Saturday 30 August 2014

R.I.P. IX is here! Can you believe it's been 9 years of wonderful ghost and horror novel reading???



Yes, oh yes, it's that time of year again.  I've been making my pile for a week now, wondering when Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings would put his post up.  Readers Imbibing Peril, or RIP, is beginning starting Monday Sept 1.  And.....he's letting us start earlier! 
R.I.P. IX officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. But lets go ahead and break the rules. Lets start today!!!  he writes, and I couldn't agree more.

                                                                    
I am of course going to be doing Peril the First:  Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

Here is my list of books I am thinking/hoping/planning to read during this challenge reading pleasure time:

Mind over Matter - Laura Kasischke  A new to me author and just published novel, it sounds creepy and good: "Something had followed them home from Russia."  *****Edited to add:  I just realized that it was Chris at Chrisbookarama that brought this to my attention.  Here is her review.
Mayhem - Sarah Pinborough  I have been on the waiting list for 6 months for this book!  Both Cath at Read-Warbler and Bride at Bride of the Book God reviewed this for last year's RIP reading challenge. Yes, it's taken me that long to get the book from our library (it only came out in Jan here, and even longer for our library to get a copy), and it just arrived last week!  I"m so happy!
 -  of course, since both made the comparison to Drood  by Dan Simmons which I have not read yet, it will go on my list again.  I'm not sure why I am resisting this one. I did start it last year.  I loved The Terror, and read the book after Drood that came out last year, The Abominable, with a mostly good review (sans as much terror as I hoped for, though it kicked off a huge mountain climbing reading venture for me in the winter).  So, it's on my list as a maybe.
 Deadline - Mira Grant - excellent zombie series, first one, Feed, reviewed here by me in 2011.
Vanished - Kat Richardson - 4th in the Harper Blaine PI series, in which Harper can see the souls of the dead, and other things.  Paranormal series that I love.
    Greywalker (book 1) reviewed here.
    Poltergeist (book 2) reviewed here
       I know I read Book 3 last year or the year before, but didn't review it. Not sure why, as it was very good, one of the best in the series so far.  I have high hopes for Vanished, where she has to discover what in her past might have led her to be able to be a greywalker when she died for 2 minutes in the first book.
 London Falling - Paul Cornell - London police suddenly develop the Sight and can see the otherworldly creatures haunting London's streets.
Frost Burned - Patricia Briggs  I have read every book in the series since they came out. Clever and fun series featuring shape-changer Mercy Thompson who is a Coyote, and how she handles all the fae, dwarves, werewolves, magic and the modern world is not to be missed. Some of my book reviews for her are linked here Moon-Called, (book 1) is reviewed here, Blood Bound (book) 2 and Iron-Kissed (book 3) are reviewed hereBone Crossed, Book 4, here.
Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch  I thought I had reviewed the first one, Midnight Riot, read a couple of years ago. I can't find the review, so I might not have.  I really liked it, enjoyable and a little dark police constable who sees ghosts, but it's not just ghosts that are involved.  Good mystery set-up.
The Troop - Nick Cutter - horror novel from a Canadian writer, my good friend Sue read it and she really enjoyed it.  She is a horror connoisseur, so if she says it.....
Delia's Shadow - Jaime Lee Moyer - a young woman in early 20th century San Francisco can see ghosts.  After the Great Earthquake in 1906 she flees to Europe until one determined ghost appears.....the ghost of a victim of a serial killer who has not been caught.
The Unquiet House - Alison Littlewood  - This is a new author to me, although she has been putting out novels in England for a little while now.  This is a haunted house novel, with the main character inheriting a house from a distant relation, only she discovers that she might not be alone in the house.  Are there ghostly figures?  or is a distant cousin trying to scare her away from the house?
The Silent Land - Graham Joyce I've read several of his other novels, The Limits of Enchantment reviewed here, Some Kind of Fairy Tale reviewed here.  Joyce is a kind of supernatural writer unlike anyone out there.  His characters are all down-to-earth, plucked from our real world and set into a world where the rules aren't the same. In The Silent Land, the main characters might be dead already. 


And short stories from various collections, including:
Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Horror Volume 1
Don't Look Now and other Stories - Daphne Du Maurier
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream - ed by Hank Davis, lots of good horror sci fi short stories
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women - ed. by Marie O'Regan
Elizabeth Bowen ghost stories in her Collected Stories collection

Some poetry:
Also, if I can find my Edgar Allen Poe book, some horror poetry.  And other dark poems too by  poets.  I know they are out there. I think I will look into some of the Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow various (and many) collections I have of fairy tales, dark fantasy and horror that I have.  I'll review them as I find them, as part of my poetry reading year (blog post is upcoming very shortly as I finalize how I want to do this).

I hope you will join in RIP, if you haven't done this before. And if you have, you know what great fun it is, to read scary and spooky stories, and share them with eachother.  Almost like sitting up late at night scaring one another......

Happy spooky reading, everyone!

 Thank you so much to Carl for doing this, once more.  This is a wonderful reading experience, one of my favourite challenges that I look forward to every year.  Ever since I discovered it in the third year, autumn reading has never been so fun.  6 years of fabulous ghost stories and horror novels read and discovered from all the wonderful readers who join in.

12 comments:

Cath said...

Oh, I do hope you get to Mayhem, Susan. It's such a good book. And book 2 is either out or will be out soon. I must check.

Moon Over Soho is good, although my favourite of the series is Whispers Underground.

I must get back to Mercy Thompson. I've read the first 4 and own 2 more, Silver Borne and Frost Burned. I seem to be missing the River Marked. Must get that as it sounds rather good. I got Silver Borne out and added it to my pile.

Happy reading!

Susan said...

Cath: I am planning on reading Mayhem tomorrow. It has to go back to the library next week, I'm not sure I can renew it. :-) I'll let you know how I found it.

I know your review of Whispers Underground said you loved it best! I want to get to book 4 so I can find out too! lol

I've added to my pile too since last night! :-) part of the fun is seeing what everyone else is reading, and realizing I want to read it too! River Marked was interesting - not quite as good as the others, and I haven't figured out why. Still very good, among the best paranormal series out there, just not as good as the middle ones. I'm hoping Frost Burned will be as good again.

Carl V. Anderson said...

I personally can't believe its been nine years, and I host the dang thing! :)

Your list looks great. I started reading the first Mercy Thompson book for Once Upon a Time. But there was just too much Spectrum stuff going on at the time and I didn't get back to it. Perhaps that is one I should add to my list. I love all of Dan Dos Santos' covers for them.

Susan said...

Carl: I love his covers too. They really add to the series, I find. Mercy looks like that cover, tough, gorgeous, and vulnerable, exactly as she is as a Coyote shape-changer. They are some of the best covers being down for a series, I find, especially in a fantasy series. I hope one day you are able to get back to them to try :-)

9 years!!! lol who knew where blogging would go back then? and you have been a big part of making this community closer, with your lovely challenges, and good posts and sci fi love :-)

Carl V. Anderson said...

I honestly never thought I would still be doing this all these years later. I'm glad I am.

Dos Santos based his Mercy paintings on a girl who tended bar at a place he visited. I wonder if she thinks it is cool or is weirded out by it.

Leslie @ This is the Refrain said...

I love seeing what everyone is reading!! I haven't read anything in your list, so I'm really looking forward to your posts about what you're reading.

chrisa511 said...

These are all new to me books except for The Lottery so I'm really looking forward to what you think of all of them :) I really need to try some Dan Simmons one day. The length of them frightens me :p Oh and I'm reading a Graham Joyce book too! It'll be my first time reading anything by him!

Natalie~Coffee and a Book Chick said...

This challenge just makes me so happy! I haven't put together a list yet, so I love reading what everyone else has planned, and it looks like you have some good ones.

Literary Feline said...

Good luck with the challenge, Susan! I'm still debating signing up.

I hope you like Mind Over Matter if you read it! I liked it quite a bit even though I wasn't sure I would at first.

I think I may have a dusty copy of Greywalker somewhere. If you love the series, maybe I should dig it out.

London Falling and Delia's Shadow are books I've been wanting to read. And I'm way behind in the Briggs' series.

Good choices, Susan! I look forward to seeing what you do decide to read.

Debi said...

Wow Susan--I've not even heard of most of those books! Which of course means my wish list is going to take a serious hit when you start reviewing them. :P Hope you love every single one! HAPPY RIP!!!

JaneGS said...

It is a great time of year, isn't it!

I forgot about Drood, which I have and would have been a good choice for this challenge.

I might add some short stories in as well. I have some du Maurier sitting around unread. Reading your list made me think I should've taken more time with my own.

Enjoy the spooky reading season!

Susan said...

Carl: If I were the girl, I might be a little worried at what he saw in me! lol YOu know how happy we are at your lovely challenges. Do you know I was looking at my sci-fi pile last night, at 2312, and deciding to put it aside until the Sci-fi Experience? lol! Your challenges are defining some of my reading life - in a VERY good way.

Lu: I've just put my first post up (after a month of reading) so I hope you enjoy it and find some books to read! Thanks so much for leaving a comment here, I will come check your blog out.

Chris: I have to come see what you are reading for Graham Joyce. He is such an interesting and off-beat writer. I hope you like him.

Dan Simmons books are a little big! I have Drood on my bookshelf, and it's so heavy that I just keep it there! I should really pick the paperback up.....

Natalie: thank you so much! I hope you have been finding some good ones to read now. I'll check your blog out, thanks for leaving a comment here :-)

Wendy: I really hope you do join the challenge! I've found so many good books this way, as I then read the books I've been hoarding for years for 'some day'...Besides you always read the most interesting books and I add to my list.....lol :-)

I'm about to read Mind over Matter this weekend. I hope I like it! You have to read Greywalker. It's such an interesting series, well thought out, and filled with the supernatural. I really like the characters too.

Debi: So far I have enjoyed everything I've read for RIP! As you know already from the review I posted on Sunday :-) Now to go see what you are reading....you know what you read tends to end up being on my lists!!!

Jane: YOu haven't read Drood either? I don't feel so bad! lol I'm not sure why I haven't read it yet, it's by Simmons, it has Dickens and Collins and a creepy guy killing people.....I think I will try to get a paperback copy so I can lift the darn book (the hard cover is SO heavy) and see if I can get past the train wreck which opens the books and is well-done.

Which Du Maurier do you have sitting around?

Enjoy the challenge too and hope you love all your books you read as well.