100 books like The Silver Eyes

Most people are familiar with the movie, and I was, too, before I read the novel—which is shockingly good! Though published in 1967, the prose is modern and restrained.

Rosemary is betrayed by those she trusts, most heinously by her opportunistic husband, but she’s no passive victim; instead, she becomes ferocious. I give props to Levin for channeling the burgeoning feminist rage of the times, which he also did in his 1972 classic, The Stepford Wives. The dream/hallucination scene where Satan impregnates Rosemary and her confrontation with Guy the morning after is so well-written and horrific it made me want to stab him with a pitchfork. 

My troubled childhood left deep, lasting scars on my psyche. I’m a gentle, loving soul with a caring nature. I love animals and children, and they seem to love me just as much. I’m happiest when spending time with children, and raising my own brought me the greatest happiness. Yet as any parent knows, we’re not just parenting, we’re also dealing with our own issues and challenges.

Stephen King takes that reality and turns it into one of the most terrifying stories about a family isolated in a remote snowbound mountain hotel. On the surface, The Shining is a horror fable, but it’s driven by an engine of realistic human behavior that is terrifying because it shows what any one of us might become given the right circumstances and pressures.

Anne Rice is a master of atmosphere, and the Mayfair Witches may be her greatest creation, in a sweeping saga of dread-inducing nights and unparalleled depravity.

Hypnotic echoes of the distant past converge upon a modern New Orleans, bringing with it keys to long-lost mysteries, seduction, and death. As magic whirls through this world of witchcraft and creatures shambling from the shadowy crypts of Rice’s imagination, a storm brews, propelling readers toward an explosive climax of unbridled passion and evil that could devour Rowan whole.

As one of my first introductions to what a Gothic novel can do incredibly well, this will always have a special place in my heart.

I went into this book blind, I can’t remember the exact circumstances but if I’m not mistaken it was when I was advertising myself as a reviewer for indie authors. This takes the serial killer theme to all new levels as based on a truth fiction tale. Hammott has an enjoyable writing style that flows and draws the reader in. It is an excellent retelling that kept me wanting to know more about Holmes. I have subsequently researched the killer and found Hammott's accounts to be factually correct which just makes the story that much more chilling. 

I am fascinated by stories of robots evolving into sentient beings. For a change, in this one, the robots do not rise up to destroy their masters. Instead, we are invited into a funny, tender, and exciting tale about a robot who finds herself castaway on a wilderness island and must learn what her purpose is and how to survive. As she and the animals who live there grow closer and closer together, she begins to find a home in the wilderness. A rich story that works on many levels at once. It is a tale about the interdependence of all things in nature, as well as about the perils and possibilities that technology is bringing to us. Best of all, it’s about kindness. 

An extension of Maberry’s Rot And Ruin zombie series for Young Adults, Broken Lands tells the story of the ongoing search for a cure in a world overrun by undead hordes, and very human monsters.

Protagonist Gabriella ‘Gutsy’ Gomez and a wide variety of memorable characters ensure the reader becomes totally immersed in the series from the get-go. Maberry is a master of the action set-piece, making sure that this is a book that will not only have people rooting for the characters, but also leave them breathless from the fast-paced narrative and action sequences.

There are also moments of poignancy that will also have the reader asking philosophical questions as to the fluidity of morality, and what it means to be human in a changed, dysfunctional world. 

This book felt so real. Ilsa Beck did such an amazing job at writing a book about a very saturated genre that was fresh and terrifying because her use of science really made me think this was a very real way the world could end. Also, it is wonderful when a book features a flawed, but strong female lead, something I always strive to write in my books. The main character, Alex, is real and three-dimensional and relatable, even as she’s trying to survive a sudden zombie apocalypse all on her own.

Teens, monsters, mind control, conspiracies. Dashner’s YA book packs a punch and forms a fantastic conclusion to the Maze Runner trilogy. I personally loved that while the world’s biggest crisis is a zombie outbreak, the character’s struggle for survival began at a far more basic level – the teens’ need to know what lies beyond their clinical artificial reality.  

Each character is faced with enemies from without – monster and man, but they also need to come to terms with themselves. Do they embrace the old shadow of their former selves? Or do they find out who they can become in a new more dangerous world?  Each character is faced with a myriad of moral dilemmas that outweigh the threat of the monsters created by the flare, and it makes for a fantastic read.

Autumn is a two-stage apocalypse story that spills out the horror of the world ending from a mysterious infection, followed up by a second, species-crushing wave of terror as the dead return to life to finish the job the infection began. Autumn is dark, and brutal, and is an older book in the genre, but a refreshing take on the trope of zombies. It’s filled with beautiful imagery and characters with depth and runs into a six-book series.

An undead-rising means that there will be no early-bird buffets, no fast-food drive-throughs, and no food delivery services. And all of the Michelin chefs will be zombies, incapable of providing star-level dishes. But that doesn't mean you have to eat poorly! Wilson's and Bauthus' book details the culinary techniques and recipes needed to meet even the most finicky eater's gustatory and nutritional needs. The names of the recipes are worth the read alone! My personal favorite is "The Wok-ing Dead Stir-fry," although "Life's Chard, but it will be OKale" is a close second.