SFBooks Top 5 Reads for Halloween

Here at SFBook we are very careful about the horror books we read, you won't find many on the site and there isn't even a seperate section for the genre (yet). We do however know when a good horror book comes along, as the festival of Samhain draws near what better way to celebrate than a really good book, or 5.

So here for your viewing pleasure is the non horror readers guide to the best horror novels for halloween:

The Top 5:

1. Pretty Little Dead Things by Gary McMahon.

Ok so I have only just read this novel but it's had an immediate impact and has even got ahead of my 2 previous favorite horror reads.

The novel tells the story of Thomas Usher, a fairly ordinary guy whose life is completely destroyed after a car crash kills his wife and child. Recovering in the hospital he begins to see the dead, who seem to try and get his attention to perform some deed, helping them pass to the other side. Thomas becomes the Usher to the dead.

When he is called to investigate the violent death of the daughter of a prominent local gangster, Usher's world is torn apart once more. For the barriers between this world and the next are not as immutable as once he believed.

2. Brian Lumleys Mythos Omnibus

I love the whole HP Lovecraft call of cthulhu mythos and Brian Lumley has taken this story and run with it, rather than helpless characters like many Cthulhu stories, Lumley's characters find themselves in increasingly large scale encounters with the Cthulhu's minions. While strictly speaking there is more than one novel here, the omnibus represents great value and to be honest much easier to get hold of than trying to find the books individually.

This omnibus edition includes "The Burrowers Beneath", "The Transition of Titus Crow" and "The Clock of Dreams". Titus Crow and Henri de Marigny are the crusaders in the cause of universal sanity against the evil, brooding forces of the Cthulhu Mythos and defy the demons of unknown space.

3. Angel of Death by J Robert King

J Robert King's novel Angel of Death is a very powerful novel, dealing intrinsically with life and death and the ugly side of murder. Seen through the eyes of a serial killer it's both emotive and somewhat disturbing.

The Angel of Death for Chicago overseas a an area that stretches from lake county Indiana to Milwaukee, a vast sprawl of a metropolis. His task is to ensure that each person's death matches their lives as closely as possible.

Most natural deaths fulfil this requirement however many murders do not, as such the Angel of Death finds himself following the serial killers very closely and guiding their hands in the murders.

4. Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist

What's this I hear you say (no not you) a Raymond E Feist novel in a horror book list, what gives?

Way back in 1988, Feist actually wrote an urban horror novel that is completely stand alone and not in any way connected to his monumental Riftwar series.

Phil Hastings was a lucky man-he had money, a growing reputation as a screenwriter, a happy, loving family with three kids, and he'd just moved into the house of his dreams in rural of magic-and about to be altered irrevocably by a magic more real than any he dared imagine. For with the Magic came the Bad Thing, and the Faerie, and then the cool. . .and the resurrection of a primordial war with a forgotten people-a war that not only the Hastings but the whole human race could lose.

5. The Green Mile by Stephen King

Love him or loath him there is no getting around the fact that Stephen King is one of the most sucessful authors on the planet. Many of his stories have been made made into films, he has sold more than 500 million books and recieved many awards including 9 Bram Stoker awards, 5 Locus awards, 5 British Fantasy awards, 1 Hugo, 4 World Fantasy awards and many more...

Not being a big horror reader, I have read very few of his 50+ books, although The Green Mile does happen to be one I have read, and loved the film too (Mr Jingles is great).

The Green Mile was originally released in 6 parts but later combined into one novel, it's a much quieter book than many of Stephen Kings but it's also a lot tighter and has less rambling. It's also quite harmless as far as horror goes but nevertheless a great read.

So there we have it, my choice for the best reads over Halloween, many will disapprove, and some may just shake their head but if you want to comment, or even provide your own top 5 you will always find me tweeting away like a twit on twitter, here.