On a similar topic, were there any books that you had a hard time finishing, or just stopped reading about halfway through? Were there any books that you had finished and thought they were awful? If so, why? I mean, it's kind of hard to like EVERY book we read or every movie we watch. Be honest now and don't be shy. Besides, like the adage goes: Another man's trash is another man's treasure. Maybe you'll trash a book so much that it will interest someone in reading it, just to see if it's in fact, that bad. ( A friend totally despises Flesh Gothic, which I'm totally digging right now. However, he really LOVES the infernal books.)
I saw a similar topic on another board about bad movies, and it peaked my curiousity about a few of them and I had to track them down.My contribution to the topic is a book called Good Omens. It's about Angels and demons getting together to try and save the world, because the Anti-Christ was born and the 4 Horsemen have arrived to begin the apocalypse. Now, this sounds really good to me, but I'm just having a hard time getting through it. I don't know why. I just am. So, I put it down and start something else. Then, when I'm finished, I'll go back to it and try it again. I've been doing this for a few months now. Maybe one day I'll finish it.

And I was curious about Good Omens. I had heard about it and was wondering if it was any good.

Hmmm...my bad book.....One that comes to mind is Jack Ketchum's Old Flames. Now I love Ketchum and I had not read anything even remotely bad by him but when I read his novella, Old Flames I just did not get into it. I thought it was well under par with everything else he's wrote. I dunno, that's mine though.

Another one that I can mention is Dean Koontz's Forver Odd. I thought Odd Thomas was just plain fucking awesome. The sequel was just god-awful horrible. Eh...

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"The Living Dead and the dying living are all the same. Cut from the same cloth. But disposing of dead people is a public service, whereas you're in all sorts of trouble if you kill someone while they're still alive."

It's funny that you said that, I am trying to get my fiance to read more and he absolutely loves the infernal books but was not ever able to get into the more hardcore novels. He is all about the F Paul Wilson Repairman Jack books of which i just happened to have a couple around a million years ago (and now of course have all of because of him) and are okay, but i could never really get into them.

Another good topic!

Last year I started reading Siphera Giron's Mistress of Darkness (I think I got the title correct) and was 70+ pages into it and just could not get into it. I was forcing myself to read more at that point. I am usually (as my wife likes to tease me) way to lenient on books and authors and rarely say anything too harsh...but after 70 pages of not very gripping reading, I gave up.

Another one that just plain sucked was called Wake Up Screaming, a cheesy Zebra horror pb. The writing wasn't bad but the storyline was just awful.

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That is funny, I think after peaking over my shoulder a few times mine is almost afraid of me But that is just fine, they don't have to read them, they have to just not freak out when we splurge on the expensive ones

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lol i have to use something else to placate mine, but in the end we both win

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I'll refrain from mentioning and books I thought were terrible but I can attest to this: the WORST horror movie I've ever seen was Pinata: Survivor Island, with Paris Hilton. Check it out if you don't believe me...

Edward Lee

Interesting topic. It's true, one mans trash is another mans treasure. I for one, loved Old Flames by Jack Ketchum but a previous poster didnot. Not as hardcore as some of his stuff but still good stuff (like the great RED). Here's one for you hardcore guys. Ed even did the intro for it. Duet for the Devil. I have tried reading this book several times and it just seems so disjointed and thrown together and can't get into it. The only other book I can think of that I didn't finish was John Sauls, The Presence. That was over ten years ago though. Well, there's my two bits.

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Dr Seuss Is Dead

Good topic. The Pike, by Cliff Temlow, was pretty good (killer fish), until the epilogue when the main characters forgot everything they knew. I've thought of tearing that last page out of my copy.
A recent proof (not Ed Lee, but I cannot reveal it yet) also did that stunt.
The Ruins. I loved his other book A Simple Plan), but this one was a so-predictable slasher book that I skim read the last 2/3.
The last giant fish book by Steve Alten was horrible (and I loved the first two). The last one was written in present tense, like a film script: "I'm going to the shore. I see a big fish. WHOOSH!" Crap like that.
Pegleg

Funny you mentioned Duet for the Devil. The reviews for that novel were amazing (Ed Lee did in fact write the intro, and that is why I bought it), and I have tried 4 times to read it. I can't say it's bad, because I have yet to read it, but I doubt I will try a 5th time. Confusing as hell. Very disjointed, and has no flow to speak of. On another note, I will look up Pinata on IMDB, Lee, and see what the user ratings are. From the title and the fact that it has Paris Hilton, I doubt I would have ever watched it anyway. Come to think of it, why the hell did you watch it? Too many shellfish? Bob

Just looked up Pinata. 2.5 at imdb. Ugh.

Unfortunately, I haven't cared for many of the novels I've read lately but I've had a good run with short stories. None of them have been horror though. The novels' plots will sound interesting and then I begin reading and most of the authors don't really have an "ear" for writing; it's all very stilted and I end up slogging through to the end.

I read Kathe Koja's "The Cipher" this past summer. It had a pretty good reputation for being odd-horror. The basic storyline was pretty good but the more it went, the more I began to think it should have been novella length, a lot of the ideas and scenes began to feel regurgitated from earlier in the book. And the characters were all so woe-is-me that by the end, instead of feeling sympathy for their plight, you just thought "kill em already".

I really like DUET FOR THE DEVIL. I tend to think the authors were a trifle buzzed when they wrote it. Perhaps a bit too much coffee and chocolate. Can be hard to judge the dosage correctly. But I like that book. Really like it. Want a sequel. Ain't gonna happen. Who was that T. Winter-Damon anyway? I don't think I have seen the name otherwise.
Speaking of books I love and other people hate there is Doc Solamman's TANGY BONANZA. It fits into this category of "Bizarro" that Andersen Prunty, Gina Ranalli, Mykle Hansen, Kevin Donihe (go buy HOUSE OF HOUSES) and other less deserving authors dabble in. A fun read. Disjointed, but fun. David Barnett of Necro Publications told me in an email that Doc has sent him some more manuscripts. David doesn't see publishing them at this point.
What makes up a bad book for me? Predictable crap. Predictable crap with dream sequences is my idea of torture. When animals attack. When possessed animals attack. When possessed animals morph into monsters or demons. Bad stuff. Really bad.

I have been buying and selling horror books for the last 5 years or so. Nothing is selling right now so I quit trying. I started looking at my collection and decided to read some signed limited hardcovers that came along as parts of series.
I came into horror by finding a Jack Ketchum book somewhere. Roy at Bad Moon Books asked me why I was reading Ketchum when this guy named Edward Lee was available!! I ended up reading everything published by Necro and then started buying Delirium titles when I found some authors were also published there.
So now I have a big pile of horror I haven't read. Started reading this backlog. Started questioning myself why I read when I don't enjoy it. It is mid-winter and shoveling snow in zero degrees farenheit seems more fun than these horror books. Spackling cracks in my plaster walls gets me more excited than another so-called psychological horror book. OH THE FUCKING HORROR. It is impossible to say names or give my honest opinion about some of this crappe because the authors are right there giving feedback and whining 24/7!! I like these people on a personal level but am not impressed by their writing! Makes it tough.
So what have I done, you ask? I will tell you. I have the time. I am not in any hurry. Driveway snow isn't going anywhere and the plaster cracks wait patiently. I have read 10 books by Dick Francis in a row!! Mystery books written in the 60s and 70s about horse racing in England. Restored my faith in reading.
I pretty much like every author published by Necro. I tried to read more horror but it just doesn't take. Gina Ranalli and Anderson Prunty woke me up with their wonderful off-kilter take on things. Amen and good luck in the writing business!! Ain't easy being erudite n cheesy!!

Wow, Dick Francis, forgot all about him. Dynamite mysteries. Only one of those guys I liked back in those days was Ross McDonald (Harper, The Drowning Pool, etc.) Oh, and I can't remember his name but the guy who wrote the Fletch books. He's one of those guywas--like elmore Leonard--that writers of all genres should read just for their sheer skill in the craft.

Edward Lee

Yup. Those M(a)cDonalds sure could write! Gregory Mc wrote the Fletches. Then there is Ross Mac. And the best to my mind is John MacDonald with the Travis McGee novels. Then there is the black sheep of the family, Ronald.......what a publicity whore........
I knew John MacDonald wasn't quite with the 60's drug craze when he had one of his characters say he had tried heroin once and it didn't do anything for him and he didn't see what all the hubbub was about and stuck to booze. He is stronger than heroin. Yeah right. His car also got hit by a train and didn't get a scratch on it!
Just to balance out the Dick Francis I am also reading Charlee Jacob's GEEK POEMS. Wow. Once again I find myself sitting in a chair, holding a book in my hand and cackling like the insane. That gal is a trip.

I thought of another "bad" book. Well maybe not bad as in horrible but bad as in very dissapointing. First off I am a HUGE fucking fan of zombies. I mean a really big fan. I picked up The Zombie Survival Guide quite awile ago when there was a lot of talk about it. And I just dived into it. I read it all but there wasn't much that I actually enjoyed. To me, it was all so serious and very repetitive.

One thing I did enjoy was how closely it intertwined with Brian Keene's zombie books. I thought that was interesting. But as for the book itself....meh....I was let down.

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"The Living Dead and the dying living are all the same. Cut from the same cloth. But disposing of dead people is a public service, whereas you're in all sorts of trouble if you kill someone while they're still alive."

Thought I'd try and resurrect this thread. I consider this a really good topic. (BTW-I did give up on Good Omens and donated it and about 30 other books to the local newspaper for a future book sale.)

Awhile back, a friend gave me Gerald's Game by Stephen King to read. I got about a quarter of the way through and put it down. I just couldn't get into it. The same friend then gave me Rose Madder by Stephen King, and I loved it. Thought it was really good.

Stephen King is one of my favorites and i've read most of his books, but for some reason I had the same problem with Gerald's Game. I started it twice (about 12 years in between) thinking maybe I would get into it the second time around, but same thing....I lost interest and just gave up.

FETISH by J. F. Gonzalez is a recent one that I hated. It was overlong and unengaging and I thought the twist ending was ridiculous. Definitely not reading anything else from this guy.

I havn't read Fetish, although I do have the Beloved by Gonzalez, but I can tell you that Survivor is a must read by him. I loved it. It's a great read if you haven't read it already.

I have to say, the worst book I've ever had the displeasure of reading had to be Fires Rising by Michael Laimo. The characters were so detached and cardboard-ish, and the story line was ridiculous with evil construction workers and i think even garbage men....my main question is: how did this guy ever get a book deal?

DUET FOR THE DEVIL is difficult to get through and it took me a few tries but it's worth it. It's not for everyone, though.

I have one book that I absolutely could not get through the first two pages. Unfortunately I can not remember the name of the book or the author as it has been a few years since I attempted to read it. Now this book came as a suggestion from the same person who turned me on to Mr. Lee's books, so I trust his opinion completely. But within the first few paragraphs there's a point where this lady is dealing with a baby screaming and she is not coping with it and it leads you to believe that she is going to put the babies head on a hot stove and having a toddler in the house I just couldn't get past it. Wish I could remember the book or author.

But the one that I am having a really hard time starting is Principles of Insurance: Life, Health, and Annuities. My LOMA book that I need to read for work which I just can't bring myself to start. I guess if I'm not being pressured right now I'm sticking with reading The Black Train.

VT, if you have a problem with babies and stoves, I'd advise you to skip my favorite Lee novel, the Bighead. That's how that book starts. Also, avoid Survivor by J.F. Gonzalez. There's a scene in that book involving a baby that made my wife put that book down for good and my wife is no wimp, she finished The Girl Next Door by Ketchum. Oh, and Wetbones, don't let Fetish keep you away from Gonzalez. He's a great writer. I have a bunch of his books and Fetish is in my opinion, the weakest (I still enjoyed it though). Shapeshifter is a great werewolf book and Bully is a great crime thriller/horror/murder read too. As for Laimo, I would suggest for readers who didn't like Fires Rising, to check out The Demonologist. Very violent and dark. Kinda thought when I was reading it, that maybe the author was going for a Ed Lee type thing.

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Well Splatter, The Bighead is actually one of my very favorite Edward Lee books. The book I am referring to started out with a baby screaming and fussing and (I think) the mother being very frustrated and not able to cope and she started to put the baby's head to the stove. While normally I don't have a problem with disturbing stuff, at the time I was a fairly new father (I think my daughter was not even 1) at the time and I just couldn't stomach it. Now why could I read Bighead probably around the same time is that The Bighead did not seem realistic enough for me to take seriously, where this other book tried to be realistic. I don't have a great explaination for it something about it just turned me off to this book.

Now The Girl Next Door was probably the most disturbing book I read because of it's realism and the brutality of those kids, which if you think about it, in these days we hear about all the horrible shit that kids actually do to each other, so it really wasn't far off from what is happening in today's world. That must mean that Survivor is really fucked, but I have gotten over the getting creeped out factor, my kids are older and I have read much worse since then but that book just screwed with my head at the time.

I recently read Survivor and LOVED it. Not sure what that says about me...lol. What I found most intriguing was the characterization. Each character was fully fleshed out, had a history you could easily visualize and while it didn't make you root for the bad guys, you understood just how deeply they were disturbed, and it made you gasp all the more when something horrific happened to a good guy.

For a Bad Book I've got one that most people seem to adore so I may need to prepare to duck. Gord Rollo's Jigsaw Man. That one came highly HIGHLY recommended on the Leisure board here at Horror World but I absolutely hated it. I can remember one scene I found interesting at best, but the writing was just terrible. While reading, I kept a scrap piece of paper where I wrote each thing that irked me. By the end (I managed to finish), I had all of the original piece and over half of a second sheet of paper filled. One of the first things I remember thinking huh about was the narrator going on about how much his daughter meant to him and how she's one of the main reasons he agrees to go off w/ the odd doctor and the guy seems like he's on the verge of telling you a short story that would show you how much she meant, not just rely on his "telling" you how important she was, and he abruptly cuts himself off saying we as his readers are not privy to that information. I thought, well if I'm not privy to something that would help me feel engaged w/ you, then why the hell am I reading this account of your life in the first place. That was about 30 pages in, the rest was downhill from there. There were also at least 2 or 3 glaring cliches on every page. The were so groan-worthy, I had to stop and laugh at each one after they became so abundant. Of course, after that, it was hell trying to figure out where I was in the story again. Imagine that 2 or 3 times every page.... At other times, Rollo doubled the cliches up and I'd laugh so hard I had to put the book down for an hour to re-settle myself. An example, "I decided it was time to turn-tail and get the hell outta dodge." I laughed for hours over that one, and still get a grin every time I think about it. All the horrors that befall the narrator were negated because I didn't give two shits about the guy. Sadistically, I began to find some pleasure in it LOL. So, yeah, I'm a bit gunshy about any future Rollo releases. Although, one slated for release in early 2010 has a great premise. I may have to try it, but I think I'll try reading as much online as I can. See if I have any horrific flashbacks (not in a good way).