Literary fiction can travel quite a distance on boldness and inspiration, but genre novels
require, above all, craftsmanship. The horror novel, in particular, relies on carefully
planned and executed effects, and the author who embarks on the goal of terrifying the
reader must remain as cold-blooded and calculated as an arch criminal in producing
them. There is no place to hide in this kind of storytelling: these narratives aim at a
visceral transformation in the audience—the spine must tingle! hairs must stand on end!
the pulse must race!—and the writer who fails on these counts, fails absolutely. Cleverness
and experimentation on their own can’t pull this off, but method and craftsmanship can.
Critics who have developed their literary tastebuds on
more effete fare may easily misjudge the degree of difficulty
involved in such endeavors. Indeed, the craft of terror can
be, in many situations, just as demanding as the requirements
of stream-of-consciousness, meta-narrative and the other
academically sanctioned approaches to fiction. Yet even today,
critics will sometimes dismiss H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most
powerful prose stylists of his day, with smug putdowns. (Peter
Damien recently proclaimed that "he was a godawful writer. He
was so bad. I really cannot stress this enough.”) And they ignore
the time-tested successes of Richard Matheson, Stephen King
and other masters of the horror genre, at times even pointing
to these authors’ popularity as self-evident proof of their lack
of skill. Not long ago, they did the same to Edgar Allan Poe—
at the time of his death he was lambasted by his own biographer
as a drunkard, drug addict and lunatic. In fact, American literati
had to be re-educated by the French on the merits of their own
native son.
I say this as preamble to a discussion of Peter Straub’s 1979 novel Ghost Story which might,
at first glance, be considered a mere…well, a mere ghost story. Nothing could be more
familiar, less experimental. If the purpose of the postmodern novel is to call attention to
its existence as a fictional construct, the goal in Straub’s work is the exact opposite. For its
effects to work, they must remain unobtrusive and taken-for-granted. The last thing we
want a horror novel to do is to call attention to the behind-the-scenes manipulations that
undergird its effects—as with a magic trick, the revelation of the mechanisms at play dispel
the magic, or in this instance, the horror.
A ghost story, what could be simpler? But if you mapped out a flow chart of this book on
a sheet of paper…you would soon need a bigger sheet of paper. And then you would
probably fill up the larger sheet, and require a big slab of butcher paper, enough maybe
to wrap a ten-pound roast, a slab of steaks, and a pork butt. Then, and only then, you
might have sufficient space to sketch a blueprint for this book.
Straub starts with a gritty interlude of a strange kidnapping involving an anxious abductor
and a strangely complacent abductee, but we only later realize that this tale falls
chronologically almost at the conclusion of the story. We will also learn, hundreds of
pages later, that the victim in this part of the story is a manifestation of the villain in a
later (that is to say, earlier) juncture in the narrative. I may start to confuse you if I
mention that this malleable character appears in at least four other forms, under as
many different names, in Ghost Story. Yes, my abbreviated description makes it sound
confusing, but once you are immersed in Straub's novel, the complex twists and turns
are handled so deftly that you never notice the intricacy of the plot or the convolutions
of the structure.
What else do we have here? Well, where should I begin? At least a half-dozen characters
seem ready to emerge as the main protagonist of this novel, and Straub moves them
through their paces as if he were a chess grandmaster anxious to prove that even pawns
can do the works of rooks and knights. Dozens of subsidiary characters also enter into
the proceedings, and they often get thrust into the center stage to push the drama
forward. Almost as many ghosts appear, and each of these has an agenda and a very
personal way of haunting. Several romances flourish…and end in unexpected ways,
and these aren't—as often the case in horror novels—grafted awkwardly on to the plot,
but carry it forward in crucial ways. Various haunted houses figure in the story, each with
its own quirks. Somehow Straub manages to tie all these strands together with nary a
loose thread showing.
The chronology, for its part, never really falls into a sequential pattern, and the full
story eventually requires a number of leaps and dashes across a period of more than
fifty years, and the geographical settings span the entire United States, from the
Berkeley campus to upstate New York to Florida. For a lengthy stretch, Straub moves
into first-person narration, but then switches back to a semi-omniscient third-person.
I could go on and on, but as even this thumbnail sketch makes clear, this is an ambitious
story with many moving parts. I could praise it in many ways, but perhaps the best way
of doing so is by comparison with the acknowledged leader in the field of contemporary
horror. In my opinion, Peter Straub is the closest rival to Stephen King in matters of
formal mastery, the nuts and bolts of constructing a well-told horror tale, among living
writers.
But here’s the key thing: the reader is hardly aware of the flurry of activity behind the
scenes, since the action on stage is so compelling. People are dying under strange
circumstances in Milburn, New York, and our anxious reader simply wants to find out
what malevolent power is behind it, and how it can be stopped. In time, we learn that
a long dark history is behind these happenings, and perhaps an even more ominous one
lies ahead. Yet the complexity unfolds so gradually, and with such irresistible momentum,
that the reader plows ahead oblivious to the deft planning and execution required to
construct the lengthy chain of events that comprise Straub’s narrative.
The epicenter of these horrors is as unlikely
as can be. A group of stately older gentlemen
in the town of Milburn have been gathering
together for friendly banter and refreshments
for the last half century. The participants
include two lawyers, a doctor, a retired hotel
owner, and a ghostwriter (the pun may be
intended). They call themselves the Chowder
Society—the name applied derisively by one of
the member’s wife—and these pillars of the
community engage in a host of harmless rituals.
They dress in formal attire for their meetings,
and their lighthearted gatherings take an eerie turn after the unexpected death of one
of their members—the ghostwriter, of course. In the aftermath, they now spend their
time together sharing ghost stories. But these ghost stories have an uncanny way
of intruding into their day-to-day life, or—perhaps even more upsetting—their recurring
nightmares.
Occasionally Straub gets flashy—and is not above inserting erudite references to
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Stephen Crane into the text. More often, the allusions are
subtle ones, such as the nod of the head to the Bates Motel of Psycho fame or to the
horror films Carrie and Night of the Living Dead. But our author here isn't really
anxious to call attention to himself. His writing is always supple, never awkward, and
rarely ostentatious. Every detail is meant to fit into a larger picture, and those in turn
eventually fit in with other images on an even larger canvas.
And, yes, this work succeeds on the most important level of all for a horror story—it
provokes dread and anxiety. It keeps you turning the pages. It is haunting, in all the best
and worst ways.
Of course, we expect that in a ghost story. But even authors who scorn genre and aspire
to highbrow legitimacy might benefit from reading this particular Ghost Story. Believe it
or not, they might even learn some writing lessons from it. For those who look down on
the horror genre that could be the scariest takeaway of them all from this well-honed
book.
Ted Gioia writes about music, literature and popular culture. His latest book is How to Listen to Jazz from
Basic Books.
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
require, above all, craftsmanship. The horror novel, in particular, relies on carefully
planned and executed effects, and the author who embarks on the goal of terrifying the
reader must remain as cold-blooded and calculated as an arch criminal in producing
them. There is no place to hide in this kind of storytelling: these narratives aim at a
visceral transformation in the audience—the spine must tingle! hairs must stand on end!
the pulse must race!—and the writer who fails on these counts, fails absolutely. Cleverness
and experimentation on their own can’t pull this off, but method and craftsmanship can.
Critics who have developed their literary tastebuds on
more effete fare may easily misjudge the degree of difficulty
involved in such endeavors. Indeed, the craft of terror can
be, in many situations, just as demanding as the requirements
of stream-of-consciousness, meta-narrative and the other
academically sanctioned approaches to fiction. Yet even today,
critics will sometimes dismiss H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most
powerful prose stylists of his day, with smug putdowns. (Peter
Damien recently proclaimed that "he was a godawful writer. He
was so bad. I really cannot stress this enough.”) And they ignore
the time-tested successes of Richard Matheson, Stephen King
and other masters of the horror genre, at times even pointing
to these authors’ popularity as self-evident proof of their lack
of skill. Not long ago, they did the same to Edgar Allan Poe—
at the time of his death he was lambasted by his own biographer
as a drunkard, drug addict and lunatic. In fact, American literati
had to be re-educated by the French on the merits of their own
native son.
I say this as preamble to a discussion of Peter Straub’s 1979 novel Ghost Story which might,
at first glance, be considered a mere…well, a mere ghost story. Nothing could be more
familiar, less experimental. If the purpose of the postmodern novel is to call attention to
its existence as a fictional construct, the goal in Straub’s work is the exact opposite. For its
effects to work, they must remain unobtrusive and taken-for-granted. The last thing we
want a horror novel to do is to call attention to the behind-the-scenes manipulations that
undergird its effects—as with a magic trick, the revelation of the mechanisms at play dispel
the magic, or in this instance, the horror.
A ghost story, what could be simpler? But if you mapped out a flow chart of this book on
a sheet of paper…you would soon need a bigger sheet of paper. And then you would
probably fill up the larger sheet, and require a big slab of butcher paper, enough maybe
to wrap a ten-pound roast, a slab of steaks, and a pork butt. Then, and only then, you
might have sufficient space to sketch a blueprint for this book.
Straub starts with a gritty interlude of a strange kidnapping involving an anxious abductor
and a strangely complacent abductee, but we only later realize that this tale falls
chronologically almost at the conclusion of the story. We will also learn, hundreds of
pages later, that the victim in this part of the story is a manifestation of the villain in a
later (that is to say, earlier) juncture in the narrative. I may start to confuse you if I
mention that this malleable character appears in at least four other forms, under as
many different names, in Ghost Story. Yes, my abbreviated description makes it sound
confusing, but once you are immersed in Straub's novel, the complex twists and turns
are handled so deftly that you never notice the intricacy of the plot or the convolutions
of the structure.
What else do we have here? Well, where should I begin? At least a half-dozen characters
seem ready to emerge as the main protagonist of this novel, and Straub moves them
through their paces as if he were a chess grandmaster anxious to prove that even pawns
can do the works of rooks and knights. Dozens of subsidiary characters also enter into
the proceedings, and they often get thrust into the center stage to push the drama
forward. Almost as many ghosts appear, and each of these has an agenda and a very
personal way of haunting. Several romances flourish…and end in unexpected ways,
and these aren't—as often the case in horror novels—grafted awkwardly on to the plot,
but carry it forward in crucial ways. Various haunted houses figure in the story, each with
its own quirks. Somehow Straub manages to tie all these strands together with nary a
loose thread showing.
The chronology, for its part, never really falls into a sequential pattern, and the full
story eventually requires a number of leaps and dashes across a period of more than
fifty years, and the geographical settings span the entire United States, from the
Berkeley campus to upstate New York to Florida. For a lengthy stretch, Straub moves
into first-person narration, but then switches back to a semi-omniscient third-person.
I could go on and on, but as even this thumbnail sketch makes clear, this is an ambitious
story with many moving parts. I could praise it in many ways, but perhaps the best way
of doing so is by comparison with the acknowledged leader in the field of contemporary
horror. In my opinion, Peter Straub is the closest rival to Stephen King in matters of
formal mastery, the nuts and bolts of constructing a well-told horror tale, among living
writers.
But here’s the key thing: the reader is hardly aware of the flurry of activity behind the
scenes, since the action on stage is so compelling. People are dying under strange
circumstances in Milburn, New York, and our anxious reader simply wants to find out
what malevolent power is behind it, and how it can be stopped. In time, we learn that
a long dark history is behind these happenings, and perhaps an even more ominous one
lies ahead. Yet the complexity unfolds so gradually, and with such irresistible momentum,
that the reader plows ahead oblivious to the deft planning and execution required to
construct the lengthy chain of events that comprise Straub’s narrative.
The epicenter of these horrors is as unlikely
as can be. A group of stately older gentlemen
in the town of Milburn have been gathering
together for friendly banter and refreshments
for the last half century. The participants
include two lawyers, a doctor, a retired hotel
owner, and a ghostwriter (the pun may be
intended). They call themselves the Chowder
Society—the name applied derisively by one of
the member’s wife—and these pillars of the
community engage in a host of harmless rituals.
They dress in formal attire for their meetings,
and their lighthearted gatherings take an eerie turn after the unexpected death of one
of their members—the ghostwriter, of course. In the aftermath, they now spend their
time together sharing ghost stories. But these ghost stories have an uncanny way
of intruding into their day-to-day life, or—perhaps even more upsetting—their recurring
nightmares.
Occasionally Straub gets flashy—and is not above inserting erudite references to
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Stephen Crane into the text. More often, the allusions are
subtle ones, such as the nod of the head to the Bates Motel of Psycho fame or to the
horror films Carrie and Night of the Living Dead. But our author here isn't really
anxious to call attention to himself. His writing is always supple, never awkward, and
rarely ostentatious. Every detail is meant to fit into a larger picture, and those in turn
eventually fit in with other images on an even larger canvas.
And, yes, this work succeeds on the most important level of all for a horror story—it
provokes dread and anxiety. It keeps you turning the pages. It is haunting, in all the best
and worst ways.
Of course, we expect that in a ghost story. But even authors who scorn genre and aspire
to highbrow legitimacy might benefit from reading this particular Ghost Story. Believe it
or not, they might even learn some writing lessons from it. For those who look down on
the horror genre that could be the scariest takeaway of them all from this well-honed
book.
Ted Gioia writes about music, literature and popular culture. His latest book is How to Listen to Jazz from
Basic Books.
Publication Date: October 11, 2016
This is my year of horrible reading.
I am reading the classics of horror fiction
during the course of 2016, and each week will
write about a significant work in the genre.
You are invited to join me in my annus
horribilis. During the course of the year—if
we survive—we will have tackled zombies,
serial killers, ghosts, demons, vampires, and
monsters of all denominations. Check back
each week for a new title...but remember to
bring along garlic, silver bullets and a
protective amulet. Ted Gioia
I am reading the classics of horror fiction
during the course of 2016, and each week will
write about a significant work in the genre.
You are invited to join me in my annus
horribilis. During the course of the year—if
we survive—we will have tackled zombies,
serial killers, ghosts, demons, vampires, and
monsters of all denominations. Check back
each week for a new title...but remember to
bring along garlic, silver bullets and a
protective amulet. Ted Gioia
My Year of Horrible Reading
Week 1:
Dracula
By Bram Stoker
Week 2:
The Haunting of Hill House
By Shirley Jackson
Week 3:
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
By Edgar Allan Poe
Week 4:
Carrie
By Stephen King
Week 5:
The Passion According to G.H.
By Clarice Lispector
Week 6:
Tales
By H.P. Lovecraft
Week 7:
The Exorcist
By William Peter Blatty
Week 8:
The Woman in Black
By Susan Hill
Week 9:
Nausea
By Jean-Paul Sartre
Week 10:
I Am Legend
By Richard Matheson
Week 11:
Ghost Stories of Henry James
By Henry James
Week 12:
Interview with the Vampire
By Anne Rice
Week 13:
American Psycho
By Bret Easton Ellis
Week 14:
Last Stories and Other Stories
By William T. Vollmann
Week 15:
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
By M.R. James
Week 16:
Rosemary's Baby
By Ira Levin
Week 17:
The King in Yellow
By Robert W. Chambers
Week 18:
Rebecca
By Daphne Du Maurier
Week 19
The Woman in the Dunes
by Kōbō Abe
Week 20
The Dark Eidolon
by Clark Ashton Smith
Week 21
Off Season
by Jack Ketchum
Week 22
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
by Clive Barker
Week 23
The Silence of the Lambs
by Thomas Harris
Week 24
The Orange Eats Creeps
by Grace Krilanovich
Week 25
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Week 26
Psycho
by Robert Bloch
Week 27
Fledgling
by Octavia E. Butler
Week 28
Demons by Daylight
by Ramsey Campbell
Week 29
The Complete Short Stories
by Ambrose Bierce
Week 30
Pet Sematary
by Stephen King
Week 31
Our Lady of Darkness
by Fritz Leiber
Week 32
Grendel
by John Gardner
Week 33
White is for Witching
by Helen Oyeyemi
Week 34
The Wasp Factory
by Iain Banks
Week 35
King Kong
by Edgar Wallace
Week 36
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
Week 37
The John Silence Stories
by Algernon Blackwood
Week 38
The Magic Toyshop
by Angela Carter
Week 39
The Other
by Thomas Tryon
Week 40
Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Week 41
Ghost Story
by Peter Straub
Week 1:
Dracula
By Bram Stoker
Week 2:
The Haunting of Hill House
By Shirley Jackson
Week 3:
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
By Edgar Allan Poe
Week 4:
Carrie
By Stephen King
Week 5:
The Passion According to G.H.
By Clarice Lispector
Week 6:
Tales
By H.P. Lovecraft
Week 7:
The Exorcist
By William Peter Blatty
Week 8:
The Woman in Black
By Susan Hill
Week 9:
Nausea
By Jean-Paul Sartre
Week 10:
I Am Legend
By Richard Matheson
Week 11:
Ghost Stories of Henry James
By Henry James
Week 12:
Interview with the Vampire
By Anne Rice
Week 13:
American Psycho
By Bret Easton Ellis
Week 14:
Last Stories and Other Stories
By William T. Vollmann
Week 15:
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
By M.R. James
Week 16:
Rosemary's Baby
By Ira Levin
Week 17:
The King in Yellow
By Robert W. Chambers
Week 18:
Rebecca
By Daphne Du Maurier
Week 19
The Woman in the Dunes
by Kōbō Abe
Week 20
The Dark Eidolon
by Clark Ashton Smith
Week 21
Off Season
by Jack Ketchum
Week 22
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
by Clive Barker
Week 23
The Silence of the Lambs
by Thomas Harris
Week 24
The Orange Eats Creeps
by Grace Krilanovich
Week 25
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Week 26
Psycho
by Robert Bloch
Week 27
Fledgling
by Octavia E. Butler
Week 28
Demons by Daylight
by Ramsey Campbell
Week 29
The Complete Short Stories
by Ambrose Bierce
Week 30
Pet Sematary
by Stephen King
Week 31
Our Lady of Darkness
by Fritz Leiber
Week 32
Grendel
by John Gardner
Week 33
White is for Witching
by Helen Oyeyemi
Week 34
The Wasp Factory
by Iain Banks
Week 35
King Kong
by Edgar Wallace
Week 36
The Castle of Otranto
by Horace Walpole
Week 37
The John Silence Stories
by Algernon Blackwood
Week 38
The Magic Toyshop
by Angela Carter
Week 39
The Other
by Thomas Tryon
Week 40
Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Week 41
Ghost Story
by Peter Straub
| conceptual fiction Exploring the Non-Realist Tradition in Fiction |
The Cold-Blood Storyteller A Look Back at Peter Straub's Ghost Story |
Essay by Ted Gioia
| To purchase, click on image |
Follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to essays on each work)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Aldiss, Brian
Barefoot in the Head
Aldiss, Brian
Hothouse
Aldiss, Brian
Report on Probability A
Allende, Isabel
The House of the Spirits
Amado, Jorge
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Apuleius
The Golden Ass
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Blind Assassin
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
The Atrocity Exhibition
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Ballard, J.G.
The Drowned World
Barker, Clive
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
Barth, John
Giles Goat-Boy
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bierce, Ambrose
The Complete Short Stories
Blackwood, Algernon
The Complete John Silence Stories
Blish, James
A Case of Conscience
Borges, Jorge Luis
Ficciones
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Brockmeier, Kevin
The View from the Seventh Layer
Bulgakov, Mikhail
The Master and Margarita
Bunch, David R.
Moderan
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Butler, Octavia E.
Fledgling
Campbell, Ramsey
Demons by Daylight
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Carpentier, Alejo
The Kingdom of This World
Carroll, Lewis
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chambers, Robert W.
The King in Yellow
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Crowley, John
Little, Big
Danielewski, Mark Z.
The Fifty Year Sword
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Davies, Robertson
Fifth Business
Delany, Samuel R.
Babel-17
Delany, Samuel R.
Dhalgren
Delany, Samuel R.
The Einstein Intersection
Delany, Samuel R.
Nova
Dick, Philip K.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Dick, Philip K.
VALIS
Disch, Thomas M.
Camp Concentration
Disch, Thomas M.
The Genocides
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Donoso, José
The Obscene Bird of Night
Ellison, Harlan (editor)
Dangerous Visions
Ellison, Harlan
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
Esquivel, Laura
Like Water for Chocolate
Farmer, Philip José
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Fowles, John
A Maggot
Fuentes, Carlos
Aura
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gaiman, Neil
Neverwhere
Gardner, John
Grendel
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Grass, Günter
The Tin Drum
Greene, Graham
The End of the Affair
Grossman, Lev
The Magicians
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
The Centauri Device
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Helprin, Mark
Winter's Tale
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Hill, Susan
The Woman in Black
Hoffman, Alice
Practical Magic
Houellebecq, Michel
Submission
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Never Let Me Go
Jackson, Shirley
The Haunting of Hill House
James, Henry
The Turn of the Screw
James, M.R.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Keret, Etgar
Suddenly, A Knock at the Door
Ketchum, Jack
Off Season
Keyes, Daniel
Flowers for Algernon
King, Stephen
Carrie
King, Stephen
Pet Sematary
Krilanovich, Grace
The Orange Eats Creeps
Kundera, Milan
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Kunzru, Hari
Gods Without Men
Lafferty, R.A.
Nine Hundred Grandmothers
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Dispossessed
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Our Lady of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Levin, Ira
Rosemary's Baby
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Link, Kelly
Magic for Beginners
Lovecraft, H.P.
Tales
Malzberg, Barry N.
Herovit's World
Mandel, Emily St. John
Station Eleven
Mann, Thomas
Doctor Faustus
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
Markson, David
Wittgenstein's Mistress
Matheson, Richard
Hell House
Matheson, Richard
I Am Legend
Matheson, Richard
What Dreams May Come
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Millhauser, Steven
Dangerous Laughter
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Moorcock, Michael
Behold the Man
Moorcock, Michael
The Final Programme
Morrison, Toni
Beloved
Murakami, Haruki
1Q84
Murakami, Haruki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
End of the World
Nabokov, Vladimir
Ada, or Ardor
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Obreht, Téa
The Tiger's Wife
O'Brien, Flann
At Swim-Two-Birds
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Oyeyemi, Helen
White is for Witching
Percy, Walker
Love in the Ruins
Poe, Edgar Allan
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pratchett, Terry
The Color of Magic
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Rabelais, François
Gargantua and Pantagruel
Rice, Anne
Interview with the Vampire
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Rushdie, Salman
Midnight's Children
Russ, Joanna
The Female Man
Saramago, José
Blindness
Sheckley, Robert
Dimension of Miracles
Sheckley, Robert
Mindswap
Sheckley, Robert
Store of the Worlds
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Silverberg, Robert
The World Inside
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Clark Ashton
The Dark Eidolon
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Spinrad, Norman
Bug Jack Barron
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Dracula
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Swift, Jonathan
Gulliver's Travels
Thomas, D.M.
The White Hotel
Tiptree, Jr., James
Warm Worlds and Otherwise
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit
Tryon, Thomas
The Other
Updike, John
The Witches of Eastwick
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Mixed Men
Van Vogt, A.E.
Slan
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Vance, Jack
The Dragon Masters
Vance, Jack
Emphyrio
Vance, Jack
The Languages of Pao
Verne, Jules
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Vollmann, William T
Last Stories and Other Stories
Vonnegut, Kurt
Cat's Cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt
The Sirens of Titan
Vonnegut, Kurt
Slaughterhouse-Five
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wallace, Edgar
King Kong
Walpole, Horace
The Castle of Otranto
Walpole, Horace
Hieroglyphic Tales
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Wilson, Robert Anton & Robert Shea
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Winton, Tim
Cloudstreet
Woolf, Virginia
Orlando
Zabor, Rafi
The Bear Comes Home
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Zelazny, Roger
This Immortal
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
My Year of Horrible Reading
When Science Fiction Grew Up
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
The Year of Magical Reading
Remembering Fritz Leiber
A Tribute to Richard Matheson
Samuel Delany's 70th birthday
The Sci-Fi of Kurt Vonnegut
The Most Secretive Sci-Fi Author
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
A.E, van Vogt Tribute
The Puzzling Case of Robert Sheckley
The Avant-Garde Sci-Fi of Brian Aldiss
Science Fiction 1958-1975: A Reading List
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Fractious Fiction
Ted Gioia's web site
Ted Gioia on Twitter
_____
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
The Millions
Big Dumb Object
SF Novelists
More Words, Deeper Hole
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Tor blog
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction
and its sister sites may receive review
copies and promotional materials
from publishers, authors, publicists
or other parties.
All rights reserved.
www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to essays on each work)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Aldiss, Brian
Barefoot in the Head
Aldiss, Brian
Hothouse
Aldiss, Brian
Report on Probability A
Allende, Isabel
The House of the Spirits
Amado, Jorge
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Apuleius
The Golden Ass
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Blind Assassin
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
The Atrocity Exhibition
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Ballard, J.G.
The Drowned World
Barker, Clive
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
Barth, John
Giles Goat-Boy
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bierce, Ambrose
The Complete Short Stories
Blackwood, Algernon
The Complete John Silence Stories
Blish, James
A Case of Conscience
Borges, Jorge Luis
Ficciones
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Brockmeier, Kevin
The View from the Seventh Layer
Bulgakov, Mikhail
The Master and Margarita
Bunch, David R.
Moderan
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Butler, Octavia E.
Fledgling
Campbell, Ramsey
Demons by Daylight
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Carpentier, Alejo
The Kingdom of This World
Carroll, Lewis
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chambers, Robert W.
The King in Yellow
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Crowley, John
Little, Big
Danielewski, Mark Z.
The Fifty Year Sword
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Davies, Robertson
Fifth Business
Delany, Samuel R.
Babel-17
Delany, Samuel R.
Dhalgren
Delany, Samuel R.
The Einstein Intersection
Delany, Samuel R.
Nova
Dick, Philip K.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Dick, Philip K.
VALIS
Disch, Thomas M.
Camp Concentration
Disch, Thomas M.
The Genocides
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Donoso, José
The Obscene Bird of Night
Ellison, Harlan (editor)
Dangerous Visions
Ellison, Harlan
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
Esquivel, Laura
Like Water for Chocolate
Farmer, Philip José
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Fowles, John
A Maggot
Fuentes, Carlos
Aura
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gaiman, Neil
Neverwhere
Gardner, John
Grendel
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Grass, Günter
The Tin Drum
Greene, Graham
The End of the Affair
Grossman, Lev
The Magicians
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
The Centauri Device
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Helprin, Mark
Winter's Tale
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Hill, Susan
The Woman in Black
Hoffman, Alice
Practical Magic
Houellebecq, Michel
Submission
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Never Let Me Go
Jackson, Shirley
The Haunting of Hill House
James, Henry
The Turn of the Screw
James, M.R.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Keret, Etgar
Suddenly, A Knock at the Door
Ketchum, Jack
Off Season
Keyes, Daniel
Flowers for Algernon
King, Stephen
Carrie
King, Stephen
Pet Sematary
Krilanovich, Grace
The Orange Eats Creeps
Kundera, Milan
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Kunzru, Hari
Gods Without Men
Lafferty, R.A.
Nine Hundred Grandmothers
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Dispossessed
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Our Lady of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Levin, Ira
Rosemary's Baby
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Link, Kelly
Magic for Beginners
Lovecraft, H.P.
Tales
Malzberg, Barry N.
Herovit's World
Mandel, Emily St. John
Station Eleven
Mann, Thomas
Doctor Faustus
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
Markson, David
Wittgenstein's Mistress
Matheson, Richard
Hell House
Matheson, Richard
I Am Legend
Matheson, Richard
What Dreams May Come
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Millhauser, Steven
Dangerous Laughter
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Moorcock, Michael
Behold the Man
Moorcock, Michael
The Final Programme
Morrison, Toni
Beloved
Murakami, Haruki
1Q84
Murakami, Haruki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
End of the World
Nabokov, Vladimir
Ada, or Ardor
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Obreht, Téa
The Tiger's Wife
O'Brien, Flann
At Swim-Two-Birds
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Oyeyemi, Helen
White is for Witching
Percy, Walker
Love in the Ruins
Poe, Edgar Allan
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pratchett, Terry
The Color of Magic
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Rabelais, François
Gargantua and Pantagruel
Rice, Anne
Interview with the Vampire
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Rushdie, Salman
Midnight's Children
Russ, Joanna
The Female Man
Saramago, José
Blindness
Sheckley, Robert
Dimension of Miracles
Sheckley, Robert
Mindswap
Sheckley, Robert
Store of the Worlds
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Silverberg, Robert
The World Inside
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Clark Ashton
The Dark Eidolon
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Spinrad, Norman
Bug Jack Barron
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Dracula
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Swift, Jonathan
Gulliver's Travels
Thomas, D.M.
The White Hotel
Tiptree, Jr., James
Warm Worlds and Otherwise
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit
Tryon, Thomas
The Other
Updike, John
The Witches of Eastwick
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Mixed Men
Van Vogt, A.E.
Slan
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Vance, Jack
The Dragon Masters
Vance, Jack
Emphyrio
Vance, Jack
The Languages of Pao
Verne, Jules
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Vollmann, William T
Last Stories and Other Stories
Vonnegut, Kurt
Cat's Cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt
The Sirens of Titan
Vonnegut, Kurt
Slaughterhouse-Five
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wallace, Edgar
King Kong
Walpole, Horace
The Castle of Otranto
Walpole, Horace
Hieroglyphic Tales
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Wilson, Robert Anton & Robert Shea
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Winton, Tim
Cloudstreet
Woolf, Virginia
Orlando
Zabor, Rafi
The Bear Comes Home
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Zelazny, Roger
This Immortal
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
My Year of Horrible Reading
When Science Fiction Grew Up
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
The Year of Magical Reading
Remembering Fritz Leiber
A Tribute to Richard Matheson
Samuel Delany's 70th birthday
The Sci-Fi of Kurt Vonnegut
The Most Secretive Sci-Fi Author
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
A.E, van Vogt Tribute
The Puzzling Case of Robert Sheckley
The Avant-Garde Sci-Fi of Brian Aldiss
Science Fiction 1958-1975: A Reading List
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Fractious Fiction
Ted Gioia's web site
Ted Gioia on Twitter
_____
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
The Millions
Big Dumb Object
SF Novelists
More Words, Deeper Hole
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Tor blog
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction
and its sister sites may receive review
copies and promotional materials
from publishers, authors, publicists
or other parties.
All rights reserved.
In my opinion, Peter Straub
is the closest rival to Stephen
King in matters of formal
mastery, the nuts and bolts
of constructing a well-told
horror tale, among living writers.
is the closest rival to Stephen
King in matters of formal
mastery, the nuts and bolts
of constructing a well-told
horror tale, among living writers.
