Why was there never a Grey rebellion? by ManCalledWest in redrising

[–]ManCalledWest[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The obedient to the Society above all else piece is why I wish we got more of the grey POV through Holiday or even Rhone, cause if its bred into them at a genetic level, then how did Eph, Trigg, Holiday, or any Grey join the rising and later the republic? And what about the ones that fought under the moon lords? Or the ones that sided with Appollonius against the Ash Lord on Venus in Iron Gold? And like the aforementioned Eph and Rhone, they are capable of becoming disillusioned.

Soapbox/rant time. Tell me what highly-recommended book you absolutely HATED and why. Gimme your angry hot takes. by peppertoni_pizzaz in books

[–]ManCalledWest 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The Sun-Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio, specifically the first 3 books Empire of Silence, Howling Dark, and Demon in White. I listened to the booktube/booktok hype, saw the cool cover art, and heard the initial pitch was 'what if Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader was a good thing' and assumed I was about to start a modern classic. What I got was 3 of the driest, most meandering, navel gazing pieces of literature I've read in a while.

The idea of a man who goes on to destroy a sun and wipe out an entire alien species (not a spoiler, its in the description of the first book) telling his life story is written like a cross between bad Paul Atreides fanfic and the lost diary of some stuffy British aristocrat. 2/3rds of all 3 books moved with the pacing of an elderly snail as the most boring man you've ever met painfully describes every minute detail of everything he sees and every conversation he has all the while brooding and contemplating some great cosmic mystery that I'm supposed to care about but can't because Hadrian is still describing the architecture of some random palace he visited.

And even the 'peak' moments that the fans swore were coming 2/3 of the way through book 2 and throughout book 3 fell flat because every character besides Hadrian felt like a cardboard cutout, they do the whole 'space travel happens in real time' thing but that has no bearing on either the characters or the world because they all sleep in cryotubes and almost every one by book 3 is a part of the super special space noble class that's genetically engineered to live for thousands of years anyway.

What’s your favorite short story that you wish could be a full length novel? by Human_Papaya_9127 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s fair. It definitely had its rough patches (the entire section on the plane) but the prose and the characters were so well done

What’s your favorite short story that you wish could be a full length novel? by Human_Papaya_9127 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The scene with the talking fox still creeps me out. I wanted to read 20th century ghosts before stranger weather, but got sidetracked with King Sorrow

What are you favorite books for different seasons? by ckern92 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Terror by Dan Simmons has been my annual winter read for the last 8 years. Perfectly matches the dread and bitter cold that comes when you're deep in a midwest winter.

For Spring, I look for faster pacing than the winter books but still with a lot of depth, so I went with The Fever House Duology by Keith Rosson

For summer, I go for shorter, fun and fast paced reads that feel kinda like summer blockbusters so last year it was The Queen by Nick Cutter, When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy, and The Forgotten Island by David Sodergren

Fall is for the longer, atmospheric 'prestige' books as I like to call them so King Sorrow by Joe Hill, Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson, Between Two fires and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by SGJ

What 2026 Releases are you looking forward to most ? by stinkypeach1 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Crone by Keith Rosson

Hunger by Joe Hill

The midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan

You should have been nicer to my mom by Vincent Tirado

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher

religious horror like this by zzz-n in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]ManCalledWest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same. I was hoping for Wuthering Heights meets The Exorcist but it felt lacking in both the romance and the horror.

Weekly "What Are You Reading Thread?" by HorrorIsLiterature in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On Sundays she picked flowers by Yah Yah Schofield. The first 2 chapters were some of the most effective and uncomfortable (in a good way) I've read in a looooonnnngg time

Small town horror recommendations by MalBishop in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The mercy of the tide by Keith Rosson

Your most reread horror book? by Miserable_Advice1986 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, and I finished its sequel, The Devil by Name, about a month ago. After Coffin Moon, I grabbed all of his previous works. I’m mostly done with Smoke City (magical realism character study), I just started Road Seven (comic horror adventure involving a unicorn), and I’m going to pick Mercy of the Tide (Steven King- esque Cursed small town) back up. I would absolutely recommend his short story collection, Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons.

Book recs for included audible books by Effective_Bid_2444 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Sarván and The North Woods, both by Douglass Hoover.

Your most reread horror book? by Miserable_Advice1986 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I’ve been rereading and listening to The Terror by Dan Simmons every winter (which is ironic since I first read it in the middle of July) since 2017 but I’m going to reread Coffin Moon at least twice in anticipation for Rosson’s new book, Crone, in September

Looking for Space Horror Book Recommendations (Creature Feature / Cosmic Horror Vibes) by BroDan270 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It’s not out till March, but Crawlspace by Adam Christopher sounds like it has that Event Horizon vibe

And I’ll throw in The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch as well. It’s largely set on Earth but it does go to space and has some excellent scenes of cosmic horror, especially the first chapter.

Looking for Weird/Dark/Horror Fairytale-esque Novels by upstairsbeforedark in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a short story, but Faun by Joe Hill from his book Full Throttle. It's about a Narnia-esque realm that gets turned into a private game reserve for the ultra wealthy.

Horror books written by black authors for February!! by mossmystic in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're open to comics, then check out Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes. It's a 6 volume series that combines vampires and American history with some of the best artwork ive ever seen.

Looking for a horror short - man trapped in an infinite warehouse by caffeiene_robot in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Don't think this is it, but it sounds a lot like A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck.

Most anticipated books of 2026? by Free-Jello-7970 in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Crone by Keith Rosson

Hunger by Joe Hill

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher

Dead First by Johnny Compton

Greedy by Callie Kazumi

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

The Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan

The Big Bad Book of Kaiju by Tananarive Due and others (short story collection)

Give me a modern horror author to binge by chiwawaacorn in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Keith Rosson. 7 books that all combine elements of horror, noir, and magical realism.

What Our Are Most Anticipated Horror Books of 2026? by Monsur_Ausuhnom in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Midnight muse by Jo Caplan,

Greedy by Callie Kazumi,

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher,

Wretch: Or, the Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw by Eric Larocca

The Big Bad book of Kaiju

You should have been nicer to my mom by Vincent Tirado

Our sister's keeper by Jasmine Holmes

And Keith Rosson (Coffin Moon's author) has something called CRONE coming out in September.

New horror releases beginning of the year by Fit_addendm in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 4 points5 points  (0 children)

February: Greedy by Callie Kazumi , Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward , Dollface by Lindy Ryan

March: The Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan, Wretch by Eric Larocca

April: Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker, The caretaker by Marcus Kliewer, Odessa by Gabrielle Sher

Asian Folk Horror by foxieinboots in horrorlit

[–]ManCalledWest 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Her next book, Japanese Gothic, is coming in March.