2014 has been a great year for horror books. Here is a list of our five favourites
King’s latest offering received mixed reviews, however we adored the Lovecraftian homage as we join the nomadic Jamie and his one time minister, Charles Jacobs, as their experiments in electricity unlock and elder darkness from beyond the void that threatens to engulf our world.
Anne Rice – Prince Lestat
Rice’s return with the eleventh installment in the million-selling “Vampire Chronicles” series did no disappoint. Following on from “Memnoch…”, Lestat awakens to find his world in crisis as a disembodied Voice raises the elders from their slumber, only to immolate fledgling blood suckers across the world.
Martin Adil-Smith – The Shackles of a Name
“The Shackles of a Name” is our stand out horror story of the year, not because the villains (the demon Oni) are the greatest monsters, but because the greatest monsters are the human protagonists. Set during Japan’s bloody civil war, there is love, betrayal, duty… and some of the greatest battle scenes we’ve read this year. Sprinkle with a returning God who may not be all that She seems, and it is easy to see why this is one of the biggest selling horror books of the year.
Josh Malerman – Bird Box
“Bird Box” returns Malerman to the very essence of horror – fear of the unknown. As an undefined event sweeps the planet, it drives all of those who behold it to madness and then death, and the only thing Malorie can do is board up her house from the inside, and try to keep her children safe.
Simone St James – Silence For The Dead
Our final pick is the delicious “Silence For The Dead”, where something unnatural roams the hallways of a World War 1 asylum, sharing horrific visions with the inmates and driving Kitty Weekes to the edge of sanity.