10 books like The Exorcist

I love reading and teaching this classic of postcolonial literature. Written in spare, accessible style on the eve of Nigerian independence from Britain, Achebe tells the story of British colonization of an Igbo clan in Southeast Nigeria near the end of the 19th century. Even as the novel portrays the appalling damages of European colonialism, it subtly critiques the traditional Igbo exclusion of disabled people. It demonstrates one of the paradoxes of human rights: victims of human rights abuses can also be perpetrators of them. The British missionaries first gain a foothold by welcoming those stigmatized people marginalized by the Umoufians, indicating how Achebe promotes compassion of all people.

This is the book that got me into Science Fiction in the first place and it remains, perhaps, my favorite novel. The setting is a near-future dystopian society where a subculture of young, roving gangs control the streets through extraordinarily violent antics (ultra-violence). This violent behavior is enhanced by “milk plus,” a drink laced with synthetic drugs available at the Korova Milk Bar, which is where we first encounter our main character, Alex, a 15-year-old gang leader.

When Alex is arrested for murder, he is selected to undergo an experimental therapy (The Ludovico Technique) designed to wean him off violent behavior forever, after which his sentence will be commuted. During these treatments, he is injected with (yet another) drug called Serum 114. This drug induces extreme nausea while he is made to watch horribly violent films. Utterly changed, Alex is released back onto the streets to a world in which… show more.

I know what you’re thinking. Dracula isn’t unconventional. Well, at the time it was released, it was. Stoker did an excellent job of incorporating many genres into his vampire novel, including gothic horror and dark fantasy. Dracula is one of the reasons I write dark fantasy. The genre has changed so much over the years that if Dracula were released today, it would be unconventional once more, with Dracula being a true predator.

This book gives a great example of what happens when humans try too hard to tinker with nature. Of course, sometimes science does need to tinker with nature for the greater good of humanity and scientific progress but this story is disturbing on many levels because it touches upon various aspects of human responsibility with regard to nature. Mainly on the philosophical and moral levels relating to how much power humans should ultimately wield over nature and what benefits or drawbacks are derived from such control. Obviously, humans can alter nature at a cost but what happens when we do, and what is the potential fallout from meddling with nature?

I have always been fascinated by the Far East, so when James Clavell published Shōgun, I was enthralled throughout all its many pages. It allowed me to delve into the mysteries of that island nation, so isolated by location and culture from the world I knew.

Years later that fascination was further enriched when I went to work for a Japanese motor vehicle company. My department shared a work area with the Japanese representatives stationed in South Africa for 2 to 3 years, so I was able to build some form of relationship with them. When I visited Japan on business I was privileged to enjoy that culture firsthand, albeit it much removed from the Japan of the Shōgun era. The bonus was to be exposed to slices of Japanese life not usually accessible to the average visitor.

Written in 1967, this short book packs a psychological wallop. It also influenced so many thrillers to come. I love to laugh, and this is a little bit of comedy, and a little bit of social commentary, all wrapped up in a horror story. It’s not gory in a physical sense. But we recognize the universal experience: the murderous betrayal of trust, which is central to so much psychological suspense. People are not what they seem, it seems.

I hadn’t read any new fiction in a while when I got this book, and it managed to creep me out so much I had weird dreams. It has a retro horror movie vibe like The Exorcist or Poltergeist but manages to be even more frightening. Its power is that you are always unsure of what is fact and what is fantasy as the main character recounts a family trauma from her childhood and the lines between mental illness and demonic possession are blurred. The examination of family and how it affects people and their relationships is a strong base for some pretty terrifying moments!

This is another already popular series that has been around for ages. I guess I’m partial to older books as they are mostly clean reading due to the era. The Hobbit is a wonderful tale of unexpected adventure, bravery, overcoming, and acceptance in the world of middle earth where strange and wonderful creatures abound. Fairies, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and goblins abound in a masterfully described world. These books were also a catalyst to my own writing. As a fairly new author since 2017, I couldn’t write contrary to my beliefs, and these wonderful stories show that it can be done in a way that is not only engaging and clean but that can captivate the mind as the stories I read play out like a movie in my head.

She likes to do the same as me: Take the structure of a potboiler/page-turner and see how far below the surface you can go. It's a contemporary, accessible, entertaining thriller—but so much more. There are lots of layers to this juicy tome, and it's insanely well-written. Keeps you thinking long after finishing. The movie’s pretty good too!

Published in 1959, this is a chilling tale of a group of strangers who take part in a psychological study into psychic phenomena by agreeing to spend the summer in Hill House, reputed to be haunted. The story’s narrator is Eleanor Vance, a shy, fragile woman damaged by 11 years of nursing her sick mother through a fatal illness. Free at last, she’s eager to embrace life, but instead finds herself prey to the dark pull of the decaying old mansion, which finally claims her in the end.