"....It was a desire to celebrate and share that love of the elements of gothic fiction that inspired me to create the first R.I.P. Challenge, four years ago.
Readers Imbibing Peril, that is what it is all about. I hope you’ll consider joining us on this more eerie road less traveled.
Walk this way.
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
The desire for the thrill that comes with this kind of reading drifts in on the autumn winds. You breathe it in and it takes hold of you, tempting you to late nights, book-in-hand, turning pages and starting at every unknown noise. Something wicked this way comes…"
So reads 'Stainless Steel Droppings' invitation to join in on this challenge. For the full description, go here.
As per suggestion, Apprentice Writer will share her 'reading pool':
GOTHIC: 'Seduced by a Stranger', by Eve Silver
Why This One? Fills criterion of '...can cut the atmosphere with a knife' in spades. Consider the first sentence:
"At the age of eleven, Catherine Weston was buried alive in a shallow, wet grave."
Status: Just started. Review to follow.
SUPERNATURAL: 'Trouble in Mudbug' by Jana DeLeon
Why This One? A ghost appears on the first page and stays till the last. Not a very scary one, true, but we'll still count this for the sake of ticking the genre box.
Status: Reviewed.
DARK FANTASY: Book 4, 'Corambis', Doctrine of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette
Why This One? Because the subterranean water creature, the psychiatric hospital, and all the labyrinth scenes from Book 1 on gave Apprentice Writer the serious willies (in the non-British sense) and Book 4 will not be any different.
Status: Three books down (Melusine, The Virtu, The Mirador) , one to go.
HORROR: Apprentice Writer doesn't usually venture into this genre, due to being highly impressionable while also wimpy. She will therefore stretch definitions to include
'Demon Bound' by Meljean Brook (Book 7 in the 'Guardian' series if you count all the novellas), because some of the characters from Book 2, 'Demon Angel' (which AW liked very much) reside in hell, and repeatedly go through the tortures of the damned (in a minimally graphic way, thank the gods of fiction for small mercies), and if that's not horrifying AW doesn't know what is.
Status: Four previous installments in the series read, selected title to go.
MYSTERY: 'No Wind of Blame' by Georgette Heyer
Why This One? Because AW received it in the mail today and it looks really good. Since it is not remotely eerie, she will bend the definition again, and say the horror of this story lies in the views of many characters on the appalling manners of other characters rather than actual gruesomeness. How eerie can things get over an ever-present pot of tea? But this is the mystery AW has at hand, and since it's her blog, she's going to do what she wants.
Status: Twenty delicious pages in. Review forthcoming.
SUSPENSE/THRILLER: No idea what to insert here. Suggestions?
ETA: Gentle Reader and Debut Author Thomma Lynn Grindstaff has suggested
'Haunting Beauty' by Erin Quinn to fill this slot.
There we go. All boxes checked. Now AW just has to collect the actual volumes and commence.
4 comments:
Sounds like a fun challenge! I've heard good things about Eve Silver, and I have a recommendation for suspense/thriller: Haunting Beauty by Erin Quinn. I just finished it, and it's a fascinating, complex paranormal romance with strong suspense/thriller elements.
TL - Excellent! That's a new-to-me author.I love how I can count on cyberfriends to steer me right.
Wasn't I just explaining the term "gothic" to you a few months ago? Now you can read one and see what I mean. I have Eve Silver's book up next too.
That graphic is so cool and eye-catching.
Abby - the student draws even with the master! OK not really but at least you can be pleased that I took the education to heart.
Yes, the graphic is lovely, and was a great carrot to get over that next-blogging-step hump.
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