Probably one of our favorites! Are you a hardcore horror fan? This is something you need to get.
Thanks to Quirk Books for the copies in exchange for our honest reviews 🙂
PAPERBACKS FROM HELL by Grady Hendrix is out today.
Here’s what the horror-loving duo of #allthebookreviews thought.
Chandra’s Thoughts: 5/5 stars
When I received this book in the mail, I may have squealed just a little bit. Ok, I’m lying, I squealed a LOT! As a huge lover of horror, I dropped everything I was doing and started flipping through this book and could NOT stop! I finally put it down and then kept picking it back up and running my fingers through the pages and devouring each page with my sharped toothed eyes.
The ’70s and ’80s were prime with paperback horror novels that you don’t see many people reading anymore these days. I had even forgotten about some of these until I was reading this book. I can hear my bank account emptying further with purchases I should NOT be making (but won’t be able to help myself). Chapters separate into Satan (including a section on Porn Country because hello, Satan’s a player!), evil children, creepy animals, science, gothic and inhumanoids. Really, this is a feast for the eyes with all the covers. THE COVERS!! We also get a history lesson about where some of the stories came from (true stories and/or based upon) and how no subject was left behind. I mean, he makes a point about how it’s not just people, monsters, animals, etc. that hate us, but also vegetables! OMG, some of the books in here!
I could go on and on and on about everything I love about this book, but I’ll just say this – you love horror? Have an affinity and want to know more? You need to pick this up.  I’ll be picking this up repeatedly for quite some time.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
Are you a fan of horror? Specifically the awesome 70’s and 80’s decades of horror? Well, PAPERBACKS FROM HELL by Grady Hendrix (author of MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM and HORRORSTOR) is everything you’ve been looking for.
With his witty and hilarious commentary, readers are brought through the iconic 70’s and 80’s horror stories, but these are the ones that flopped. I really enjoy the term “trashy thrillers” that was used to describe these – because it’s completely accurate. These are all books that thought they’d be the next EXORCIST or ROSEMARY’S BABY but fell a little short. The book is divided into chapters based on subject – “When Animals Attack” and “Creepy Children” to name a couple – that really illustrated how many horror books were written on these common topics and the authors’ takes on them.
Hendrix offers great insight and some history on the books and genres within horror. Since these were all before my time it was fun learning more about this boom in the horror genre. Even if you’re just flipping through this one, you’ll see some great books that you’ll find yourself wanting to track down! Everything from possessions, Satan worshiping, animals, dolls, and children, Grady Hendrix covers them all.
If you want a stroll down memory lane, to learn more about 70’s and 80’s horror, or to find some vintage books, then you’ll have to pick this up! It would make for a great coffee table book – something to flip through and share with other fans.
Have you read his other books? If not, then you need to get on that (MY BEST FRIEND’S EXORCISM and HORRORSTOR)
–Jess
Jessicamap Reviews 