Horror: The 100 Best Books
First published in 1988,Horror: The 100 Best Bookshas remained the only book of its kind: a solid (and entertaining) annotated reading list spanning the range of horror fiction from the 16th to the 20th century. The device of asking 100 horror, fantasy,and science fiction writers to write about their favorite horror books might seem at first to capture an idiosyncratic sample, but through diplomacy and diligence, editors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman succeeded in obtaining short essays on most (if not all) of the well-known classics, as well as many more lesser-knowns that are well worth discovering. Readers who follow up on these recommendations will find tips about books by writers mostly known for other genres--such asIain Banks,Robert Holdstock,Lisa Tuttle, andDavid Morrell.Also valuable are write-ups on literary works not always acknowledged as horror, such as Kingsley Amis'sThe Green Man, Jerzy Kosinski'sThe Painted Bird, and John Gardner'sGrendel. And the write-ups offer a fascinating peek into the minds of the contributors, who include just about all the top horror writers of the'60s-'80s. This 10th anniversary edition makes no changes in the list of 100 books, but updates the entries and includes a 9-page reading list of titles from 458 B.C. to 1997.--Fiona Webster