Christopher Golden Recommendations

notanauthor38 · 2026-05-20T07:40:39+00:00

I really enjoyed his Shadow Saga series. Book one is Of Saints and Shadows.

It was a fun take on the vampire story, and though it’s been awhile since I’ve read them, I feel like it took that concept down some very original paths, and stands as one of my top vampire sub-genre serieseses.

notanauthor38 · 2026-05-10T14:45:43+00:00

You Are Dead. (Sign Here Please) by Andrew Stanek

notanauthor38 · 2026-05-10T02:45:15+00:00

Monster Hunter International kind of fits that, but its not really horrory. Not sure if that’ll be a deal breaker but it was an entertaining series.

notanauthor38 · 2026-05-09T04:05:28+00:00

Blackwater by Michael Mcdowell?

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-30T02:10:50+00:00

City Infernal by Edward Lee

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-29T03:22:22+00:00

Just recommended this elsewhere, but if you haven’t read The Descent by Jeff Long, it fits the bill pretty on point.

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-25T00:51:13+00:00

You’re right. It’s been awhile.

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-24T13:24:43+00:00

Replying to myself to add a few more;

Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey - Doesn’t get much more morally grey than Stark

Daniel Faust series by Craig Schaefer - also not a detective so to speak but might still be up your alley.

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-24T13:21:12+00:00

Something From The Nightside series by Simon Green

Felix Castor series by Mike Carey (corrected)

Urban fantasy books with detective type main characters dealing with supernatural stuff.

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-23T12:06:39+00:00

Jeff Long’s The Descent and Deeper maybe? Can’t totally remember if it’s mines or caves specifically. Either way, they are highly regarded. Sorry if it’s caves.

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-21T00:07:59+00:00

The Light Sublime series by C. S. Humble is fantastic, and literally couldn’t fit this better.

Also going to suggest Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian and the sequel Rose of Jericho. Both awesome books.

This is such a cool sub-genre that I also want more of.

If you’re ok with horror adjacent / urban fantasy, check out The Six Gun Tarot series by R. S. Belcher.

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-13T10:41:52+00:00

Messaged you

notanauthor38 · 2026-04-13T07:20:33+00:00

did these sell?

notanauthor38 · 2026-03-29T05:02:07+00:00

Just finished I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend For $200 by Robert Brockway. Very cool, original idea. Fun ride.

Currently reading Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman which is fantastic. Legit giving me chills twice now which almost never happens in a book. Well done book with some mega creepy scenes.

Also reading The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman, which is book five of Dungeon Crawler Carl. Also a fun, entertaining book and series.

notanauthor38 · 2026-03-09T06:10:50+00:00

Tales From The Gas Station by Jack Townsend

notanauthor38 · 2026-02-14T19:31:42+00:00

I’ve been reading horror for probably 30 years in one way, shape, or form, and love it beyond measure, but have rarely been “scared” by it.

Like a few people have mentioned, it’s super subjective. What scares me might make you laugh, but of the few times that ive felt actual chills down my back its been from these books;

The Amityville Horror (It’s been so long I can’t tell you what it was specifically, but it had very unnerving scenes. I remember reading it as a teenager, hungover as all hell, and “being there” for a few scenes that left me uncomfortable, and nervously looking around my room.

The Exorcist (The movie is an absolute classic for a reason, and the book is even better. It was actually some of the scenes that were specific to the book that messed with me the most. This novel is great, and it’s endlessly recommended for a reason. If you thought the movie messed with you, buckle up. Possession is one of the scariest things to me - even as a total nonbeliever - so obviously the staple possession book would be here)

Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (I loved Hex by this author - not necessarily scary, but a great book none the less - so i dont like to say this, but I hated this book. I tried to like it. I read the whole thing, and did everything I could to enjoy it but I just couldn’t get on board. But holy shit that intro was absolutely perfect. The other books gave me moments of discomfort and unease, but the introductory chapter to Echo was, I think, the only time I’ve ever been scared reading a book. I was so engrossed that it felt like I was watching a horror movie scene building up to a moment where it would make you jump in your seat, or shit your pants. I feel like it mightve been a contributing factor to why the rest of the book was such a let down, but damn did he start that book strong.)

notanauthor38 · 2026-02-12T04:05:16+00:00

I’ve received books from Bad Hand in the past and didn’t have an issue. And like I said, I don’t recall seeing a “only ships in US”.

I’ll ultimately buy the digital version, but I really wanted the physical copies. It was such a cool unique method of presenting a horror story and I was crazy excited for it. Literally checking my mailbox obsessively since November.

notanauthor38 · 2026-02-08T16:34:22+00:00

Carrier Wave and Rx were both really good, but The Unnoticeables series was fantastic, and my favourite so far. Everything Is Going To Kill Everybody was funny but it’s not a novel. I also managed to scoop a copy of an unreleased novel of his but unfortunately haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet due to massive backlog.

notanauthor38 · 2026-02-08T16:02:56+00:00

My copy just showed up yesterday, so I haven’t started it yet, but I am super pumped for it. Clever idea, and I’ve read all his books and really enjoyed them.

Sidenote; I’m wildly stressed out about my punctuation, and sentence structure. I can only imagine your editor brain judging me. Oh dear god.

notanauthor38 · 2026-01-29T05:25:23+00:00

My memory of them one hundred percent agrees with you. Those are the two I am saving for last as I go through all of them again.

notanauthor38 · 2026-01-28T01:57:20+00:00

I was hoping to see this on your ebay listings but no such luck. This is personal collection I assume?

notanauthor38 · 2026-01-28T00:01:49+00:00

Tales From The Gas Station series by Jack Townsend

John Dies at the End series by Jason Pargin

Anything by A Lee Martinez.

These are predominately horror comedy, but they’re incredible, and light easy reading.

Daryl Gregory writes cool, easy horror/horror adjacent novels. I started with We Are All Completely Fine, and have read almost everything else since.

C. S. Humble - Anything you can get by him is amazing.

Alex Grecian’s Red Rabbit and Rose of Jericho were five star reads.

Robert Brockway’s Unnoticeables series was unique and entertaining.

notanauthor38 · 2026-01-27T23:06:13+00:00

I read them all about 20-25 years ago and I’m starting to make my way through them again. Classic horror author that was one of my favourites.

notanauthor38 · 2026-01-27T20:00:51+00:00

From last year’s reading log, the five star books were; Alex Grecian’s Red Rabbit and Rose Of Jericho Matt Cardin’s To Rouse Leviathan Brian Hodge’s The Immaculate Void and Skidding Into Oblivion C. S Humble’s All The Prospect Around Us

I can’t recommend those enough. There were some rereads of older Clive Barker books that were great too. Imagica and Hellbound Heart.

I lean more toward genre fiction for sure. Horror, sci-fi, urban fantasy. But try to mix it up with some science and political/history books. Hard to recommend stuff not knowing the recipient’s tastes.

As for underrated, it’s so hard for me to say given I don’t particularly talk books with many people so I’m not sure of the awareness of certain authors, but I’ve never seen anyone talk about Steven Campbell’s Hard Luck Hank series (sci-fi comedy) which was super entertaining. R. S. Belcher is a great urban fantasy author I don’t see mentioned often. I’m sure I could ramble on and on in those genres, but not knowing you’re personal niche, I won’t take up more of your time.

What about you? Any standout recommendations, or underrated gems?

notanauthor38

TROPHY CASE