I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog!
It’s not quite October, but I’m in the mood for spooky season so I decided to focus on horror for today’s Top Ten Genre Freebie. Lately I’ve noticed a lot of horror books that revolve around media like movies and TV, and I’ve read a fair amount of them, so I’ve put together a list of ten books, some read and some are on my TBR. All of them take the idea of visual media and twist it into a fun story. These are listed in alphabetical order, and for the books I’ve read, I’m linking my reviews:
Always the First to Die by R.J. Jacobs. Jacobs tackles the “cursed movie” trope when a woman returns to the scene of the movie she played a part in as a teen. I loved the Florida setting, the hurricane element and the mystery in the story. This was a fun one!
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning. A child actor returns to face her demons in this uneven but entertaining “cursed movie” story. Not my favorite Josh Winning, but he did some fun things with movie tropes.
The Devil’s Playground by Craig Russell. I haven’t read this yet, but I need to! Here’s the short Goodreads blurb: “A riveting 1920s Hollywood thriller about the making of the most terrifying silent film ever made, and a deadly search for the single copy rumored still to exist, from the internationally acclaimed author of The Devil Aspect .”
Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie. The crew of a “ghost hunter” reality TV show gets more than they bargained for in this weird, terrifying story that has a found footage vibe and uses a variety of multi-media to tell the story.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix. Hendrix takes the “final girl” trope and twists it into a highly entertaining story about real final girls (girls who survived actual serial killer attacks) and how fame changes their lives.
The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry. This book isn’t out yet, but it’s already high on my TBR. Here’s a short blurb from Goodreads: “A single mother working in the gothic mansion of a reclusive horror director stumbles upon terrifying secrets in the captivating new horror novel from the national bestselling author of Good Girls Don’t Die and Horseman.”
Mister Magic by Kiersten White. Six cast members of the infamous children’s TV show Mister Magic reunite to save one of their own in this totally weird mystery that deals with some heavy themes.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. A love letter to the slasher film, Jade Daniels, a horror film obsessed teen, finds herself in the middle of a real serial killer story in this excellent series opener.
The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman. A film maker decides to make a movie based on a creepy urban legend, in this multi-layered homage to horror films.
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. A retired film maker decides to finish the cursed film he started years ago, in this excellent horror movie-centric thriller.
Love this idea for a topic 😀
My Heart is a Chainsaw is one I definitely want to read after seeing reviews for the sequel and realising I’d need to start at the beginning.
Always the First to Die sounds good too.
Pages and Tea recently posted…Book Review: The Three Dahlias (Dahlia Lively #1) by Katy Watson
Both are really good. Yes, start at the beginning with My Heart is a Chainsaw:-)
Find forages horror is always creepy when done well. Analog horror is becoming popular on Youtube.
Snapdragon recently posted…Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
It is creepy, I’ll have to check out Analog horror.
I don’t know that I’ve read many of these sorts of books but I’ve certainly watched and enjoyed a number of movies that follow this theme.
You can do so much with this trope, I love seeing how different authors approach it.
Fun list and I have read two from the list and wasn’t a fan of either one, making me wonder if I don’t like this type of horror trope…lol. 🙂
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LOL I didn’t love all of these either, maybe it was just the books:-)
Great list! I’ve read a few of these (especially loved The Remaking and Episode Thirteen), and I’ll definitely want to read the Christina Henry book too!
I’m soo excited for a new Christina Henry!
As someone who lives above the Gulf Coast, hurricane novels are always of interest!
I really had fun with that one, I hope you get to read it:-)
How many interesting titles!! And you had an amazing idea with this post!!
Thanks Susy, I just kept noticing books like this and I was able to come up with ten:-)
Wow, I guess I never realized how popular this trope really is. I am in such a spooky mood too! Hope you are enjoying My Roommate is a Vampire. I finished A Twisted Love Story last night and hope to get my review up this week. I’m curious your thoughts if you decide to read it. I almost DNF’ed twice.
Barb @ Booker T’s Farm recently posted…2 Bloggers 1 Series – My Kind of Christmas
I didn’t either but then I kept running into “movie” books, lol. I’m having fun with My Roommate is a Vampire, but it does feel a little young. Looking forward to your review of A Twisted Love Story!
Neat spin on the theme!
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Thanks Emma:-)
I love this topic! Yeah, I’m in the mood for spooky season, too.
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Luckily it’s almost here:-)
These all look frighteningly good.
They are! I love this trope:-)
I’ve read The Final Girl Support Group! These all look so perfect for the upcoming spooky season. I’m so excited for it!
Me too, my favorite time of year:-)
Oooh, ALWAYS THE FIRST TO DIE looks really good! I’ll have to take a closer look at that one.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
It was a lot of fun!
THat’s a pretty cool topic idea.
Thanks, I kept noticing I was reading books with the trope, so I finally sat down and did a post about them.
Great topic. I’m not much for horror but I might pick up Mister Monday and Silver Nitrate some day.
Annemieke @ A Dance with Books recently posted…In Charm’s Way | The Witches of Thistle Grove 4 | ARC Review
Silver Nitrate is definitely worth reading:-)
I’ve enjoyed three off your list and there’s a few more on here that I’d love to read. Especially the Henry and Russell books.
Lynn 😀
Lynn Williams recently posted…Can’t Wait Wednesday : The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
I really do like seeing how different each author approaches this trope.
The Final Girl Support Group is one I really want to read. 🙂
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…Nature Books I Want To Read
It was a lot of fun!
Oooh I love the theme you went with! I love horror books about other forms of media, it’s something I never really get tired of. I got a copy of Silver Nitrate recently and I’m really looking forward to picking it up!
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Ooh, I’m going to need to add a lot of these to my TBR! I didn’t think about how many revolve around movies/TV, but there really are a lot! Fortunately, I think I enjoy those quite a bit and have enjoyed most of the ones I’ve read that I see on here! Great topic idea for this freebie. 🙂
Mister Magic is the only one I’ve read, but I want to read more of these on this list. Some I didn’t know had that theme, so now I’m even more intrigued! Thanks for sharing!
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