Book picks similar to
Brainchild by Andrew Neiderman
horror
paperbacks-from-hell
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Battle Royale
Koushun Takami - 1999
Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language.
Medusa's Web
Tim Powers - 2016
But their decadent and reclusive cousins, the malicious wheelchair-bound Claimayne and his sister, Ariel, do not welcome Scott and Madeline’s return to the childhood home they once shared. While Scott desperately wants to go back to their shabby South-of-Sunset lives, he cannot pry his sister away from this haunted “House of Usher in the Hollywood Hills” that is a conduit for the supernatural.Decorated by bits salvaged from old hotels and movie sets, Caveat hides a dark family secret that stretches back to the golden days of Rudolph Valentino and the silent film stars. A collection of hypnotic eight-limbed abstract images inked on paper allows the Maddens to briefly fragment and flatten time—to transport themselves into the past and future in visions that are both puzzling and terrifying. Though their cousins know little about these ancient “spiders” which provoke unpredictable temporal dislocations, Ariel and Claimayne have been using for years—an addiction that has brought Claimayne to the brink of selfish destruction.As Madeline falls more completely under Caveat’s spell, Scott discovers that to protect her, he must use the perilous spiders himself. But will he unravel the mystery of the Madden family’s past and finally free them. . . or be pulled deeper into their deadly web?
Fast
Shane M. Brown - 2012
Read at your own risk. The author takes no responsibility for nightmares, mental anxieties or phobias resulting from this book.For everyone else, buckle-up because:THOUSANDS are dying inside.HIDDEN under the burning Arizona desert is the grandest ‘Science-City’ ever created, and all hell is breaking loose. Using stolen genetic research, terrorists are unleashing a devastating attack on the civilian scientists, on their families, on their children. No one is spared.BARELY one hundred and fifty souls survive the first seven minutes. Injured and wounded, limping or carried, they are frantically battling from minute to minute for their very lives. The odds are stacked against them, but one thing is in their favor. CAPTAIN Alexander Coleman is just minutes away, and he’s not coming alone. He commands a full platoon of Special Forces Marines. His estranged wife, Vanessa, and eight year old son, David, might still be alive in the besieged underground complex. The chance they both survived is slim, but that’s more than enough.PURE HORROR awaits him, and a frantic race to control the most devastating weapons of mass-destruction ever created: Living weapons.BUT ABOVE ALL, more important than anything else, Captain Alexander Coleman must save his family.Special note: FAST has an active table of contents, is approximately 100,000 words, and displays seamlessly with Kindles and all other eBook reading devices. About the Author:SHANE BROWN was born in 1974 and writes from Brisbane, Australia. He attended James Cook University, graduating with an honors degree in Biological Science and a Masters Degree in Underwater Archaeology. Shane has published multiple short stories online and in print, written two novels, and this year signed a contract selling the rights for a feature film to be based on one of his shorter works. He is currently working on his third novel: MELT.
Cellars
John Shirley - 1982
Monsters made of blood arise from drains, an invisible hellhound devours human flesh, feral children stalk the shadowy streets and make murder a terrifying game. Occult investigator Carl Lanyard risks his life, his love, and his sanity as he battles the unspeakable forces of darkness. A modern classic by a master of the macabre in a new revised edition.