’s Hour and Knifepoint) were short story collections while all the rest were novels.
Here were the ten best books I read this past year in alphabetical order by title (and I will admit that forcing myself to limit the list to a strict ten–no honorable mentions here–it was painful):
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar: On the surface, this is a story about a young man, interested in becoming a horror writer, dealing with the rise of a serial killer in his hometown in Maryland. But it’s much more than that; it’s almost a work of meta-fiction, blending fiction and autobiography and true crime. In some ways, this intentional mixing and playing with fact and fiction is what the film Blair Witch Project did during its (highly successful) viral marketing campaign that confused some viewers, who wondered if what they were watching was a true story.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: A graphic novel that is based on/inspired by the Netflix television series. I enjoyed the show a lot (though it sometimes got more than a little silly, especially as the show went on), but this takes all the chilling elements from the show and dials them up to 11. This is about truly grotesque Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic witches and demons. Madame Satan, one of the antagonists, is especially creepy. Really good.
The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower 2) by Stephen King: I began my long-anticipated re-read of King’s Dark Tower series so that I could finally, once and for all, finish it, and was reminded of just how good King’s characterization is. You do need to read The Gunslinger first (see below) but this is a great story about people from our world being yanked out of their places and times to go on an epic quest that may well cost them their lives.
The Drums of Chaos by Richard L. Tierney: I had always heard of the “Simon of Gitta” stories, which combine Lovecraftian concepts with pulpy action, and are set in the ancient world in/around the time of Christ. This one is a novel using Simon (a sorcerer/ex-gladiator) and some other Tierney characters, including time traveler John Taggart (from Tierney’s The Winds of Zarr, which I haven’t yet read), and it’s set in the last couple weeks of Jesus’ life. Doctrinaire Christians would probably consider this one blasphemous beyond measure, but it’s a fascinating and highly entertaining story involving multiple factions of Lovecraftian entities, aliens, sorcerous cabals, time travelers, ancient alien artifacts, and many more elements in a similar vein.
Gollitok by Andrew Najberg: Post-nuclear war horror novel mostly set on a remote island in the Adriatic that was the site of a long-abandoned political prison. A group of bureaucrats and soldiers are sent to the island to investigate strange occurrences. They are, of course, very much in over their heads from the beginning. I would like to see more of this world.
The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1) by Stephen King: The one that started it all. I’ve now read (and own) both the original version and the updated one that brings it in line with some additional references developed after the first edition. King develops a really strong quasi-post-apocalyptic world that has “moved on.” Time is out of whack, human civilization has crumbled except for a final few outposts on the fringes of what had been civilization, and demons and strangeness abound. Still probably my overall favorite book of the entire series. If they had all been of the caliber of the first two Dark Tower books, this would have been a true masterpiece for the ages.
Knifepoint Horror: The Transcripts, Volume 1 by Soren Narnia: If you’ve listened to Narnia’s podcast, you already know how good these stories are, but if not you’re in for a treat. Most of these are stand-alone tales of creeping dread told in the first person. They’re really enjoyable because Narnia is a master of atmosphere and raw, understated detail. I found myself deeply unsettled by most of these stories.
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy: I had seen the film (which, as it turns out, is remarkably faithful to the book), but never read any of McCarthy’s work. His death inspired me to finally pick this one up and boy, am I glad I did. It’s a thriller/crime novel/lengthy chase sequence set in 1980 on the Texas border about a man who happens upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad and who foolishly takes a duffel bag filled with a couple million dollars in cash. The cartel involved sends out a killer/force of nature to apprehend him. It’s also got a layer of the story told by an aging sheriff who is witnessing his community change dramatically because of the drug war. Amazing writing. Don’t let the fact that it’s a little stylized with no quotation marks used. That will be weird for a couple pages and then it will work just fine.
The Still Place by Greg F. Gifune and Sandy DeLuca: I have been a big fan of Greg Gifune’s for many years, but this was my first reading of a Gifune-co-authored piece. It’s a wonderful story about a young woman artist who wins a fellowship in a rundown coastal New England town (think: Innsmouth) sponsored by an artist colony there. Things go badly, of course, but this is a wonderfully evocative story that resonated strongly with me (I know someone very much like the protagonist). Also, this is the first time I have ever read a description of the creation of visual art in a compelling way. Really strong writing here.
The Wolf’s Hour by Robert McCammon: Robert McCammon is a wonderful author whose back catalogue I am making my way through. As part of that, I read this collection, all stories about a man named Michael Gallatin who is recruited by a British intelligence organization to conduct sabotage and conduct other espionage actions against the Nazis during WWII. The conceit is that Gallatin is a werewolf. This is not just a series of non-stop action scenes with a werewolf slaughtering Nazis, which would have been fun but of limited enduring value, it is a genuinely tense series of great suspense stories.
Please let me know if you’ve read any of these or are inspired to pick any of them up.
Tales from the Bookworm's Lair 