The collection How to be Alone by Jonathan Franzen. Especially the story about Chicago's postal service.
Always T.C. Boyle, Lovecraft and R.E. Howard
The collection How to be Alone by Jonathan Franzen. Especially the story about Chicago's postal service.
Always T.C. Boyle, Lovecraft and R.E. Howard
Though both Howard and Lovecraft are extremely dated. That doesn't make them bad, but they require a certain mindset to approach. Both in reading style (though the two are extremely different) and in being able to handle stunning degrees of prejudice about gender and race.
If one is used to the movie and comics version of Conan, you're probably in for a rude awakening too, because Howard's Conan is very much different.
«Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])
I love short stories. I think my two favourite collections, one modern and one classic, are The Starlings & Other Stories (Ann Cleeves edits) and A.P. Short Novels and Stories.
“We have a saying, my people. Don’t kill if you can wound, don’t wound if you can subdue, don’t subdue if you can pacify, and don’t raise your hand at all until you’ve first extended it.”
Since you mentioned Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", you should also check out her "One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts" and Harlan Ellison's similar short story "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore" (which in fact references it).
Incidentally, many literary critics agree that the two best American short-story writers were Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty (both of them women who lived rather secluded lives and who wrote about their native South). You might want to look at the former's Complete Stories (she wrote only 32 short stories, since she died at age 39) or one of the collections of the latter's, such as 1980's The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty.
Yeah, both writers are to be handled with care (Frost Giant's Daughter, Rats in the Walls) but when it comes to entertainment even Buffy can be dangerous. I shamelessly enjoy Tower of the Elephant and the King Conan tales, The Haunter of the Dark, Winged Death and Charles Dexter Ward.
Last edited by batnbreakfast; 04-16-2021 at 02:12 AM.
Welcome to the Monkey House - Kurt Vonnegut
december 21st has passed where are my superpowers?
Yeah. The Lottery was such a shocking story. Very sick, but interesting. Thanks for the Ellison recommendation. I've read the Optimist's Daughter by Welty. But that was a short novel, not a short story. I enjoyed it. And I watched a GREAT PBS documentary about O'Connor earlier this month. Interesting person. I will have to take a look at her work too.
Yes, together with Lord Dunsany, Howard and Lovecraft were probably the most important fantasy and horror writers of the 1920s and 1930s. But there are plenty of excellent short story-writers within the fantasy genre.
The grandfather of them all is probably Edgar Allen Poe, who primarily influenced the horror genre, but also wrote what we later would dub science fiction and fantasy. From the 1940s forward you get writers like Fritz Leiber and Robert Bloch (who wrote the screenplay for Psycho) moving between fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
Later on you have British writers like Michael Moorcock (who moved in the same circles as Alan Moore) and Tanith Lee (who was a superb novelist and short-story writer).
Last edited by kjn; 04-18-2021 at 02:28 AM. Reason: fix Robert Bloch's name
«Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])
Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
The Academy of Science Fiction Hall of Fame, 3 volumes.
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
Try
Tales from Jokai.
links to my books:
"TWISTED HOLIDAY HORROR TALES"
@ comiXology
@ IndyPlanet
"Blues Ratz"
@ Amazon: Spec. BLUE Version Paperback
@ IndyPlanet: Collected Edition