One more book recommendation before the year's end...
Aside from being one of Laymon's more depraved stories, what makes this one special is the included "and other tales" portion of the book, including 'Mess Hall' (about a serial killer), 'Dinker's Pond' (a tall tale), the infamous 'Madman Stan' (which didn't disappoint), my favorite of the short stories, 'Bad News' (nightmarish!), and 'The Tub' (a jaw-dropping tale).
Jason
In case you are still looking for a Christmas gift, here are my favorite books that I read this year - recommended for the readers in your life. . .
Rather than just giving you my "Top Ten", this year I have categorized my favorites in each genre.
(An * denotes the book was published this year)
Best Adventure Novel(s):
'The Loch' and its sequel *'Vostok' - both by Steve Alten
Best "Based on a Television Series" Novel:
'Sons of Anarchy: Bratva' by Christopher Golden
Best "Beginning of a New Series" Novel:
*'Blade of the Destroyer' by Andy Peloquin
Best Biography Novel:
*'My Fight/Your Fight' by Ronda Rousey
Best Christian Fiction Novel:
'Rooms' by James L. Rubart
Best "Drama" Novel(s):
'The Brotherhood'/'The Betrayal'/'The Breakthrough' ("Precinct 11" trilogy) by Jerry B. Jenkins
Best "End of a Series" Novel:
*'Warheart' by Terry Goodkind
Best Historical Fiction Novel:
'The Auschwitz Escape' by Joel C. Rosenberg
Best Horror Novel:
*'Nightwalk' by D. Nathan Hilliard
Best "Book of Novellas":
*'Black Cat Mojo' & *'Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet' both by Adam Howe
Best "Stand-Alone Novella":
*'Sailor's Cove' by Franklin E. Wales
Best Self-Help Book:
*'Unhealthy Anonymous' by Dr. Pete Sulak
Best Thriller Novel:
*'The Third Target' by Joel C. Rosenberg
Hopefully you can find something of interest from the above list.
As for movies - in my opinion, it has been another blah-kind of year, this year, for movies.
With that having been said, here are my top ten favorite films this year (in alphabetical order):
This is a somewhat generic list, but these are the films that entertained me the most...
Ant Man
Avengers 2: Age of Ultron
Burying the Ex
Chappie
Fast & Furious: Furious 7
Jurassic World
Pixels
San Andreas
Sean the Sheep
Tomorrowland
The Best Movie of the Year, this year, goes to 'American Ultra' - if you haven't watched it yet, definitely do so!
Some "Notable Mentions":
[Non-2015 films that I enjoyed this year]
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
John Wick
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Whiplash
So, just to break it down, once more, for those who skip to the end...
My favorite film this year is 'American Ultra' and my top three most recommended books would be:
#1) The Third Target and/or 'The Auschwitz Escape' both by Joel C. Rosenberg
#2) Nightwalk by D. Nathan Hilliard
and for those who like their stories on the short side:
#3) Black Cat Mojo and/or Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet both by Adam Howe, who, by the way, is my "favorite new author" that I discovered this year.
Jason
Wrapping-up the year with a series that I started at the very beginning of the year...
It took a while for this final book in the trilogy to get released, however it was worth the wait!
While not as good as the first two books, once this one kicks into high gear, it is great!
Now, just to elaborate a little bit more on my above comment - I read the first two books back-to-back which may have made a vast difference.
The start of this one seemed a bit sluggish, but it could have just been due to the time span in-between books.
I definitely recommend reading the entire trilogy as one book.
When you start the third one, if it still seems a bit slow, just wait until the werewolves retaliate against the town... non-stop action after that!
Jason
'Halloween Returns: A Fan Fiction Anthology' is a free compilation of fan fiction based off of the 'Halloween' films. . .
It is a collection of 19 stories, most of which are decent, with a couple being above average, and a few not even worth the bother.
Aside from the expected grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors, this anthology is worth it, if you are a die-hard Michael Myers fan.
This anthology is not for sale - you can download it for free at http://www.best-horror-movies.com/news?name=download-halloween-returns-a-fan-fiction-anthology-free-now
If you do decide to give this anthology a shot, here is a brief breakdown of what I did and did not enjoy.
As I stated before, most of the stories are worthwhile, these are the exceptions:
The story "The Haddonfield Companion" by Michael Ayoob has a good twist that I enjoyed.
The story "Inspiration" I would skip entirely!
The story, simply titled, "Halloween" by Nathan Cabaniss is super-short, but great!
The story "One Night in Haddonfield" by Neil Hudson ended far too soon - it had great potential!
There are two stories, both titled "Halloween Returns" by two separate authors - both are skippable - the first one was blah, and the second one didn't make any sense.
The story "Halloween: Return to Haddonfield" by Mark Allen Gunnells is another great one!
All of the remaining tales, not mentioned, are run-of-the-mill stories - entertaining enough.
Jason
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