This list is long overdue. The fact of the matter is that this was hard to compile. Most of the novels that qualify under this category that I have read either get heaps of notice/praise or they stink.
1. The Prestige by Christopher Priest. Any notoriety for this book was most likely overshadowed by the Christopher Nolan film. Although excellent, the film only tells half the story of a feud between two magicians, leading one of them to the occult and transgressive science to achieve his goals. Weird fiction at full tilt, this is an engrossing book.
2. The Sound of His Horn by Sarban. A cult classic among horror fans, this story is a sleeper anywhere else. A man steps into an alternate reality where Nazis rule the world and hunt people for sport. Soft science fiction in a horrifying setting. An original take of The Most Dangerous Game.
3. Khai of Khem by Brian Lumley. A grueling tale of Egypt's far history with the hero battling to liberate his home from a cruel extraterrestrial despot. A successful mixture of fantasy, science fiction, and horror with a guest appearance by one of Lovecraft's deities.
4. A Maze of Death by Phillip K. Dick. I would have picked The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch but that is one of Dick's most famous works. This story tells of a group of stranded explorers beset by hallucinations, paranoia, and logical inconsistencies that only PKD could provide a long with a particularly nasty outlook on mankind's fate.
5. The Hound of Frankenstein by Peter Tremayne. The classic Gothic tale with a pulpy twist in a well-told novella. Tremayne delivers with satisfying Hammer-style horror.
6. Moonbane by Al Sarrantonio. Another sleeper with a wild premise: werewolf invaders from outer space! Sarrantonio provides a tour de force with an unsparing apocalypse.
7. The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber. A praiseworthy and plausible take on werewolf mythology. These creatures aren't necessarily werewolves, but a highly intelligent wolf-like race. This also serves as a engaging and chilling police procedurals.
8. Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak. A genuinely strange novel from the pages of Black Mask Magazine, the king of the pulps. You'll see the elements of a 50s horror flick here for the taking by the legendary screenwriter of The Wolf Man and I Walked With A Zombie. One of the earliest disembodied brain stories.
9. One by David Karp. This one is sociological science fiction for it's dystopian setting, but what it has to say about mankind's sense of individuality is powerful. Many dystopian books have the potential to be horrific but this tale of a government's attempts to destroy a man's sense of self packs a punch much like it's more famous counterpart Orwell's 1984.
10. Wolves of Darkness by Jack Williamson. While Darker Than You Think may be Williamson's most famous contribution to horror, this novella (once more I'm bending the rules a little), may have been more daring. Besides a unique take on lycanthropy, this little miracle includes inter-dimensional portals, extraterrestrial possession, zombies, and compelling cosmic horror. Easily one of the most inventive horror stories from the pulp era.
This was a tough one to compile. Sorry if there's an overabundance of werewolves and pulp but it wasn't intentional on my part. This was fun and I highly encourage you to try them out.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
1. The Prestige by Christopher Priest. Any notoriety for this book was most likely overshadowed by the Christopher Nolan film. Although excellent, the film only tells half the story of a feud between two magicians, leading one of them to the occult and transgressive science to achieve his goals. Weird fiction at full tilt, this is an engrossing book.
2. The Sound of His Horn by Sarban. A cult classic among horror fans, this story is a sleeper anywhere else. A man steps into an alternate reality where Nazis rule the world and hunt people for sport. Soft science fiction in a horrifying setting. An original take of The Most Dangerous Game.
3. Khai of Khem by Brian Lumley. A grueling tale of Egypt's far history with the hero battling to liberate his home from a cruel extraterrestrial despot. A successful mixture of fantasy, science fiction, and horror with a guest appearance by one of Lovecraft's deities.
4. A Maze of Death by Phillip K. Dick. I would have picked The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch but that is one of Dick's most famous works. This story tells of a group of stranded explorers beset by hallucinations, paranoia, and logical inconsistencies that only PKD could provide a long with a particularly nasty outlook on mankind's fate.5. The Hound of Frankenstein by Peter Tremayne. The classic Gothic tale with a pulpy twist in a well-told novella. Tremayne delivers with satisfying Hammer-style horror.
6. Moonbane by Al Sarrantonio. Another sleeper with a wild premise: werewolf invaders from outer space! Sarrantonio provides a tour de force with an unsparing apocalypse.
7. The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber. A praiseworthy and plausible take on werewolf mythology. These creatures aren't necessarily werewolves, but a highly intelligent wolf-like race. This also serves as a engaging and chilling police procedurals.
8. Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak. A genuinely strange novel from the pages of Black Mask Magazine, the king of the pulps. You'll see the elements of a 50s horror flick here for the taking by the legendary screenwriter of The Wolf Man and I Walked With A Zombie. One of the earliest disembodied brain stories.
9. One by David Karp. This one is sociological science fiction for it's dystopian setting, but what it has to say about mankind's sense of individuality is powerful. Many dystopian books have the potential to be horrific but this tale of a government's attempts to destroy a man's sense of self packs a punch much like it's more famous counterpart Orwell's 1984.
10. Wolves of Darkness by Jack Williamson. While Darker Than You Think may be Williamson's most famous contribution to horror, this novella (once more I'm bending the rules a little), may have been more daring. Besides a unique take on lycanthropy, this little miracle includes inter-dimensional portals, extraterrestrial possession, zombies, and compelling cosmic horror. Easily one of the most inventive horror stories from the pulp era.This was a tough one to compile. Sorry if there's an overabundance of werewolves and pulp but it wasn't intentional on my part. This was fun and I highly encourage you to try them out.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
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