The days are getting colder, the nights are getting longer and the Great Pumpkin will soon be upon us, as will that holiday to beat all holidays, Halloween. And that means plenty of fresh scares for book lovers as publishers rush to meet our needs for zombies, vampires and things that go bump in the night. Here are six new books to curl up with and inspire you to keep the lights on all night long.
The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan – This second book in the “Strain” trilogy by Del Toro (director of movies like Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth) takes the vampire plague of the first book and cranks up the action to 11. In book one, the vampires took over Manhattan. This time around, they’re aiming for world domination (not to mention a wide range of buffet cuisine). Only hero Eph Goodweather from the Center for Disease Control stands in their way. The series will be wrapped up in book three, Eternal Night, next year.
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry – Described by one reviewer as George Romero meets Catcher in the Rye, this new novel for young adults promises plenty of zombie frights for readers of all ages. You might throw in a little bit of Zombieland, too, as this post-apocalyptic novel features a teenager fighting zombies to stay alive, and also to discover a little bit about himself. This is Maberry’s first novel for teens after a string of excellent books like Patient Zero and The Dragon Factory.
Haunted Legends – True ghost stories and legends from around the world inspire new short stories by Gary Braunbeck, Jeffrey Ford and 18 others in this new anthology. Editors Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas have won a ton of awards for their previous books, and although this is the first time they have worked on a book together, it promises to provide both chills and a slice of international culture.
Zombies: The Recent Dead – Here’s another new anthology, hitting stores on Oct. 19. This one features stories by Neil Gaiman, Brian Keene, Joe R. Lansdale, Max Brooks (World War Z) and others. (Editor Paula Guran also has another new anthology out this month, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010.)
Blood and Ice by Lois H. Gresh – We’re back to vampires for this one, but this time the vampires are from outer space. Gresh, best known for non-fiction books like The Twilight Companion and The Science of the Superheroes, brings real-world science to all of her fiction, so this should really stand out from the graveyard.
Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror – Scare-master R.L. Stine returns with this brand-new book, an anthology of scary stories for kids and adults. Stine (Goosebumps) provides the opening story, and the book is rounded out by tales from F. Paul Wilson, Meg Cabot, Heather Brewer and others, including including five New York Times bestselling authors and four Edgar Award nominees. Worth a look, especially if you remember Stine’s old Fear Street series.
So there you go, plenty of dead flesh and fresh blood to take you through to Halloween. Enjoy!
Book covers courtesy of Simon & Schuster, Tor Books and Dutton Juvenile.