Halloween is our absolute favorite holiday for good reason: we love dark speculative fiction. We publish a good bit of it, so if you are in the mood for a Halloween read, check out our catalog for sure, but also check out these three books we’ve read recently that we didn’t publish (but sure do wish we had!). You can find these books at Barnes & Noble or other retailers.
Catherine The Ghost by Kathe Koja
As a huge fan of Wuthering Heights and Kathe Koja, this to me was a match made in heaven. Kathe’s addition to this story is simply perfect–Ms. Brontë would have approved. The gothic, mournful atmosphere is so beautifully brought to life with Koja’s mesmerizing writing style. Each sentence just begs to be read aloud and I found myself doing just that to my spouse when he was in the room. At the heart of this story are the two Catherine’s whose voices have been brought to life in this stunning work. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It is also the perfect gift for anyone you know who is a Wuthering Heights fan.
The Devil by Name by Keith Rosson
This is book 2 of Keith Rosson’s Duology that began with Fever House. These two novels are must reads for anyone who loves superb writing and explosive, propulsive storytelling. I adored Keith’s wonderfully unique take on the zombie story. This time, it is a supernatural spin with remnants (the hand, the eye, the voice) that if brought together will release something seriously bad into the world. Keith has become known for his stunning prose and ability to develop characters at a level that is masterful in my humble opinion. Keith brought back most of the characters from the first novel with the introduction of a few others who grabbed my heart and had me cheering them on until the end. This is well plotted, building to a climax that was completely satisfying. If this isn’t brought to film then someone is seriously missing an opportunity. There is a reason Stephen King has tweeted about this one!
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer
If you were entranced by the Southern Reach trilogy (like we were) then you were probably salivating to get your hands on this prequel. It did not disappoint. There are three parts to this, a pre-Area X expedition where the crazy stuff starts happening (rabbits with cameras, that’s all I’m going to say), then it moves ahead to a period 18 months prior to the first “formal” expedition and follows a Southern Reach agent who has infiltrated the locals in an attempt to figure out what is going on (actually my favorite part just because of the characters), and then on to the ill-fated first expedition. Absolution was brilliant, just as disquieting and surreal as the original trilogy and my only regret was not re-reading the first three prior to jumping into this one as I’d forgotten so much of the detail.
