Today I was going to review a film, but instead, I decided to take a different road. I usually stick to entertainment options on dvd or in the cinemas. However, this time I wanted to once again focus on horror literature. It is based on an experience that I had this weekend at the used book store. I was in the horror section and noticed that the #2 author in the horror section was Clive Barker. Barker has written a lot of horror novels, and noticed one in particular that was brand new and only 1.98. The book was called Weave World. The basic story, fromt he back of the book is: A man falls into a magic carpet and witnesses Horror's beyond his imagination.
This book was thick, and I had to get it. Clive Barker hasn't been getting as much screen time as Stephen King, but even Stephen King admitted that this book is a scary dreamscape that only Clive Barker could write. Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train and Hellraiser are film staples for us horror buffs, but now I'm going to find out what his literary prowess showcases.
I haven't started this one, but I recommend looking at Clive Barker for some horror literature.
The second book I want to talk about is something that I've been reading on my free time. I am reading 3 books right now, and this one is my horror pick at the moment. This book I found for 75 cents at my used book store and it is roughly 1,000 pages long. It's really interesting and so far I like how it flows. Stephen King has a nice way of making things sound really interesting throughout, even if the scary notions haven't hit just yet. He is setting up something and 100 pages through this thing and things are set up for some great things to come later on. Obviously Stephen King is the master, so I don't need to talk this one up too much.
The third book I wanted to mention in contrast to this site is The Prestige by Christopher Priest. The book won the World Fantasy Award and eventually got an adaptation to stellar reviews and award nominations. I loved the movie, but the book brings to life so much more. Even Nolan's adaptation doesn't serve the amount of tension and illustrative artwork in this book. Christopher Priest really puts you in the middle of this rivalry with such style and such stellar emotional connection. The book is similar to the movie, but your imagination brings the characters to a larger than live status. This book is not easily available at your local book store. You have to know where to look, and you have to get the paperback. The hard cover is a rare book that is roughly $500 if you get your paws on it. The paperback is located in the fantasy/science fiction section of your bookstore amidst Star Wars and Halo novels. You have to really search for this one, and when you see the cover, you can't really place the movie and the book in the same boat because it's just different.
Lastly, I'm reading this graphic novel series called Scalped. The best description of Scalped that I've heard was "It's like The sopranos on an Indian Reservation". It really is, and throw in some subplots lifted from The Departed. This book is an adult comic book series that is worth it's weight in gold. It works out so well, it's not really horror but boy is it scary. If this is based on any sort of reality for Indian sentiments it's a scary thing.
So why Horror books today? Why did I talk about reading instead of another film review?
I thought about the price of entertainment. 1 Horror book might be 20 hours to 40 hours of reading and imagination for yourself. 1 DVD is really just 90 minutes of entertainment and then you move on. Even if you own a dvd, if you don't watch it a lot you're not getting a whole lot of entertainment for your money. So today I wanted to give you guys a glimpse of how I'm extending my horror budget a little more. I use netflix, but between movies I'm reading a lot because I hate to be one of the sheep in America that doesn't read. The same sheep that made Wolverine #1 in the box office and elected Obama to presidency...then again McCain didn't offer a whole lot better ideas. Either way, I like to read, and hopefully you guys pick up a book in between movies.
Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment