| Thriller Book Club

The Beam to the Dark Tower Winter Reading Challenge:

Night Surf and The Stand

Following the Beam along the path to the Dark Tower we stop at the outbreak of the A6 flu virus. A superflu that has disseminated a large portion of the population. There has been no explanation as to why some survived and some did not. Only that there were powers, beyond that of mankind that brought about this catastrophe.

The symptoms of “Captain Tripps” as it’s called by some are cold like symptoms at first, then you develop a fever and eventually, your lungs fill to capacity and you choke to death. Stephen King wrote two stories regarding the super flu: “Night Surf” which is found in the “Night Shift” collection and in one of his most highly regarded works in the epic “The Stand”.

The Tale's Of 'Salem's Lot: continuing path to Stephen King's Dark Tower

Winter Reading Challenge 2012

Just finishing my second book on my path to the Dark Tower, the epic from Stephen King. I’m reading the recommended stories in order for the series. I’m read “Jerusalem’s Lot” a short story in Night Shift, “Salem’s Lot” his second novel and sequel to “Jerusalem’s Lot”, and “One for the Road”; another short story from Night Shift that serves as a sequel to the two previous.

The Path To The Dark Tower Winter Challenge

Stephen King's It: 25th Anniversary Edition

One of my favorite reads from Stephen King is “It”. It plays on your deepest fears, but I love it mostly because of the way the story is told and the relationships within the story. This is the first recommended stop on your journey to Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.

The story begins in the 1950’s when future horror writer Bill Denbrough’s little brother George takes a paper boat on its maiden voyage along the flooded streets of Derry, Maine. It is here that little Georgie meets the omnipotent demonic entity known as “Pennywise the Dancing Clown”. His boat gets lost in the sewer and Pennywise coaxes him to reach in to get it, Pennywise tears off his arm and kills the youngster. Read more about The Path To The Dark Tower Winter Challenge

Winter Reading Challenge 2011-2012

The Entire Dark Tower Series and More...

Winter has settled in here in the Midwest and it is usually this time of year I find myself something to read. One year it was the Bible cover to cover then it was “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”, “Harry Potter series” and yes, my daughter even got me into “Twilight” (woot, team Jacob)and “The Hunger Games”. This year is a new challenge: to read the entire “Dark Tower series” including all the books that lead into each other. At the rate Minnesota winters last, this should be no problem. Read more about Winter Reading Challenge 2011-2012

The House by Bentley Little

...not your average haunted house

I have never read Mr. Little’s horror fiction before, so as I was perusing the limited selection of books at the airport newsstand a blurb by my favorite Stephen King sat on the cover of “The House” by Bentley Little. I had a 14 hour flight to New Zealand ahead of me and I was desperate for something to read and if Stephen liked it, then I’m sure I would too. Oddly enough, this is the book King was reading when he was struck down by a van.

I couldn’t put it down; it was so different than anything else I’ve read. It had a rawness that I just can’t put my finger on. But I held that book in my hands from Los Angeles to Auckland. I stopped once to nap for awhile. Oddly enough, a number of critics did not like this book; but I have to say this is one of the scariest books I’ve read to date. Read more about The House by Bentley Little

World War Z by Max Brooks

post war journal: after the apocalypse

I must admit, that I was very reluctant to spend my yearly Barnes and Noble gift card I get each year for Christmas on this book. I am usually very frugal when it comes to spending up the credits on it. For the most part I will only spend it on the classics by J.D. Salinger or Jack Kerouac, and lately I’ve had an obsession with mafia stories.

But the book was gaining momentum in the ratings and was a New York Times best-seller and Brad Pitt is developing a movie around the storyline. So I caved and bought it. Read more about World War Z by Max Brooks

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

a son takes over

The first published book by author Joe Hill and it came out in 2005. I was introduced to Joe Hill with his second book “Heart-Shaped Box” and immediately fell in love with his style, so when I picked up “20^th Century Ghosts” I was more than excited to read within.

The book is a compilation of 10 short ghost stories, each carrying its own power to keep you glued to the stories. Not just scary stories, but some that will pull at your heart as well as rip it out of your chest and feed it to you. Read more about 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Brian Azzarello's Vertigo Crime Launch "Filthy Rich"

Vertigo’s line of noir inspired crime and mystery novels made its debut in 2008. The line was destined to be short-lived but oh how it will be missed. Vertigo Crime novels fit handsomely on a spinner rack right along side Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me or a copy of Black Mask magazine.

Oh, and the line launched with Brian Azzarello’s Filthy Rich, an amazing and sleazy noir thriller. Read more about Brian Azzarello's Vertigo Crime Launch "Filthy Rich"

Phillip K Dick's The Man in the High Castle Confounds Genre Expectations

Thriller Fans Should Challenge Themselves With A Complex And Intriguing Novel

Those who have relegated Phillip K. Dick’s 1962 masterpiece The Man in the High Castle to the strange badlands of alternate history, a genre populated by and large with useless re-imaginings, missed out on the novel’s central question. The Man in the High Castle is not about how the world would be different if the Axis powers had won the Second World War; it’s about how the people populating it would be the same. No doubt, the world of Dick’s novel is dystopic but its populace remains painstakingly human.

The novel defies genre definition but will appeal to a number of readers. Fans of thriller novels will enjoy the political conspiracies and secret identities revealed slowly throughout. Read more about Phillip K Dick's The Man in the High Castle Confounds Genre Expectations

Dennis Lehane, "Shutter Island"

No one leaves Ashecliffe Hospital

Shutter Island

I remember reading Dennis Lehane's Gone, Baby, Gone last year, and being so captivated by it that I read most of its 512 pages in one night. It was enough for me to keep him in mind for someone that I should read again, and the opportunity came with his 2003 novel Shutter Island. Did it live up to my hopes and expectations? I'm two books in to Lehane's bibliography, and he's 2-0.