Al Sarrantonio

I started reading his novel Hallows Eve (can you tell I'm a bit obsessed with Halloween?), and am completely enjoying it. It is a little cliched, I know, but it is great fun. The walking scarecrow named John is so much fun to read about.

I love Halloween too. Have you read any other good Halloween books?

I've been wanting to read Al Sarrantonio's Halloween themed horror for a while now, but the reviews were pretty spotty.

Hallows Eve is the sequel to Orangefield (which was one of the stories in Horrorween). Were you able to follow Hallows Eve without having read Orangefield?

Here is a short list of some Halloween novels I've either read or heard very good things about:
Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Horrorween and Orangefield by Al Sarrantonio.
Feel free to join up, Katbear, we need all the members we can get to keep this group running.
jseger, as of yet, I haven't run into any serious difficulties with Hallows Eve, though I'm not very far into it. There were some sequences that were a bit confusing, but that could merely be my own fault.

I've made a series of Al Sarrantonio's Orangefield Halloween-themed books for those interested.

I read horror books and watch horror movies year round, so it might be nice to stick with the 'theme' around this time of year. Bobby, which one do you recommend?

I want to say either Ghost Road Blues, or an Al Sarrantonio novel, but seeing as though Ghost Road Blues is the first part of a trilogy, and much of Sarrantonio's Halloween stuff is in a series, you might not want to invest in them. Though I haven't read Dark Harvest yet, I've heard so many good things about it that it would probably be a good choice.

I haven't read Al Sarrantonio myself, but his Orangefield series isn't a set of linked books with a single, continuous storyline. Just different stories set in the town of Orangefield. The first book; Horrorween is actually a compilation of two short stories and the short novel Orangefield, so I wouldn't be too worried about the series thing if you decide to try him.

I have heard terrific stuff about Jonathan Maberry's books, but those three books definitely are a series.

I have to say, this has gotten my interest in Holloween themed reading. I've seen Sarrantonio's books in the library and bookstores but they always looked a bit cheesy and like jseger the reviews weren't glowing. Regardless I think I'll have to try and find Horrorween and give him a try.

Also, Dark Harvest looks promising. The reviews are that it is a short but nasty read. Sounds fun!

I will have to give Jonathan Maberry's books a big prop here. Based around a town that literally thrives on Halloween each year his vampires, werewolves and ghosts are not your "grandfathers" creatures. They are based more on Maberry's knowledge of folklore from around the world. He also gives cameos to many actors, makeup artists, writers and scream queens from horror movies that was fun to see woven into the story. The trilogy is certainly worth the investment.

I have Maberry's three books lurking in my enormous TBR pile. I have heard nothing but praise for the guy (except from folks that didn't realize his books were a trilogy).

I really want to try Dark Harvest, but it really bugs me that such a short little book is sold as a trade paperback. (The same reason I haven't bought the terrific sounding Eat the Dark.)

What happened to the good old (old, old, old) days of horror and sci-fi where short novels were the norm? Don't get me wrong, I don't want all books to be short, but why are publishers seemingly so reluctant to publish short novels as regular paperbacks?

I absolutely agree. $13.00 for a novel that, most likely, won't take me much longer than a single night? I mean, they're selling novels like IT for $7.99, and that is ten times (roughly) the size of Dark Harvest. I don't see the sense in it. Nice to see that Maberry is publishing in mass-market, but those books are hardly what one would call short, I guess.

The thing is, I wouldn't even mind buying a mass market paperback of Dark Harvest or Eat the Dark and paying the same amount as I do for a much longer paperback. They wouldn't need to up the page count with extra stories or anything. But paying almost double? That's about where I draw the line.

Yeah, I'm all about finding a deal on books, scavaging my local used book stores then the internet. I just couldn't bring myself to spend 13 bucks on a book. Especially an author or story I've never heard of.......4-8 dollars sounds more like it.

I still don't know if I'll be able to help myself. Dark Harvest is looking so damned GOOD right about now, with September getting in motion, and the leaves starting to change color.

Hey, aside from the pirce, I haven't heard anything bad about Dark Harvest. Hope you like it.

Thanks for the invite, Bobby. I'll have to check out you guyses suggestions. I've seen alot of Halloween movies but haven't read many books on the subject, except for of Stephen King and Clive Barker.

If you're stumped for ideas as to what to read, definitely pick up Jonathan Maberry's Ghost Road Blues. It is great, and the first in a trilogy (not to worry, all three novels are out).

I was lucky enought to find Dark Harvest in my local library. It really is a fast and fun read. I liked how the author uses the characters actions to tell the story. It is a wild horror tale but I still wouldn't want to spend the $13 or so for it.

Dark Harvest is $40! on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587671476/ref=nosim/librarythin08-20
Seriously? Why? Is the book that good?

Oh, that's just the Cemetary Dance, small press hardcover edition of the book. Cemetary Dance books are always pricey.

You can get the paperback for $12(?) or so. Still too expensive for my tastes.

Oh, ok thanks for the explanation I was baffled. The $12 seems like a steal now though.... j/k