Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The New Breed/The Standing Guard

Everyone knows who my influences are.  I've touted the works of Lovecraft, Matheson, and others for years, and I'll keep doing so forever.  But there's another side of that.  Sure, these guys made me want to become a writer, but who are the top names now?  And who are the names to watch in the future?  I know a few of these fellows personally, but their work stands above all else.  These are the current guard, and I say that instead of "old" guard because they consistently put out good gut-churning horror.

  • Gary Braunbeck - Reading Gary's work is like living the most frightening acid trip you can imagine.  Good stuff, especially his "Coffin County" series.  Good and scary.
  • Ray Garton - Let me just say this:  No one does werewolves better.
  • John Everson - John has a real sense of the macabre, and some really twisted storylines. 
  • Jonathan Maberry - I recently met Jonathan, but long before that, I read Ghost Road Blues and was hooked by his work.  A fantastic writer.
  • Scott Nicholson - Hauntings?  Check.  Vampires?  Check.  Carniverous demon-possessed goats? Check.  
  • Deborah LeBlanc - The heiress to the throne of Southern Gothic, Deborah LeBlanc is a first-class writer. 
  • Sarah Pinborough - I'm almost ashamed to admit that I only recently discovered Sarah's work.  I'll be reading the rest of it...Fantastic, gritty, visceral...She made the favorite list easily. 
  • Tim Waggoner - Do yourself a favor...Read Nekropolis.  In fact, read everything the man's written.
And who are the "New Breed?"  Who are the up-and-comers to whom all should pay attention?  There are a few...Good writers are a dying breed, but they haven't died out yet.  My pics for authors to watch are:
  • David Dunwoody - Consistently referred to as one of the burgeoning talents in horror.
  • Eric S. Brown - If for nothing else, sheer volume of work, this guy is a writing machine.
  • Rhiannon Frater - Her series "As the World Dies" is beautiful, and haunting. 
  • Mike Carey - His "Castor" novels are impressive.
  • Norman Prentiss - His debut Invisible Fences has received impressive notices.
  • Norman Partridge - While he's only got two books (that I know of) out right now, he's an impressive voice.
Of course, there are others.  If your name is not on the list, don't feel slighted.  These are the people who've impressed me the most.  Give them all a read.  Some of these guys are fans of mine, others don't know who I am.  I'm not pimping their work because I know them, but because I genuinely believe their work to be worthwhile.  

I save the blatant pimping for my own work. ;-)

See you next time!  Write on!

1 comment:

  1. A great list of authors to cite as influences, I reckon. It's just a damnable shame I have yet to read any of their work, myself.

    I do have Ghost Road Blues and Covenant on my to-be-read pile, however. And Coffin County is queued up on my library waiting list. Actually, I should check the library's website to see if it's arrived this week.

    I'll have to keep an eye out for the other authors, too.

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