Year End Picks – Dark Version

[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Much like every other publication out there that showcases books, we’d like to take some time to feature some of our favorite, stand out titles from the past year. Since THIN AIR 2015 saw the introduction of our new horror/weird series, The Poisoned Chalice, it only seems natural to put together a list of some of the best books in  this vein that we’ve seen this year.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Aickman’s Heirs, edited by Simon Strantzas. From the excellent Undertow Publications, Aickman’s Heirs is an anthology of short stories either in the same vein as, or heavily influenced by, the short stories of British writer Robert Aickman. Aickman himself referred to his work as “strange stories” and they are basically impossible to identify as any one particular genre. They are, however, dark, spooky, odd, insightful, and brilliantly written; all wonderful qualities which these new stories by authors such as Helen Marshall, John Langan, and David Nickle, who was featured at several events during this most recent festival. I recommend reading these stories one at a time, allowing enough time for them to be digested. And then you should probably try reading them again. They’re that good.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”2525″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”250X350″ alignment=”right”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”1655″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”250X350″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]The Deep by Nick Cutter. It may seem as though everyone is jumping on the bandwagon of praising the horror novels being published by the mysterious pseudonym of one of Canada’s heavyweight literary figures (psst! It’s Craig Davidson). There’s a reason for that: the books are really, really good. This year, Nick Cutter released 2 horror novels but I’ve picked The Deep as one of my favorites. In order to cure a global epidemic of an odd illness called The ‘Gets, Luke visits an underwater facility at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Fear of the dark, water, the unknown, etc. ensues.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]The Bewdley Mayhem by Tony Burgess. So technically this came out last year, but it’s actually an omnibus of three books, so it took a while to read. The Bewdley Mayhem collects Burgess’s three books set in the small town Ontario area of Bewdley: The Hellmouths of Bewdley, Pontypool Changes Everything, and Caesarea. Many readers may remember the film Pontypool (which was written by Burgess, though the novel and film are quite different) but all three books are excellent showcases of Burgess’s aggressive, ultra-violent, and unsettling subject matter as well as the experimental and bafflingly good prose that he is known for. An introduction by Winnipeg author and scholar Jonathan Ball rounds out a book that all fans of Canadian transgressive literature should have.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”2562″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”250X350″ alignment=”right”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”2563″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”250X350″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Harmless by James Grainger. So this may not count as out and out horror, but Harmless was one of the most tense and suspenseful books I’ve read in a good long while. Beginning as a remote get together for now-adult college friends, the night soon becomes a nightmarish experience two of friends’ teenage daughters go missing in the woods surrounding the house. Joseph and Alex, once best friends but now estranged almost to the point of being enemies, decide to venture out into the woods in the middle of the night to find the girls. A fascinating examination and critique of the idea of “manliness” and the destructive power that comes with that, Harmless will stay with you for quite a while after you’ve finished.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman. Another non-horror entry on this list, Clifford Jackman’s debut novel is a pitch dark and absolutely vicious Western. Spanning roughly three decades around the end and aftermath of the American Civil War, the novel follows the Winter family, a gang of outlaws led by the enigmatic and brutal Augustus Winter. The extreme violence will draw in fans of Cormac McCarthy, though Jackman’s prose is not as terse or sparse as McCarthy’s. It was listed for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award and appeared on the Globe and Mail’s top 100 books of 2015, so I’m certainly not the first person to sing the praises of this novel.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_single_image image=”2564″ alignment=”right” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”250X350″][/vc_column][/vc_row]