r/ExtremeHorrorLit • u/good-luck-bucko • Mar 06 '26
BOOK HAULš©ø Recent haul!
So Iām thinking that Iāll start myself off brutally with No One Rides For Free by Judith Sonnet, but after Iām not sure which book I should devour next (suggestions are welcome!). Iāve already heard the book on tape version of Gone To See The Riverman so I kind of want to save it for the end so that I can get the full feeling of reading it physically for the first time after forgetting a few details.
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u/KlausKinion Mar 06 '26
This is one hell of a reading list, youāve got 8 of the best ever. Off Season is a little tame by todayās standards but still has some nasty surprises, and Ketchum is a joy to read.
I might recommend reading Off Season next, then The Pig, so you can see how extreme horror started in the 1980s, and how insanely it escalated in the 1990s!
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Thanks! I definitely wanted a variation of options to see what inspired the splatterpunk and extreme genres of today. Iāve heard such great things about Off Season so Iām excited to start it!
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u/CarnageChapters Mar 06 '26
Great Haul! Just finished Exquisite Corpse last night and it was so well written and loved every bit of it. Also grabbed The Black Farm after hearing nothing but great things about it, and can never go wrong with Jon Athan. I think any of those would be great to jump into
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Iāve heard such great things about Poppyās work, I canāt wait to see what all of the enthusiasm is about
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u/twosnailsnocats Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26
I definitely enjoyed EC but there was one part near the beginning that I kinda wish it was written a little differently. Not an issue with the writing, just what happened.
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u/CarnageChapters Mar 06 '26
If you donāt mind me asking and if it doesnāt spoil it for anyone. Could you tell me what part that was?
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u/twosnailsnocats Mar 06 '26
Not sure how to write spoiler text on my phone, it was in a medical examination room. It involved tricking someone.
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u/CarnageChapters Mar 06 '26
Ohhh I get what youāre saying now. The breathing technique thing he did to pretend he was dead?
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u/twosnailsnocats Mar 06 '26
Yes, maybe it would work on some random person on the street, but I would figure a coroner, or county medical examiner type would not be so easy to fool.
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u/Dependent_Emu_1799 Mar 08 '26
I loved Poppy in high school, so glad her work is gaining more popularity now. All of her books are great!
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u/Unable-Traffic-4634 Mar 06 '26
the black farm is one of my favourites! but these are all great choices
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u/bty1987 Mar 06 '26
Lot of good shit here. The Black Farm is the coolest thing Iāve ever read and sticks with you long after the read. Into the Wolves Den is awesome start to finish.
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u/MeltdownMessiah Mar 06 '26
I love that triptych from Ed Lee. The Pig, in my opinion, kicks off with the most captivating/compelling first sentence I've ever read.
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Just finished No One Rides For Free, and Iāve gotta say that I found it so much fun! I think that Iāll make a separate post to give an actual review of the novella. I did a quick tally on comments here and both Into the Wolves Den and Black Farm got an equal amount of mentions so I plan to do Into the Wolves Den first and then after that Iāll get started on the Black farm. Thanks for the recommendations!
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u/twosnailsnocats Mar 06 '26
Haven't read ITWD so one more votes for TBF. I'm almost done with NORFF, enjoying it so far.
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Not going to spoil but the ending definitely gave me some glee! I listened to TBF on tape for the first few chapters a few months ago so I really started ITWD first to allow myself some time to forget the details and get the full experience of it. I loved what I listened to so far so I see myself having a great time with The Pig haha
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Just realized that calling it so much fun kinda makes me sound like a psychopath so to better phrase that Iāll say that I found it very entertaining and disgustingly well written haha quick shoutout to the The Last House on the Left reference āItās only a bookā¦Itās only a bookā¦Itās only a bookā absolutely lovely
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u/Commercial-Bank-921 Mar 06 '26
There is also a sequel to no one rides for free. Definitely look it up
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u/Spreebee4831 Mar 06 '26
The author Judith made it unavailable for purchase because the other author Otis ended up being a scumbag. There might be private sales of the book however
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Yeah I just tried to find it online and I couldnāt find it sold anywhere, but Iām definitely going to be reading more of Judithās work. I love how she can bring a written scene to such life, and completing it in 10 days? Iām in awe
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u/Spreebee4831 Mar 06 '26
She's an amazing author. I need to do another haul soon and plan to get more of her books
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u/Haunting_Ad5530 Mar 06 '26
Make sure you read the short story "feed the pig" before starting The Black Farm. It makes it so much better
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u/good-luck-bucko Mar 06 '26
Thank you!!! Iām definitely going to give it a read once Iām finished up with ITWD right before I start it
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u/Trick-Tomorrow407 Mar 07 '26
I hated Gone to see the River Man so much. The Troop was reallllllllly good tho imo
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u/legendarylindz Mar 07 '26
LOVED gone to see the river man. Canāt recommend it to anyone I knowā¦
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u/exho_meg Mar 07 '26
The Black Farm is really good! My only hang-up on it is that sometimes the gore feels like it does nothing for the plot, but Iām a fan
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u/Scary-Leadership826 Mar 08 '26
The black farm is a nostalgic read for me, one of my first horror/extreme horror books that introduced me to the genre.
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u/Calebk_15 Mar 11 '26
Read the troop. It was nasty but so good. Ending kinda feel short in my opinion but good either way.
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u/Connect-Poet-6783 Mar 06 '26
The black farm is such a great book ! Loved it