Read the PDF version here: The New Voices of Horror – PDF
There’re those authors who come, make a splash, and then disappear again, and there’re those authors who have built up such a following, such a reputation, that it seems they will be popular for as long as they continue to produce. But then there’re those authors who never make much of a splash, surviving off the following of a select, valued few.
Three or four authors belonging to the second category—authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Peter Straub who began their careers some thirty years ago—have managed to shove horror literature into the mainstream, but for the most part, writers of dark fiction belong to the final group, those who depend on a small but loyal readership.
For this reason, readers who enjoy horror literature but tend to keep to the known quantities of the mainstream might miss out on the work of some wonderful, lesser-known writers. In particular, they might never come to discover the newer voices in horror lit, those authors who have made a splash within the genre, but who’ve only managed a ripple (if that) in the mainstream.
The goal of this article is to introduce those readers who’ve read and enjoyed King and Koontz to new authors they are likely to enjoy.
But this article has a second, possibly more important purpose aimed directly at people like me, wannabe horror writers who want to know what is being done by the new writers of horror lit. As aspiring authors, we are no longer permitted to read for pleasure alone. Every novel, every page, every line is (or should be) a learning experience. However, reading only the work of those the masters, authors who had their initial break decades ago, does not make for a complete education. To know what sells today, writers must read what is selling today. The authors below are it: The new voices of horror.
Sarah Langan
Like Stephen King, Sarah Langan excels at first creating and then uncovering horrors that lie just beneath the quiet surface of rural life. Lagan is also a strong stylist with a poetic sensibility reminiscent of Peter Straub’s writing.
In her debut novel, The Keeper, the economic and social decay that rots a small town from the roots up is embodied in a young woman, a sin-eater-like figure who finally turns the town’s pain loose upon itself.
In her follow-up novel, the Bram Stoker Award-winning The Missing, Langan returns to the site of that aforementioned town’s demise and takes a third grade class—and us—along for the ride.
In her most recent novel, the Bram Stoker Award-winning Audrey’s Door, a young woman moves into a New York apartment where the low rent is, of course, too good to be true.
For readers seeking a new author, Langan should prove a fresh alternative to both King and Straub.
For writers of horror, Langan is a perfect example of the growing shift away from overt horror toward a more subtle and even ambiguous means of scaring and disturbing readers. She is especially adept at creating terrifying images that give the reader insight into or are even born of her characters’ inner thoughts and feelings.
Visit Sarah Langan’s website here.
Read my review of The Keeper here.
Gary McMahon
McMahon’s short stories have appeared in numerous horror anthologies and it is through these collections that I discovered his work. Notably, his stories have appeared in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror volumes 19 and 20, End of the Line, and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010.
McMahon’s writing reminds me of Clive Barker’s. I’m not sure if it’s a British thing, but both writers manage to blur the line between sexuality and horror. This goes beyond the usual (and crude) pairing of sex and violence, to blend images of sensuality and lust with terror and revulsion. Also like Barker, McMahon tends to set his stories in an urban environment.
Gary McMahon has two series of novels on the go. The first is the Thomas Usher series of books, beginning with Pretty Little Dead Things, to be followed by Dead Bad Things, about an investigator who can see the recently dead.
The second is The Concrete Grove Trilogy, the first book of which is simply called The Concrete Grove. Here, McMahon has created a sort of haunted neighbourhood through which an ancient and possibly malevolent force is bleeding into our own reality. The next book in the trilogy is titled Silent Voices and will be released in April of 2012.
For readers, McMahon is a solid alternative to Clive Barker and Ramsey Cambpell.
For writers, McMahon’s short stories should be of special interest given that he has managed to establish a strong presence and following through the publication of his shorter works. His novels demonstrate that horror can be drawn from apartment complexes and skate parks as well as dark woods and forgotten mansions. For those who wish to set their stories of the supernatural in the city, McMahon is a must read.
Visit Gary McMahon’s website here.
Robert Jackson Bennett
On his website, Bennett describes himself as an “accidental horror writer” and it’s a happy accident indeed. Bennett has a unique style that seems quiet and confident even as he describes a horizon-devouring dust storm. Bennett has only two novels out and I’ve only read his first, but it is a truly original and well-written work so worth mentioning here.
Bennett’s first novel is title Mr Shivers and tells the story of a man chasing his daughter’s killer across Depression Era America. Those who’ve seen and enjoyed the TV show Carnivale should love Mr Shivers. It reminded me, in a variety of ways, of a variety of authors, but Bennett’s got a voice and style all his own.
I have yet to read The Company Man, Bennett’s second novel but, according to the description on his website, it seems more sci-fi than horror. Still, I might read it on the strength of Mr Shivers alone.
For readers, Mr Shivers will be a unique experience that might seem at once surreal and familiar.
For writers, Mr Shivers demonstrates how setting can be used to create tone and tension. It also features excellent characterization and a compelling villain.
It should also be noted that, given he’s only had two novels published, Robert Jackson Bennett still has a day job. Visiting his blog offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a writer on the brink of “making it” but not quite there yet. He is where we aspiring novelists hope to be in a few years from now but he is clearly still a few years away from his own ultimate goals as a writer.
Visit Robert Jackson Bennett’s website here.
Read my review of Mr Shivers here.
Scott Sigler
Sigler is more a writer of techno-thrillers than he is of straight up horror. I would venture his novels would seem more at home next to those of Michael Crichton than those of Dean Koontz. In fact, Sigler can be described as Crichton’s literary younger brother, the one who maybe never studied science or medicine but listened rapturously while his big bro explained what he’d learned in biochem 101 or whatever.
Sigler is not much of a stylist, but his plots are well thought-out and move along at a rapid pace. He adopts a rather informal, laid back narrative voice—the big city frat boy equivalent of Stephen King’s small town narrator.
In Sigler’s first published work (more on that distinction in a bit), Infected, the story alternates between scientists investigating what appears to be a spreading disease which causes its victims to turn homicidal, and a man who has recently contracted the disease.
In Contagious, a sequel to Infected, government agents seek to stop the spread of the disease.
Ancestor, Sigler’s latest published novel, is about a team of researchers who have discovered–and possibly unleashed–a precursor to all animal life on Earth.
Now, I’ve specified that Infected was Sigler’s first published novel, and this is because Ancestor was initially released as a series of podcasts before Infected saw print. In fact, Sigler is known as the world’s most popular and successful podcast author with tens of thousands of followers through his website and millions of dowloads of his novels. The story goes that, given that he could not find a home for Ancestor with one of the big publishers, Sigler chose to release the novel as a series of half-hour podcasts. After he’d gathered a strong following, a publisher took notice, saw that they had one of his novels languishing in their slush pile, and published it on the strength of his pre-existing fan-base. That novel was Infected.
This does mean that, though he is popular, Sigler’s fans are almost cult-like in their following and so his novels feel a little less polished than those published through more traditional means. His fans, called Junkies, are more forgiving of a lack of style and seem more concerned with plot. This is perfectly fair. Sigler has not only built his fan base online, he also maintains it. His novels are all available, for free, as pod casts. He also interacts with his fans through his blog and website, rewarding them for being his followers and giving them exactly what they want. In fact, the voice he uses to tell his stories is essentially the same one he uses to communicate with his fans, so that one feels, while reading or listening to his stories, that they are being entertained by a friend who happens to be an author and not the other way around.
For readers, Sigler should appeal to fans of Michael Crichton, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, James Rollins, Mathew Riley, and Jeremy Robinson.
For writers of horror, Sigler is worth looking into because of the ways in which he has harnessed new media. All authors, these days, are required to have an online presence, and few have developed and taken advantage of that requirement as successfully as Sigler.
Visit Scott Sigler’s website here.
Joe Hill
Though I enjoy all of the writers mentioned in this article to differing degrees, I’d say that, with Langan as a very close second, Joe Hill is my favourite among them.
Joe Hill has published two novels and a collection of short stories. The collection is titled 20th Century Ghosts and is an absolute must read. Hill is inventive and a solid stylist but, just as importantly, he knows how to imbue his stories with humanity. This may come from the fact that writing dark fiction was, in a way, his second choice of genre. He began writing literary fiction, slice of life stories about childhood and baseball, but these pieces failed to interest publishers, and so he turned to the weird and scary and his stories began to sell, especially in Britain. But these new stories of his, these stories about child killers and teen-sized locusts retained the slice of life feel, the solid characterization, and the humanity of his earlier attempts. As such, Joe Hill’s short stories are uniquely satisfying.
His novels include Heart-Shaped Box and Horns. The first is about an aging rock star who purchases a haunted suit online, and the second is about a young man who, after a night of hard drinking, awakes with horns jutting out of his forehead.
Hill is also writer of the fantastic comic book series Locke & Key, illsutrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.
For readers, Hill should satisfy fans of King and Koontz, but I say read him just because he’ll offer up a story no one else can.
For writers, Hill is a confident stylist who writes economically, without unnecessary flourishes, but knows the value and strength of a well-placed and perfectly-worded simile or metaphor. He is also one of the most creative writers I have had the pleasure to read, managing to twist the tried-and-true into the never-before-seen while avoiding the derivative and clichéd. This last, I would say, is what sets him apart from the other writers mentioned above.
Visit Joe Hill’s website here.
Read my review of Horns here.
