CHALLENGE | Readers Imbibing Peril II

For the R.I.P. II Challenge, I'm going to go low-key. I will be undertaking Peril the First - which just requires me to read 4 books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

So, the goal is to read at least 4 books from this list:

1. Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden

   Mike Mignola is one of my favourite artist/comic writer. I loved the moody starkness of his signature artwork, which just brings out his well-researched tales of monsters and supernatural terrors. I have the hardcover of this illustrated novel sitting at my desk right now. Come 1st September I will purchase it and read it.

2. Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Other Stories by Mike Mignola, P. Craig Russell & Richard Corben

   This is supposed to be published in October, but let's see if I can throw it in. Hellboy is my hero. A demonspawn, a Prince of Hell summoned by the Nazi to bring about the Apocalypse, he grew into his own man. The two round stumps on his forehead are the stumps from his broken hell-horns - horns that he broke off in declaration of his own Free Will, against his demonic destiny. I love my Hellboy.

3. The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers

   Had wanted to read this earlier this year, but just never got around to it. A historical fantasy starring the Romantic poets Keats, Byron and Shelley. Now, where did I put that book?

4. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith

   Vampires visit a far northern Alaskan town that experience 30 days of continuous nights. Blood. Murder. Mwhahaha!

5. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

   This is a new Polish author I picked up from the bookstore. I know very little about him but the synopsis at the back looks interesting:

   Geralt was always going to stand out, with his white hair and piercing eyes, his cynicism and lack of respect for authority ... but he is far more than a striking-looking man. He's a witcher; his sorcerous powers, enhanced by elixirs and long years of training, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. ...

   In his role as guardian of the innocent, Geralt, the witcher from Rivia, meets incestuous kings with undead daughters, vengeful djinns, rancorous maidens, shrieking harpies, love-lorn vampires and despondent ghouls. Many are pernicious, some are wicked, and none are quite as they seem.

6. Angelica by Arthur Phillips

   I've been eyeing this title for s while now. Since I managed to get my paws on a library copy this week, I think I shall add it to the list. From the New Yorker:

   Phillips’s third novel, set in Victorian London, starts as a ghost story. When Joseph instructs his wife, Constance, to have their four-year-old daughter, Angelica, moved from their bedroom into a room of her own, Constance becomes convinced that a seductive spectral force is preying on the child. The catastrophe that follows is relayed from the perspectives of Constance; of her supposed redeemer, an actress turned exorcist; and of Joseph—each view ultimately being rendered by the adult Angelica. What at first appears a rather glib ghost story predicated on Victorian clichés of sexual repression and patriarchal tyranny turns into a spectacular, ever-proliferating tale of mingled motives, psychological menace, and delicately told crises of appetite and loneliness. Phillips sustains a pastiche of Victorian writing and ideas with enticing playfulness, and without making his characters or their complex fears and desires laughable

As usual, I may add to this reading list when something interesting comes along. And if I can squeeze it in, I shall attempt Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Challenge is from 1st September 1st ~ 31st October 2007.

Also visit R.I.P.ing Yarns: The Official R.I.P. II Review Site.