Columns

Ten Exceptionally Well-Written Horror Films

October 11th, 2013

It’s October, and for many of you, that means it’s time to gather ‘round the television set and consume media about ghosts, werewolves, vampires, zombies and serial killers. The trouble with this time-honored tradition, however, is that quality horror films are hard to come by these days, particularly if you’re relying on Netflix Instant Watch, whose collection is spotty at best. Where are the scary movies that both shock the senses and satisfy the audience’s craving for a narrative journey?

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Footnotes: The Walking Dead Is What We've Always Been

October 10th, 2013

Footnotes is a look at how specific novels works of fiction were shaped by the culture of their time and how those novels works shaped the culture -- and still are shaping it.

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LitRecapper: The Two Year Anniversary

October 10th, 2013

I've already been assured by multiple people that I'll never coin a better phrase than ho-lee shitreactors, and I think I'm inclined to agree.

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Meet Your Avengers 2 Villain: Ultron

October 10th, 2013

When Marvel released the identity of the next villain the Avengers will be facing, I'll admit I felt just a twinge of disappointment. I thought the announcement was all but made after the credits rolled and we saw the manic purple grin of Thanos the Mad Titan, a bad guy of such epic proportions I could spend  the rest of my career writing about nothing else. However, even though I was really looking forward to the moment Thanos put on the Infinity Gauntlet and punched the entire universe in the face, the villain they announced is the next best thing.

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The Devil That You Know: Literature's Evil Archetype

October 9th, 2013

Can you guess his name? Satan, Lucifer, Beelzlebub, The Boogey Man, Old Nick, Krampus, King of Hell. The Devil has more working aliases than J.K. Rowling. In turns revolting, terrifying, charismatic, tragic, and a bit of a drama queen, the Devil is a difficult character to pin down. From Goethe's Faust to Bulgakov's 20th century satiric masterpiece, he is without a doubt one of the most versatile and enduring literary archetypes of all time.       

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The Do's And Dont's Of Writing Erotic Fiction

October 9th, 2013

Sex is at the heart of what it means to be human. It’s vitally important to nearly all of us. It’s a driving force in our daily lives (even when we’re celibate), and its mysteries are infinite. So it bewilders me that — as a rule — erotica is seldom taken seriously, either by writers or readers. Intelligent, well-written erotica is a rare, rare thing (and I’ve been looking for it all of my life).

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Metamucil Martinis: Why Batman and James Bond Should Be Allowed to Retire

October 8th, 2013

Batman image by ArtOfWei, Roger Moore image via The Daily Mail My dad used to watch those 25 Days of Bond marathons they had on basic cable in the early 90s and I, having no other knowledge of the crime or mystery genre, thought that all spies were like James Bond. He was magnetic and suave and everything that spy should be, as anyone who has breathed knows.

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After All These Years: The Unexpected Sequel

October 7th, 2013

The idea for this column came about a few months ago as the hype for Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining, was growing. Just around the same time I read that Chuck Palahniuk was working on a graphic novel sequel to Fight Club. Both of these sequels come years, decades even, after the preceding books—39 years for King, and at least 18 years for Palahniuk.

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Storyville: 10 of the Scariest Books I've Ever Read

October 4th, 2013

So obviously this is a personal list, not any sort of final say on what the “best” scary books are. Unfortunately, even though I’ve read a LOT of books, there are still some classic horror novels, and contemporary masterpieces, that I haven’t gotten to.

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Four Things 'Breaking Bad' Taught Me about Writing

October 4th, 2013

“I liked it… And I was really—I was alive.” - Walter White, “Felina”, Breaking Bad Walter White’s explanation for what was arguably, the most epic mid-life crisis ever, pretty much sums up the way I felt while watching nearly every episode of Breaking Bad. While the series was both superbly acted and shot, for me, it was the writing that made this show a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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