My favorite books about sinister happenings featuring regular people

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I was fascinated by science fiction books. Later on, I’ve started reading horror as well and used to get engrossed in the books of Stephen King. As a software engineer, I’m passionate about technology, the latest innovations, and the science behind anything. However, I find a hint of supernatural equally fascinating, and such elements find their way in my books.


I wrote...

Moroi

By John Black,

Book cover of Moroi

What is my book about?

The story of a regular family from Eastern Europe. Life will never be the same. Neither will death…

When their relaxing family vacation is interrupted by a blackout, Andrei and Lili hope it is just a blip and power will soon be restored. But they, their seven-year-old son and Lili’s parents soon realize that the blackout was just the beginning.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Baphomet's Meteor

John Black Why did I love this book?

I’ve read this book as a child, I was probably around 10 years old. I loved that a regular person was able to conquer the world given the right tools. I was also intrigued by the occult and mystical elements in this book. I found all the geographical and cultural references fascinating and I loved that it had a happy ending.

By Pierre Barbet,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Baphomet's Meteor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of The Abbey

John Black Why did I love this book?

Having read this as a teenager, I found the intricate plot mesmerizing and I was intrigued by the deeper themes approached in the book. I read it in my mother tongue, Romanian. Humanity, religion, good and evil, smoke and mirrors. Everything is wrapped up in a science fiction context and a multi-layered fantasy filled with spirituality and insight.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I loved how one person, fairly regular, always becomes the Messiah, no matter how many times the experiment is repeated.

By Dan Dobos,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Saint Augustine defined six periods of human life with the last being the Armageddon - when the armies of humans, lead by a Messiah who has again come down on Earth, will have to defeat the forces of evil. More than three thousand years after this prophecy was made, the Abbey is the only religious entity still standing. Radoslav, the Abbot who rules the Augustinian Order, knows that the Armageddon is about to break out soon but he can't decide what will trigger it. It might be the first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization; it is possible that the attempt…


Book cover of The Shining

John Black Why did I love this book?

I guess this book needs no introduction. I loved the story and the thrill of seeing an evil so large that no normal man could control. I sometimes find myself reminiscing about this story and the feelings I had when reading it. If there are still people who didn’t read it, I’m sure they will get just as immersed in the story.  

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

20 authors picked The Shining as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Before Doctor Sleep, there was The Shining, a classic of modern American horror from the undisputed master, Stephen King.

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around…


Book cover of The Right Hand of Evil

John Black Why did I love this book?

This book stayed in my head for a long time, I think I read it back in high school. I was fascinated by the occult happening in Louisiana. It was my first encounter with this kind of folklore, voodoo, and black magic. It sends me the same vibes as King Diamond’s Voodoo concept album.

I found the ancient curse theme intriguing and the origin of the evil within the Conway house fascinating. All in all, I remember how the convoluted and twisted plot kept the pages turning quickly.

By John Saul,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When the Conways move into their ancestral home in Louisiana after the death of an estranged aunt, it is with the promise of a new beginning. But the house has a life of its own. Abandoned for the last forty years, surrounded by thick trees and a stifling sense of melancholy, the sprawling Victorian house seems to swallow up the sunlight. Deep within the cold cellar and etched into the very walls is a long, dark history of the Conway name--a grim bloodline poisoned by suicide, strange disappearances, voodoo rituals, and rumors of murder. But the family knows nothing of…


Book cover of Cell

John Black Why did I love this book?

I loved the whirlwind of chaos that unleashes suddenly over humanity. One day is business as usual and the other total mayhem. Everyone’s lives are thrown upside down and the only priority of every person becomes about survival and basic needs.

This is one of the stories I drew inspiration from for my first book, Growlers Moroi. 

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Stephen King's bestselling apocalyptic thriller.

'Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to the empty heavens and the world as it had been was a memory.'

The event became known as The Pulse. The virus was carried by every cell phone operating within the entire world. Within hours, those receiving calls would be infected.

A young artist Clayton Riddell realises what is happening. He flees the devastation…


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A House on Liberty Street

By Neil Turner,

Book cover of A House on Liberty Street

Neil Turner Author Of A House on Liberty Street

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Reader Traveler Inquisitive Family guy Writer

Neil's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Meet Tony Valenti. His high-flying corporate law career just cratered. His society marriage blew up in a bitter divorce. He's returned to the Chicago suburbs to lick his wounds and regroup in the haven of the Valenti family home. But time to heal isn't in the cards.

Tony's elderly father inexplicably shoots a sheriff's deputy on their front porch. Nobody knows why, and Papa isn't talking. Then their house becomes an unlikely target for condemnation and expropriation by corrupt local officials and their cronies.

With money and hope dwindling, Tony steps up to defend his father and take to city hall, and quickly finds himself in peril when he unearths sinister connections between the cases. The audacity of the plot against them fuels a gritty determination to get to the bottom of what really happened—regardless of the risks and ultimate cost to himself. To win, Tony must earn his father's trust and outwit his wily opponents.

A House on Liberty Street

By Neil Turner,

What is this book about?

A father. A son. A murder.

Meet Tony Valenti. His high-flying corporate law career just cratered. His society marriage blew up in a bitter divorce. He’s returned to the Chicago suburbs to lick his wounds and regroup in the haven of the Valenti family home. But time to heal isn’t in the cards.

Tony’s elderly father inexplicably shoots a sheriff’s deputy on their front porch. Nobody knows why, and Papa isn’t talking. Then their house becomes an unlikely target for condemnation and expropriation by corrupt local officials and their cronies.

With money and hope dwindling, Tony steps up to defend…


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