The best books that put a different spin on a popular genre

I was floored by this fantastic thriller. Most “invisible man” stories cast the invisible character as the villain, but Memoirs flips the script, and the result is magnificent. The protagonist, Nick, is the victim of a scientific accident, and must go on the run from the corrupt government agents who want to capture him. The result demonstrates that Nick missed his true calling—he should have been a secret agent himself. Saint’s protagonist is clever and resourceful as he navigates through every attempt to trap him. And the best part of this different take on the genre: It leaves you asking yourself, “What would I do?” I’ve read it three times, and I spend the intervening years wondering how I would have survived in Nick's shoes. An absolute must-read.

I love zombie stories, but in the wrong hands, the basic premise can sometimes feel repetitive. Ex-Heroes asks, what if there were a zombie apocalypse in a world of superheroes? And the end result is wildly entertaining. The few heroes cannot simply “fix” an entire apocalypse, so the story explores just how normal people could survive with their handful of super-protectors: Where would they be reasonably safe, so they could sleep at night? What could they do about power, about food? How can they form any plans for rebuilding society, and is that even feasible? And when it comes to the inevitable superhero-vs.-zombie fights, Clines is inspiring in how imaginative he is. Perfect for zombie-lovers, or superhero-lovers, or—ideally—both.

Werewolf stories are pretty straightforward, usually only varying as to whether or not the human can control their wolf-half. Not so with Howling Mad. David weaves a unique tale, not of a man cursed so that the full moon turns him into a wolf, but of a wolf cursed so that the full moon turns him into a man. As a comic book writer and novelist, David is known for his wit—and Howling Mad has plenty of that—but the highlight is David’s adroit examination of this trope reversal, from how the new man-wolf deals with suddenly having opposable thumbs to the effects of “civilized” society on the beast’s basic nature. I was so struck by the clever premise that it influenced some of my own supernatural tales.

Arguably the most influential vampire novel since Dracula, I Am Legend is one of my all-time favorites. Upon publication, vampire tales were almost universally set in far-off lands or gothic metropolitan areas, usually period pieces, and strictly supernatural in nature. But Matheson set I Am Legend in a suburban neighborhood, in the then-near-future, and explored vampires created and driven by a germ. Called an “inspiration” by Stephen King (who also named Matheson as “the author who influenced me the most as a writer”), I Am Legend left me wondering how I would manage to survive as the proverbial last man on Earth, how I would endure the lonely isolation and the nightly vampire assaults on my home that was half-shelter, half-prison. I have returned to I Am Legend again and again. 

Another zombie novel with a refreshing spin, World War Z takes place, not at the outbreak or during an undead apocalypse, but many years afterward. Framed as a series of interviews with survivors, the various interviewees share their personal tales, each coming from a unique perspective. Rather than focusing on the flesh-eating gore that is the emphasis of most zombie tales, World War Z explores such topics as how people survived when the food supplies dwindled, or what were the best tools for hunting zombies at night, or what happened to those whose sanity simply could not handle the nightmare. And ultimately, how the world handled the “clean up” after winning the war. Personally, I found this approach intriguing, fresh, and thought-provoking, all at once—another “what would I do?” win.