Things that go bump in the night

Here's a third mini-list of books whose roots are in the scary tradition of Frankenstein and Dracula:

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke - computer gone beserk
Shadowmancer by G.P. Taylor-in pursuit of evil
Sweetblood by Pete Hautman -vampires
Magic Time by Marc Scott Zicree -evil fairies
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King -more vampires (in New England)
The Historian by Eliabeth Kostova -even more vampires (all over the world)

In search of...

The quest has been a theme in books since ancient times (remember the Odyssey?) Here is a mini-list of questing titles as diverse as they are wonderful:

Extremely Loud and Incredible Close by Jonathan Safron Foer
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Lord Foul’s Bane by Stephen Donaldson
Ararat by Clive Barker
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson
Summerland by Michael Chabon
The Talisman by Stephen King/Peter Straub
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Mini-list of folklore titles

Do you remember stories your elementary teachers read you about magical spiders, big monsters, and fairies? There are grown up versions of these stories. For example, Neil Gaiman's new book is called "Anansi Boys." It tells the story of Fat Charlie Nancy who jets off to Florida for the funeral of his estranged father, only to discover that his deceased father was the West African trickster god, Anansi and that Charlie has a "prankster" half brother he has never met. Check out the rest of the mini-list:


Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Grendel by John Gardner
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Druids by Morgan Llywelyn
Bard by Morgan Llywelyn
Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist
Grendel’s Children by Larry Niven