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Horror Fiction pt. 2 (2nd tier)

The following books are certainly not among the top tier of horror fiction choices, but they are worth a read because frankly one could go crazy reading only classics.

Reign of the Dead and Apocalypse End by Len Barnhart If I had to guess, I would say that Barnhart is from the northern Virginia area. Both of his books talk heavily of local landmarks and towns and it is possibly because of this that I enjoyed these books about zombie infestation. I suppose that if zombies do one day rise, then this series would be my handbook for survival.

The Rising and City of the Dead by Brian Keene Another zombie book, this one more mainstream than the first two. The zombies in this book are not the shambling ghouls, but planning, running, cursing bad-asses.

Event Horizon by Steven McDonald I’m not really sure which came first, this book, or the movie. In any case, the book is a nice story connecting black holes and demonology. While the movie was pretty good, the book is slightly better simply because it is less convoluted. It will certainly not challenge your intellect, but it is an entertaining read on a short trip.

Interview with the Vampire Some may place this into the upper tier of horror fiction, but since this is my list they can bite me. Granted, it was a good book, it didn’t present much in the way of chills that a good horror novel should.

Books of Blood 1-3 by Barker A pretty good collection of horror, some good, some bad, some great, some poor, you get the hint.

Intensity by Dean Koontz I REALLY wanted to like this book more than I did. It started very well with some of the most tense scenes I can recall in any of the aforementioned books. Sadly, towards the last 1/4th of the book I found myself skipping whole paragraphs… never a good sign.

Frankenstein Unbound by Brian Aldiss A pretty good movie was made of this book and in reality may have been better. However, when the author of “Super Toys Last All Summer Long” writes his take on the modern Prometheus one must take the time to check it out.

-m