Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775 - 1818), who wrote the lurid Gothic novel
The Monk, published in 1796. Here you see the 1975 Avon paperback
Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), author of the first true Gothic romance
The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). Date unknown for this Penguin paperback.
Dean R. Koontz (1945), the man behind bestsellers too numerous to count. I liked
Watchers (1987) and
Lightning (1988) back in high school. These are the first-edition Berkley paperbacks.
The ever-enigmatic
Thomas Ligotti (1953), whose exquisitely weird short fiction was first collected in
Song of a Dead Dreamer back in 1985 by Silver Scarab Press.
And
Philip Nutman (1963-2013), journalist and author. His "Full Throttle" was a terrific entry in 1990's
Splatterpunks.
Keene's THE RISING is often given the nod as the work that largely created the zombie craze we now have in popular culture. I've often wondered why Nutman's fine novel didn't do the same, but earlier, given that it was published some ten years before. Perhaps it isn't as good (I read both too long ago to compare fairly) or maybe it just wasn't the right time for America to embrace zombies as a cultural phenom...sometimes timing and luck are everything.
ReplyDeleteReally want to read 'Wetwork'. Wasn't it an expansion of a short story, or novella?
ReplyDeleteI don't think there has been a novel more over rated, or over hyped, in the genre, than 'The Rising'. Staggers me that it has such a following.
The Rising is very overrated like you say. I mean zombie trees!!!????
DeleteThe novel is based on a short story of the same name that appeared in Skipp & Spector's BOOK OF THE DEAD in '89.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Will.
ReplyDeleteI have 'Book of the Dead', so will check out the short story asap.