Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Horror Novels (Updated – 2022)

On October 25, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Horror, List5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. In this latest edition of Top Ten Tuesday, readers get a Halloween Freebie, meaning that they can list whatever topic they want, although a horror or Halloween theme is encouraged. So, with that in mind, I thought I would take this opportunity to update a previous list where I highlighted my favourite horror novels of all time.

Back in 2020 for Halloween, I came up with a list where I looked at my top ten favourite horror novels. While horror is not my favourite genre, I ended up producing a rather interesting list with some unique entries that I was pretty happy with. This list got a bit of interest, and I decided I would make a bit of effort to come back to update this list every Halloween, especially if I had some new horror novels to add to it. I did an update last year with several awesome novels, and I have decided to come back to it again in 2022, especially as I have had the opportunity to check out some excellent and intense horror reads.

To sort out this update, I took a critical look at the previous version of the list and made some hard decisions about whether any of the horror novels I read in the last year might fit in better. I ended up making a few changes, with new entries replacing some of the existing books (all new entries in red). While I was sad to see some of the previously featured novels removed, I honestly felt that the new entries are better horror novels. This resulted in a fun new version of this list, and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Honourable Mentions:

Later by Stephen King

Amazon Book Depository

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

Sandman Act 1 Cover

I had to include the audiobook version of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman here, as it has some great horror elements to it. While more of a fantasy/comic story than a pure horror comic, The Sandman did have some amazing horror sequences in it, which are really enhanced in the full-cast audiobook. The Sandman features several great horror scenes, but the most disturbing would have to be the infamous diner scene. Contained within the sixth chapter/issues, 24 Hours, this epic extended sequence shows a group of customers in a diner slowly driven insane and then brutally killed by the villainous Doctor Destiny using Dream’s stolen ruby. This entire chapter is masterfully portrayed and you cannot help but shudder at every atrocity the innocent patrons experience during the worst 24 hours of their lives. This trippy diner sequence was recently adapted in the recent The Sandman television series, and while that was good, especially with David Thewlis playing Doctor Destiny, I felt that the version in the comics was even darker and creepier. This, and a several other dark scenes, ensure The Sandman an honourable mention on this list and this comic and its audiobook adaptation are highly recommended for all horror fans.

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A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

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Death of the Black Widow by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

Death of the Black Widow Cover

Another entry that is not a full horror book, but which features amazing horror elements is the recent novel by James Patterson and J. D. Barker, Death of the Black Widow. Following a young cop who becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman he encounters on his first day on the job, Death of Black Widow is a twisty and intriguing read that takes the protagonist on a dangerous journey to the edge of sanity. Initially portrayed as a compelling thriller story, this book eventually develops some excellent horror elements, which led me to include it as an honourable mention. Extremely addictive, I loved this thriller/horror blend and I look forward to reading more books from this excellent team of writers.

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Top Ten List (unranked):

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

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Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

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The Dark by Jeremy Robinson

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Warhammer 40,000: The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill

The Bookkeeper's Skull Cover

One of the more recent horror books I had the pleasure of reading was The Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin D. Hill. Part of the intriguing Warhammer Horror subseries, The Bookkeeper’s Skull is a haunting and brilliant tale that makes full use of the grim Warhammer 40,000 setting. The book follows a planetary enforcer as he investigates a mysterious and cursed agricultural community plagued by a series of gruesome murders. Hill creates a spooky and malevolent atmosphere, and you are constantly left wondering who is going to end up dead next. Tightly paced and featuring some brilliantly dark examinations of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, The Bookkeeper’s Skull was an amazing read and I look forward to exploring more Warhammer Horror books in the future.

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The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

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Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

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World War Z by Max Brooks

World War Z Cover 2

After years of hearing how awesome it was, I finally got around to enjoying the iconic zombie novel, World War Z by Max Brooks. One of the more unique zombie books out there, World War Z recounts the history a devastating, world-wide zombie apocalypse and the various people it impacts. Told through a brilliant chronicle method where multiple interesting characters recount their distinctive personal stories, you get an impressive, multifaceted narrative that covers the beginning, middle and end of the zombie wars. Epic in its scope and filled with some great stories and characters, it honestly does not take long to get extremely addicted to World War Z. While the focus is more on exploring the impacts a zombie apocalypse would have on the world, World War Z does have some pretty creepy moment. The darker tales of underwater zombies, massacres of modern armies, and the mental turmoil suffered by zombie survivors, are excellent horror material that makes this an easy book to include here. An epic and outstanding book that lived up to all the hype surrounding it.

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Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

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Devolution by Max Brooks

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Ink by Jonathan Maberry

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That’s the end of this latest Top Ten Tuesday list. I think that the new horror novels were great additions to the list, and I think this new version of the list turned out really well. Each of the above novels, both new inclusions and existing ones, are outstanding reads that come highly recommended to all horror fans. I look forward to seeing how this list evolves once again this time next year, especially as I am sure some amazing and spinetingling horror books are likely to come out in the next 12 months.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Horror Novels (Updated – 2021)

On October 27, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Horror, List7 Comments

Last year for Halloween I did a list where I looked at my top ten favourite horror novels. While horror is not my favourite genre, I ended up producing a rather interesting list with some unique entries that I was pretty happy with. I decided last year that I would come back and update this list every Halloween, especially if I had some new horror novels to add to it. Well, in the last year, I had the opportunity to check out some excellent and intense horror reads, and I intend to try and find out if they can fit into my list.

To sort out this update, I took a critical look at the previous version of the list and made some hard decisions about whether any of the horror novels I read in the last year might fit in better. I ended up making some changes to list, with new entries replacing some of the existing books. While I was sad to see some of the previously featured novels removed, I honestly felt that the new entries are better horror novels. This resulted in a fun new version of this list, and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Honourable Mentions:

Nights of the Living Dead edited by George A. Romero and Jonathan Maberry

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

An interesting read from earlier this year that got a lot of attention, The Final Girl Support Group focused on a group of final girls from alternate versions of classic slasher films who are targeted by a brand-new killer. While this book is more of a thriller than a horror read, it serves as a clever homage to the slasher genre, and fans of horror fiction will love it’s compelling and reference laden story.

Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw

Awakened by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth

Top Ten List (unranked):

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

The Dark by Jeremy Robinson

I had to add this brilliant and compelling horror/science fiction read onto this list. The Dark is the latest novel from author Jeremy Robinson that focuses on an apparent demonic invasion of Earth. Filled with gore, monsters and body mutations, The Dark gets pretty gruesome and scary in places, which blends perfectly with the intense action and Robinson’s quirky humour. An outstanding read, this fantastic horror novel comes highly recommended.

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Later by Stephen King

Earlier this year I had the chance to read the latest novel from the modern master of horror fiction, the great Stephen King, the utterly compelling Later, which focuses on a young boy who can talk to the recently deceased. While Later is primarily a character-driven story about a complicated youth’s life, it can get pretty scary in places, especially once the protagonist encounters true evil. A deeply compelling read with some interesting connections to one of King’s most iconic horror novels, this is an excellent and unique book that is worth reading.

Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

Devolution by Max Brooks

Ink by Jonathan Maberry

I have already featured several great books from Jonathan Maberry on this list, but there was no way I could exclude one of his latest horror reads, Ink. While most of the other Maberry novels with horror elements focus either on zombies or Lovecraftian monsters, Ink features a particularly horrendous tale of a depraved being who steals a person’s tattoos and the precious memories associated with them. Set in one of Maberry’s most iconic settings, Ink had a very disturbing narrative, and I deeply appreciated this unique and book that the author came up with.

A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

That’s the end of this latest Top Ten Tuesday list. I think that the new horror novels were great additions to the list, and I like how this latest version turned out. Each of the above novels, both new inclusions and existing ones, are outstanding reads that come highly recommended to all horror fans. I look forward to seeing how this list evolves once again this time next year, especially as there are some awesome sounding horror novels, such as Road of Bones by Christopher Golden and Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes, set for release in the next few months.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books for a Holiday Road trip

On December 8, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants have a Holiday/Seasonal Freebie, meaning that we can do whatever topic we want, preferably with a seasonable twist to it. Well, down here in Australia, summer has just rocked up and this usually means long drives to family homes for Christmas or to some magnificent stretch of beach for a well-deserved break. While I myself do not have any upcoming travel planned, this topic did get me thinking about trips and I had the idea to try and help those people with upcoming road trips, or any form of extended travel, choose an audiobook to keep you and any potential passengers entertained.

People familiar with my blog will know that I am a big fan of audiobooks; in many ways, they are some of the best way to enjoy a book from a talented author. However, not all good audiobooks make for great entertainment on a road trip. With that in mind, I have scrolled through some of my favourite audiobooks to find the ones I think would be the best for anyone taking a long trip. To make this list, the audiobooks I chose had to not only be amazing novels but also had to have an excellent narration and the ability to keep a driver or passengers’ attention on a long trip. While I know that some people are going to be experiencing particularly long trips in the coming weeks, I tried to feature audiobooks with shorter runtimes so that those who are taking shorter excursions (say a roundtrip of eight or nine hours) can get through an entire book without trying to make time at home to finish it off. That being said a few longer novels did end up making the cut, but all of these are great for longer trips. I also tried to avoid any novels that would require a great deal of prior knowledge or hard-to-obtain background information so that everyone in the car could enjoy the book without any need for explanation or lectures from those people more familiar with the series. To that end, I have tried to avoid any novels that are later entries in a series or which require some form of assumed knowledge about a franchise. While I have included a couple of tie-in novels, I tried to use those books that require only a smidge of familiarity with their respective franchise to enjoy, and I am confident anyone can easily enjoy any book I ended up featuring.

While I did have quite a few criteria to meet, I was eventually able to come up with a good list for this topic, including several honourable mentions. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out and I have personally really enjoyed each of the below audiobooks. I honestly believe that all of them would make for a great listen during an extended bit of travel or a road trip and each of them comes highly recommended.

Honourable Mentions:

The Black Hawks, written by David Wragg and narrated by Colin Mace – 12 hours and 9 minutes

Those in a mood for an exciting time of their road trip could do worse than check out this excellent and entertaining debut from last year, The Black Hawks by David Wragg. The Black Hawks is a great read that takes several compelling characters on an action-packed adventure across a dangerous landscape. Filled with betrayal, battle and clever twists, listeners will be well entertained with is book.

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope, written by Una McCormack and narrated by Robert Petkoff – 11 hours and 40 minutes

While there are several cool Star Trek novels that could make for great road-trip listening, I would personally suggest this fantastic tie-in to the recent Picard television show. Serving as an introduction to the darker Star Trek world Picard encounters in his new television series, there is a lot to love about this book and it is well worth checking out.

Star Wars: Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston and narrated by Ashley Eckstein – 7 hours and 4 minutes

After recent developments in the phenomenon that is The Mandalorian, one of the Star Wars audiobooks I would strongly recommend is Star Wars: Ahsoka. The Ahsoka audiobook helps to expand on the character and presents listeners with a compelling and personal adventure. Narrated by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka in the animated television series, this is a fantastic and timely audiobook to check out on the road this holiday.

Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, written by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham, and narrated by Kristen Bell – 8 hours and 43 minutes

Speaking of audiobooks that feature iconic characters being voiced by their actors, listeners will have an awesome time with this Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line. Written by series creator Rob Thomas and narrated by Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, this is an outstanding tie-in to the clever television show that also contains a compelling crime fiction story and people will be able to quickly power through this on the way to their destination.

Top Ten List (maybe add listening times):

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion – 8 hours and 21 minutes

The first entry on this top ten list is The Salvage Crew, a very clever and intense science fiction novel that is guaranteed to keep everyone entertained on your trip. Featuring the silky voice of the one and only Nathan Fillion, you will find yourself entranced with this audiobook, especially as the author backs up the awesome narration with a top-notch science fiction adventure story.

Race the Sands, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Emily Ellet – 15 hours and 45 minutes

Those readers with a particularly long drive in their future and who are in the mood for an excellent standalone fantasy novel would do well to check out Race the Sands by the always impressive Sarah Beth Durst. Race the Sands is an extremely exciting and compelling novel that features great characters, political intrigue and clever worldbuilding, all set around people racing monsters in the desert. This is a very easy book to listen to and the miles will fly away as you listen to Race the Sands. Just don’t let the race scenes inspire you too much on the road; I don’t want to be responsible for you getting a speeding ticket!

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton – 7 hours and 41 minutes

If you want to laugh your way through an entire road trip you should definitely check out Redshirts by acclaimed science fiction author John Scalzi. Redshirts is a very entertaining parody of Star Trek and is essentially one big sendup of all the tropes, bad writing and over-the-top characters The Original Series is known for. Despite being a parody, Scalzi comes up with an incredibly clever story that gets extremely meta in places, while also introducing the listener to some very interesting characters who you become surprisingly attached to. Top that off with the narration of Wil Wheaton (who else would you want narrating a Star Trek parody), and you have yourself an exceptionally fun audiobook to listen to. My wife and I recently listened to this on a road trip ourselves and we were absolutely cracking up the entire time, and this comes highly recommended as a result.

The Holdout, written by Graham Moore and narrated by Abby Craden – 10 hours and 15 minutes

Those drivers who would prefer a crime fiction novel should think about checking out The Holdout by Graham Moore. The Holdout is a standalone crime fiction novel that follows an infamous jury who found a notorious murderer not guilty and who must now find out who killed one of their members years later at a reunion. This is an extremely captivating book that features an amazing split-timeline narrative, showing the original trial and the murder investigation set in the present. This is a great novel and listeners will be on the edge of their seat for the entire trip.

Legend, written by David Gemell and narrated by Sean Barrett – 13 hours and 13 minutes

Now if I had a particularly lengthy road-trip on the horizon one of the books I know I would be loading up Legend by David Gemell. While this might not be too practical for shorter trips, I would gladly do a trip twice if it meant I could finish this epic book in one go. Featuring an extended and desperate siege, Legend is one of the better fantasy novels I have had the pleasure of listening to and it does not take long for readers to get utterly enthralled with its impressive and thrilling story.

Star Wars: Scoundrels, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson – 13 hours and 57 minutes

While there are a number of awesome Star Wars tie-in novels I could have included on this list, I decided in the end to go with Star Wars: Scoundrels. Scoundrels is an exceptional novel from one of the top authors of Star Wars fiction in the world today, Timothy Zahn. This is an excellent book that features fan favourite characters Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando engaging in an elaborate heist with a team of rogues and thieves. This is a perfect read for a longer car trip, and it is filled with several fantastic characters engaged in some good-old fashioned thievery in the middle of the Star Wars universe. Requiring very little knowledge about the Star Wars extended universe, this audiobook can be enjoyed by anyone even vaguely familiar with the series and is really worth a listen to.

Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden and narrated by Suzi Dougherty – 7 hours and 20 minutes

Those looking for a new series to get obsessed about should use any upcoming road trips as an opportunity to try out the first book in the acclaimed Tomorrow series, Tomorrow, When the war Began. Essentially Australia’s answer to Red Dawn, this book follows a group of teenagers as they try to survive a sudden invasion of Australia by a foreign power. This is one of my absolute favourite series of all times and is probably some of the best Australian young adult fiction ever written. It is extremely easy to power through these audiobooks in a short amount of timer and they would be among some of my first choices if I had a long trip planned.

Any Discworld novel, by Terry Pratchett

I am kind of cheating by including an entire series here, but I could honestly listen to any of these books again and would not hesitate to recommend the entire Discworld series to anyone in the mood for a book that is wacky, clever, compelling and wildly entertaining. Practically any of these books would make for excellent entertainment during a car ride and I find it hard to believe that anyone would be bored while listening to them. While I love each of these books, I would probably recommend either Moving Pictures or Guards! Guards! (both with a runtime of 10 hours and 8 minutes) as they are great entry points to the series for new readers. An incredibly series to get into, you will not regret listening to them these holidays.

Planetside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray – 8 hours and 38 minutes

Another great read with a shorter runtime is Planetside by Michael Mammay. Planetside is an incredible novel and it is probably one of my favourite debut novels of all time. Mammay packs an intense and addictive story into this shorter audiobook, and listeners are treated to an outstanding and clever science fiction mystery novel, which sees an old veteran attempt to find a missing soldier on an occupied alien planet and instead uncovers a massive conspiracy. Listeners are guaranteed to be transfixed from start to epic finish with Planetside and it would be an exceptional novel to listen to while on a long drive.

The Anomaly, written by Michael Rutger and narrated by Brandon Williams – 9 hours and 41 minutes

For the final entry on my list, I have included The Anomaly by Michael Rutger. The Anomaly is a great horror novel that follows the makers of a web series as they explore an ancient cave in the Grand Canyon, only to find it filled with ancient terrors. This is a great novel for those who are in the mood for a scary book to listen to on their way home and readers will really love this amazing audiobook. I was particularly impressed with the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere that this audiobook produced and horror buffs will have an amazing time listening to this. That being said, maybe turn it off if you have to drive at night.

Well that’s my latest Top Ten Tuesday list. I think it turned out extremely well, and if you have some upcoming travel planned (or even just some time to kill in lockdown), you would do well to try any of the above books. Let me know which of the featured novels you enjoyed the most, as well as what audiobooks you would recommend for a car trip in the comments below and makes sure you drive safe these holidays.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Horror Novels

On October 27, 2020August 30, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Horror, List14 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. In this latest edition of Top Ten Tuesday, readers get a Halloween Freebie, meaning that they can list whatever topic they want, although a horror or Halloween theme is encouraged. So, in the spirit of the holiday, I decided to attempt to list my favourite horror novels of all time.

Now, before I start this list I do have to admit that horror is really not my favourite genre of fiction. While I do not actively avoid horror novels or movies, I really do not go out of my way to read/watch them and my knowledge and appreciation of the genre might be a little lacking as a result. However, over the years I have had the opportunity to read several great horror books that I quite enjoyed and I have featured my absolute favourites in the list below.

It did take me a little while to come up with this list, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Be warned that the books on this list, while all technically horror books, do match my literary preferences, so you are going to see a few unusual entries, such as horror hybrid novels or horror novels with unusual topics. I did cheat a little by including several novels by Jonathan Maberry, including four books from his Joe Ledger series, but each of these entries is really awesome and makes exceptional use of their associated horror elements. There is also a bit of a reliance on zombie fiction throughout the entries on this list, although I think this reflects the current fascination with zombie movies and television shows rather than my specific preferences. The end result is a very “me” list of horror novels, but I think that each of the ten novels below, as well as the entries in my honourable mentions section, are really good horror novels and each of them come highly recommended in their own right.

Honourable Mentions:

Goosebumps/Ghosts of Fear Street novels by R. L. Stine

I can’t do a list of my favourite horror novels without mentioning some of the first horror books I ever read. Like a lot of people, I grew up on the awesome stories of R. L. Stine. My parents bought my brother and me a ton of Goosebumps novels, as well as some of his Ghosts of Fear Street books. I have a lot of fond memories of these books and I found most of them to be fairly scary when I was younger. I am not sure how much these books would stand up if I read them now as an adult, but several awesome entries do still stick in my mind after all these years including the Goosebumps books Night of the Living Dummy (love me some Slappy), Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, A Shocker on Shock Street and Deep Trouble, as well as the Ghosts of Fear Street novels Why I’m Not Afraid of Ghosts and Halloween Bugs Me! Definitely a fun horror series for younger readers, I look forward to eventually getting my future kids onto these books.

Nights of the Living Dead edited by George A. Romero and Jonathan Maberry

Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker

Awakened by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth

Top Ten List:

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

I think it says a lot about my horror choices that the first book on my list is about killer mermaids. Into the Drowning Deep is exceptional book that actually turns a mermaid attack into a pretty terrifying experience. Grant did an amazing job of this book and Into the Drowning Deep comes very highly recommended.

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

The first of the Joe Ledger novels I mentioned above, Patient Zero, is an awesome book that features an elite counterterrorist unit as they attempt to stop terrorists spreading a deadly zombie virus across America. I have a lot of love for the thriller aspects of Patient Zero, however, the highlights of this book are the gruesome and terrifying zombie sequences, which sees the protagonists get overwhelmed by hordes of the infected. This results in a number of impressive horror scenes, and I had to include this book on my list as a result.

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

The Anomaly is an excellent horror novel from 2018 which follows an unfortunate film crew after they get trapped in a series of ancient caves and are forced to face the terrible horrors waiting for them inside. There are a lot of amazing elements to this book, but I personally appreciated the intense and claustrophobic atmosphere that Rutger was able to produce, especially as most of the novel takes place in the dark.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

This is another impressive entry in the Joe Ledger series that sees the protagonists once again go up against the zombie virus they encountered in Patient Zero. Maberry does an exceptional job resurrecting this horror element in this book, and it is one of my favourite Joe Ledger novels as a result. Readers can expect another series of terrifying zombie attack sequences in Code Zero, especially as Maberry works in a few intriguing new twists to keep the reader’s undivided attention.

Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

I am a rather big fan of Star Wars fiction, but I had never been scared while reading a Star Wars novel until I came across Death Troopers. Death Troopers is part of the Star Wars Legends canon and features an Imperial prison ship, which of course contains Han and Chewie, encountering an abandoned Star Destroyer filled with a zombified crew. Watching a bunch of Star Wars characters attempt to escape from zombies is really cool, and Schreiber comes up with a number of gruesome scenes that will definitely stick in your mind. Also, if you really want to get a fright out of this book, make sure to check out the audiobook version of Death Troopers, as the various sound effects they include are extremely disturbing.

Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry

For this Joe Ledger novel, Maberry switches it up a little and features a Lovecraftian horror storyline, with the protagonist getting a glimpse into other dimensions filled with all manner of dark creatures (including of course some zombies from another Maberry horror series). This proved to be an intriguing change of pace, and I quite enjoyed seeing this new horror story unfold.

Devolution by Max Brooks

Devolution is an awesome and fun horror novel from earlier this year. World War Z author Max Brooks expertly makes use of a whole new horror monster when he explores the fate of an isolated community who are attacked by a tribe of sasquatches. Brooks really turns these creatures into a frightening and deadly force of nature, and readers are in for an exciting and well-written tale of survival and brutality.

Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry

The final Joe Ledger novel on this list is actually the first novel from Jonathan Maberry that I ever read. Deep Silence is an excellent book that sees the author return to the Lovecraftian horror vibes he utilised in Kill Switch. The Lovecraftian scenes in Deep Silence are really distinctive and scary and help to make an excellent horror novel, especially when the protagonist also has to deal with a horde of civilians driven into a murderous rage by the visions they encounter.

Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw

Dreadful Company is an interesting addition to this list that follows the adventures of a human doctor who provides specialised medical care to horror creature in order to keep them healthy. While this book is not as scary as some of the others in this list, it does contain an excellent story that references a number of iconic horror novels. This ends up being a really good read, and I think a lot of horror fans will appreciate Shaw’s take on the genre.

A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

The final entry in this list is A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal. A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising is an awesome and fascinating book that examines the potential rise of vampires as the dominant species in the world through a series of different perspectives. This book features a number of clever and captivating storylines, and I really enjoyed this fun twist on the classic vampire tale.

Well that’s the end of this horror themed Top Ten Tuesday. I am fairly happy with how this list turned out and I really enjoyed each of the scary entries above. I had a lot of fun coming up with this list, and it turns out that I have actually read a number of great horror books over the years. I might revisit this list next Halloween, although I think that will depend on how many horror novels I read in the next 12 months. I have got a couple of upcoming horror novels on my radar at the moment, including Ink by Jonathan Maberry and Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, and it will be interesting to see how they turn out. Until then, everyone have a safe and spooky Halloween and make sure to let me know what your favourite horror novels are in the comments below.

Waiting on Wednesday – The Possession by Michael Rutger

On February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 By The Unseen LibraryIn Horror, Thriller, Waiting on WednesdayLeave a comment

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.

The Possession Cover.jpg

In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday I will be look at The Possession by Michael Rutger, the sequel to one of the creepiest books I read last year, The Anomaly. Michael Rutger is an acclaimed author of horror and thrillers, having written a number of great novels over the years under a number of different names. The Anomaly was a particularly amazing book that placed a team of amateur myth hunters inside a genuine and over-the-top ancient mystery and a real-life conspiracy which they were forced to unravel in order to survive. In the second book, the team will face an entirely new challenge.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Still recovering from the shocking revelations they uncovered deep in uncharted territory in the Grand Canyon, American myth and legend investigator Nolan Moore and his team take on a new mission, investigating a rumoured case of witchcraft and possession.

Nolan hopes their new case, in a quaint village in the middle of the woods, will prove much more like those he and his team investigated prior to their trip to Kincaid’s cavern.

But as the residents accounts of strange phenomena add up, Nolan and company begin to suspect something all too real and dangerous may be at play. A force that may not be willing to let them escape the village unscathed.

The new story sounds like a whole lot of fun, as the team once again finds themselves with a genuine anomaly. I really enjoyed the science fiction based horror story that featured in The Anomaly, and I am intrigued by the potential fantasy element to this story, as the synopsis makes it sound like they are encountering either demons or witches. If Rutger continues to follow the pattern established in The Anomaly, this book will feature some historical investigation as Nolan and his production team of side characters attempt to find the source of the mysterious events.

In the first book of this series, Rutger showed off his ability to craft a disturbing and memorable piece of horror, especially through his utilisation of the claustrophobic darkness that surrounded his characters in a cave. It will be interesting to see what in The Possession will inspire Rutger’s horror element, but I am sure it will be amazing. After falling in love with several of the characters from the first book, I am almost a little afraid to check The Possession out, as the chance of all of them surviving seems a little low.

The Possession by Michael Rutger has the potential to be a wildly thrilling piece of horror fiction, and I am very excited to see how the author creates another dark and chilling story. I am very tempted to check out this book’s audiobook format, especially if they get Brandon Williams to narrate it, as he did a superb job with The Anomaly, and his narration really helped to enhance the horror elements, especially the powerful lack of light around the characters. The Possession is very high up on my list of 2019 reads, and I am very much looking forward to listening to another excellent horror read.

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

On October 27, 2018August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller6 Comments

The Anomaly Cover

Publishers: Zaffre

Hachette Audio

Publication Date – 12 June 2018

Amazon Book Depository

Prepare to have your fear of the dark reignited in this suspenseful and creative new novel from one of the best horror/thriller writers in the business, which takes the reader on one hell of an adventure.

The world is full of many secrets, cover-ups and mysteries, all of which have been hidden from the public by the academic elite. At least, that’s what Nolan Moore would have you believe. Nolan is an amateur archaeologist and former screenwriter whose web series, The Anomaly Files, attempts to uncover weird things from history. Derided by the experts, The Anomaly Files has a devoted following of conspiracy theorists which Nolan hopes to turn into a television deal, and his latest episode might just be the break that he needs.

Following clues left by an explorer in 1909, Nolan and his production team travel to the Grand Canyon, hoping to find a hidden cave that may contain evidence of an ancient civilisation unrecorded in history. For once, Nolan appears to be right, as the team manage to find the opening to a cave high up in a remote part of the canyon. Exploring, they find a cave system filled with mysterious items and artefacts unlike anything ever discovered in this area before. Their elation at this unique archaeological breakthrough is quickly quashed when they find themselves trapped within the cave, cut off from the outside world.

As their lights start to fade and their supplies begin to dwindle, Nolan and the team hold out hope for a rescue. However, it soon becomes clear that something is very wrong. Something alive is entombed with them and there is far more to this cave than they could have ever imagined. As the team try to survive an increasingly desperate situation, Nolan must uncover the secrets of the structure they find themselves trapped in before they all die in darkness.

Michael Rutger is actually a pseudonym for bestselling author Michael Marshall, who has also written as Michael Marshall Smith. Rutger has been writing since 1994 and is known for his intriguing science fiction novels, which often have a strong horror/thriller element to them. The author is probably best known for his creepy 2002 release The Straw Men, which spawned two sequels, but his bibliography is littered with a number of other powerful and terrifying novels. Fans of Rutger’s previous work will no doubt enjoy the quick reference to The Straw Men contained within The Anomaly, and it will be interesting to see if Rutger goes back to that series in the future. I chose to listen to The Anomaly on audiobook. The audiobook is narrated by Brandon Williams, and, at just under 10 hours in length, it doesn’t take too long to get to the heart of this great story.

One of the most enjoyable things about The Anomaly is the tense atmosphere that Rutger instils with his skilled writing and terrifying creative elements. The reader really gets a sense of the desperation and despair slowly creeping up on the characters as the story progresses, even if they attempt to keep a brave face with each other. With a limited and dwindling number of lights being held by the characters, Rutger is able to create quite a few opportunities for his protagonists to be forced to crawl around in the dark in this hostile environment. The oppressive darkness takes a real shape during the book and at times has a near physical sense to it as the characters deal with it in different ways. I felt that the story contained a well-balanced combination of action, exploration, archaeological and scientific exposition, despair-filled periods of rest, several gruesome and traumatic scenes and a surprising amount of humour from the characters. However, even as the characters crack jokes at each other, you can feel the darkness surrounding them and you are constantly wondering what is going to happen next.

Special mention needs to go to Rutger’s creation of The Anomaly Files webcast show that was a major feature of the book’s early plot and the main plot reason that this group of characters are in this situation. The author spends significant time describing the creation and filming process behind this show, and it’s intriguing how similar it sounds to some real-life conspiracy theory shows or broadcasts. This accurate portrayal of a web show adds a lot of realism to the story, especially as it becomes clear that the characters are in over their heads and are different from the usual group of leading experts or military types you’d usually find in this type of novel.

I am not going to go into too much detail about the mystery of the cave as I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Trying to figure out what exactly is behind the events affecting the protagonists is a big part of the experience, and too many details could potentially ruin the book’s impact. Suffice to say, this central mystery is a very unique and creative idea from Rutger that is made up of a variety of different elements. It was very intriguing to see the full extent of this central idea be revealed to the protagonists as the story progresses and readers will be astounded by what Rutger has come up with. This mystery is made up of an interesting mixture of aspects from a number of different genres, and the author combines them together into one very intriguing conclusion with some massive implications. I really enjoyed this exploration into the weird, and some of the things that harassed the protagonists as a result of the central mystery element worked very well with the tense nature of the story.

One of the defining features of The Anomaly is the strong focus on the characters entering the cave. The readers grow to really care for these characters, and quite a lot of time is spent exploring their past and showing them as people who don’t deserve to be trapped in this terrible situation. Most of the book’s focus is on the protagonist and narrator Nolan Moore, who is the cynical host of The Anomaly Files. Nolan is a great central protagonist to have tell this story, as he is an observant character who has witty and at times piercing insights into his fellow characters while also providing the reader with his detailed examinations of the locations around him. Despite coming off as a bit arrogant at the start of the book, the character’s brutal honesty about himself, as well as the exploration of certain parts of his past, does a lot to humanise him to the reader and make him into a character you can really care about. This humanisation is furthered by his attempts to save his team and the extreme guilt that he feels for having brought his team into this place.

While Nolan is a great central character, Rutger also spends a significant amount of time focusing on the side characters, who in some ways are just as important as Nolan to the book’s overall story. My absolute favourite of these characters had to be The Anomaly Files British producer, Ken, who spends the entire time quipping, swearing and generally making the most sarcastic comments he can, no matter how dire the situation gets. Most of the book’s humour comes from Ken’s dialogue, as he makes it clear he’ll be joking and insulting the world right up till his death. While this sort of character seems an odd choice for a thriller/horror novel, I felt his sarcastic attitude and comments fit the tense tone perfectly as he encapsulates a lot of feelings a normal person would have in that situation. Ken is also one of those characters you can’t help but love and who you really, really hope will survive all the terrible stuff happening around them.

Molly the assistant producer and Pierre the cameraman also get a significant amount of focus in the book and are really good side characters. Molly goes from being the most calm and collected character at the start of the book to the person most affected by the darkness and atmosphere of the cave. Watching her try and work through her issues is quite inspiring, and there is even a descent exploration of the root of these deeper issues. Not much of Pierre’s backstory is shown; however, the reader gets a good sense of his character throughout the book, and Nolan’s changing opinion and growing admiration for him mirrors the reader’s thoughts on him. Other main characters include the ambitious reporter, Gemma, and Feather, the new age hippy who acts as a representative of the show’s sponsor. Both of these characters get some decent exploration in the book, as well as some great scenes that make them stand out in their own ways.

I really enjoyed the audiobook version of The Anomaly. I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in finding out more about this compelling story. I felt that having this book read out to me helped expand on the story’s tension and dark atmosphere, and it was a fantastic way to enjoy this amazing story. Brandon Williams’s narration of the audiobook is excellent, and his voices for the characters are a highlight of this format. Williams does a great job capturing the book’s point-of-view character, Nolan, very well, and the audience gets a real sense of the character’s cynical nature and inner thoughts through the terrific narration. I absolutely loved the voice that Williams created for Ken, as he gives the character a very distinctive English accent that fits Ken’s sarcastic personality perfectly. The accent is just wonderful and actually reminded me a lot of Matt Ryan’s voice for John Constantine in some of the modern television shows, especially when he swears (‘bollocks’, for example, is used multiple times). The rest of the voices that Williams creates work well for the other characters and allow the readers to distinguish between them, although the less said about the ‘South African’ accent for minor character Dylan, the better.

With a powerfully intense atmosphere, The Anomaly is an exceptional horror/thriller from bestselling author Michael Rutger. This is an amazing book, and readers will have a lot of fun trying to unravel the book’s central mystery, while desperately hoping their favourite characters survive this chilling adventure. Addictive and terrifying in equal measures, this is an outstanding book that comes highly recommended for anyone looking for a weird, thrilling or horror based read.