Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about this topic because it dates back to my childhood. I have been interested in this subject for as long as I can remember and, as far as I can tell, gravitated towards it naturally, probably due to those unknown vectors within us all that gear us towards our loves, interests, and passions. I have written many novels in this field, and countless short stories, some published, others lying around my house. For me, this genre defines the best aspects of the imagination and is full of color, fantasy, and the entire broad spectrum of human emotions, including the most potent: fear. 


I wrote

Perspectives

By Randy Ryan,

Book cover of Perspectives

What is my book about?

My book is a work of metafiction that deals with the art and style of narration. It frequently breaks the…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Collection

Randy Ryan Why did I love this book?

I love this book because it is a collection of short stories, and I am a huge fan of anthologies. It also contains some of the zaniest horror stories I’ve ever read. My personal favorite is The Washingtonians, which was adapted into a fantastic episode of Masters of Horror. This book takes elements like American History or even things as mundane as family reunions, garbage, and macaroni and cheese and completely flips them on their heads.

By Bentley Little,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Collection as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How far would you go with a hitchhiker who'd left behind an unimaginable trail of horror and destruction? How would you feel if your father's new bride was something dredged up from the bowels of hell? What would you do if you discovered an old letter suggesting one of America's Founding Fathers had been a serial killer? This is The Collection, thirty-two stories of hot blood and frigid terror that could have come only from the mind of Bentley Little!


Book cover of Mister B. Gone

Randy Ryan Why did I love this book?

This novel's structure inspired me to write my book, at least in part. I read it in one sitting while working as a security guard at a nature park on Christmas night years ago. It deals with an unholy presence by the name of Jakerbok, imprisoned in the pages of the book, who perpetually pleads with the reader to “Burn this book!” or else. It is wholly unique, original, and decidedly unsettling.

By Clive Barker,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Mister B. Gone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The long-awaited return of the great master of horror. Mister B. Gone is Barker's shockingly bone-chilling discovery of a never-before-published demonic 'memoir' penned in the year 1438, when it was printed - one copy only - and then buried until now by an assistant who worked for the inventor of the printing press, Johannes Gutenberg.

This bone-chilling novel, in which a medieval devil speaks directly to his reader-his tone murderous one moment, seductive the next-is a never-before-published memoir allegedly penned in the year 1438.

The demon has embedded himself in the very words of this tale of terror, turning the…


Book cover of It

Randy Ryan Why did I love this book?

This is perhaps my favorite novel of all time and the first Stephen King book I ever read despite its epic length. Pennywise is such an iconic villain and the literal nexus of all monsters in creation. As fantastic as the horror elements are, the friendship between “The Losers Club” is undoubtedly the most beautiful aspect of the work.

Stephen King’s greatest strength is how interesting his human characters are, particularly through their development and response to the supernatural and otherworldly horrors.

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked It as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This tie-in edition will be available from 16 July

TIE IN TO A NEW MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, IT: CHAPTER 2, ADAPTED FROM KING'S TERRIFYING CLASSIC

27 years later, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back...

Derry, Maine was just an ordinary town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part, a good place to live.

It was a group of children who saw- and felt- what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes…


Book cover of Frankenstein

Randy Ryan Why did I love this book?

Perhaps the most classic work of horror fiction in both literature and cinema. As an English teacher, I find that there is so much fodder for lessons prevalent in this book–nature vs nurture, the dangers of forbidden knowledge and playing God, the arrogance of science, and who the real monster is. I particularly love the difference between The Monster in the novel and the film, its articulation, desires, abilities, and even its physical appearance. Few written works have been more seminal.

By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,

Why should I read it?

45 authors picked Frankenstein as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'

'That rare story to pass from literature into myth' The New York Times

Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley on Lake Geneva. The story of Victor Frankenstein who, obsessed with creating life itself, plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, but whose botched creature sets out to destroy his maker, would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Based on the third…


Book cover of The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft

Randy Ryan Why did I love this book?

Perhaps my favorite author of all time is Edgar Allan Poe, but HP Lovecraft is certainly within the running of my top five, perhaps three. His fiction is predicated upon the idea that we understand very little about the nature of reality and are ourselves rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

This notion in and of itself is rather humbling and petrifying. Not to mention the fact that Lovecraft’s work is downright cool, rife with slime, tentacles, and other unknown and indescribable horrors from beyond the cosmic veil of outer space…and beneath the ocean, which is without a doubt the scariest place on earth.

By H P Lovecraft,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Another fantastic edition in the Knickerbocker Classic series is The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, comprised of the author's fictional stories featuring the world's most bizzarre creatures and supernatural thrills. Written by H.P. Lovecraft between the years 1917 and 1935, the stories in this collection feature many horrific and cautionary science fiction themes that influence today's artists like Stephen King, Alan Moore, Paul Wilson, Guillermo Del Toro, and Neil Gaiman. For Lovecraft fans worldwide, this stunning gift edition has a full cloth binding, foil blocking on the spine, ribbon marker, and is packaged neatly in an elegant slipcase. The Complete…


Explore my book 😀

Perspectives

By Randy Ryan,

Book cover of Perspectives

What is my book about?

My book is a work of metafiction that deals with the art and style of narration. It frequently breaks the fourth wall and is told from multiple viewpoints–hence the title. Five inner stories connect to form an overarching plot, each taking place in a small, western Pennsylvania town on Christmas Eve night.

It contains elements of the supernatural, thriller, horror, cryptozoology, or the study of unknown or hidden animals. The novel's narrators are trapped within the book's pages and seek to escape, which is why they tell the reader (yourself) to stop reading so that they can do so. 

You might also like...

Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

By Kalvin Thane,

Book cover of Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

Kalvin Thane Author Of Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Artist Reader Gamer Father Coder

Kalvin's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Unlike the typical tales of a flawless fighting unit, this story follows Commander Kami Trenn and her ragtag squad of mixed-race space marines.

Dog Squad fights a mysterious adversary whose presence remains shrouded in secrecy. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance, but will they be able to make enough of a difference?

Can they hope to uncover the enemy’s plans for galactic dominance before the Alliance falls? Maybe. If they can stop fighting each other.

Cytress Vee: A Dog Squad Story

By Kalvin Thane,

What is this book about?

Across the void formed by two galactic spiral arms, vast forces face each other.

The tenuous Alliance, sixty civilizations united only by fear of invasion, prepare to resist the encroachment of their as-yet unseen enemy, known only as the Creeps.

The Void has become a battleground. Three thousand light years across, and populated by a scattering of ten thousand ‘dark’ worlds, it is the Alliance’s last chance to protect their way of life. Self-destructive, robotic drones pour across the Void in ever-increasing numbers, testing the Alliance fleets to breaking point.

In the midst of the surging tides of war, a…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in monsters, good and evil, and evil?

Monsters 169 books
Good And Evil 141 books
Evil 13 books