Riffle Editor's Choice: Essential Horror Books for December
An Update on the Riffle Horror Editor (that's me)
December of 2016 I lost consciousness and ran my Dodge Caravan into a tree just minutes from my home. When I woke up in the minivan, I couldn't breathe. I didn't understand why I was facing a tree . . . until I did. And then my breathing returned.
All totaled, I had five or six broken ribs and a broken right femur bone (that long thick leg bone between the hip and knee), a cut requiring stitches on my forehead and a blood clot just below the back of my right knee which required 6 months of taking a blood thinner called Coumadin.
I had a titanium rod inserted in my femur to hold it together while it mended and I took up the art of breathing without moving my chest so as not to piss off my ribs.
Later I learned that my hyperthyroid condition (called Grave's Disease for the doctor who described it, although if left untreated it can land you in a grave) was probably the reason why I blacked out on the road.
I also found out that the heart palpitations I've had once in a great while over the years were also due to that overactive thyroid. Thank you stupid thyroid. Since the accident, I've had regular bouts of heart arrhythmia (irregular beating of the heart which is very painful) and tachycardia (rapid pounding beating of the heart which is exhausting). These were brought under control by medication.
In a few days (It is December 1, 2017, at this writing), I will have surgery to almost completely remove that homicidal thyroid. I never wanted the surgery option (I would have preferred radioactive spiders . . . er, iodine) but because my eyes are already bulging I have to do surgery to prevent more bulging and further damage to my already lame vision.
After that tree hit my minivan (because I was across the road from it and that truly is the only way it could have happened) I didn't read an ebook or listen to an audiobook again until sometime in February (2 months after the accident) after I'd given up the Oxycontin (did you see that? My heart soared and brought a smile to my lips the moment I typed that drug's name in. I love Oxy but I know it is not my friend. . . .)
Ummm, I lost that train of thought . . . where was I? Oh yes.
I have to have surgery and it will disrupt my Riffle work for a short time -- I think three days to a week. Maybe a little more if they put me back on Oxycontin. But it won't be two months.
Promise.
If you have any suggestions, feel free to mention them in the discussion section below the list.
This book list is a work in progress. Check back occasionally for more updates. Published: 12/1/2017
Updated:
-- Gregory Fisher, [Riffle Horror Editor] (https://twitter.com/RiffleHorror) and [Undead Rat] (https://twitter.com/UndeadRat)
He'll Come Knocking At Your Door
Author: Robert McCammon
ISBN: 1587676079
Tales from Greystone Bay
Author: Robert McCammon
ISBN: 158767596X
One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning (The Final War)
Author: David Moody
ISBN: 1250108411
Only the Devil is Here
Author: Stephen Michell
ISBN: 1771484349
Arachnosaur
Author: Richard Jeffries
ISBN: 1516105028
The Unyielding
Author: Gary J. Shipley
ISBN: 1621052419
The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume Five (Original Sin, DNA War)
Author: Michael Jan Friedman
ISBN: 1783299096
Plague Land
Author: Alex Scarrow
ISBN: 1492652105
Parasite Life
Author: Victoria Dalpe
ISBN: 1771483970
The Man From the Diogenes Club
Author: Kim Newman
ISBN: 1781165742