đź“– What are people reading?

Eric said:
Back on Lovecraft at present since they are short and I feel like I'm making progress! So just finished re-reading A Shadow of of Time. Prior to my return to horror I'd ploughed through the first thee Robert Ludlum Jason Bourne books (ie the proper ones!) again, hence feeling like I needed some slightly shorter stories for a while!


There isn't and we've been meaning to have one so thank you! There are a few threads I've tagged as book related for those wanting to head down the rabbit hole.
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On Love craft - I discovered some good reading material via James Maliszewski's 'Grognadia' blog and his 'pulp fantasy library' posts. He has an immense love of Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E Howard, Ray Bradbury, etc. It's been a great untapped source (to me) of old timer American authors and 'Weird Tales' mag contributors of the 30's& 40's. Think he is an old school (Canadian?) RPG develop/ writer and a bit of a HP Lovecraft afficeniado, regularly deep diving into the author's Lovecraft corresponded with, his influences (Lord Dunsany), the mythos etc. That blog has introduced me to some great authors and stories written such as Vance ('The Dying Earth' ), and novels like 'Zothique' (CA Smith). ps. Have also finished 'The Broken Sword' by Poul Anderson. Again another one I missed in my youth. I have been known to have upwards of 20 books on the go. That is all. :)
 
Brian Lumley did some stuff based on Lovecraft's mythos, only read one book as a young un so don't remember much.

His Necroscope/Vampire World books though... Amazing.
 
chrisgoodone said:
I always found Lovecraft a bit less interesting than it's painted to be... if that makes sense?
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I know what you mean, in some ways I feel the potential of some of the stories is better than the actual stories. They are certainly a bit of a mixed bag I think, but overall well worth reading. I've a few editions and volumes so I think I probably have most of the stuff he published.
 
Totally the best stories are those where the horror is "just round the next corner" and you almost find yourself trying to peer around the book to see it, but of course can't. It's one of the reasons I think some of the video adaptations fail or just become gore-horror, I can see how the same would be true for other derivatives, although I've always been curious about the RPG, but I imagine you need a really really good GM.
 
Had a fun CoC rpg session last night! Was modern day setting (well 1990’s at least…) with down on luck gangsters set on a easy lockup heist before being drawn into the horror of blood sacrifice and body horror madness.
 
Eric said:
Totally the best stories are those where the horror is "just round the next corner" and you almost find yourself trying to peer around the book to see it, but of course can't. It's one of the reasons I think some of the video adaptations fail or just become gore-horror, I can see how the same would be true for other derivatives, although I've always been curious about the RPG, but I imagine you need a really really good GM.
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The film 'The Void' is a good example of my issues with lovecraftian media, there's plenty of body horror and gore, and I LOVE me some bloody gore and unwanted mutations but it left nothing to the imagination, but that scene at the end where the guys in the other realm at the end staring up at the huuuuuuge ass black pyramid got my brain working. The base of the pyramid is obscured by mist and shadows making me think it's actually larger than it seems, why is it so big,? What's in it? Who built it? Why can it move? That one scene did more than the visual stuff throughout the movie.

I'd love a sequel, but then that would explain the goings on in the other realm and it would loose the cool factor that makes me want to know more.
 
Not one I've seen, having just watched the trailer I suspect I might have to be in the right mood to watch that! Besides it's hard to take serious when there are lots triangles in the imagery I just keep assuming Bill Cipher is going to pop up randomly! :)

bill.jpg

Keeping with Lovecraft I recently watched The Whisper in Darkness film adaptation since it's currently on Amazon Prime. It's quite good in a cheesy way, but the book is better, showing the creatures doesn't help the film (I can understand why they changed the bits they did). Still if you like Lovecraft worth a watch. I see there is a list on IMBD of Lovecraft films, might have to have look down that properly - although given it includes a film titled "Call Girl of Cthulhu" I suspect I might not be handing out too many awards, still you never know. Anyhow I fear we're digressing a bit from books!

Brother Meredith said:
Had a fun CoC rpg session last night! Was modern day setting (well 1990’s at least…) with down on luck gangsters set on a easy lockup heist before being drawn into the horror of blood sacrifice and body horror madness.
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Cool. I never did play it, I'm not quite sure why given how many systems I did all those years back. I'd be interested in some ways to watch a game, even if not in it to see how it plays. I fear it would lack what I seek in the stories, that sense of not quite knowing, of stuff too large to comprehend, and that "just out of sight". That's my main fear. Almost by declaring what it "is" it'll fall somewhat short of being that. As opposed to say weaving some "lovecraftian themes" into any old RPG adventure where it maybe just becomes an existing distraction from goblin bashing.

Anyhow returning to books I think I might keep to the shorter works for now and take Issac Asimov's The Naked Sun off the shelf and re-read that, granted I know it well, but it's and enjoyable read and sometimes nice to just let a story "wash over" you a bit. I'd been thinking I might try Michael Scott Rohan's Lords of Middle Air, which I've started a few times, but never finished. It's odd because I love his Winter of the World series and could hardly put those down, but keep getting stuck on that one. However I'm not sure I want to struggle with a book right now. So I think either some Asimov which is immediately to hand or maybe a rummage in the large box of old sci-fi for another pulp classic.
 
That the HPLHS version? they do good work but that film ending is a bit iffy and there more modern stuff is a bit.. more iffy.. partly cause they ran out of stories and have only shorter ones to deal with.. (long story). they did a good version of Call of Cthulhu though.

Friends of mine who do a Horror review site do review the odd film I put their way.. don't 100% always agree with them but that's kinda the point.. anyway they did a review of Call Girl of Cthulhu (which is a soft core comedy film)

Call Girl of Cthulhu (2014) – Horror Ghouls

Website dedicated to horror movies!
horrorghouls.com horrorghouls.com

when I say friends.. I would say one is a good friend, and the other is her fiancé who I don't know as well since I don't really travel.. and even less to Norway.. though kinda hope to go one day. Not every review (as it's for Horror films) is safe for Kids by the way.. and the screenshots pretty much aren't.

Naked Sun is.. ugh.. Issac Asimov is a fantastic short story writer.. but when wrote long novels (often not fully because of his idea but sometimes was) they aren't anywhere near as good. Naked Sun was okay (the British TV version doesn't 100% exist but it's pretty good).. the fourth story in the series 'Robot of Dawn' was part of something he did that was awful.. for some reason, he tried to tie most of his stories into the same world.. even when they didn't work or created other problems.. that had alot of bad filler that was just doing that.. and failing most of the time. Which is a shame from such a good writer. (the 3rd story, by the way, was a great short story 'Mirror Image'). The VHS board game based on Caves of Steel is great (when I got it, it wasn't really over priced but a bit more pricey cause of importing a VHS from the USA) and while not 100% true to the story, and the game play side is a little lacking, the video is fun and Asimov himself loved how fun things looked.
 
twisted moon said:
i'm currently failing to summon up the motivation to read alice in wonderland.
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ugh.. sorry you just hit a pet peeve..

Are you talking about the book 'Disney's Alice in Wonderland'? or are you talking about the book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Lewis Carroll never wrote a book called 'Alice in Wonderland' and it really bugs me when people get things like that wrong.. Like when they don't get the name of the sequel right.. or they don't know any other books he wrote ¬_¬ (yeah.. big fan of his work.. Got not only a nice complete fiction collections of his work, and some of his non-fiction, but some nice various versions. Walt Disney himself wasn't impressive with their film version cause he wanted more faithful..
 
I read a lot when I was younger, but have unfortunately dropped the habit during this last decade. I did however pull a sort of a comeback since I have read 3 books during the last year and a half!
I read The Wager (an Age of Sails book about a shipwreck on an island), The Book of Five Rings (the story and philosophies of Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary samurai), and the first book in the fantasy series called "Legends of Drenai" that I wanted to re-read again after having read the whole series in my teenage years.

I bought a new book a couple of months ago with the aim to read it, but life has gotten in the way and there is no energy left to get started. It is a collection of Robert E. Howard's chronicles about Conan the Barbarian. The book looks great on my shelf, though.
 
Kallstrom said:
I bought a new book a couple of months ago with the aim to read it, but life has gotten in the way and there is no energy left to get started. It is a collection of Robert E. Howard's chronicles about Conan the Barbarian. The book looks great on my shelf, though.
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Is it this version?

crom.jpg
 
MichaelStockin said:
Is it this version?
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Hehe, correct! Ain't she a beauty!

I know that I will read it one day, but I ride on the tide of motivation and for me the pendulum usually swings between swords & sandals fantasy, grim dark science fiction, and history in the form of feudal japan or age of sails. Right now I shall await the turning of the tide.
 
twisted moon said:
i'm currently failing to summon up the motivation to read alice in wonderland.
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Just look at the pictures, it still counts.


I'm going out of my comfort zone, I'm gonna read some of Emily and Charlotte Brontës stuff, I went to the museum in school (great place if your into that period, some of their dresses look amazing) but never read anything by them. Thought I may as well have a bash, can't be worse than some of the trash tier Bolter porn GW churns out.
 
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