Let the Right Book In

In the introduction to this anthology, Bradbury discusses how from the age of 8, he was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and numerous other authors. He refers to Poe as his “true papa”. But now Bradbury himself has become the father, and this anthology is a family reunion of sorts, full of stories by those who subsequently looked to him as Papa. As he says, linking it back to his own story, The Homecoming, “a family of beautiful creatures - loving, winged uncles, doting telepathic aunts, and fantastic brethren from all over the world - gather to give thanks, of course, on Halloween.” “His name will once more become synonymous with small American towns at Halloween, when the leaves skitter across the sidewalk like frightened birds, or with Mars, or with love.” Here’s the thing - if you’re a Bradbury fan, the Robert McCammon story alone is worth the price of admission. It was simply incredible. In Children of the Bedtime Machine he perfectly encapsulates how Bradbury’s work is timeless. It wi...

John Avjide Lindqvist feels a little bit like the Swedish Stephen King. Bodies drained of blood are showing up in a small town in Sweden. At the same time an unlikely friendship forms between a lonely schoolboy and a young girl who only comes out at night... “What he was scared of was not that maybe she was a creature who survived by drinking other people's blood. No, it was that she might push him away.” Let the Right One In is an incredibly dark book - there’s pedophilia, self-harm, child sexual abuse, relentless bullying, murder. The bullying is heartbreaking to read about as is seeing Oskar live such a lonely existence. So when Oskar finds some companionship in Eli, you can’t help but be moved and subsequently root for their friendship. It’s incredibly atmospheric, set in a working class Swedish suburb, which only adds to how bleak it all feels. I also appreciated how disturbing and violent and graphic it was - weird statement, yes, but when I’m seeking out “good” horror someti...

This short story collection is one for those of us who enjoy reading about serial killers (I had initially written “this one is for serial killer fans” and then I was like “no one is actually a FAN of serial killers, for heavens sake”) But yeah, this shit be DARK. “She thought I wanted to pick her up. All I really wanted to do was kill her and take her picture.” Goth is comprised of a series of connected stories focused on Morino, the strangest girl in school, and her classmate, both of whom have a fascination with serial killers. But they don’t want to stop these serial killers, they want to understand them. If you’re like me, when you think of Japanese horror you think of Samara from The Ring - the genre is known for being disturbing as hell, mostly supernatural etc. This collection is a little different. Don’t worry, Goth is still pretty freakin’ unsettling, but it’s rooted in reality. There are no supernatural aspects, apart from the fact that this town - and one character in parti...

Lovecraft Country is a perfect example of how expectations can really dampen a reading experience. My expectation was a Lovecraftian novel that also delved into and explored Lovecraft’s despicable racism, but what I got instead was a series of loosely connected stories that didn’t tick any real Lovecraftian boxes. Lovecraft references does not a Lovecraftian book make. Perhaps this was my mistake for thinking this book was something that it’s not, but I was quite disappointed. “But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn't make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though.” What makes it more disappointing was that the potential was there. The opening of the book had my attention - a black man navigating through Jim Crow America, with his guidebook for where black people could travel safely. It’s truly harrowing to read about, I ended up falling down a rabbit hole researching the Jim Crow laws. But once the b...