Short Story Recommendations

[ulthar]

I am a big fan of Carpenter's "The Thing."  I had never read John W. Campbell's "Who Goes There" on which it's based, but am now.  I've also recently revived my interest in Lovecraft, reading "Herbert West: Reanimator" which I've had never read (though a big fan of the movie since I saw it on the big screen when it first came out).

Can anyone recommend stories/authors of similar mood to "Who Goes There"?

[peter johnson]

John Wyndham wrote "The Midwich Cuckoos" and "The Day of the Triffids", which were made into "Village of The Damned" and "The Day of the Triffids" respectively.
He is a fine writer, with a great command of English & a poetic style that makes you hunger for more.  It's a shame that he wasn't especially prolific, but these are both fine reads along the lines you're talking of.
peter johnson/denny crane

[Max Gardner]

Ray Bradbury is actually a fantastic horror writer. I much prefer his horror to his science fiction. Check out "The Crowd" and "The Thing at the Top of the Stairs," both of which are incredibly unsettling. As for Lovecraft, I'd recommend "The Lurking Fear."

[AndyC]

Philip K. Dick wrote some nice, dark, paranoid science fiction. You can't go wrong with a 'best of' anthology of his work.

[Tilebreaker]

I recently bought some John Wyndham for my Dad.  He's got a few, but the problem is, some of them are now out of print or renamed.  So if you try - look for him in a used book store.  

Harlan Ellison would be a guy I'd reccomend for short stories.

[peter johnson]

Oh, sure -- Ellison & Bradbury are both fantastic writers --
I met Ellison twice in Boulder.  He's actually very easy to talk to in person, despite his horrible fan reputation -- eg., he's supposed to punch out fans who annoy him.
Got his autograph on the "Shatterday" collection.  Great stuff!!
I worked on a play -- "The Devil & Dr. Sweet" -- with L. Nathaniel Wolfe, who wrote "The Ultimate Computer" for Shatner's Star Trek, among other things -- who was a classmate of Bradbury & had everything Bradbury had ever written, first edition, signed, of course.  Talk about your mouth watering & fleeting thoughts of theft!!
I actually realised 2 of my all-time dreams, when I got on the Wizard of Oz CD, in that I appear on there with both The Firesign Theatre and -- tada!! -- Ray Bradbury, who is an extreme L. Frank Baum scholar & does 16min. of commentary on the book at the end of disc 4.
Still never met the man in person, though . . .
George R.R. Martin has also written great things -- passages you want to read again and again because the language is so good.  One short story in particular:  "Remembering Melody".  Scariest damn short ghost story I've ever read . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[ulthar]

I had thought of Ray Bradbury Philip K. Dick and Harlan Ellison, but your comments were more specific to my general inkling.

Thanks!  :)

[mr. henry]

some very nice newly published collections of lovecraft are now in very nice paperback editions...there is also an annotated book.

the autumn is a great time to read lovecraft...always pick up his stories around halloween...

mr. henry
www.310am.com

[AndyC]

Speaking of Lovecraft, there is a pretty good anthology called 'Lovecraft's Legacy' in which modern authors write Lovecraftian tales. It's been a few years since I read it, but it wasn't too bad.

[Neville]

If you don't mind explicit stuff, you can also check out Clive Barker's "Books of blood" anthology. Some great stuff in there.

[Ozzymandias]

Bradbury's MARTIAN CHRONICLES and ILLUSTRATED MAN are both good collections of short stories.
The one Ellison short story I love is "Jeffty Is Five."
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s short stories are collected in two books, WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE and MAGUMBO SNUFF BOX (sp).
I have a Lovecraft colection but it is not as good as it should be. Too many good stories left out.

[peter johnson]

Re.  Vonnegut/Monkey House --
I'm in a very good 20-min film adaptation of one of the short stories from Welcome to the Monkey House, directed by Jennifer Dean, called "ESS", which stands for "Ethical Suicide Services".   'Can't remember the name of the short story, though . . .
The film is out there on some Festival Shorts compilations.  
peter johnson/denny crane

[Ozzymandias]

The title story, WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE, is about a suicide nightclub.