Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Stephen Franck’s Silver, a four volume graphic novel series set in the original universe inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but 40 years later, has repeatedly received my highest recommendation. In this interview at ComicsBeat, Franck discusses Vampires and Endings and more. Check it out!
Anna Green and Mental Floss present 11 Chilling Facts About Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Using just Green’s list, here are three of my favorites …
2. JACKSON HAD A TERRIFYING SLEEPWALKING EXPERIENCE WHILE WRITING THE NOVEL …
Early on in the writing process, Jackson awoke one morning to find something terrifying atop her writing desk: A note, with the words “DEAD DEAD” scrawled upon it, written in her own handwriting. Jackson, who loved ghost stories but did not believe in ghosts, brushed the strange discovery off as sleepwalking. In “Experience and Fiction,” she wrote that she used the strange note to motivate her, explaining, “I decided that I had better write the book awake, which I got to work and did.”
3. … AND MADE AN UNSETTLING DISCOVERY WHILE RESEARCHING HAUNTED HOUSES.
Before she began writing The Haunting of Hill House, Jackson scoured magazines and newspapers for photos of houses that seemed haunted. During her research, she stumbled upon a photo of a house in California that had a particular air of “disease and decay.” She was so struck by it, she asked her mother, who lived in California, if she could find any additional information about the house. Her mother’s response shocked Jackson: Not only was she familiar with the house, but Jackson’s own great-grandfather had built it. After standing empty for many years, the house had been set on fire—possibly by a group of townspeople.
11. THE NOVEL HAS A LOT OF FAMOUS FANS.
Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Guillermo del Toro, and Carmen Maria Machado are all huge fans. Del Toro included Hill House in a series of six classic horror novels he curated for Penguin, Maria Machado called it “the scariest novel I’ve ever read,” and Neil Gaiman has written that, while plenty of novels have scared him, Hill House “beats them all.” Stephen King, meanwhile, has written that Hill House has one of the best openings he’s ever read, calling it “the sort of quiet epiphany every writer hopes for.”
The new Joe Ledger novel Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry is set to drop on October 30th. Everything that Maberry writes is golden but his Ledger stories are the best of the best. I make it a point to be ready to read each one once it becomes available. I’m psyched for Deep Silence and here’s why…
Terrorists-for-hire have created a weapon that can induce earthquakes and cause dormant volcanoes to erupt. One terrifying side-effect of the weapon is that prior to the devastation, the vibrations drive ordinary people to suicide and violence. A wave of madness begins sweeping the country beginning with a mass shooting in Congress. Joe Ledger and his team go on a wild hunt to stop the terrorists and uncover the global super-power secretly funding them. At every step the stakes increase as it becomes clear that the end-game of this campaign of terror is igniting the Yellowstone caldera, the super-volcano that could destroy America.
Deep Silence pits Joe Ledger against terrorists with bleeding-edge science weapons, an international conspiracy, ancient technologies from Atlantis and Lemuria, and an escalating threat that could crack open the entire Earth.
Eric Beetner has a new novel coming out in January and I can’t wait. Beetner writes crime novels and I’ve never been disappointed by any of ’em. All the Way Down sounds like a pulp classic. Here’s the Amazon description:
Dale is a crooked cop. It started slow, but grew like a cancer and now he can’t get out from under the thumb of Tat, a would-be kingpin in every vice he can turn a profit with.
And now Dale’s number is up – the top brass knows. But instead of getting busted, Dale gets an offer. The mayor’s daughter is being held by Tat in his fortress built from an abandoned office tower. They want her back but if they storm the gates, Lauren is as good as dead. So they’re sending Dale on what could very likely be a suicide mission: infiltrate Tat’s fortress and bring her out alive.
If the Mayor even really wants her alive…
Floor by floor Dale and Lauren have to fight off an increasingly difficult and dangerous set of obstacles.
Meanwhile, Dale’s wife has her own troubles and some of the drug kingpin’s goons are only adding to an already rough day.
The clock is ticking down along with the floors of the building and escape is looking less and less likely. But to save her, and to save himself, he must make it all the way down.
If it sounds like something you’d like then you can be dealt in by clicking on this link and ordering from Amazon.
Steve Foxe and the Paste Staff recently posted their choices for The 50 Best Horror Novels of All Time. Here are three of my favorites…
22. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988)
It’s a little odd getting around The Silence of the Lambs’ third-person present tense: “Starling looks down the corridor,” etc., but once you get used to it, it’s a device that ends up perfectly suiting the novel. The narrator’s impartial voice floats above the proceedings, never siding with one character or settling exclusively onto their perspective—at times, the third-person narration gives us glimpses into the minds of Clarice Starling, Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill. What the novel also does particularly well is make us probe into the motivations and ambition of Starling, going beyond her desire to simply help people and catch a killer. Opposed at nearly every turn by the institutional roadblocks erected in the path of female FBI trainees, the reader can sense the desperation of Starling and her borderline selfish desire to stand out and prove herself to her entirely male superiors. You can also sense this is part of the reason that Lecter takes an interest in her, finding her ambitions an interesting character trait that he can use to wrap Starling around his finger. This is actually one of the cases where it’s helpful to have seen the film in advance, because you can read Lecter’s dialogue and imagine it being delivered by Sir Anthony Hopkins. That’s a damn good combination to make for a compelling reading experience. —Jim Vorel
19. The Stand by Stephen King (1978)
Stephen King’s magnum opus nearly didn’t make this countdown, fitting, as it does, more neatly into post-apocalyptic fiction or fantasy. At over 800 pages (more, if you’re reading the uncut edition), The Stand includes as much horror as any of King’s other novels, spurred by a viral outbreak that kills off 99.4% of the population. World-ending scenarios were on everyone’s minds in the ‘70s and ‘80s, as global tensions escalated and means of mass destruction proliferated. King isn’t content to simply explore a post-pandemic wasteland, though; The Stand is his most epic standoff between good and evil, the latter concept embodied by Randall Flagg, a recurring antagonist of King’s who becomes essential to the sprawling Dark Tower saga. Knowledge of that series isn’t necessary to undertake The Stand—just a month or so of dedicated reading time, and a hearty resistance to nightmares. —Steve Foxe
8. The Shining by Stephen King (1977)
For most modern readers, legendary director Stanley Kubrick’s stay at the Overlook Hotel looms large over Stephen King’s original novel. Nearly all of the moments lodged in the public consciousness—everything you’ve seen parodied on The Simpsons—are only in the film: the elevator of blood, the ghoulish twin girls, the typewriter, “Here’s Johnny!” Pushing past these iconic bits of pop culture reveals one of King’s greatest accomplishments, a hauntingly compelling look at a troubled man’s descent into madness. King’s novel is more sympathetic toward Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic writer (sound familiar?) trying to improve his family’s life by taking a job as caretaker of a remote off-season resort with a barely concealed violent history. The house wants Danny, Jack’s gifted young son, and puts the Torrance family through hell to get to him. King infamously hates Kubrick’s adaptation, and while it’s hard to debate the film’s quality or place in the horror movie pantheon, the novel is the more nuanced and, arguably, scarier version of the story, topiary monsters and all. —Steve Foxe
Tony Stella recently posted larger versions of these different covers for David Morrell’s First Blood.
The great thing is no matter what the cover looks like the novel is always great! Highest reccommendation!
Remember last year when George Romero announced his next zombie film, George Romero Presents Road of the Dead? While I was glad Romero was taking part in a new addition to his zombie films, I wasn’t thrilled with the concept which to me sounded like Death Race 2000 meets Dawn of the Dead.
Then in July of last year, Romero gave an interview talking up George Romero Presents Road of the Dead and more. Sadly, three days later he died.
Today at Comic-Con, IDW announced that Jonathan Maberry will write a 3 issue mini-series based on Romero’s Road of the Dead. Maberry is the perfect choice for this project having worked with Romero on Nights of the Living Dead anthology last year. That and the fact that Maberry is a fantastic writer.
In addition to Maberry writing the series, I was pleased to see that my pal, Drew Moss will be providing covers and interior art!
Source: Bleeding Cool.
Here’s the poster and trailer for Patient Zero… not to be confused with Jonathan Maberry’s Patient Zero a highly recommended novel of the same name.
You know I’m a sucker for a well-done zombie film. Patient Zero just might fit the bill.
Max Allan Collins is the subject of a video interview with Mr. Media. It’s worth a listen.
Gaby Triana conducted a very fun and informative interview with Jonathan Maberry that is more than worth a read.
Enter the Dragon is one of my all-time favorite films. The photo above is from the novelization written by Mike Roote. I read this adaptation in 10th grade. I got the book from Mrs. Adams’ student library. Although not as good as the film (how could it be?), I enjoyed reliving the Enter the Dragon experience.
It is important to remember…
…that in the early ’70s – unless a film was shown on TV or did a second round in cinemas – there wasn’t much scope for a re-watch. This was before VHS existed, so buying a book was your best way of reliving the magic.
The Enter the Dragon novelization was a best-seller! Mike Roote must have been a pretty cool guy to get the gig.
Except Mike Roote wasn’t a guy at all!
Mike Roote was actually a woman named Leonore Fleischer! Mike Roote was just one of her many pen-names.
If you’ve read this far, you’d probably enjoy The Unlikely Story of the Enter The Dragon Novelization by Craig Lines for Den of Geek. You’ll learn a lot about the adaptation and may just discover that you’ve read one or more of Fleischer’s novels even if it wasn’t under written her name.
Rudie Obias and Mental Floss present 11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies. Here are three of the eleven that I enjoyed despite the person(s) who wrote them didn’t.
1. QUENTIN TARANTINO // NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994) During the early 1990s, Quentin Tarantino sold his screenplay for Natural Born Killers to Oliver Stone and used the money to fund his debut film, Reservoir Dogs, which was released in 1992. Two years later, Stone released the film with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in starring roles.
While it was a box office hit, Tarantino despised the production because of the changes and alterations to much of his original content. “I hate that f*cking movie,” Tarantino told The Telegraph in 2013. “If you like my stuff, don’t watch that movie.”
Years after its release, the producers of Natural Born Killers sued Tarantino when he tried to publish the original screenplay as a book, as he had done with his original script for True Romance. The producers believed that Tarantino forfeited his rights when he sold it to them, but a judge ruled in Tarantino’s favor.
(Craig’s thoughts: Oliver Stone, like Tarantino has an over-powering style of movie-making. Tarantino was probably most upset because the movie felt more like a Stone film than a Tarantino movie. I liked Natural Born Killers.)
3. KURT SUTTER // PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008) Before Marvel’s The Punisher made a comeback as a TV series on Netflix in 2017, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was hired to write a sequel to The Punisher starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. In 2007, Sutter started writing a new script and wanted to ground the antihero in a grittier reality and move the character from Florida to New York City.
However, after Jane dropped out of the project, Marvel Studios wanted to start over with a new sequel that felt more like the comic book version of Frank Castle instead of the more realistic idea that Sutter envisioned. The end result was so far removed from what Sutter had written that he asked for his name to be removed from what would turn into Punisher: War Zone.
“I threw away the first draft written by Nick Santora and did a page one rewrite,” Sutter wrote of the project in 2008. “I changed the locations, the characters, the story. I dropped Frank in a real New York City with real villains, real cops, real relationships. To me, the Punisher deserved more than the usual comic book redress. It shouldn’t just follow the feature superhero formula. Apparently, I was the only one who shared that vision.”
(Craig’s thoughts: I’ve only seen Punisher War Zone once, but I liked it a lot better than The Punisher starring Jane and Travolta. I agree with Sutter that The Punisher needed to be grounded in a grittier reality and thought War Zone did a fine job. Perhaps another viewing is in order.)
4. AND 5. LANA AND LILLY WACHOWSKI // ASSASSINS (1995) During the mid-1990s, Lana and Lilly Wachowski sold the screenplays for Assassins and The Matrix to producer Joel Silver for $1 million per film. Assassins was the first to go into production, and Richard Donner signed on to direct with Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas attached to co-star.
Although Assassins was one of the hottest unproduced screenplays at the time (you can read the Wachowskis’ original version here), Donner didn’t like the darker tone and artsy symbolism, so he hired screenwriter Brian Helgeland to do a page-one rewrite to make it into a standard action thriller instead. The Wachowskis were not happy with the decision to tone down their screenplay, so the siblings wanted their names to be taken off the project, but the Writers Guild of America denied their request.
“The film was not really based on the screenplay,” Lana said in a 2003 interview. “The one thing that sort of bothered us is that people would blame us for the screenplay and it’s like Richard Donner is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can make whatever movie he wants exactly the way he wants it. No one will stop him and that’s essentially what happened. He brought in Brian Helgeland and they totally rewrote the script. We tried to take our names off of it but the WGA doesn’t let you. So our names are forever there.”
If there’s a silver lining to this story it’s that the experience with Assassins led the Wachowskis to want more control over their work—so they decided to become directors; they made their directorial debut with Bound in 1996.
(Craig’s thoughts: I was excited when it was announced Richard Donner was directing Sly in Assassins. Although not as great as I hoped it would be, Assassins was still a lot of fun. I’ve never read the Wachowskis’ original script so I have no idea if that might have been the way to go. Still, the money that they received from selling Assassins led to The Matrix (the original) and THAT is a classic.)
James Byron Huggins is back!
Long-time readers probably remember Huggins best as the author of Hunter. Huggins wrote Hunter specifically with Sylvester Stallone (who bought the movie rights) in mind as the book’s hero. Hunter is one of my all-time favorite novels and would make an exciting movie! Stallone fans continue to hope that Sly will helm a movie version of Hunter even if he doesn’t star in it (and he should!).
Huggins wasn’t a one-hit wonder. He also wrote The Reckoning, Cain, Leviathon, Rora, and other novels. (And I recommend each of them!) Huggins’ novels are a combination of thriller, action-adventure and horror. His skill at seamlessly combining the genres made Huggins an international best-selling novelist. When two of his books were optioned for over a million dollars a piece, Huggins turned his attention to work on films.
But now James Byron Huggins is back!
International and New York Times bestselling thriller author James Byron Huggins is back with a vengeance. The former police detective-turned successful author has signed with Denver based WildBlue Press to release two new novels and four backlisted titles. The backlisted books will begin release in April, starting with the thriller The Reckoning. More backlisted titles will release in 2018, including The Hunter, a sci-fi/thriller with film rights owned by Sylvester Stallone. Dark Visions, a brand-new thriller from Huggins will release in July 2018. In the novel, Joe Mac, a legendary homicide detective forced into retirement when he lost his eyesight in the line of duty, is compelled to find whomever or whatever killed his grandson. Even if it costs him his life.
“I am both honored and privileged to put out the books I’ve been working on for so long,” Huggins said. “I wouldn’t go with any other company. WildBlue will always be my company. They are solid. The best there is.”
Dark Visions will release July 31, 2018.
I am excited to revisit Hunter and The Reckoning. It will be great to have the new Huggins’ novel, Dark Visions in July. Now if Sly will add Hunter to his “Films to Do” List…
Hap & Leonard, the terrific show based on Joe Lansdale’s novel series, was recently cancelled. This was surprising because the show was well-received by critics and fans over the course of three seasons. I am hopeful it will be picked up by a smart network.
Fans of Joe Lansdale’s Hap & Leonard novels or tv series will want to check out this interview with Joe Lansdale courtesy of Crime Reads.
