Great Choices! The Fisherman is probably my all-time favorite horror novel - just epic! The novels you've listed that I haven't read yet are already in my library wishlist.
Most of these are on my tbr, just haven't been reading lots of modern horror this year. The two that I have read and loved are extreme: The Black Farm and Gone To See The River Man.
Love that you have Grady Hendrix and Stephen Graham Jones on here. I got to meet Jones a few years back and speak with him about horror and his Native background. He’s a delightful human being, funny, insightful, and one Hell of a great author! (Plus, we share a mutual love of the band Ween, which opened our conversation.) Great picks, as always!
I've seen The Fisherman mentioned a few times, I'll have to scoop it up. Haven't read the Outsider, but the limited series they did on HBO was fantastic. I know I'm in the minority, but I didn't like Head Full of Ghost. I honestly don't see why so many people love it. I don't know if this is really a spoiler but: SPOILER I think the tension in this kind of story hinges on ambiguity around if the possession is real or not. I never thought anything supernatural was going on. Whenever anything that could be supernatural happens it's usually immediately undercut by the blog character or sometimes in the same scene.
Interesting. Some of those I gave a one-star review to (Chainsaw, Fisherman) but others five (Head Full of Ghosts). I've added How to Sell and Mary to my 'to read' list. Good vid, thanks.
yesssss How to sell a haunted house! So many people hate on this book but I love it so much. I'm shocked that Mary isn't available in the UK. I plan on finally reading that next month. I loved so many of your picks, added the rest to my TBR, except for the outsider. I think I'm the only one that didn't care for that book. Could be because I'm not big into crime. Great list!
Not sure I’ll ever understand why so many people love Grady Hendrix… I read HORRORSTOR and it just felt like a YA horror novel. Not scary, only mildly humorous… Cover: 10/10 Book: 5/10… I understand it’s a labor of love for Grady Hendrix but I probably won’t buy more unless given the strongest of recommendations.
I love Grady's work, yes his work is a bit juvenile but it's kinda the whole point it's meant to be campy and silly. Think of his work like Goosebumps but for adults. They're fun reads not meant to be taken too seriously
Reading Mary now! ❤️ Just ordered Whisper Man yesterday. Now I may have to order Chainsaw&Reaper by Jones and The Fisherman before the 6th 🤣 Dammit, Olly! 😂😅
The Fisherman was really great for the first chapters but then it lost me. I liked: The Girl With All the Gifts, The Only Good Indians, The Black Maybe, Head Full of Ghosts, Experimental Film. I guess that's enough, though there were others.
Had the Fisherman not seemed like it was essentially two different stories in one, it would be absolutely incredible. Needless to say, standing alone, the two parts of the book are phenomenal and it definitely was quite captivating.
Slacker. I can't believe you didn't read ALL the horror releases. Fun list. I've read them all except the King book and liked them all. For me, The Lamb by Matt Hill is my favorite of 2023.
I really think you would enjoy Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman. Its creepy, campy, pulpy, allll of the things I associate with Olly. I'll be looking up a couple from this list right away
I must confess that I remain blind to the merits of Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts. I absolutely hated this novel and was greatly disappointed because the book was so hyped when it was released and came highly recommended by so many horror fans. Thankfully I am not completely alone with my opinion, but I am certainly in the minority. That said, have you done a full video review of the book? I'd like to hear more of your thoughts about why you think it is one of the 10 best horror novels of the last 10 years.
Tremblay generally seems to be quite a divisive author, and it does been like people who like one of his books might not like others. I’ve read Cabin at the end of the world as well no didn’t like that nearly as much. And yes, did do a full review th-cam.com/video/cLIahiB4BSE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=JS7DiNGNaq2GI1U9
I couldn't get into My Heart is a Chainsaw, I think it was the writing style. I am thinking of trying it on audio because I hear so much praise for it, and I love slashers.
Good list except for Grady Hendrix. I’ve tried 2.5 of his books (Dnf the last one, this very same one you mentioned, characters were stupid unlikable and puppets??? Cmon. Just stomp on the stupid thing) and they’ve all stunk. Just doesn’t work for me I guess.
Good list. I just can't get into Grady Hendrix. He's too silly, and I'm pretty hardcore about my horror. I've tried a few of his books and he always ends up irritating me to the point of anger, so... I'll just take your word on it for that one 'cuz I doubt it's for me. I like Stephen Graham Jones but he always goes goofy on me. I've got the Chainsaw book but after I didn't like The Only Good Indians as much as I should've (I liked it, I just thought the one-on-one-basketball with an elk woman was too dumb) and then read Night of the Mannequins (don't ever read that book, it's awful, just infuriatingly stupid) I've held off on reading any of his other stuff. But I haven't given up on him. Head Full of Ghosts is excellent. The Outsider is also really good. I still haven't read Bird Box, although I have it. I did read Pearl and didn't like it at all, but I have some more of his stuff and will give him another go. No Adam Nevill on the list? I think he's turning out some of the best horror anybody's ever done in a while, although I'll admit his newer ones aren't as great as his older ones (he's gotten in a bad habit of over-describing everything and it slows things down). Between Two Fires and Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman are really good... although I just looked and they're slightly over the 10 year mark, so, guess they can't count. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell is REALLY good, one of the best newer horror novels I've read in a while. Night Film by Marisha Pessl is *almost* in the 10 year range, and it's really good. Run on Red by Noelle West Ihili is pretty intense, good overall. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. Honestly, though, I've started reading a lot more old stuff, because most new horror turns out to be really bad. With self-publishing taking down the firewall, and paid "influencers" making most reviews hard to trust (god, I keep getting burned by supposed four-star books) I'm close to giving up on anything written in the past ten years. But, I still keep trying for fear of missing that one good one amidst all the chaff...
I was a little bit underwhelmed by Night Film when I read it, I think because my expectations were maybe a little high. But it's stuck in my head when there are probably many books I rated higher since that I wouldn't be able to recall anything about. The infiltrating the estate bit of the book was great. Seriously weird and creepy. (You're probably going to tell me now that I've got the wrong book...)
@@alanpinks Yeah, Night Film is a strange one. It's not *really* a horror novel, ultimately... but it's so close and has such a weird, creepy atmosphere that I count it as one.
@@nunyabidness4220 I think we all get too hung up on genre definitions - genres are just useful tools to classify stuff, they're not real, inherent things. Night Film is weird and it's creepy and that's good enough for me.
They all look tempting - surprisingly, there's not one there that I have read, although I have read some other things by several of those authors. I have read more current Horror over the last few years than was usual for me; I felt out of touch with modern Horror, and so acquired some reading guides and lists for ideas, and generally it has gone well, except when certain types of "Extreme Horror" are just too much for me. Some books I enjoyed, published 2014-2023 Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge (changling/artificial girl/hidden kingdom) Pretty Little Dead Girls, by Mercedes M. Yardley (fairy tale romance gone wrong/serial killer/"girl power" theme) In the Valley of the Sun, by Andy Davidson (vampire/Western vibe/ethereal and dreamlike at times) Phantom Effect, by Michael Aronovitz (special mention of this one, which is not doing well at Goodreads, but I liked it; interesting supernatural serial killer novel, and it was fun reading this book around the same time as Pretty Little Dead Girls, as they were fun to compare)
I grabbed In the Valley of the Sun a few years ago on one of those kindle $1 deals and never got around to reading it. I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone mention it, I'm excited to hear it was good!
I just don't see the hype around My Heart is a Chainsaw. I mention it in my own review but I felt like the final quarter of that book had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of it and it just felt totally unearned to me. That said, I really enjoyed the sequel. And second the love for Mary by Nat Cassidy. Excellent book *Edit* YEAHHHHH HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS!
I liked Bird Box very much and I have read something else by Malerman - the sequel, Mallory. It's got some good stuff in it, I suppose, but I really don't recommend it highly. A pity. The only other one on the list I've read is A Head Full of Ghosts and I thought that was great, even if the ending kind of let the side down. I'm a huge fan of what I've read by Tremblay - The Cabin At The End of the World was ace, and Disappearance At Devil's Rock was really quite special; absolutely heartbreaking as well as extremely creepy. I'm not sold on Grady Hendrix though. I read Horrorstör a few years back, and while it was beautifully packaged and a lot of fun, the actual story was really quite bad. I'm always willing to give second chances though, so I'll stick How To Sell... on the wishlist. Finally, I actually bought The Fisherman just today! It'll be a few months before I get around to it (the to read pile is huge...), but I'm looking forward to it.
Thanks for this list! I put them all on my list for the next time I want to be scared, lol. I also read Ring Shout and I agree, what a phenomenal novella. It was even better the 2nd time for me as I really enjoyed the audio version with the accents and singing. Great recommendations!
I honestly think The Fisherman has been one of the worst books I have read of recent. I found the horror elements almost nonexistent, and the characters felt very flat to me. Obviously, purely my opinion of course.
![อยู่คนเดียวกับเขา - ส้ม มารี (Zom Marie) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gq1cWAIQDLg/mqdefault.jpg)
I also really enjoyed The Fisherman.
So glad A Head Full of Ghosts and The Fisherman both made the list. Great books. I liked Bird Box as well.
I'm currently reading The Fisherman.
I really liked Head Full of Ghosts. Bird Box is one of my favourites. How Josh Malerman made me see without seeing was brilliant!
I love The Fisherman
It’s so good!
Great Choices! The Fisherman is probably my all-time favorite horror novel - just epic! The novels you've listed that I haven't read yet are already in my library wishlist.
Most of these are on my tbr, just haven't been reading lots of modern horror this year. The two that I have read and loved are extreme: The Black Farm and Gone To See The River Man.
Love that you have Grady Hendrix and Stephen Graham Jones on here. I got to meet Jones a few years back and speak with him about horror and his Native background. He’s a delightful human being, funny, insightful, and one Hell of a great author! (Plus, we share a mutual love of the band Ween, which opened our conversation.) Great picks, as always!
That;s very cool you got to meet him!
I've seen The Fisherman mentioned a few times, I'll have to scoop it up. Haven't read the Outsider, but the limited series they did on HBO was fantastic. I know I'm in the minority, but I didn't like Head Full of Ghost. I honestly don't see why so many people love it. I don't know if this is really a spoiler but:
SPOILER
I think the tension in this kind of story hinges on ambiguity around if the possession is real or not. I never thought anything supernatural was going on. Whenever anything that could be supernatural happens it's usually immediately undercut by the blog character or sometimes in the same scene.
Dude! Let’s go!
The first 3… now 4 books all seem super good. This is the first video I have found with recommendations I like so much. 🙏
Hells bells, as if my TBR pile wasn't high enough.
😂😂😂
Great list! I loved How to Sell a Haunted House, My Heart is a Chainsaw, Ring Shout, The Outsider, and Head Full of Ghosts.
Interesting. Some of those I gave a one-star review to (Chainsaw, Fisherman) but others five (Head Full of Ghosts). I've added How to Sell and Mary to my 'to read' list. Good vid, thanks.
Josh malerman is becoming one of my favorite authors. I would recommend A House at the Bottom of a Lake.
I loved loved loved The Whisper Man!! Great mystery, great story, and a real gut-punch ending.
yesssss How to sell a haunted house! So many people hate on this book but I love it so much. I'm shocked that Mary isn't available in the UK. I plan on finally reading that next month. I loved so many of your picks, added the rest to my TBR, except for the outsider. I think I'm the only one that didn't care for that book. Could be because I'm not big into crime. Great list!
"Going through The Menopause" Olly you're such a Dad. 😅😅😅
Great list. I loved Mary in particular.
Me too!
Aww Saw the movie made from Bird Box. Wish I had known there was a book which is always better. (it was probably in the movie credits!)
Not sure I’ll ever understand why so many people love Grady Hendrix… I read HORRORSTOR and it just felt like a YA horror novel. Not scary, only mildly humorous… Cover: 10/10 Book: 5/10… I understand it’s a labor of love for Grady Hendrix but I probably won’t buy more unless given the strongest of recommendations.
He’s not for me either. The writing feels too silly for it to be horror. It’s humor to me and that’s not for me
I love Grady's work, yes his work is a bit juvenile but it's kinda the whole point it's meant to be campy and silly. Think of his work like Goosebumps but for adults. They're fun reads not meant to be taken too seriously
I’m just looking for a genuinely gruesome book to spook me before bed 😪
WoW! ALL of these sound so good that I’m going to save this list.
Reading Mary now! ❤️ Just ordered Whisper Man yesterday. Now I may have to order Chainsaw&Reaper by Jones and The Fisherman before the 6th 🤣 Dammit, Olly! 😂😅
Really enjoyed this video! A great list of books!!!
The Fisherman was really great for the first chapters but then it lost me. I liked: The Girl With All the Gifts, The Only Good Indians, The Black Maybe, Head Full of Ghosts, Experimental Film. I guess that's enough, though there were others.
Well, out of that lot I have The Fisherman and Ring Shout on my Kindle, so I think I know what I'll be reading next.
I may not read a lot of horror but I would definitely accept your horror book picks, no questions asked. (Ok I’m lying maybe 1 question)
Had the Fisherman not seemed like it was essentially two different stories in one, it would be absolutely incredible. Needless to say, standing alone, the two parts of the book are phenomenal and it definitely was quite captivating.
I’ve heard such great things about Fever Dream. Gotta check it out. Thanks !
Slacker. I can't believe you didn't read ALL the horror releases. Fun list. I've read them all except the King book and liked them all. For me, The Lamb by Matt Hill is my favorite of 2023.
I am a third of the way through Mary by Nat Cassidy. It is SO good!! I loved Ring Shout! I was thrilled when Holly showed up in The Outsider!
Really glad you're enjoying it!
Definitely a hidden gem book! One of my favourite horror novels.
I really think you would enjoy Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman. Its creepy, campy, pulpy, allll of the things I associate with Olly. I'll be looking up a couple from this list right away
I must confess that I remain blind to the merits of Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts. I absolutely hated this novel and was greatly disappointed because the book was so hyped when it was released and came highly recommended by so many horror fans. Thankfully I am not completely alone with my opinion, but I am certainly in the minority. That said, have you done a full video review of the book? I'd like to hear more of your thoughts about why you think it is one of the 10 best horror novels of the last 10 years.
Tremblay generally seems to be quite a divisive author, and it does been like people who like one of his books might not like others. I’ve read Cabin at the end of the world as well no didn’t like that nearly as much. And yes, did do a full review th-cam.com/video/cLIahiB4BSE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=JS7DiNGNaq2GI1U9
Thank you for taking the time to reply and for the link to your full review of A Head Full of Ghosts.
I couldn't get into My Heart is a Chainsaw, I think it was the writing style. I am thinking of trying it on audio because I hear so much praise for it, and I love slashers.
Will check out ring shout.
Good list except for Grady Hendrix. I’ve tried 2.5 of his books (Dnf the last one, this very same one you mentioned, characters were stupid unlikable and puppets??? Cmon. Just stomp on the stupid thing) and they’ve all stunk. Just doesn’t work for me I guess.
Ooohhh, I’ve actually read three of them!
Good list.
I just can't get into Grady Hendrix. He's too silly, and I'm pretty hardcore about my horror. I've tried a few of his books and he always ends up irritating me to the point of anger, so... I'll just take your word on it for that one 'cuz I doubt it's for me.
I like Stephen Graham Jones but he always goes goofy on me. I've got the Chainsaw book but after I didn't like The Only Good Indians as much as I should've (I liked it, I just thought the one-on-one-basketball with an elk woman was too dumb) and then read Night of the Mannequins (don't ever read that book, it's awful, just infuriatingly stupid) I've held off on reading any of his other stuff. But I haven't given up on him.
Head Full of Ghosts is excellent. The Outsider is also really good.
I still haven't read Bird Box, although I have it. I did read Pearl and didn't like it at all, but I have some more of his stuff and will give him another go.
No Adam Nevill on the list? I think he's turning out some of the best horror anybody's ever done in a while, although I'll admit his newer ones aren't as great as his older ones (he's gotten in a bad habit of over-describing everything and it slows things down).
Between Two Fires and Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman are really good... although I just looked and they're slightly over the 10 year mark, so, guess they can't count.
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell is REALLY good, one of the best newer horror novels I've read in a while.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl is *almost* in the 10 year range, and it's really good.
Run on Red by Noelle West Ihili is pretty intense, good overall.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. Honestly, though, I've started reading a lot more old stuff, because most new horror turns out to be really bad. With self-publishing taking down the firewall, and paid "influencers" making most reviews hard to trust (god, I keep getting burned by supposed four-star books) I'm close to giving up on anything written in the past ten years. But, I still keep trying for fear of missing that one good one amidst all the chaff...
I was a little bit underwhelmed by Night Film when I read it, I think because my expectations were maybe a little high. But it's stuck in my head when there are probably many books I rated higher since that I wouldn't be able to recall anything about. The infiltrating the estate bit of the book was great. Seriously weird and creepy.
(You're probably going to tell me now that I've got the wrong book...)
@@alanpinks Yeah, Night Film is a strange one. It's not *really* a horror novel, ultimately... but it's so close and has such a weird, creepy atmosphere that I count it as one.
@@nunyabidness4220 I think we all get too hung up on genre definitions - genres are just useful tools to classify stuff, they're not real, inherent things. Night Film is weird and it's creepy and that's good enough for me.
They all look tempting - surprisingly, there's not one there that I have read, although I have read some other things by several of those authors.
I have read more current Horror over the last few years than was usual for me; I felt out of touch with modern Horror, and so acquired some reading guides and lists for ideas, and generally it has gone well, except when certain types of "Extreme Horror" are just too much for me.
Some books I enjoyed, published 2014-2023
Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge (changling/artificial girl/hidden kingdom)
Pretty Little Dead Girls, by Mercedes M. Yardley (fairy tale romance gone wrong/serial killer/"girl power" theme)
In the Valley of the Sun, by Andy Davidson (vampire/Western vibe/ethereal and dreamlike at times)
Phantom Effect, by Michael Aronovitz (special mention of this one, which is not doing well at Goodreads, but I liked it; interesting supernatural serial killer novel, and it was fun reading this book around the same time as Pretty Little Dead Girls, as they were fun to compare)
I grabbed In the Valley of the Sun a few years ago on one of those kindle $1 deals and never got around to reading it. I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone mention it, I'm excited to hear it was good!
I have only read two on the list! 👏🏻👏🏻 BUT I own a few more. 😊#readwhatyouownchallenge
Fever Dream was fantastic! I could not put it down, it was so fast paced and I just had to know what happened
Great list CriminOlly! Have you read 2017’s Tender Is The Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica? Maybe not straight up horror but definitely disturbing.
I have - really enjoyed it! There's a review on the channel I think
looking through vids about horror and here i am!!
Hope you enjoyed it!
Wow I’ve read all but 2!
I just don't see the hype around My Heart is a Chainsaw. I mention it in my own review but I felt like the final quarter of that book had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of it and it just felt totally unearned to me. That said, I really enjoyed the sequel.
And second the love for Mary by Nat Cassidy. Excellent book
*Edit* YEAHHHHH HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS!
All books I haven't read, but all but 2 by authors whose work I do know pretty well.
I liked Bird Box very much and I have read something else by Malerman - the sequel, Mallory. It's got some good stuff in it, I suppose, but I really don't recommend it highly. A pity.
The only other one on the list I've read is A Head Full of Ghosts and I thought that was great, even if the ending kind of let the side down. I'm a huge fan of what I've read by Tremblay - The Cabin At The End of the World was ace, and Disappearance At Devil's Rock was really quite special; absolutely heartbreaking as well as extremely creepy.
I'm not sold on Grady Hendrix though. I read Horrorstör a few years back, and while it was beautifully packaged and a lot of fun, the actual story was really quite bad. I'm always willing to give second chances though, so I'll stick How To Sell... on the wishlist.
Finally, I actually bought The Fisherman just today! It'll be a few months before I get around to it (the to read pile is huge...), but I'm looking forward to it.
I enjoyed How to Sell a Haunted House too 😊
Thank you 🙏🏽
No problem 😊
Thanks for this list! I put them all on my list for the next time I want to be scared, lol. I also read Ring Shout and I agree, what a phenomenal novella. It was even better the 2nd time for me as I really enjoyed the audio version with the accents and singing. Great recommendations!
Ive always wanted to ask...what is your intro music from? It's really cool.
Who’s Afraid of Halloween by Alfred Grupstra from Pixabay. (It’s at the end of Ollie’s description.)
Awesome video!
I've actually seen many of these! I ould have put The Only Good Indians instead of chainsaw.
I really need to pick up Whisper Man, I have wanted to read that since it came out! And I know I'm in the minority here but i did not like Bird box.
I haven't read any of them. The one about the klan intrigues me I think. 🤔🤔
I honestly think The Fisherman has been one of the worst books I have read of recent.
I found the horror elements almost nonexistent, and the characters felt very flat to me. Obviously, purely my opinion of course.
❤
Ah, there are so many better books than these IMHO (also any books written in the present tense are wannabee screenplays). GTFO
Okay thanks