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This post written by Clint The Grin of the Dark
by Ramsey Campbell
[cover name=thegrinofthedark]
Simon Lester is a film critic, but he isn’t doing that well at it: he works part-time at the local gas station. Then one of his old college professors asks him if he is interested in writing a book on Tubby Thackeray, who was a comedian from the era of silent movies. Tubby used to be famous, but now it seems like nobody has heard of him. In fact, Simon has a terrible time finding anything about him. His films seem to have been removed from film archives, and things written about him seem to have been lost or destroyed. When he asks people about Tubby, they often get hostile. Clowns threaten him. Some guy on an Internet forum starts giving him trouble.
Finally, Simon finds people who know about Tubby Thackeray and are willing to share information and copies of his old films. Some of his work is really bizarre and troubling, and it seems to follow Simon home. The spirit of Tubby starts to take over his life, and it seems to be possessing his girlfriend’s son. Simon has enough trouble in the real world without any supernatural events, and he starts to crack up.
This story is dark and disturbing, but it doesn’t have much blood or gore. Supernatural things happen, but the real horror is in Tubby’s films and Simon’s head.
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This post written by Clint Below the Root
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
[cover name=belowtheroot]
The people of Green-sky, the Kindar, have a peaceful society that seems pretty much perfect. Even though they don’t have a lot of technology, the people there have everything they need. They live in the tops of giant trees and, because the gravity of Green-sky is weak, they can glide from tree to tree with the help of special clothing. Some of the people of Green-sky have psychic gifts – they can read other people’s emotions, teleport, move objects with their minds, or cause plants to grow.
There is only one problem in all of Green-sky: the Pash-shan are dangerous creatures that live underground. They are kept there, away from the rest of Green-sky, by a series of magical roots. As a precaution, though, none of the Kindar are allowed to go near the ground.
Raamo, a thirteen-year-old boy, is invited to join the Ol-zhaan, the priesthood that runs Green-sky and protects everyone from the Pash-shan. Raamo doesn’t understand why he has been chosen, but he eventually learns that he was picked because of his strong psychic powers. The root network that keeps the Pash-shan trapped underground has been weakening, and the priests hope Raamo will be able to fix it.
While he is training, Raamo meets two other new priest named Neric and Genaa. Neric suspects that the Ol-zhann are not entirely honest with the people of Green-sky. One day Raamo and Neric visit the surface, where they find a girl named Teera. Eventually, Raamo, Neric, and Genaa learn the Pash-shan are not what everyone believes, and their discovery changes the world of Green-sky forever.
Below the Root is the first book in a trilogy.There is also an old computer game that is a sequel to the trilogy. Zilpha Keatley Snyder actually helped write it, so if you are into vintage computer games, you might want to check out the Below the Root game from 1984.
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This post written by Clint The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
by Chris Wooding
[cover name=thehauntingofalaizabelcray]
Alaizabel Cray isn’t exactly haunted. Ghosts don’t follow her around and cause trouble. She’s more possessed. Sometimes. Plus, monsters are drawn to her.
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray is set in London during the Victorian period, although they never say what year. The Victorian period feels right because houses and streets are still lit by gas lamps and horse-pulled carriages are still the main form of transportation. However, history doesn’t exactly match up. In this world, the United Kingdom lost a war with the Prussians and, not too long after that, monsters called wytch-kin started taking over part of London.
Two of our main characters, Thaniel and Cathaline, are professional wytch-hunters who run around London at night and do their best to kill wytch-kin. While hunting a Cradlejack, a wytch-kin that abducts babies, Thaniel stumbles across a dirty, crazy woman who doesn’t seem to mind hanging out near the Cradlejack. Feeling sorry for her, Thaniel takes her home and, much to his surprise, nurses her back to sanity. Not too long after that, Thaniel and Cathaline discover that they are all in the middle of a supernatural plot that threatens to destroy the entire world.
One thing I have always wanted to see in a book is a villain who says something like, “Yeah, I’m evil, but I don’t want to destroy the world. I live there!” We get one of those in this story. However, despite the fact that he sounded like he was off to save the world, I found his actual role kind of disappointing.
Some people put this book under horror. I don’t think that’s quite right. It’s more along the lines of supernatural investigation. It has monsters and a serial killer, and there a couple of slightly gruesome scenes, but nothing that bad.
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This post written by Clint Fullmetal Alchemist
by Hiromu Arakawa
[cover name=fullmetalalchemist]
Fullmetal Alchemist is set in a fantasy version of Europe during the Industrial Revolution. Edward and Alphonse are studying alchemy, a sort of magical chemistry, and decide to use it to resurrect their dead mother. This ends badly: Edward ends up with a prosthetic leg and arm, while Alphonse needs to have his entire body replaced with a body of metal. Edward goes to work for the military, hoping to get access to enough resources to regrow his limbs and his brother’s body. However, the brothers eventually stumble upon a conspiracy and, with the help of some of Edward’s military buddies, have to save their country.
You can look it up on Wikipedia.
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This post written by Clint Sleeper Code
by Tom Sniegoski
[cover name=sleepercode]
Tom Lovett suffers from a rare form of narcolepsy that causes him to sleep for days at a time. At least, that’s what he thought. Then Tom discovers that he, and other people with his condition, are secretly being trained as assassins while they are “asleep.” Sleeper Code and its sequel, Sleeper Agenda, describe Tom’s attempt to escape the group that is training him and take some control over his own life and mind.
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