Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2006

Publishers Weekly has just announced their choices for the best books of 2006. Among them were one horror novel, and another that may be of interest to horror readers.

The horror novel is Dark Harvest, by Norman Partridge. Set on Halloween night, 1963, it explores the dark secrets behind a small town's ritual hunt for the October Boy.

Also of interest to horror fans is The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. This book details the struggle of a father and son to survive in a cannibal-infested, post-apocalyptic wasteland.

International Horror Guild Awards

The International Horror Guild presented their awards for Best Novel this month, for books published in 2005.

The winner was Lunar Park, by Bret Easton Ellis. Possibly best-described as an "alternate autobiography", the lead character is a writer named Bret Easton Ellis, to whom horrific things begin to happen. Ellis is best known for his controversial novel American Psycho, which was widely criticized for its extreme violence.

The other nominees include:
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. A novel about a historian's quest to learn the truth behind the legends of Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula.

Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel. A woman begins to get lost in the world of psychics, clairvoyants, and fortune tellers.

The Stone Ship, by Peter Raftos. A man considering suicide is convinced by a ghost to carry out his revenge.

Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot, by Carl-Johan Vallgren. Follows the story of a deaf, dumb, and deformed telepath. Set in the early 1800's.

The Somerset County Library owns multiple copies of Lunar Park, The Historian, and Beyond Black. The other two titles can be requested through Inter-Library Loan at the Adult Information Desk.

New Arrival: The Lady of Serpents, Book 2 of the Vampyricon, by Douglas Clegg

Just arrived is Book 2 of Douglas Clegg's Vampyricon series, The Lady of Serpents. The Vampyricon is the saga of a low-born medieval boy as he follows his apparent destiny to become the king of the vampires. An imaginative combination of alternate history, horror, and dark fantasy. Be sure to read Book 1, The Priest of Blood, first.

New Asian Horror DVD's at Hillsborough

Much of what is considered to be the most innovative horror made is coming from the studios of Japan and South Korea. The library has recently purchased several of these new releases. If you would like to see them, place a hold on them through our catalog, or give us a call at the Adult Information Desk, 908-369-2200 ext 12.

Memento Mori. Korean, directed by Tae-Yong Kim and Kyu-Dong Min. Min-Ah discovers a shared diary and is soon fascinated to learn that two people she thought to be very close friends have in fact begun a forbidden romance at her school.When one of the diary's writers is found dead from an apparent suicide, rumors spread and Min-Ah begins to feel a strange presence. The once-tranquil school is transformed into a place of morbid terror, as if the words written in the journal, "memento mori" (remember the dead), have come to life.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Korean, directed by Chan-Wook Park. This is the story of Ryu, a deaf man, and his sister, who requires a kidney transplant. Ryu's boss, Park, has just laid him off, and in order to afford the transplant, Ryu and his girlfriend develop a plan to kidnap Park's daughter. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

A Snake of June. Japanese, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. A man and woman fall into an erotic nightmare when they are stalked by a disturbed man.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Japanese, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. A man awakens from a nightmare in which his body is helplessly fusing with the metal objects around him, only to find it happening to him in real life... or is it?