Well here it is folks my final part of my roundup of what I thought was the best in horror publishing in 2013.  

Part 1 - HORROR AUTHOR COLLECTION REVIEW 

PART 2 HORROR ANTHOLOGY REVIEW 

PART 3 - HORROR NOVELLA  REVIEW 

PART 4 - HORROR NOVEL REVIEW

and now we come to                 PART 5 HORROR NON FICTION REVIEW.  

Welcome to part four  of my personal favourites from the past  year ... The Novels.  In terms of review and reading horror novels this has been a funny year.  It has only been in the last few months that I have actually really read any horror novels, let alone actually write up any horror novel reviews.  This has certainly been the year of the horror novella for me.  Having said that there have been some fantastic horror novels.  Hell even some "proper"  publishing houses have embraced the genre.  

One thing I have noticed is my move away from the more schlocky cliched type of horror novel to the more introspective and supernatural one.  Am I finally growing up?  

So click on the read more to find out what i think was the best of the year.......

This has been a busy year for me.  For practically the whole year we have been critically understaffed at work.  Which for me meant long hard shifts, which in turn left very little time for quality reading.  Luckily this has been a bumper year novellas.  I think over the last year novellas have become my favourite format for horror books.  A great novella can take the best ideas of a horror novel and distill tthm down into one punchy yet extremely satisfying read.  

So read on for my picks of this years horror novellas.  

This is going to be a tough one and a hard one to compile, along with novellas, anthologies appear to have been the most read type of book over here at Ginger Nut Towers.  

So what makes for a great anthology? I believe that a great anthology should be like a great album where the individual stories are in themselves great, and where they each compliment the other stories in the the anthology.  However it's not just as simple as finding the right mix of songs a great anthologist needs to know how to order the stories to maximum effect.  So here it is my pick of the anthologies.  Remember this is in no particular order.  

I wasn't going to do this as I have a million full length book reviews to do.  However time is short and there are a lot of great books waiting to be reviewed that could do with a signal boost before Christmas.  

I'm going to break this down into four parts the books listed in each category are in no particular order.  

Some of these books haven't been reviewed yet at Ginger Nuts of Horror, please stay tuned for a full review.  

Please note this is not The Ginger Nuts of The Year Awards, these will appear very shortly. 

BEST SINGLE AUTHOR COLLECTIONS

BEST ANTHOLOGIES

BEST NOVELS 

BEST NOVELLAS


BEST NON FICTION 

There are some books that are so good I wish I hadn't read them.   Nathan Ballingrud's North American Lake Monsters is one of those books.  After finishing this collection I was left stunned by the quality of the stories, to the point that I sent me into a reading slump.  These stories got under my skin, into my mind and into my soul, so much so that for a while no other book could hold my interest for very long.  

These are intelligent, heartfelt and beautiful stories where the monsters play second fiddle to the horrors of humanity.  This is an awe inspiring collection, that shows that the horror genre is more than scares and shocks.    

Anna Taborska's For Those Who Dream Monsters was the book that brought me out of the reading slump brought on by the book above.  I can't remember why I choose to read Bagpuss  first, it may have been because I always found the show to be extremely creepy. Whatever the reason  I am glad I did.  

Bagpuss is one of those stories where you kind of know how the story is going to end, but it doesn't stop your mind from screaming "No, please god no!".  This is a tight emotional and deeply unsettling story of grief loss and isolation.  

Anna's writing is poetic, and capable of stirring powerful emotions in even the most jaded of horror fans.  

As soon as I heard about this collection I knew I had to get a copy of it.  Lynda's columns in Black Static have quickly become a must read.  So I was eager to see if this talent for writing fascinating non fiction could be translated into fascinating fiction as well. 

Lynda is one of those writers who knows that as in music it's not just the words and notes you use, the spaces in between the words and notes are just as if not more so important.  Quite how she manages to create such spellbinding  and captivating stories with her sparse yet beautiful prose is beyond me, but boy does she do it.  

Dark, emotional and otherworldly, The Moon Will Look Strange  is another wonderful example of intelligent horror.  

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It's that time of year again when men and women scratch their heads wondering what to get the horror fan in their lives for Christmas. Don't fear folks I'm here to help with this guide to some of the best new horror fiction out there.  I've even been nice and added purchasing links for all the books.  All you have to do is click on the books cover. 

Zombies can't live with them, can't kill them all.  So what's a man going to do when faced with the hordes of the undead.  That's the question that Sean Page hopes to answer in his new how to guide for surviving the apocalypse.  

Those of you reading this blog of a certain age will be looking at the cover of this book and wondering "isn't that one of those how to fix your car books that were once the mainstay of dining tables?" Yes you would be correct in thinking that.  Sean Page has had a genius masterstroke of an idea.  What could have turned out to be an unfunny gimmick, is used to great effect to deliver a wealth of knowledge to the reader.  

Broken down  into chapters such as Types of Zombie, Zombies In History, Becoming a Zombie Survivalist, and Zombie Combat and Weapons, Sean Page takes us on a fascinating, journey of learning that hopes to teach you everything that you need to know to survive.  

Lets be clear here folks this book is amazing, the depth and wealth of knowledge held within these pages is vast.  It is clear that from page one this has been a labour of love for Sean.  I would hate to think just how long he has spent researching the book.  Each page oozes class, with comprehensive guides beautifully illustrated with diagrams, illustrations, pie charts and tables.  A particular favourite of mine is the illustrated Three Step Procedure on how to take down a zombie with a baseball bat.  

What makes this book special besides the level of research and production values is the sense of fun that leaps of each page.  This book could easily have been a bit on the dry side like dessicated zombies skin, however Sean's love of the genre clearly shines through giving the book a great fun filled feel to it. I see a lot of books pass through Ginger Nut Towers, and it takes a lot for me to fall so completely in love with a book.  This is a unique and amazing book that shines like a beacon through the rotting carcass of a dying genre.   

 This is the perfect christmas gift for the horror fan in your life who seems to have everything. 

When the apocalypse arrives we might not be lucky enough to Sean on our team, so get your hands on the next best thing.  

What would you do in the event of a zombie apocalypse? Would you know how to protect your family, forage for food and hold your own if confronted by the undead? Packed with vital information about how to prepare yourself (mentally and physically) and your surroundings for attack, the Zombie Survival Manual will also include advice on how to flourish in a post-apocalyptic world. Accompanied by illustrations, maps, diagrams and step-by-step instructions, this manual will be essential reading for those interested in protecting themselves, their families and society at large from the living dead.

Please consider sharing these horror book reviews on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks.  By helping to  spread these reviews you are increasing the potential readership of these authors, which might just help to sell some of their books

So it's time for another Black Static review.  It's hard to review this magazine, for the simple fact that fact that it never fails to be anything other than fantastic.  It continues to be the benchmark that I compare all other magazines to.  The perfect mix of opinion, reviews and fiction never fails to make me do a little happy dance when the magazine drops through my letterbox.  Such is the high standard of Black Static, it actually makes it difficult to  come up with new ways to praise it.  

Stephen Volk's column is always an educational joy to read, this a man who knows his stuff, knows how to write and knows how to put together a well thought out intelligent and incendiary article.    This time Stephen points out just how low script writers are thought off in the industry.  It's a hard piece of writing that hammers home the hardships of scriptwriters.  After reading this column I was left feeling angry, with an over riding urge to give the man a big hug and tell him that I do appreciate what he does. 

Lynda E. Rucker's column this month focuses on the portrayal of madness and women in the horror genre.  This is another well informed and intelligent piece from  Lynda, it's a refreshing change to read a comment piece from a female perspective.  It has only been a few issues since Lynda debuted in Black Static, and she has already cemented her place in my must read list. 

Where many genre magazines fail is in the review section,  not so with Black Static, Peter Tennant and Tony Lee continue to produce a vast array of excellent and comprehensive reviews.  As a reviewer it's always great to see such reviewers agree with my opinions on books and films.  In general I normally agree with their opinion, however, this is the first time I totally disagree with one of Peter's reviews .  But Hey Ho folks it's only an opinion.  He loved it, I hated it.  

Which brings us to the fiction, as usual the fiction on offered here is fantastic, in this issue of Black Static, we are gifted with stories from the likes of Ray Cluely, Ralph Robert Moore, Laura Mauro, DeAnna Knippling, Priya Sharma, and Steven J. Dines.  All of these stories are excellent, however my personal favourites are 

Laura Mauro's When Charlie Sleeps,  this creepy and unsettling tale of three woman who must care for a monster in a bath tub, that seems to be an integral part of London.  When he sleeps and is happy London is happy, but when he is angry or disturbed London suffers riots crashes and social unrest. A wonderfully creepy and intimate tale with whose ending sent a shiver down my spine.  Who is Charlie and where does he come from, these things are never really answered, but that doesn't matter.   

DeAnna Knippling's  The Strongest Thing About Me  is dark, dark and bitter  letter from a woman to her brother which recounts a childhood tragedy.  Telling the story in the form of a letter between the two siblings is a stroke of genius as it adds an extra layer of reality the story.  I particularly liked how the story used score outs to make it look as though the letter was real.  As for the story, it keeps the reader on the wrong foot as it details this tragedy that has been left to rot and eat away at the writer for many many years.  

Steven J. Dines The Sound Of Constant Thunder is more along the length of a novelette rather than a short story, and Dines does not squander the longer length.  This is a blunt and bleak post apocalyptic tale full of dead babies, hungry psychotic cannibales and a protagonist trying to deal with the torment of his dead father.  Dines paints a rich and detailed landscape on which he pins this deeply depressing and shocking story of isolation and desperation.   

If I have one criticism of this issue it would be the absence of an indepth writer feature and interview.  I always really enjoyed these features.  Hopefully the next issue will see the return of it.  

If you are a fan of horror or dark fiction then Black Static is a must buy.  So click here and get yourselves a copy.  

Please consider sharing these horror fiction reviews on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks.  By helping to  spread these reviews you are increasing the potential readership of these authors, which might just help to sell some of their books