I am a bit late with my 2016 list as the first month of 2017 is just about over, but I still wanted to take a minute and share some of my favorite reads from this year. 2016 was a slow year for The Horror Bookshelf and I didn’t hit any of my goals that I made this time last year, but it was for a happy reason! The last few months of 2016 were some of the happiest in my life as my wife and I had our first child. The blog has slowed down considerably, but I do not plan on closing The Horror Bookshelf. I fell a bit behind, but I plan on starting 2017 off catching up on some reviews I owe and then hopefully getting back into a normal routine. I have met so many great people through this blog and it would take forever to name everyone, but I want to thank all of my friends, authors, and readers for sticking with me and offering me encouragement and support. My main goal for this site has always been to have fun, interact with other horror fans, and give back to the authors whose art has inspired me and helped me through some rough patches. That goal remains the same and I hope I can continue the blog for many more years.
Being that I fell a bit behind, some of the books featured here haven’t had their full reviews run yet, but they are on the way. I still want to recognize the authors and their works for helping make 2016 an incredible year for this horror fan. Here is a list of my favorite reads from 2016. I decided to go with a Top 15 for novels, a Top 10 for novellas and a Top 5 for Anthologies and Collections. Thanks for sticking with me this far and I hope you find some great new reads on this list!
Novels
1. Ronald Malfi The Night Parade
2. John C. Foster Mister White
3. Kristopher Rufty Desolation
4. Jonathan Janz Children of the Dark
5. Justin Cronin The City of Mirrors
6. Damien Angelica Walters Paper Tigers
7. Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason Mayan Blue
8. D. Alexander Ward Beneath Ash & Bone
9. Hunter Shea The Jersey Devil
10. Joe Hill The Fireman
11. Kristin Dearborn Stolen Away
12. Robert E. Dunn A Living Grave
13. Stephen Kozeniewski Hunter of the Dead
14. Joe Schwartz Stabco
15. John Quick Consequences
Novellas
1. Adam Howe Tijuana Donkey Showdown
2. Glenn Rolfe Chasing Ghosts
3. Josh Malerman A House At The Bottom of a Lake
4. Mark Matthews All Smoke Rises
5. Robert E. Dunn Motorman
6. John F.D. Taff The Desolated Orchard
7. Kristin Dearborn Woman in White
9. David Bernstein Blue Demon
10. Lucas Mangum Mania
Anthologies and Collections
1. I Can Taste The Blood
2. Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories
3. Richard Thomas Tribulations
4. Brian Moreland Blood Sacrifices
5. Glenn Rolfe Out of Range
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