He is the new york times bestselling author of a dozen novels, including the horror classic ghost story and the talisman, which he cowrote with stephen king. The week magazine features peter straubs 6 favorite books. To celebrate his 40th anniversary of julia, i did a marathon of peter straub, my second favorite author. After three years, peter straub discreetly went to dublin, ireland in 1969 to pursue a phd so that he could take writing as an important profession.
August 16, 2018 in honor of frankensteins 200th birthday, this years summer reader poll is all about horror from classics like mary. Ghost story by peter straub, koko by peter straub, shadowland by peter straub, the throat by peter straub, floating dragon by. Ghost story by peter straub i hesitated to put this on, only because im not sure. Educating yourself on all the classics is a neverending task, especially if you read in many genres. If you care about the short story, you should read this book, and watch a master at work. Peter straub is the new york times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including a dark matter. Peter straub has been on my toread list for a long time. From ghost story and beyond, the best peter straub books will. Second only to his longtime friend and collaborator stephen king, peter straub is one of americas best horror writers. With peter straubs writing, my early visits to the village began with. Here are seven of straubs books to page through on a dark and stormy night.
Peter straub continues to delve into the idea that phantoms finally adopt the souls of those who observe them. Lest you think i am in any way objective, let me say up front this is my favorite straub book, and indeed my favorite mystery novel. Some of his books are annual mustreads for me, while there are others ive never finished. Im sorry i came to the end because i would like it to go on and on. Every 2 weeks we send out an email with 68 book recommendations. Not my favorite peter straub book i have enjoyed every book i have read by peter straub and ill continue to read his books as long as he writes them but this is honestly not as good as his others. Peter straub made his debut as a published author in 1972 with the poetry collection ishmael. Lets start in everyones favorite college town madison. Like with those novels, straub takes his sweet time building up his world, specifically the town of milburn and the history of. Peter straub was born in milwaukee, wisconsin on 2 march, 1943, the first of three sons of a salesman and a nurse. The uwmadison campus is frolicking through the age of aquarius. Ghost story by peter straub i hesitated to put this on, only because im not sure anyone could label straub or his masterwork little known.
Peter straub is probably my favourite author, but its a strange relationship. Discount prices on books by peter straub, including titles like the talisman. Peter straubs entry into this cultural reckoning of the conflict was his ambitious 1988 novel koko signet books paperback, july 1989, cover by robert korn. Steven king named peter straubs ghost story as one of the greatest horror novels of modern times, alongside the exorcist and rosemarys baby. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. Years later, one man attempts to understand what happened to his wife and to his friends that horrible night and examines. Recently i finally sat down to read what is perhaps his most famous novel, ghost story. Peter straub is an awardwinning writer of horror fiction the author of ghost story. Outside of the trilogy id say floating dragon is my favorite standalone. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. New york times best selling author peter straub resurrects his most sinister creation, fielding fee bandolier, the unstoppable serial killer last seen in straub s bestseller the throat. Hit by a car at age seven, straub became keenly aware of the thin line between life and death. A novel by peter straub and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The iconic, extraordinary the washington post collaboration between bestselling authors stephen king and peter strauban epic thriller about a young boys quest to save his mothers life.
His heros descent into axewielding madness is both too abrupt and too derivative. The talisman is one of my favorite books from stephen king and coauthor peter straub. Cutter picked 10 of his favorite offtheradar horror novels. Ghost story by peter straub, koko by peter straub, shadowland by peter straub, the throat by peter straub. Im probably a fourbookaweek guy, and i like reading the same books over. In the faq answers above, i was skating fast, or so i supposed. Download and read online for free ebooks written by peter straub. He is an author, like me, only he went to vietnam and i did not, and hes about 20% better looking than i am. Ghost story by peter straub, koko by peter straub, shadowland by peter straub, lost boy lost girl by peter straub, and mys. Buy a cheap copy of ghost story book by peter straub.
Alison, the weary, spiritbeset psychic at the core of the book, has learned this about messages from the dead. And now lets go to every longhaired flower childs favorite decade the 1960s. He has written some of the best scifi books there is such as dark matter and recursion. The 10 best horror books youve never read publishers weekly.
I absolutely love that trilogy and all of the booksshort stories that tie in with it. I first read the talisman, collaboratively written by stephen king and peter straub, when it was first published in 1984 and hadnt reread the story until just now. I came across a bulk lot of his books on ebay, all of his novels in paperback for less than eight bucks, and couldnt help myself. Thoughts on ghost story by peter straub annie neugebauer. Ill think of this story often and fondly as one of my favorite books of the thousands of books i have read in my lifetime. Discount prices on books by straub peter, including titles like the talisman. A past president of the horror writers of america and. Houses without doors by straub, peter and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Im reading koko right now and once you get past a kinda slow intro it just eats away at you. Jack sawyer, twelve years old, is about to begin a most fantastic journey, an exalting, terrifying quest for the mystical talismanthe only thing that can save jacks dying mother. He worked with thomas tessier who was a poem writer and produced two poet books, ishamel and open air.
He has won the british fantasy award, two bram stoker awards and two world fantasy awards. I didnt read your post because i havent read the throat yet, but peter straub is probably my favorite horror writer. The narrative is rich, long, detailed, satysfying and haunting, and will stay with the reader for a long time. If a horror novel is your book of choice, you might want to check out this local author. Born in milwaukee, peter straub is the author of fifteen novels, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. Peter straub has achieved something extraordinary in koko. Tim underhill is of course one of my alteregos, and my favorite one. The salesman wanted him to become an athlete, the nurse thought he would do well as either a doctor or a lutheran minister, but all he wanted to do was to learn to read. Horror writer peter straubs 6 favorite books the week. Its an interesting and exciting mix of scifi, horror and fantasy that centers around a young boy named jack sawyer and his quest to save his. Neil gaiman, author of the ocean at the end of the lane. Ghost story and floating dragonhow i wish there was an unabridged version available are 2 of my favorite books and i was really looking forward to. One of the most ubiquitous of all 1980s paperback novels found in many a used bookstores horror section, koko s cover art of primary colors and thick, highcontrast spine has captured. Koko is an american horrormystery novel written by peter straub and first published in the united states in 1988 by ep dutton, and in great britain by viking.
Peters stories hit you with a bouquet of flowers and a cudgel at the same time. Peter straub books list of books by author peter straub. The talisman by peter straub and stephen king 1984. Id previously read ghost story and koko, and loved both, but i find myself in a dark gray area with julia.
Below is a list of peter straubs books in order of when they were originally released. The early straub 19751984 wrote in the shadow of stephen. Stephen king did it first and better in the shining. Straubs third book of poetry, open air, appeared later that same year. Ranging from the caribbean to vietnam to the american midwest and spanning decades of tumultuous history, these books a. It was a heady experience rereading all his novels. Spenser mallon is a campus guru in the 1960s, attracting the devotion of his young acolytes. Buy the talisman by king, stephen, straub, peter, bettison, edward from amazons fiction books store.
One of the benefits of getting older is a less precise memory. Aging and tired of a life devoted to death, fee is prepa. I worried about the characters when away from the read and to me that is the only sign of a great book. Hes a big name in horror, but i just hadnt gotten around to him yet. Murders, said straub, and that meant i was in for as long, long book. It took me a full re read to really pick up on the themes, as straub can be irritatingly vague at times, but once i did it really resonated with me. Julia is my first peter straub read in over a decade. Peter straubs blue rose trilogy koko, mystery, and the throat is one of the landmark accomplishments of modern popular fiction. To close out halloween and usher in the holiday season, i decided to finish off my spooky books with this perennial favorite of mine. It was the winner of the world fantasy award for best novel in 1989. After he invites his most fervent followers to attend a secret ritual, the only thing that remains is a gruesomely dismembered bodyand the shattered souls of all who were present. In 1972 the more substantial chapbook ishmael was published by turret books in london.
Complete order of peter straub books in publication order and chronological order. See all books authored by peter straub, including the talisman, and black house, and more on. It is a ghostly and evocative phrase that my friends and i have long used to describe the mood and countryside of story, and all that entails. Peter straub s shorter fictions are like tiny novels you drown in.
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