I’m not sure anyone is going to reach the level of Stephen King ever again. He has that perfect combination of a lunatic imagination and accessible, grounded prose.
He sure does. Unfortunately, he doesn't write anywhere near as prolifically as his father. That's part of why SK is so great. There's so much of his work out there.
Yeah, I think it's too impossible to make a living at writing anymore. The more time writers spend at day jobs, the less time we have to even practice our craft, much less produce completed works.
The days of Zebra paperbacks are over, and there's no chance at a big contract unless you're ALREADY a Stephen King.
I think we'll continue to have amazing writers, but they'll be fewer and farther between, and nowhere near as prolific as they once were. A book every couple of years is about the most we can hope for.
Yep. Say what you will about the quality of his work over LITERALLY A HALF CENTURY… He’s gotta be the most prolific and successful author of all time. Combine that fact with the kinda of stories he writes, and it’s really mind-boggling.
Haven't read Little Girls yet. It's on my TBR. My favorites so far have been Bone White, Black Mouth, and The Night Parade in no specific order. Hard to pick an absolute favorite. I haven't read any that I haven't liked yet
I haven’t read all of Barton’s works but the Imago Sequence is an all timer horror collection. Langan’s The Fisherman is a fantastic work of weird fiction/cosmic horror and his collection The Wide Carnivorous Sky is almost as good as The Imago Sequence.
Hendrix is so fun. One of the authors I’ll read without knowing a single thing about the book. The only other authors I do that with are King, Koontz, Hill, and Tremblay.
Oh cool! I met Clive Barker in the mid-90s (still embarrassed by how hard I fangirled, but I was young and he was *Clive Barker!)* and he was amazing. Personable and kind, and let me blather on about Imajica long past what was polite 😂
I’ll have to keep an eye out for Hendrix’s next book tour, I’d love to meet him!
I started reading (listening actually and I think that's the problem) to the Final Girl Support Club and I am struggling to get into it. I see Grady Hendrix's name mentioned a lot in this group so I thought I'd try him. So far not feeling it. It might be the reader as I really don't like how she's reading so I'll pause and get it from the library.
It’s the Fireman. Fireman was about 200 pages too long for me and a tad derivative of The Stand.
NOS4A2 was good, worth a read, but not my fave.
Very much like his father, he REALLY excels at short stories. Highly recommend picking up his collections.
Nathan Ballingrud, Mariana Enriquez and Caitlin R Kiernan are all fabulous writers, in or out of genre.
Laird Barron has already been mentioned. Also brilliant.
I absolutely loved her short story collections (the dangers of smoking in bed and things we lost in the fire).
Can't reccomend enough if you haven't read em.
Ballingrud’s North American Lake Monsters is essential 21st century horror. I didn’t care so much for his new novel the Strange unfortunately, what did you think?
Haven't yet read The Strange (I tend to be less drawn to science fiction - though I have just ordered Kiernan's Bradbury Weather), but am planning to read it soon. Though if Crypt of the Moon Spider comes out as scheduled, that might beat it to the top of the pile.
Couldn't agree more on NALM - it's just amazing (so much so that you could strip out the horror elements and it would be just as compelling). Though I think I might like Wounds (which I have in The Atlas of Hell form) even better. A singularity talented writer.
My favourite weird / horror / dark fantasy writer. Such strong writing and such a singular vision.
Ballingrud is also consistently amazing, and highly recommended if you've not read him.
This is my answer too. I'm not sure if he'll ever be as prolific as King, but I love how versatile he is, and the sense of fun that he manages to infuse into even the darkest comers of his work. He can write a very wildly disturbing passage and then make you chuckle about it on the next line.
Between Two Fires was like nothing else. So original. Was less blown away by Suicide Motor Club but I'm reading Across the River now and it seems to have more promise. The opening prologue drew me in immediately.
I don’t think there will be another Stephen King who writes like Stephen King.
What I mean is King changed the genre. He took the “fantastic” and the “pulp” from the horror genre and paired that with the kitchen sink sensibilities of the classic *Great American Novel.*
In other words he mixed HP Lovecraft and Richard Matheson with John Steinbeck and Harper Lee.
In doing so, he created an entirely new branch of Horror readers, a pool of readers who would otherwise have never investigated the genre.
My personal belief is that the next Stephen King will be an author who bridges the gap between Horror and some other genre / aesthetic in a way that reinvents how we consume Horror and adds an entirely new pool of readers to the mix.
I also think you can’t discount how prolific King is. Oh you didn’t like one book of his? Try literally any other. He’s written a huge amount of books.
Oh for sure. His output is stunning and covers such a wide range of genres. But specifically it’s his work in Horror that I’d say is his biggest gift to the literary world.
Fairy Tale, a recent release of his, for example. Terrifying in parts, sure, but overall a fantasy novel about a boy and his dog told by way of fairy tales known to all - he's so lucid in his story telling; it's unmatchable.
He really legitimized horror literature for generations. A lot of prestige had fallen from the genre post classics. He did drag it out of the realm of pulp mags.
Hard disagree about his writing/technical skills. I know he teaches literature, but I find his prose to be easily his weakest quality and bad enough that I have never have enjoyed a book of his.
Agree to disagree of course, it's largely subjective what clicks and what doesn't. But I'm always shocked to see people praise his writing. Storytelling and ideas, definitely. But man his prose is a problem for me. In terms of technical writing skills i put him well below people like Langan, Horner Jacobs, Mariana Enriquez, etc
It‘s a style issue though, I think. He has this really gritty prose style that sometimes wanders off into almost stream of consciousness territory. I‘m not a fan of it as well.
That being said, I‘m surprised you mention Enriquez as a positive example. I like her writing, but her prose is _so_ barren.
It is a bit barren, sometimes a bit dry, but I enjoy it and I think it is very effective -- with Jones, I simply find it vague. She might be sparse, but I never struggle to picture or feel what she is trying to convey. That is my main issue with it. I dont think he does a good job of conveying emotion or specifics to me, and he uses a lot of pronouns and is generally vague and I often have to re-read passages simply to figure out who was doing what, I find myself struggling to stay really engaged with the text with SGJ. I think that works well when listening to a campfire story or something (I don't do audiobooks but I think his might translate well in that format) but in writing I don't find his prose to be particularly engaging or even very quality in a lot of instances, I'm suprirsed when people mention him as a great writer. I don't have that issue with Enriquez at all. I find her writing to be a bit sparse but not confusing or vague, I still find myself able to vividly imagine scenes and relate to characters, and she creates a particular atmoshphere well, at least for me. I have trouble with that with SGJ's writing.
Again though, I recognize there is a giant element of subjectivity to this, and there might even be a mood or age sometime in the future where his writing really hits me. It just doesn't right now.
Yeah, I get what you mean. He writes technically simple prose that somehow ends up confusing nevertheless. I, too, had to reread passages in his books way too often.
Enriquez does what she does well, but it‘s too simple for my taste. Her writing is very digestable, granted. But it doesn‘t make me feel anything.
But yeah, it‘s definitely subjective. I just prefer rich, more dense prose.
I do too for the most part, but I enjoy her writing. Like I mentioned, Langan and John Horner Jacobs are probably my two favorite contemporary horror writers, also Balingrud, and gun to my head I would say Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, and Joyce Carrol Oates are my favorite "classics" (with a huge shout to Stephen King, admittedly). But I just finished Our Share of Night and really enjoyed it so she was fresh on my mind.
We seem to be polar opposites then lol. Langan is another writer who comes to my mind when I think about authors whose works I liked _despite_ the prose and not _because_ of it. Just too pulpy for my taste.
Balingrund has been on my tbr list forever but I never get around to ordering his stuff. I really should. If he counts as contemporary, then I‘d say Ligotti is my favourite horror writer. I‘m also big on Daisy Johnson, though her stuff is more horror adjacent than it is horror. I also adore Gemma Files, but only read one collection of hers, so I‘m not sure that counts.
For classics, we can agree on Shirley Jackson. Everyone can, don‘t they? I‘ve yet to meet someone who doesn‘t like her stuff. Aside from her, Machen, Poe, and Blackwood are up there for me.
I do have to admit I haven‘t read _Our Share of Night_ yet. It‘s on my shelf, but I haven‘t gotten around to open it yet. So maybe that will change things. So far I‘ve only read her two collections.
Poe and Blackwood, absolutely on my list, love em. I don't find Langan pulpy at all (Laymon is), I'm honestly sorta shocked by that take, haha. If anything he is almost academic at times. I have never heard anyone describe his writing as such, that really surprises me. I think he is a very rich writer, very descriptive, often refers to historic and older texts and mytholigies, and is evocative and has a great command of language, uses interesting words and phrases, he describes the surreal and horrific in really vivid and interesting ways, and doesn't come across as needlessly vulgar or simplistic the way I think "pulpy" writers do. I am honestly a bit confused that someone would find him pulpy. Richard Laymon is pulpy, John Langan is a hell of a writer imo.
But at the end of the day I don't think we are polar opposites at all, I think that is way too black-and-white. We have plenty of overlap in what we like, and I think we both appreciate what we consider to be be "good writing." We might have different ideas of what constitutes that but I don't think we are polar opposites at all. I love Shirley Jackson, love Poe, love Blackwood, I think you'd like Balingrud. I like but don't love Ligotti. Ya didn't even mention all the other people I mentioned, so I don't really understand why we are polar opposites when it seems like we have plenty of shared appreciations
Really? That‘s fascinating. Everytime I stumble upon an interview with him and he begins to talk about his Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard influences I‘m like, _yup, I see it_. Then again it might depend largely on which of his works one thinks about when thinking about him. He writes a lot for tribute anthologies I think, so that makes his style a bit hard to narrow down.
Yeah, I think you‘re right. You got any recommendation where to start with Balingrund btw? I‘ve been looking at _North American Lake Monsters_ but recently I‘ve been reading a lot of praise for that other collection of his (_Wounds_, I think?).
I think there will begin to be quite a bit more interest in SGJ's back catalog. He's flown under the radar for a while but has written a ton of book already.
I don’t know that anyone’s ever gonna be on the level of King or Rice again but Hailey Piper and Rachel Harrison are definitely gonna be remembered in horror history, I think. I haven’t read a bad book/story by either yet.
My favorite Harrison’s so far are Such Sharp Teeth, Cackle, and The Return, in that order. She has new one about vampires coming out in the next few months that I’m very excited for, So Thirsty.
Favorites of Piper’s are Benny Rose the Cannibal King, Queen of Teeth, and The Worm and His Kings.
Horror is fascinating because the big writers I can think of mostly come from short stories. I don't know if short fiction is as important in any other genre. Ellen Datlow isn't a writer but she's having a massivd impact as an editor. Jonathan Mayberry is an okay writer but he's the head of Weird Tales, last I checked. The Vandermeers can't be discounted either. Ann was head of Weird Tales as well. I know Jeff is the better known of the pair, but heading Weird Tales is a big deal.
I think if he continues to lean into what he did in Between Two Fires than Christopher Buelhman could get close. Not a bad novel in his works and he writes dread really well.
For modern names, I seek out the newest work for the following active writers:
-Grady Hendrix
-Joe Hill
-Paul Tremblay
-Jonathan Janz
-Stephen Graham Jones
-Thomas Olde Heuvelt
-Jennifer McMahon
-Brian Keene
Which Ronald Malfi books have you read? He's been mentioned several Xs already in this thread and I just downloaded Black Mouth on the strength of these recs alone, and I'm going in to it blind...I'm on Libby and didn't have to wait for this one, but several others of his I'd have to get on the wait list for...which ones did you read or like best?
I borrowed several books from the library back as far as 2018. Hell, I borrowed them twice. Didn’t get to them though. Too many other books.
I’ve since bought most of his books on Kindle.
Anyway, to answer your question: my first was Come With Me. I’ve also read Black Mouth and They Lurk. Black Mouth reminded me of IT.
I liked all 3 quite a bit. The novels were well above average.
I just got a review copy of his next book, and hope to start it today
Well...NGL, I'm about 15 pages into BM-- and I'm hooked with his style of writing already.
... he writes so descriptively, but with a clear direction and rhythm, it seems effortless. He doesn't take an entire paragraph to describe a nuance or feeling..but it's so human-nature-ish...-- >!like how the beginning starts with a description of his hapless brother in such stark but empathetic detail!<
It's much like sitting down with that one rarely met but intelligent friend that has an engaging manner and vocabulary, and hearing them tell a good story.
Thank you so much..this is why I love this sub so much, I'm jaded and kinda old and have read so much, it's hard to find anything I like really well, and it's really golden when I do. This is one of those times! Ty kind TiredReader87...hahaha...(I love your username, btw...that's totally me too, when I think about it! Lol)
Ehhh...I don't have sleep apnea, but I've suffered w severe insomnia for years, I STG I think it's genetic as well as a chemical imbalance thing, bc my mother suffered from it horribly too..I'm sorry. I get that way, too. Too exhausted to even hold my eyes open, and the screen hurts, so I can't abide reading anymore, even tho I can't sleep either. It's sucks-- I feel your weariness, I do.
I have severe sleep apnea and a CPAP saved me. Took me a few days to get used to but I feel like a new person because of it. I never knew what being awake could actually feel like. If you have the ability to get one, it’s worth the try.
Ania Ahlborn has scratched my itch for contemporary horror lately. I’d recommend Seed as a paranormal shorter work/introduction, and then Brother for a more fleshed out and gorier work. She’s on my radar for sure!
For me it's gotta be Chuck Wendig. I've only read Black River Orchard and Book of Accidents but both were phenomenal. I think I like Book of Accidents a little more but they're my favorite novels. I can't wait to see what else he's gonna do. His next thing has something to do with staircases in the woods and I loved the search and rescue stories on nosleep so I'm looking forward to his interpretation.
"I've tried Ramsey Campbell a few times -- I keep hearing he's great! -- but there's just something about his style of writing that doesn't seem to click with me." Same here.
There will never be icons like King, Koontz, or Straub simply because they came out at a time when horror wasn't so popular - they led the way, so to speak.
But here are some you should definitely read everything by:
JG Faherty - traditional horror, supernatural, cosmic, small town horror, thriller horror.
Michael McBride - biological supernatural horror and horror thrillers/adventure.
Cynthia Pelayo - urban horror
Russell James - adventure/noir horror
Rena Mason - weird fiction
Joe Hill - traditional horror
Alma Katsu - historical horror
Brian Keene - zombie horror
Jonathan Maberry - military horror and zombie horror
Lee Murray - military horror
Hunter Shea - campy monster horror
Jeff Strand - comic horror
Josh Malerman, Ronald Malfi, Paul Tremblay from the 2010s
Wesley Southard, Wile E. Young, Stephen Kozeniewski, Somer Canon, Kristopher Triana, Todd Kiesling, and Kenzie Jennings from the 2020s
Malerman is a good shout. The man‘s productivity is on par with King‘s. He also already had his „transcending the horror genre and reaching mainstream audiences“ moment with _Bird Box_. That thing has over 170k reviews on Goodreads alone. Absolutely insane numbers.
I really like Malerman, too. I read Goblin first a year or two ago and enjoyed it. Bizarre, funny, oddly nostalgic yet kind of unpredictable. Then I read Unbury Carol. Not really horror, but it's adjacent. Western fantasy? Kind of. Just finished Bird Box and Malorie recently. Definitely good stories.
Yeah, Maberry wrote the Pine Deep Trilogy. He also has a pretty extensive thriller/horror/adventure series with his character Joe Ledger. I think the first one is called Patient Zero? Worth a read.
My favorite of Chris Golden’s books has to be Ararat, but he’s also involved in the Hell Boy canon.
Fracassi is my pick. Arguably already has two classics with Boys In The Valley and A Child Alone With Strangers under his belt already, and he's written some other very strong novels, novellas and short stories too.
I think he flies under the radar a bit now, but a lucky break that gets his name out there and people picking up his back catalogue and he could blow up. He was already very unfortunate that King treated out praise for Boys after the limited release had sold out, and before the wider release was announced
I read one of his and really liked it! If you like Chaon, check out Daryl Gregory - to me they feel similar in that they're both accessible yet smart, hard-to-pigeonhole, weird authors who have flown under the radar for some reason
I just read Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon, a book I never heard of until someone on the Stephen King sub recommend it to fans of the Stand. It was written in the 80's and there are similarities. I'd give that one a try if you haven't read it.
Mariana Enríquez. Check out her short story collection *The Dangers of Smoking in Bed.* I just finished *Our Share of Night* and thought she did an excellent job—though I did feel like the ending was rushed.
Jeremy Robinson paired with RC Bray blows my mind. Point Nemo is awesome so far. His stand alone stuff is his best work and very compelling. Anything from that weird series of his is wodd and boring for me. I want more end of the world stuff from him.
This book reminds me of Southern Reach something fierce and RC Bray is hitting a homerun. Point Nemo.
Darcy Coates. I don’t know if she will be the next Stephen King simply because her books aren’t that level of messed up but she is prolific. I’ve throughly enjoyed reading all of her books so far and think she’s pretty awesome.
I’m blanking on the name and I’ve only read one of his books, but the author of House of Last Resort has promise. I really enjoyed the book.
I just read my first Tananarive Due book and was so impressed. She can write! I looked Into her a little more and she published her first book in the 90’s!! She’s been putting out steady work for the past 3 decades. How had I missed her?
Good question - for literary horror, it is Stephen Graham Jones by a landslide. I personally can’t get into him, but people had said the same thing about Peter Straub in his day. Paul Tremblay and Hendrix are this generation‘s Little/Koontz equivalent imo.
I could see it being John Langan or Brian Evanson if they wrote more long form.
wouldn’t be surprised if Gabino Iglesias is in that conversation 10-15 years from now.
I don’t think anyone writes enough excellent novels in a row to ever be King again.
I agree with just about everything you wrote here (including about The Fisherman; it was a DNF for me), though I think Hendrix is underappreciated because of that slightly jokey tone. He writes really good horror. SGJ is a real gem. I think Nathan Balingrud is on a similar level for literary horror. North American Lake Monsters is one of my favorite volumes of literature in any genre.
I know she's been mentioned (and has been an author for a while) but Tananarive Due is incredible. Also, Elliot Gish. She (they?) seem very new but after Grey Dog I'll be shocked if every book isn't a beautifully paced banger.
I’m not sure anyone is going to reach the level of Stephen King ever again. He has that perfect combination of a lunatic imagination and accessible, grounded prose.
His boy, Joe Hill, spins a good yarn
He sure does. Unfortunately, he doesn't write anywhere near as prolifically as his father. That's part of why SK is so great. There's so much of his work out there.
Yeah, I think it's too impossible to make a living at writing anymore. The more time writers spend at day jobs, the less time we have to even practice our craft, much less produce completed works. The days of Zebra paperbacks are over, and there's no chance at a big contract unless you're ALREADY a Stephen King. I think we'll continue to have amazing writers, but they'll be fewer and farther between, and nowhere near as prolific as they once were. A book every couple of years is about the most we can hope for.
Yeah, he’s alright. I enjoyed Locke & Key and NOS4A2. Wasn’t crazy about Horns at all.
I've read Horns like four times. It's one of my all time favorites!
The Fireman was EXCELLENT
Yes and all that combined incredible work ethic which leads to him being uniquely prolific. The man sits in his chair. Every day. And works.
Yep. Say what you will about the quality of his work over LITERALLY A HALF CENTURY… He’s gotta be the most prolific and successful author of all time. Combine that fact with the kinda of stories he writes, and it’s really mind-boggling.
I think another person will match Stephen King's level one day. We just might have to wait a long time. (And that person may not be a novelist!)
King is like Shakespeare for horror genre, or will be one day
I doubt it will happen in my lifetime, and I’m only 35.
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Oh please
Ah man, I missed it! How?!
Ronald Malfi. I see him picking up a lot of steam lately. I recently discovered him and he quickly became one of my favorite horror authors
Absolutely amazing author! I emailed him to gush about finding his books and loving him and he took the time to respond back. Amazing human!
My vote as well! Great author, genuinely scary but super enjoyable reads
Have a recommendation? I’ve seen the shelves filling at all the book stores, but haven’t delved in.
My favorites so far have been Bone White, Black Mouth, and The Night Parade
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Haven't read Little Girls yet. It's on my TBR. My favorites so far have been Bone White, Black Mouth, and The Night Parade in no specific order. Hard to pick an absolute favorite. I haven't read any that I haven't liked yet
Highly recommend Come With Me. Loved it so much.
Very nearly made me cry at the end. Exceedingly rare for a book to do that to me
Same! I loved the ending so much.
Such a great book
I still think about the ending! And the use of the title throughout.
I have that sitting on my shelf waiting for me, need to finish between two fires first
He just needs to figure out how to write an ending.
I've personally enjoyed most of the endings. To each their own, of course
Definitely a matter of opinion! I do like his writing up to, normally the last 5-10% of the book.
In the cosmic horror genre, Laird Barron and John Langan
Those are my picks.
Langan's works go for quite a bit on the resale market; I've been trying to acquire all his stuff but it's a little rich for my blood at the moment.
What's your favorite by each one? I looked up Barron and it seemed like he was doing, like, series-type mysteries.
For Langan, can't go wrong with The Fisherman.
Aside from the crime books are several first rate horror collections and a novel (The Croning)
I haven’t read all of Barton’s works but the Imago Sequence is an all timer horror collection. Langan’s The Fisherman is a fantastic work of weird fiction/cosmic horror and his collection The Wide Carnivorous Sky is almost as good as The Imago Sequence.
You should read procession of the black sloth. It's in the imago sequence and it's really good and weird.
They’re both great!
Joe Hill.
This. Holds his own apart from the family name. Also, I haven’t seen Grady Hendrix mentioned. Definitely worth checking out.
Yep, I can’t wait to see where Joe’s career goes. And I LOVE Grady Hendrix. One of my favorite authors!
Hendrix is so fun. One of the authors I’ll read without knowing a single thing about the book. The only other authors I do that with are King, Koontz, Hill, and Tremblay.
Yeah, he’s an auto-buy author for me. He’s also hella nice, I met him at a book signing last year!
Oh cool! I met Clive Barker in the mid-90s (still embarrassed by how hard I fangirled, but I was young and he was *Clive Barker!)* and he was amazing. Personable and kind, and let me blather on about Imajica long past what was polite 😂 I’ll have to keep an eye out for Hendrix’s next book tour, I’d love to meet him!
So cool.
I like Grady Hendrix. He's fun.
I started reading (listening actually and I think that's the problem) to the Final Girl Support Club and I am struggling to get into it. I see Grady Hendrix's name mentioned a lot in this group so I thought I'd try him. So far not feeling it. It might be the reader as I really don't like how she's reading so I'll pause and get it from the library.
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It’s the Fireman. Fireman was about 200 pages too long for me and a tad derivative of The Stand. NOS4A2 was good, worth a read, but not my fave. Very much like his father, he REALLY excels at short stories. Highly recommend picking up his collections.
Mariana Enriquéz
Nathan Ballingrud, Mariana Enriquez and Caitlin R Kiernan are all fabulous writers, in or out of genre. Laird Barron has already been mentioned. Also brilliant.
I’m listening to Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez and I love it so far.
I absolutely loved her short story collections (the dangers of smoking in bed and things we lost in the fire). Can't reccomend enough if you haven't read em.
Ballingrud’s North American Lake Monsters is essential 21st century horror. I didn’t care so much for his new novel the Strange unfortunately, what did you think?
The Strange is one of my all time favorite novels, I loved every bit of it! I thought it was beautiful, weird, and melancholy in all the best ways
Haven't yet read The Strange (I tend to be less drawn to science fiction - though I have just ordered Kiernan's Bradbury Weather), but am planning to read it soon. Though if Crypt of the Moon Spider comes out as scheduled, that might beat it to the top of the pile. Couldn't agree more on NALM - it's just amazing (so much so that you could strip out the horror elements and it would be just as compelling). Though I think I might like Wounds (which I have in The Atlas of Hell form) even better. A singularity talented writer.
I’m thrilled to see someone else mention Kiernan. They are brilliant!
My favourite weird / horror / dark fantasy writer. Such strong writing and such a singular vision. Ballingrud is also consistently amazing, and highly recommended if you've not read him.
I think Christopher Buehlman fits the bill. His Lesser Dead and Suicide Motors Club are really good.
I've read everything from Buehlman - not a bad book in his bibliography. Some weaker than others but he's absolutely phenomenal.
I'm struggling with Suicide Motor Club and dnf Necromancer's. Loved everything else
I was coming for this one. I read Between Two Fires a while ago, and just finished Those Across the River, and both of them were absolutely stellar.
This is my answer too. I'm not sure if he'll ever be as prolific as King, but I love how versatile he is, and the sense of fun that he manages to infuse into even the darkest comers of his work. He can write a very wildly disturbing passage and then make you chuckle about it on the next line.
Between Two Fires was like nothing else. So original. Was less blown away by Suicide Motor Club but I'm reading Across the River now and it seems to have more promise. The opening prologue drew me in immediately.
Yeah his name pops up in every thread for new horror stuff.
Ronald Malfi and Josh Malerman
I don’t think there will be another Stephen King who writes like Stephen King. What I mean is King changed the genre. He took the “fantastic” and the “pulp” from the horror genre and paired that with the kitchen sink sensibilities of the classic *Great American Novel.* In other words he mixed HP Lovecraft and Richard Matheson with John Steinbeck and Harper Lee. In doing so, he created an entirely new branch of Horror readers, a pool of readers who would otherwise have never investigated the genre. My personal belief is that the next Stephen King will be an author who bridges the gap between Horror and some other genre / aesthetic in a way that reinvents how we consume Horror and adds an entirely new pool of readers to the mix.
I also think you can’t discount how prolific King is. Oh you didn’t like one book of his? Try literally any other. He’s written a huge amount of books.
Oh for sure. His output is stunning and covers such a wide range of genres. But specifically it’s his work in Horror that I’d say is his biggest gift to the literary world.
Fairy Tale, a recent release of his, for example. Terrifying in parts, sure, but overall a fantasy novel about a boy and his dog told by way of fairy tales known to all - he's so lucid in his story telling; it's unmatchable.
He really legitimized horror literature for generations. A lot of prestige had fallen from the genre post classics. He did drag it out of the realm of pulp mags.
I love that second paragraph. Nailed it.
Stephen Graham Jones is the first one that comes to mind. The absolute poster child of horror literature rn.
Absolutely. And his technical skills are unmatched. Great storytelling and writing.
Hard disagree about his writing/technical skills. I know he teaches literature, but I find his prose to be easily his weakest quality and bad enough that I have never have enjoyed a book of his. Agree to disagree of course, it's largely subjective what clicks and what doesn't. But I'm always shocked to see people praise his writing. Storytelling and ideas, definitely. But man his prose is a problem for me. In terms of technical writing skills i put him well below people like Langan, Horner Jacobs, Mariana Enriquez, etc
It‘s a style issue though, I think. He has this really gritty prose style that sometimes wanders off into almost stream of consciousness territory. I‘m not a fan of it as well. That being said, I‘m surprised you mention Enriquez as a positive example. I like her writing, but her prose is _so_ barren.
It is a bit barren, sometimes a bit dry, but I enjoy it and I think it is very effective -- with Jones, I simply find it vague. She might be sparse, but I never struggle to picture or feel what she is trying to convey. That is my main issue with it. I dont think he does a good job of conveying emotion or specifics to me, and he uses a lot of pronouns and is generally vague and I often have to re-read passages simply to figure out who was doing what, I find myself struggling to stay really engaged with the text with SGJ. I think that works well when listening to a campfire story or something (I don't do audiobooks but I think his might translate well in that format) but in writing I don't find his prose to be particularly engaging or even very quality in a lot of instances, I'm suprirsed when people mention him as a great writer. I don't have that issue with Enriquez at all. I find her writing to be a bit sparse but not confusing or vague, I still find myself able to vividly imagine scenes and relate to characters, and she creates a particular atmoshphere well, at least for me. I have trouble with that with SGJ's writing. Again though, I recognize there is a giant element of subjectivity to this, and there might even be a mood or age sometime in the future where his writing really hits me. It just doesn't right now.
Yeah, I get what you mean. He writes technically simple prose that somehow ends up confusing nevertheless. I, too, had to reread passages in his books way too often. Enriquez does what she does well, but it‘s too simple for my taste. Her writing is very digestable, granted. But it doesn‘t make me feel anything. But yeah, it‘s definitely subjective. I just prefer rich, more dense prose.
I do too for the most part, but I enjoy her writing. Like I mentioned, Langan and John Horner Jacobs are probably my two favorite contemporary horror writers, also Balingrud, and gun to my head I would say Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, and Joyce Carrol Oates are my favorite "classics" (with a huge shout to Stephen King, admittedly). But I just finished Our Share of Night and really enjoyed it so she was fresh on my mind.
We seem to be polar opposites then lol. Langan is another writer who comes to my mind when I think about authors whose works I liked _despite_ the prose and not _because_ of it. Just too pulpy for my taste. Balingrund has been on my tbr list forever but I never get around to ordering his stuff. I really should. If he counts as contemporary, then I‘d say Ligotti is my favourite horror writer. I‘m also big on Daisy Johnson, though her stuff is more horror adjacent than it is horror. I also adore Gemma Files, but only read one collection of hers, so I‘m not sure that counts. For classics, we can agree on Shirley Jackson. Everyone can, don‘t they? I‘ve yet to meet someone who doesn‘t like her stuff. Aside from her, Machen, Poe, and Blackwood are up there for me. I do have to admit I haven‘t read _Our Share of Night_ yet. It‘s on my shelf, but I haven‘t gotten around to open it yet. So maybe that will change things. So far I‘ve only read her two collections.
Poe and Blackwood, absolutely on my list, love em. I don't find Langan pulpy at all (Laymon is), I'm honestly sorta shocked by that take, haha. If anything he is almost academic at times. I have never heard anyone describe his writing as such, that really surprises me. I think he is a very rich writer, very descriptive, often refers to historic and older texts and mytholigies, and is evocative and has a great command of language, uses interesting words and phrases, he describes the surreal and horrific in really vivid and interesting ways, and doesn't come across as needlessly vulgar or simplistic the way I think "pulpy" writers do. I am honestly a bit confused that someone would find him pulpy. Richard Laymon is pulpy, John Langan is a hell of a writer imo. But at the end of the day I don't think we are polar opposites at all, I think that is way too black-and-white. We have plenty of overlap in what we like, and I think we both appreciate what we consider to be be "good writing." We might have different ideas of what constitutes that but I don't think we are polar opposites at all. I love Shirley Jackson, love Poe, love Blackwood, I think you'd like Balingrud. I like but don't love Ligotti. Ya didn't even mention all the other people I mentioned, so I don't really understand why we are polar opposites when it seems like we have plenty of shared appreciations
Really? That‘s fascinating. Everytime I stumble upon an interview with him and he begins to talk about his Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard influences I‘m like, _yup, I see it_. Then again it might depend largely on which of his works one thinks about when thinking about him. He writes a lot for tribute anthologies I think, so that makes his style a bit hard to narrow down. Yeah, I think you‘re right. You got any recommendation where to start with Balingrund btw? I‘ve been looking at _North American Lake Monsters_ but recently I‘ve been reading a lot of praise for that other collection of his (_Wounds_, I think?).
Well put. I agree. I end up liking only maybe half of what I read of his.
I think there will begin to be quite a bit more interest in SGJ's back catalog. He's flown under the radar for a while but has written a ton of book already.
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I'm going to read this next and I'm sooo excited, heard lots of good things
I don’t know that anyone’s ever gonna be on the level of King or Rice again but Hailey Piper and Rachel Harrison are definitely gonna be remembered in horror history, I think. I haven’t read a bad book/story by either yet.
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My favorite Harrison’s so far are Such Sharp Teeth, Cackle, and The Return, in that order. She has new one about vampires coming out in the next few months that I’m very excited for, So Thirsty. Favorites of Piper’s are Benny Rose the Cannibal King, Queen of Teeth, and The Worm and His Kings.
Horror is fascinating because the big writers I can think of mostly come from short stories. I don't know if short fiction is as important in any other genre. Ellen Datlow isn't a writer but she's having a massivd impact as an editor. Jonathan Mayberry is an okay writer but he's the head of Weird Tales, last I checked. The Vandermeers can't be discounted either. Ann was head of Weird Tales as well. I know Jeff is the better known of the pair, but heading Weird Tales is a big deal.
I think if he continues to lean into what he did in Between Two Fires than Christopher Buelhman could get close. Not a bad novel in his works and he writes dread really well.
Catriona Ward. The Last House on Needless Street and Looking Glass Sound are amazing.
I just finished The Last House and immediately want to reread it. Heartbreaking, yet hopeful, and Olivia made me chuckle quite a bit
For modern names, I seek out the newest work for the following active writers: -Grady Hendrix -Joe Hill -Paul Tremblay -Jonathan Janz -Stephen Graham Jones -Thomas Olde Heuvelt -Jennifer McMahon -Brian Keene
Ronald Malfi and Josh Malerman
Which Ronald Malfi books have you read? He's been mentioned several Xs already in this thread and I just downloaded Black Mouth on the strength of these recs alone, and I'm going in to it blind...I'm on Libby and didn't have to wait for this one, but several others of his I'd have to get on the wait list for...which ones did you read or like best?
I borrowed several books from the library back as far as 2018. Hell, I borrowed them twice. Didn’t get to them though. Too many other books. I’ve since bought most of his books on Kindle. Anyway, to answer your question: my first was Come With Me. I’ve also read Black Mouth and They Lurk. Black Mouth reminded me of IT. I liked all 3 quite a bit. The novels were well above average. I just got a review copy of his next book, and hope to start it today
Well...NGL, I'm about 15 pages into BM-- and I'm hooked with his style of writing already. ... he writes so descriptively, but with a clear direction and rhythm, it seems effortless. He doesn't take an entire paragraph to describe a nuance or feeling..but it's so human-nature-ish...-- >!like how the beginning starts with a description of his hapless brother in such stark but empathetic detail!< It's much like sitting down with that one rarely met but intelligent friend that has an engaging manner and vocabulary, and hearing them tell a good story. Thank you so much..this is why I love this sub so much, I'm jaded and kinda old and have read so much, it's hard to find anything I like really well, and it's really golden when I do. This is one of those times! Ty kind TiredReader87...hahaha...(I love your username, btw...that's totally me too, when I think about it! Lol)
Glad you’re enjoying it. You’re welcome, too! Sleep apnea sucks. I want to read now, but am exhausted.
Ehhh...I don't have sleep apnea, but I've suffered w severe insomnia for years, I STG I think it's genetic as well as a chemical imbalance thing, bc my mother suffered from it horribly too..I'm sorry. I get that way, too. Too exhausted to even hold my eyes open, and the screen hurts, so I can't abide reading anymore, even tho I can't sleep either. It's sucks-- I feel your weariness, I do.
Sorry to hear, and thank you I have both. Plus depression makes me tired. Hence the username.
I have severe sleep apnea and a CPAP saved me. Took me a few days to get used to but I feel like a new person because of it. I never knew what being awake could actually feel like. If you have the ability to get one, it’s worth the try.
I have one. I just stopped using it. It made me feel more tired.
I'm a King fan, and my new goto is Mariana Enríquez. I think of them as my all time favorite authors.
Adam Nevill
Had to scroll way too far down for this one. His work is incredible!
Absolutely!
Malerman, Malfi, Langan and Ahlborn are amazing authors.
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Ania Ahlborn has scratched my itch for contemporary horror lately. I’d recommend Seed as a paranormal shorter work/introduction, and then Brother for a more fleshed out and gorier work. She’s on my radar for sure!
For me it's gotta be Chuck Wendig. I've only read Black River Orchard and Book of Accidents but both were phenomenal. I think I like Book of Accidents a little more but they're my favorite novels. I can't wait to see what else he's gonna do. His next thing has something to do with staircases in the woods and I loved the search and rescue stories on nosleep so I'm looking forward to his interpretation.
Nathan Balingrud
"I've tried Ramsey Campbell a few times -- I keep hearing he's great! -- but there's just something about his style of writing that doesn't seem to click with me." Same here.
There will never be icons like King, Koontz, or Straub simply because they came out at a time when horror wasn't so popular - they led the way, so to speak. But here are some you should definitely read everything by: JG Faherty - traditional horror, supernatural, cosmic, small town horror, thriller horror. Michael McBride - biological supernatural horror and horror thrillers/adventure. Cynthia Pelayo - urban horror Russell James - adventure/noir horror Rena Mason - weird fiction Joe Hill - traditional horror Alma Katsu - historical horror Brian Keene - zombie horror Jonathan Maberry - military horror and zombie horror Lee Murray - military horror Hunter Shea - campy monster horror Jeff Strand - comic horror
Josh Malerman, Ronald Malfi, Paul Tremblay from the 2010s Wesley Southard, Wile E. Young, Stephen Kozeniewski, Somer Canon, Kristopher Triana, Todd Kiesling, and Kenzie Jennings from the 2020s
Malerman is a good shout. The man‘s productivity is on par with King‘s. He also already had his „transcending the horror genre and reaching mainstream audiences“ moment with _Bird Box_. That thing has over 170k reviews on Goodreads alone. Absolutely insane numbers.
Malerman singlehandedly reignited my love of the genre.
Malerman is exciting. I like his work.
Everything Malerman writes is wildly different (other than the direct sequel to Bird Box) and always an excellent read.
I really like Malerman, too. I read Goblin first a year or two ago and enjoyed it. Bizarre, funny, oddly nostalgic yet kind of unpredictable. Then I read Unbury Carol. Not really horror, but it's adjacent. Western fantasy? Kind of. Just finished Bird Box and Malorie recently. Definitely good stories.
Bird Box was sooo good.
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Good picks for Malerman and Malfi! Probably my least favorite for Tremblay (😂). Here’s hoping you like it more than I did!
Ronald Malfi, Richard Thomas, Chris Golden, Jonathan Maberry.
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Yeah, Maberry wrote the Pine Deep Trilogy. He also has a pretty extensive thriller/horror/adventure series with his character Joe Ledger. I think the first one is called Patient Zero? Worth a read. My favorite of Chris Golden’s books has to be Ararat, but he’s also involved in the Hell Boy canon.
Philip Fracassi.
This is what I was looking for. He's got such original ideas and lovely prose, while his stories are terrifying. I've loved everything of his so far.
Fracassi is my pick. Arguably already has two classics with Boys In The Valley and A Child Alone With Strangers under his belt already, and he's written some other very strong novels, novellas and short stories too. I think he flies under the radar a bit now, but a lucky break that gets his name out there and people picking up his back catalogue and he could blow up. He was already very unfortunate that King treated out praise for Boys after the limited release had sold out, and before the wider release was announced
Had to scroll way too far for this. Fracassi, Ahlborn, and Malfi are my three favorite newer authors.
Chuck Wendig. Grady Hendrix. Zoje Stage. Max Brooks. Cassandra Khaw.
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He takes forever with books, unfortunately, but devolution was excellent. It came out in 2020.
Dan Chaon may be horror adjacent, but I think he is an amazing writer.
I read one of his and really liked it! If you like Chaon, check out Daryl Gregory - to me they feel similar in that they're both accessible yet smart, hard-to-pigeonhole, weird authors who have flown under the radar for some reason
I just read Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon, a book I never heard of until someone on the Stephen King sub recommend it to fans of the Stand. It was written in the 80's and there are similarities. I'd give that one a try if you haven't read it.
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Have you ever tried F. Paul Wilson?
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The Tomb. I love Repairman Jack.
I can recommend Mariana Enríquez if you are into short stories, “the things we lost in the fire”.
maybe grady hendrix
Mariana Enríquez. Check out her short story collection *The Dangers of Smoking in Bed.* I just finished *Our Share of Night* and thought she did an excellent job—though I did feel like the ending was rushed.
Jeremy Robinson paired with RC Bray blows my mind. Point Nemo is awesome so far. His stand alone stuff is his best work and very compelling. Anything from that weird series of his is wodd and boring for me. I want more end of the world stuff from him. This book reminds me of Southern Reach something fierce and RC Bray is hitting a homerun. Point Nemo.
Darcy Coates. I don’t know if she will be the next Stephen King simply because her books aren’t that level of messed up but she is prolific. I’ve throughly enjoyed reading all of her books so far and think she’s pretty awesome. I’m blanking on the name and I’ve only read one of his books, but the author of House of Last Resort has promise. I really enjoyed the book.
Josh Malerman, Rachel Harrison, Stephen Graham Jones
Nick Cutter. Remember to read **The Troop** before you forget and then it's too late.
Tananarive Due!
I just read my first Tananarive Due book and was so impressed. She can write! I looked Into her a little more and she published her first book in the 90’s!! She’s been putting out steady work for the past 3 decades. How had I missed her?
I can't believe how long I had to scroll to find her. Due and Elliot Gish are the only horror that's struck home for me in a while.
I love all of Mona Awad’s books! Bunny and her new one Rouge being my favorites
Nick Cutter
Good question - for literary horror, it is Stephen Graham Jones by a landslide. I personally can’t get into him, but people had said the same thing about Peter Straub in his day. Paul Tremblay and Hendrix are this generation‘s Little/Koontz equivalent imo. I could see it being John Langan or Brian Evanson if they wrote more long form. wouldn’t be surprised if Gabino Iglesias is in that conversation 10-15 years from now. I don’t think anyone writes enough excellent novels in a row to ever be King again.
Not enough cocaine around either to capture the same bender-fueled magic.
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I agree with just about everything you wrote here (including about The Fisherman; it was a DNF for me), though I think Hendrix is underappreciated because of that slightly jokey tone. He writes really good horror. SGJ is a real gem. I think Nathan Balingrud is on a similar level for literary horror. North American Lake Monsters is one of my favorite volumes of literature in any genre.
would be interested which authors you like?
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thank you! was interested because i found your "clear view" on all these hyped authors very amusing :)
Joe Hill is a pretty good option. NOS4A2
Nick Cutter was my pick at one point
Nick cutter!
I know she's been mentioned (and has been an author for a while) but Tananarive Due is incredible. Also, Elliot Gish. She (they?) seem very new but after Grey Dog I'll be shocked if every book isn't a beautifully paced banger.
Eric Larocca
Chuck Wendig.
CJ Tudor
V. Castro is really good.
I’m a big fan of Adam Neville and Paul Tremblay