The term, Literary Horror, seems to me to be as ridiculous as any of the other subgenres people bandy about. What exactly does it mean other than fiction that is written better than the norm? Bigger words? Higher concepts? Floral phrases?
I suppose there is a distinction. Looking back at the days when I was a wet-behind-the-ears reader, I could tell the difference between Peter Straub and James Herbert. Even though I enjoyed them both. I knew that when I was reading Ray Russell, Ramsey Campbell, or Thomas Tessier, it was a very different experience than when I picked up something by Rick Hautala or Richard Laymon. These are all writers of good, enjoyable horror fiction, but some function with a greater degree of ambition and scope, as I see it.
The same holds true today. There are numerous writers who appear to be content delivering a fun, gory good time with their fiction. And others who bring the work to a greater artistic level.
And, of course, there are the very many whose work falls somewhere in between the two poles.
Even after only reading two books by Benjamin Percy, I find myself hard-pressed to come up with another newer horror writer whose work is of such high literary merit as he achieves. I mean, how many horror writers get a laudatory blurb from John Irving?
I read Percy's latest novel, The Dark Net, last year, and I consider it to be one of the finest things I read in 2018. Now I have read his epic novel, Red Moon, and with this one Benjamin Percy has climbed to nearly the very top of my list of favorite horror writers.
The writing in Red Moon is the kind that reviewers describe as "muscular prose". Each sentence is constructed with strength and broad descriptive strokes. Each paragraph is a marvel.
Red Moon is set in an America where werewolves, or lycans, have been living out in the open for decades. The condition is spread by bites, and it is considered to be a dangerous virus. Lycans are treated as secondary citizens at best, and creatures to be despised and persecuted by many.
The wolf-laden world of Red Moon seems to be more than a bit like our own. There are political and social parallels in the novel to current hot issues like immigration, opiate addiction, racism, nationalism, terrorism, and and class division. Percy wisely avoids taking any political slant, and he offers views from all sides. He also portrays monstrous villains and decent protagonists from all perspectives.
Red Moon works on a broad canvas. I hate to compare it to the numerous other apocalyptic stories out there, but it does deal with cataclysmic events. It's a big story with a lot of characters and a dense plot.
I've been reading this stuff for a long damn time, and I have grown more than a little bit discriminate about horror fiction. I don't usually fall for the flavor-of-the-moment writers, and I think a lot of books are overrated. Red Moon is, as far as I am concerned, a masterpiece. Sadly, I don't see a lot of horror readers talking about Benjamin Percy, and I think that is a shame. He is one of the very best writers we currently have working in the genre.
Written by Mark Sieber
I suppose there is a distinction. Looking back at the days when I was a wet-behind-the-ears reader, I could tell the difference between Peter Straub and James Herbert. Even though I enjoyed them both. I knew that when I was reading Ray Russell, Ramsey Campbell, or Thomas Tessier, it was a very different experience than when I picked up something by Rick Hautala or Richard Laymon. These are all writers of good, enjoyable horror fiction, but some function with a greater degree of ambition and scope, as I see it.
The same holds true today. There are numerous writers who appear to be content delivering a fun, gory good time with their fiction. And others who bring the work to a greater artistic level.
And, of course, there are the very many whose work falls somewhere in between the two poles.
Even after only reading two books by Benjamin Percy, I find myself hard-pressed to come up with another newer horror writer whose work is of such high literary merit as he achieves. I mean, how many horror writers get a laudatory blurb from John Irving?
I read Percy's latest novel, The Dark Net, last year, and I consider it to be one of the finest things I read in 2018. Now I have read his epic novel, Red Moon, and with this one Benjamin Percy has climbed to nearly the very top of my list of favorite horror writers.
The writing in Red Moon is the kind that reviewers describe as "muscular prose". Each sentence is constructed with strength and broad descriptive strokes. Each paragraph is a marvel.
Red Moon is set in an America where werewolves, or lycans, have been living out in the open for decades. The condition is spread by bites, and it is considered to be a dangerous virus. Lycans are treated as secondary citizens at best, and creatures to be despised and persecuted by many.
The wolf-laden world of Red Moon seems to be more than a bit like our own. There are political and social parallels in the novel to current hot issues like immigration, opiate addiction, racism, nationalism, terrorism, and and class division. Percy wisely avoids taking any political slant, and he offers views from all sides. He also portrays monstrous villains and decent protagonists from all perspectives.
Red Moon works on a broad canvas. I hate to compare it to the numerous other apocalyptic stories out there, but it does deal with cataclysmic events. It's a big story with a lot of characters and a dense plot.
I've been reading this stuff for a long damn time, and I have grown more than a little bit discriminate about horror fiction. I don't usually fall for the flavor-of-the-moment writers, and I think a lot of books are overrated. Red Moon is, as far as I am concerned, a masterpiece. Sadly, I don't see a lot of horror readers talking about Benjamin Percy, and I think that is a shame. He is one of the very best writers we currently have working in the genre.
Written by Mark Sieber
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