Listed below, in no particular order, are my favorite reads of 2013. Some of these books were published last year. Others have been around for a while. They are all, in my view, worthy of the highest praise.
1. The Immortal Body by William Holloway — One of the best Lovecraftian books I have ever read, Holloway creates a world of cosmic horror that would have chilled the blood of Lovecraft himself. Holloway has a new book coming out soon–The Song of the Death God–that is even better.
2. High Moor 2: Moonstruck by Graeme Reynolds–With this high-octane followup to my favorite werewolf book of all time, Reynolds has set the bar high for the final book in the series. No pressure or anything…
3. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon–Spinning away from horror for a moment, this was a terrific little book that I enjoyed far more than I expected. Not an easy read, but worth the effort.
4. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel–Beautiful. Challenging. Engrossing. Uplifting. Confusing. All of these words could be used to describe Kafka on the Shore, but there is one that I think can’t be denied–masterpiece.
5. Steel Breeze by Douglas Wynne–A brilliant story of death, revenge and redemption that grabs hold from word one and does not let go. Proof positive that Wynne’s fantastic Devil of Echo Lake was no fluke.
6. Special Dead by Patrick Freivald–Another sequel that I loved, Frievald is writer with a delicious and devilish wit who deserves a look by any fan of horror.
Beware The Shadows 