Alessandro Manzetti - 150 Exquisite Horror Books: Essential Guide to the Best 150 Books of Contemporary Horror Fiction

Copyright 2021 Alessandro Manzetti

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Welcome to Crystal Lake PublishingTales from the Darkest Depths.

A (SHORT) INTRODUCTION

by Alessandro Manzetti

T he project to write a Guide to modern and contemporary horror literature dates back to 2014, and it took time to make it concrete in this volume, requiring many readings, studies and insights, and the support and continuous exchange of opinions from friends, authors, editors, critics, publishers and reviewers, some of whom are also among the contributors of this book.

This Guide selects works of horror, dark fantasy, weird and horror/thriller fiction, all originally published in English, from 1986 to 2020. I chose this period as 1986 marked a renewal in horror, followed by the coming of the early splatterpunk movement which brought to the fore new interpreters. These include Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Poppy Z. Brite, and many others who have profoundly changed the conceptual philosophy of dark and horror fiction. Furthermore, this period allows me to offer a particularly focused view on contemporary horror, covering books published in the last twenty years. Though, as you will see, the selection also touches on the late 80s and 90s.

Another aspect guiding this book and its selections is the definition of the genre itself. I have chosen to broaden this label as much as possible to includein addition to horror (and splatterpunk and hardcore/extreme horror)other variations and subgenres such as dark fantasy, weird and thriller/horror works, putting them together in a so-called dark fiction macro-genre. This variety of subgenres (and related influencing genres, notably SciFi) I think makes this guide interesting for different kinds of readers and fans, and does not exclude anyone.

In this Guide you will find a selection of 150 works of fiction, with a page dedicated to each book offering comments, my personal rating (using numerical marks expressed in hundredths) and the works Goodreads score current at the time of writing. I have examined novels, short stories and short story collections, excluding anthologies, nonfiction, single stories and poetry collections. These will be addressed separately with the help of some specific and dedicated contributions. To broaden the proposal as much as possible, I have decided not to select more than three works per single author, allowing you a better chance of discovering as many interpreters of horror/dark fiction as possible.

The order of the works is alphabetical by the original English title. The scores I have assigned to each book are intended to represent my opinion in terms of the general quality of the works (which reviews, overall: style, content and originality), bearing in mind of course that all the books included herein are recommended by me. But I think it is important also to note the differences. I have tried to be objectivenot putting into play my personal preferences or predilections in favour of particular subgenres or themesbut considering instead the whole spectrum of the dark fiction macro-genre offered on the market.

Since this guide is intended to be an essential resource for readers and fans of the genre, not too many words are needed. You can easily find essays which delve deeper into single authors works, genres, specific topics or themes. This Guide seeks to be something different, offering a new way of presenting horror and dark fiction for all readers, and not only for fans, field specialists and those working in the genre. I think we need to talk with a larger audience, allowing dark fiction to escape from the ghettos of its many small niches each with their own hidden pockets of readers. There are many potential fans out there who dont know enough to joins us, and we should try to involve them in a different, simpler way. To do that, we need first to light the fuse of their interest.

This short introduction must include a big thanks to the contributors who have enriched this volume, among them great authors, editors, essayists, critics and publishers who have each compiled their Top Ten different kinds of works (and some in-depth articles), offering readers accessible and user-friendly resources. Here are the contributors (in no particular order), among them many dear friends who supported this project: Lisa Morton, Ellen Datlow, Eric J. Guignard, Craig Spector, Steve Rasnic Tem, Edward Lee, S.T. Joshi, Brian Evenson, Stephen Jones, Richard Christian Matheson, David J. Schow, Ramsey Campbell, Kate Jonez, Linda D. Addison, Paula Guran, David Barnett (who sadly passed away during the print of the Italian edition of the book), Joe R. Lansdale, Owl Goingback, John Skipp, Jack Bantry, Mort Castle, Randy Chandler, Grady Hendrix, Angela Yuriko Smith, Dacre Stoker and Lucy Taylor.

So, no more talking: its time to discover the books Ive selected for you, penned by authors who are proposing truly innovative and exciting stories, projects and ideas, allowing us to travel into a thousand fascinating worlds.

Happy exploring!

A CHOIR OF ILL CHILDREN

Author: Tom Piccirilli

Publisher: Bantam

Year of Publication: 2003

Genre: Horror

Typology: Novel

Total Score: 86

Goodreads Score: 3,68

Tom Piccirilli is an American author with many works spanning various genres to his credit. He has been successful in writing both fiction and poetry. His novel, A Choir of Ill Children, in my opinion represents his best work in the horror genre, both for the maturity of its style and the originality of its concept. This book stands out for its lyrical, dream-like quality. The events, located near a swamp in the town of Kingdom Come, mix sex, violence, ancient mysteries and madness. Following the disappearance of his parents, the protagonist, Thomas, must take care of both the family business (a mill) and his three brothersSiamese twins who share the same brain while maintaining their own identities. But ancient horrors resurface from both the swamp and the past, presenting further tests for him under the burden of these challenges. Not a linear novel accessible to everyone, this work satisfies more complex palates.