by MJ McPherson
Are you lacking in books to read this autumn? Or just looking to add some horror to your reading list? Look no further! As a self-proclaimed horror nerd, I’ve read way too many horror novels. Here are a few I would recommend:
The Only Good Indians — Stephen Graham Jones
Synopsis; ‘The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way!’
The title ‘The Only Good Indians’ might catch a person off guard at first if they do not know Jones’ work, a Blackfoot author who wrote many very popular Indigenous horror novels. I chose this one as it is, in my opinion, a better blend of modern Indigenous life and spirituality than other works like The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (which is also very good). I’d give this book a solid 3.5-4.5/5. While I love his work, I think some points in the writing bored me with the more ‘stream of consciousness’ style Jones has.
And Then She Fell — Alicia Elliott
Synopsis; ‘A mind-bending, razor-sharp look at motherhood and mental health that follows a young Indigenous woman who discovers the picture-perfect life she always hoped for may have horrifying consequences. […]’
More of a thriller than a horror, but the elements of being haunted made it a priority to put on my list. Elliott does a good job framing how it is to be an Indigenous woman in a predominantly white community, how subtle day to day racism goes unchecked and how it impacts natives from a young age. I gave this book a 4.5/5, I didn’t have critiques but it was a harder read for me and I had to walk away from it for a week due to how close to home it hit.
Mister B. Gone — Clive Barker
Synopsis; ‘in which a medieval devil speaks directly to the reader, claims to be a never-before-published demonic memoir penned in the year 1438. The sole copy was, so the story goes, created by the inventor of the printing press, Johannes Gutenberg himself. But this historic piece of writing immediately vanished without a trace. [..]’
Barker is by far my favourite horror author, and author in general. This book is a lot different than many of the books I’ve read, as the main character is talking directly to the reader (though I do admit this book may be a skip if you have extreme paranoia, especially due to the lines about how ‘reading the book will haunt you’). However, Barker has a specific form of prose in which the grotesque bits flow neatly within the humorous parts of the plot line, rather than many other books, which simply have grotesqueness for the sake of shock value. Alongside this, Barker, as a gay author, seamlessly adds in queerness to his characters in a way that feels intrinsic rather than just a fun character trait. I give this a 5/5.
Grim Root — Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
Synopsis; ‘On the set of The Groom, a group of women must compete for the heart of Midwestern bachelor Tristan by spending a week in a haunted house. Divorcee Linda, resigned to her role as the show’s underdog, finds her resolve cracking when she begins to fall for fellow castmate Charity. Meanwhile, Sabrina, groomed by her witchy mother to deliver their family from poverty by marrying a rich man, sees winning the competition as her predestined path. […]’
I found this book very funny. It is technically a horror book, but it’s one of the ones I’d recommend for people who prefer ‘light horror’ instead of something more intense. The setting of a dating/reality show is one I don’t think I’ve ever seen before in this genre. And while I liked it, I only rated it a 3.5/5 as I’m personally not a huge horror comedy mix enjoyer.
Manhunt — Gretchen Felker-Martin
Synopsis; ‘Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast, hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they’ll never face the same fate. […]’
Falker-Martin’s work is rather raunchy and grotesque at times, but that makes this book all the better. As it’s written by a transgender woman about transgender women in an apocalyptic setting, it handles the horrors of dysphoria, mental issues, and the actual horrors outside. It’s, again, raunchy in my opinion, but it’s well written and a fun read (so much so that it was almost adapted into a tv series by one of the Wachowski sisters). All in all I give it a 4.5/5; some of the book made me squirm, but that’s what horror is for.
Happy reading, and as always check the content warnings!