Pablo

How about Albert Sanchez Pinol's 'Cold Skin'? It's a story pared down to very few elements; A remote lighthouse, two survivors and a hellish, nightly siege. While not a murder-mystery, nor a thriller, it does have plenty of tension, suspense and horror, but your enjoyment of it might come down to the question of whether you like stories with a fantastical bent or not.

Thanks Raven. I see what you mean by 'lots'.

Read all the so-called horror classics, but for me nothing ever came close to The Terror by Dan Simmons. I suppose it depends on what you find scary though.

Very tempting silverfaerychild, but I've got a thing about reading books if I've already seen the films. Mind you, I did enjoy the Alien books, so...mmmmmm. That might not be a bad idea at all. Thanks.

Too easy Ian - Life Of Pi by Yann Martel. Its got something for everyone in it. There's the simple survival tale at its heart, fascinating animal psychology, an endless supply of brilliant anecdotes, and even an abundance of religious stuff for those that like that kind of thing. Plus its a crazy premise to boot.

It's been a while since I've read any of his stuff, but my overall opinion hasn't just emerged from nowhere. I haven't read Carrie, most likely because I didn't think much of the movie, and although I see where you're coming from with the 'religion can be bad' angle, it's a simple facet of life that there are many degrees between people, and that not all religious people are the archetypal angels they see themselves in the mirror. In fact religion has absolutely nada to do with what makes a person good or bad, so the fact that King uses a religious person to represent badness isn't too much of a stretch of imagination. Anyway, as for his books, how about The Green Mile or IT, and you also rightly mentioned The Stand, which although I enjoyed at the time, has undeniably religious overtones about it. Generally, his characters all seem to believe in god and this in itself can be irritating when it is mentioned consistantly. I think IT though was the final straw for me, for not only did I find it preachy, but it was also an incredible bore for me. I could be wrong though, and even if I'm not, I'm sure it won't turn you King fans off one little bit, and that's cool with me too.

Hi Emelee. Interesting post there. Stephen King - Aside from Needful Things, The Stand and The Dark Tower series, I don't see the appeal at all. I find he pushes religion in nearly all of his books, something of a turn-off for an atheist, and his obsession with animal cruelty is seriously unhealthy. His writing style never seems to change from that story-tellers voice also, but saying that, it has put a few coins in his pocket, so why change? To me a lot of his characters are cliches too, and he spins his novels out to great length to mask a lack of imagination. The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy - After watching, and loving, the recent(ish) movie translation of the book, I thought I'd give the novel a crack, but couldn't get beyond thirty pages. It's just so poor in comparison, and I can't even pin-point why. I just did not like it one bit. I'm sure there's more but I've moaned enough.

Thanks for the thanks for the thanks, Univerze. Wow, this could get as complicated as a Dan Simmons book! I think an added interest in the last two Hyperion books for you might be the fact that the Shrike plays a more important role, and there's a revelation about it near the end of the series. He still doesn't say much though - he's just too cool. Oh, and BookJumper - don't let the graphic nature of the second tale in Hyperion put you off. The sexual scenes throughout the series are mostly done in a very tasteful manner. Besides, wasn't it you who once suggested that I was limiting myself by refusing to read vampire and ghost books, simply because I didn't like the genre? You know what? You were right. Skim over the hay-rolling bits and you'll find yourself falling in love with Simmons' visionary worlds.

Wow. Many thanks again folks. Looks like I'm going to be busy for a while then. I've read reviews on some of the suggested books and they sound really good. And you're right Pixie - I'm anything but a snob, unless you count being a wine connoisseur!

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I tried to read one of Iain M Banks books before Raven, but didn't get beyond about fifty pages. It might have something to do with the fact that I wasn't a sci-fi fan at the time, but I'm a little reluctant to return to him even now. I haven't read the Dune series Pixie, but from reader reviews I understand the books become worse as they go on, and I'm not sure I want to invest so much time in a series with diminishing returns. Oh, man, what a snob I sound. The Gap series does sound good though, so I think I'll probably give that a bash. Also toying with the idea of getting into some Neil Gaiman. Thanks again.

Having just finished reading Dan Simmon's Hyperion series I'm not at a total loss as to what to start that won't feel like an anti-climax. I tried The Stars My Destination but I couldn't get into it at all. I suppose I'm in the mood for some ground-breaking sci-fi but I haven't found any yet. Any suggestions?