Chris’ Golden genre-spanning favorites
By Christopher Golden – It’s not an easy thing for a writer to recommend just a few other authors or books. There are so very many. And Ian specifically said I couldn’t recommend my own books…(bastard!)
The question, however, is which novels and authors have had an impact on and/or influenced me. The first writer to do so was Stephen King. I wasn’t yet a teenager when I began to devour his work. King has shown recently with Desperation that he is still capable of the old magic. Then there’s Clive Barker, whose Weaveworld is one of the best, and whose generosity toward other writers is unmatched.
I’m not a big fan of mystery novels, but there are some extraordinary writers working in the field. Just a few words on some of my favorites: James Lee Burke captures the dangerous mystique of New Orleans and the bayou country. Andrew Vachss offers up the ugly truths of our world as teaching fictions. Walter Mosley gave us Easy Rawlins and Mouse.
Then there’s the phenomenally versatile Joe R. Lansdale, whose work is both visceral and lyrical. And let’s not forget George C. Chesbro, the genius who invented Mongo the Magnificent, one of the most wonderfully entertaining fictional characters I’ve ever encountered. (Thanks to Tom S. for introducing me to Chesbro.)
In the realm of fantasy, I haven’t been able to read much with elves and such since Lord of the Rings spoiled it for me. But there’s more than just elves out there. Take a look at the works of Robert Holdstock, whose Mythago Wood set a new standard. Do yourself a favor and read Tim Powers, whose Last Call and The Stress of Her Regard are stunning.
There are a few individual books I urge you to go find. Throat Sprockets by Tim Lucas is one of the most nightmarish stream-of-consciousness works I’ve ever read. It truly disturbed me, as did Jack Ketchum’s seminal The Girl Next Door, recently released in a limited edition with an introduction by Stephen King. Check out Dead in the Water, by Nancy Holder, which won the Bram Stoker Award a couple of years ago, beating out King. And, though I’m no big fan of westerns, the voices of Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer-winning Lonesome Dove will be with me as long as I live.
For a fascinating non-fiction work, read Jennifer Toth’s The Mole People, about life in the tunnels under New York City.
Finally, we come to a pair of writers whose every effort leaves me breathless with inspiration, awe, and envy. The first is Peter Straub, author of such novels as Ghost Story, Shadowland, The Throat, and The Hellfire Club. One of the all time great writers, Straub may be peerless. If he does have a peer, it is probably the fantastical novelist Jonathan Carroll. Carroll’s books include Voice of Our Shadow, The Land of Laughs, and From the Teeth of Angels. He seduces you into stories of everyday people which somehow blossom into dark tales of magic and myth.
The rest of us are merely apprentices to the great sorcery of these writers. But they give us hope that, one day, we may become magicians too.
Read.
Christopher Golden is the author of more than a dozen novels, including Of Saints and Shadows, the best-selling trilogy X-Men: Mutant Empire, Hellboy: The Lost Army, Battlestar Galactica: Armageddon, and Angel Souls and Devil Hearts. In the comics field, his most recent work includes The Crow: Waking Nightmares, and Facelift, part of The Terrorists Saga, which he and Tom Sniegoski have created for Caliber.
