In the last couple of years I’ve read a whole bunch of brilliant books in the horror / thriller / sci-fi genre and have come to discover a whole bunch of writers out there that are consistently lighting up the publishing world with their writing excellence. When these writers come out with a new novel I will more than likely buy it; that’s how captivating and immersive their prose is. The stories and plots and characters these writers have created are so full of detail and vibrancy that it transports you to another plane and makes reading a real treat. So, without further ado, here’s four contemporary authors (in alphabetical order) whose work you should most definitely check out…

M. R. Carey

The Book of Koli was my introduction to Carey’s work, and whilst I have read it only once it is definitely on my list for a re-read at some point down the line because it’s one of the best books I have read in the last ten years! It’s part one of the Rampart Trilogy, which is set in a post-apocalyptic Britain, with our protagonist (Koli) telling the story (in the first-person pov) of his life in the small village of Mythen Rood, and the trials and tribulations of its hierarchy and how he aspires to be more than just a woodsmith. 

The Book of Koli (courtesy of Amazon), M.R. Carey (courtesy of Wiki / Luigi Novi), and Infinity Gate (courtesy of Amazon)

What I loved about this compelling and engrossing novel (along with the other two books in the trilogy) is Koli’s unique voice and the broken-dialect and simplified language (it’s almost like Pidgin English) which is used by everyone in this dystopian world: A world where trees and plants are alive and can kill you. Where religious zealots and warring militias are out to kill everyone and anyone that crosses their path. And where remnants of the old world (technology) are pivotal in the plot, and where we’re given one of the best side-kick characters I have ever come across in all my reading! The Book of Koli is a fascinating journey and is brilliantly followed up by The Trials of Koli which is a solid and mesmerising second instalment, with The Fall of Koli concluding the trilogy in an exceptionally epic and wonderful way. The Rampart Trilogy does not disappoint, and I look forward to the days where I can return with my re-reading of the saga and experience the wonder of it all once again!

Infinity Gate was my next read of Carey’s writing outside of the Rampart Trilogy; it’s an exhilarating and epic sci-fi adventure with multiple points-of-view about Earth’s demise, inter-dimensional travel, AI, and a relentless war that’s full of alien tech and mech with buildings blown apart mere inches from your face. You can really taste the blood and mud of combat when it’s up close and personal too. This book is part one of The Pandominion duology, and was a very quick read for me because of its tight plotting and exhilarating pace. The second instalment (Echo of Worlds) is on my reading list to be read at some point this year (there’s too many darned good books out there and just not enough time in the day to read them all!) and it’s one that I’m looking forward to getting stuck into!

Philip Fracassi

Boys in the Valley came across my Twitter feed when Orbit books tweeted its premise and so I purchased it right there and then. This is a testament to how social media can work to your favour; by introducing you to a writer and his work when it aligns to your reading taste. The first chapter in Boys in the Valley is up there as being one of the best I’ve ever read. It is a masterclass in writing excellence and hooking a reader from the outset, and it ends with a bang so loud that you’ll not forget it anytime soon.

Boys in the Valley, Philip Fracassi, and The Third Rule of Time Travel (all images courtesy of Amazon)

The premise of the novel is simple: Demonic possession in a boys’ orphanage. The protagonist (Peter) is one of the older children who is undecided if he wants to join the priesthood and devote his life to God. The story is predominantly told from his (first-person) point of view and has some really darned creepy Exorcistesque moments that you’ll be so caught up and engaged with them you’ll practically project yourself right there into the orphanage as they unfold before your very eyes! All horror fans out there should be adding this book to their list right now! I don’t need to tell you more about it as this is all about whetting your appetite, so go buy it, read it, and experience the terror tonight! 

The Third Rule of Time Travel was a book that I recently just finished reading. I really love stories about time travel, but I’m really picky about the genre and the plot (it’s dreadfully overdone in the Historical Fantasy genre) and, more specifically – the writer writing about it! I believe it takes a certain amount of skill and panache to articulate the science and the mechanics about it and make it feel real without boring you to death. Fracassi finely finesses all of this and avoids info-dumping on the tech and rambling on about the theory and adds just the perfect amount of detailing when it comes to the time-travelling procedure and the machine enabling it.

The rules of time travel are carefully orchestrated with a fantastic opening scene which throws you right into a heart-pounding first-person point of view with our protagonist as she experiences a horrible family tragedy from her past. Rule One: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime. Rule Two: You can only travel for ninety seconds. Rule Three: You can only observe. The rules cannot be broken. 

This gripping beginning really raises your blood pressure like you were there with the protagonist (Beth Darlow, the scientist and co-creator of the time travel machine) and it’s another example of Fracassi’s knack for captivating your interest from the outset. The plot of the novel evolves around Beth and her time travel experiments under the ever watchful eye of the Langan corporation who are funding the operation. What I loved about the book was that it had just the right balance of conflict and mystery throughout the story, with the relationship between Beth and her young daughter giving you enough heart tugs without getting too soppy and being overly sentimental in places. Grief and love are central to the themes, with the wonder of time travel (and its potential ramifications) keeping you engaged and engrossed throughout. It’s a riveting read with an air of originality to its premise and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s brought to the big screen at some point down the line.

I’ve still got a bit of catching up to do on reading Fracassi’s other works, but from just reading these two novels I am definitely hooked on his writing and will be adding more of his books to my basket very soon!

A.M. Shine

The Watchers was where my descent and discovery into the darkness of A.M. Shine’s mind began, and boy, was I submerged into a murky world of intrigue and mystery as I followed the protagonist (Mina) as she became trapped in a glass-fronted bunker deep in the woods, with three other strangers. At night the light in the bunker comes on and the people in the coop must sit and let the unseen watchers observe them. This is the premise from the outset (so I’m not spoiling it for you!), and what follows is an edge-of-your-seat anxiety-filled horror–slash–thriller with the pages turning faster and faster in conjunction with Mina’s heartbeat as the puzzle unravels. It’s Irish folk-horror marinated in a Blair Witch sauce, with some gorgeous Gothic toppings tossed over it.

The Watchers, A.M. Shine, and The Creeper (all images courtesy of Amazon)

The Creeper was Shine’s second novel and is another foray into another dark and delirious forest as we trudge along with our protagonists Ben and Chloe, as they look to document and possibly debunk the superstition known as…The Creeper! Oh, this is another treat for all you horror fans out there as it really does evoke some Evil Dead and more Blair Witch vibes, but in an altogether different way from The Watchers. The plotting is superb and the characters are brilliantly brought to life with Shine’s writing. It’s the perfect Autumnal read when the sun slowly sets like a burning ember and it pierces through the leafless skeleton-like branches of the trees above you. And the mud – oh, there was so much mud; in all its forms of sludge and shades of brown and black that you will feel the need to soak yourself in a bath once you’ve finished reading it! 

Stay in the Light is Shine’s latest novel out there, and is the follow-up to The Watchers. It’s got the familiar flavour of its predecessor and plenty of paranoia and claustrophobia to keep you staying out of the forest and underground caves for the rest of your life, and whilst I thought it lacked that slight edge the first novel had it still kept me hooked right up until the last page. 

C.J. Tudor

I have been a huge fan of Tudor’s writing ever since I was gifted her deliciously dark collection of short stories in A Sliver of Darkness. The horror tales in that were so good that they reminded me of the best anthologies that Amicus Productions and Hammer Films ever made! I’m already planning to re-read some of them again very soon because they still vividly stick in my mind when I think about them, that’s how compelling and brilliant they were!

The Drift, C.J. Tudor, and The Burning Girls (all images courtesy of Amazon)

I then read The Drift (purchasing it on its publication day) and was thrown into a wonderful thriller with its many horror elements and its three different perspectives; all of which are told from a snow-laden setting (you’ll have the fire turned up full blast reading it!) in which most of the world’s population has been decimated by a deadly virus. This was a real page-turner for me, and it gives a good balance of intrigue and suspense and a whole load of cliffhangers at choice moments without overdoing it. 

The Burning Girls (which has been adapted for TV) has a really creepy folklorian vibe running through it and an excellent dynamic between the protagonist (a reverend) and her teenage daughter as they arrive in a sleepy British village. The reverend is the new replacement for the local parish after her predecessor killed himself. There’s also the mysterious disappearance of two girls from the past that haunts the village as well, and this is one of the many plot threads that runs through the story. It’s got cliffhangers, a couple of good twists and scares, and some Shiningesque moments that it’s bound to appease most of you horror and thriller fans out there!

The Gathering was my next stop on my Tudor reading tour (I bought this on its publication date as well!); and this is a solid police procedural vampire tale set in a dark and wintery—30 Days of Nightesque—Alaskan town and has all the intrigue and creepiness of her previous work. There’s an air of originality on display with the world created here (all the blood has been sucked dry from the vampire genre in the last decade in my opinion) and it’s the perfect companion to The Drift for reading on those cold wintery nights as the wind howls like the Hound of the Baskervilles.

At the moment I’ve still got some of Tudor’s back catalogue to catch up on (I’ve not read her first three novels!), but she is an absolute expert in writing in the third-person and first-person narrative and is as close a writer to Stephen King that I’ve come across, and with this is mind I suppose you could say that if King is the King of Horror then Tudor is most definitely the Queen of Horror!