Haven't read any of these John Tigges novels from Leisure Books, but most of their covers are nicely typical of '80s horror paperback cover art in their cheesy monstrous faces and foreboding titles. My favorite is easily Venom (1988), love the erotic bliss of the snake lady. This one's on my must-read list! 
Garden of the Incubus (1982)
Unto the Altar (1985)
Evil Dreams (1986)
As Evil Does (1987)
Hands of Lucifer (1987)
Vessel (1988)
Book of the Dead (1989)But wait - there's more. Tigges also had a pen name, William Essex. Dig on these ludicrously tasteless covers, so over the top and grotesque...
The Pack (1987)
Slime (1988)
From Below (1989)
Who's read any of 'em? Worth hunting down? As that Dirty Harry punk put it, I gots to know.
I've read Slime... review's here. http://mightyblowhole.blogspot.com/2011/07/nasty-nasty.html It was pretty terrible. I've got From Below, which is about leeches... I'm hoping it'll be better. I know I've got Evil Dreams, and possibly one or two of the others... I'm not certain. But I haven't read those yet. I think he used the Essex name for faux-British "nasties." I'll have to snag The Pack, just 'cuz I'm a critter-book completist... :)
ReplyDeleteI read Garden of the Incubus and I actually still have a copy of Unto the Altar. What spectacular crap!
ReplyDeleteI started reading The Immortal but just couldn't get into it. It's still sitting on my shelf, though, so I haven't entirely given up.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I am not particularly a fan of that genre but anyway I agree that sometime they go too far!
ReplyDeleteGreets,
Holiday Rentals Saas Fee
Leisure books made some of the best paperbacks in the business. Then they dropped their mass market line and relied on trades and e books, which really turned me off. Their mass markets were so convenient and reasonable.
ReplyDeleteLeisure/Dorchester has really bottomed out. Brian Keene tells it all here: http://www.briankeene.com/?p=6140
ReplyDeleteI have BOOK OF THE DEAD, but the first few pages were so purpley I had to throw in the towel.
ReplyDeleteAll these covers together are priceless!
Man, I need to track down a copy of Garden of the Incubus. What could a demon possibly be growing in a garden? Aphrodisiacs like celery or onions to help with its sexual pursuits? This book is blowing my mind and I haven't even read it yet.
ReplyDeleteWow, that cover for SLIME looks like some particularly twisted piece of claymation. Now THAT'S a Christmas special I could get behind.
ReplyDelete--J/Metro
I've picked up a few of these but haven't started them yet. They're all fat paperbacks with LARGE font. They're all also pretty lurid -- every page I open up to is either someone having sex or talking about sex. (This isn't a complaint, mind you.)
ReplyDeleteI've got:
As Evil Does -- This one's about a dude whose sister is raped and killed by a gang of satanic bikers. To get revenge he's possessed by...the soul of a satanic biker!!
Venom -- Apparently about a woman who turns into a giant snake. By the way that trickle of venom coming off of her fangs on the cover is also embossed!
The Immortal -- This one isn't pictured here, but it's about a guy who infiltrates a satanic cult, the leader of which is supposedly immortal. This one seems even more lurid than the others!
I love the cover for The Book of the Dead -- I always enjoy cover art that is about books and depicts another, cooler-looking book than the one you're actually holding.
ReplyDelete