From the shadowy worlds of myth and legend. . .From the pages of bestsellers and the silver screen. . .They're searching for you. And they're hungry.
Every culture and country has its demons--and since earliest times we've tried to capture these supernatural predators through the power of storytelling. But they refuse to be tamed. . .
Join Bram Stoker Award winners Maberry and Kramer on a chilling journey into the nature of the beast. This compendium of creepy creatures tracks the monsters of our imagination from the whispered fireside tales of old to the books, comics, and films that keep us shivering on the edges of our seats with delight and fascination.
Biting commentaries by the modern masters of the macabre--John Carpenter, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Holly Black, Kevin J. Anderson, Ray Garton, Ramsey Campbell, Christopher Golden, Kelley Armstrong, Simon Clark, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and dozens of others--help make this the ultimate guidebook to the horrific roots and modern-day expressions of our darkest fears.
With 8 pages of color illustrations by leading artists of the supernatural
JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than twenty countries.
His novels include the Pine Deep Trilogy: GHOST ROAD BLUES (Pinnacle books; winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel in 2006), DEAD MAN'S SONG (2007) and BAD MOON RISING (2008); the Joe Ledger series of action thrillers from St. Martins Griffin: PATIENT ZERO (2009, voted one Best Zombie Novel of 2009; winner of the Black Quill Award and a Bram Stoke Award finalist), THE DRAGON FACTORY (2010; now available), THE KING OF PLAGUES (2011), ASSASSIN'S CODE (2012), EXTINCTION MACHINE (2013); THE WOLFMAN (NY Times bestseller from Tor and winner of the Scribe Award for Best Adaptation, based on the Universal Pictures film starring Benecio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Sir Anthony Hopkins); the Benny Imura series of Young Adult dystopian zombie thrillers from Simon & Schuster: ROT & RUIN (2010) and DUST & DECAY (August 30, 2011), FLESH & BONE (2012) and FIRE & ASH (2013); and the forthcoming zombie thriller DEAD OF NIGHT (October 2011). Watch the book trailer for DEAD OF NIGHT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czc4WmjY1yo
Jonathan will be featured in a History Channel special on zombies scheduled to air October 26.
His nonfiction works include: VAMPIRE UNIVERSE (Citadel Press, 2006), THE CRYPTOPEDIA (Citadel, 2007 -winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction; co-authored by David F. Kramer), ZOMBIE CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead (Winner of the Hinzman and Black Quill Awards and nominated for a Stoker Award; 2008), THEY BITE! (2009 co-authored by David F. Kramer), WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE (2010 co-authored by Janice Gable Bashman), and THE VAMPIRE SLAYERS FIELD GUIDE TO THE UNDEAD (2001, written under the pen name of Shane MacDougall).
He writes a variety of projects for Marvel Comics involving BLACK PANTHER, DOOMWAR, WOLVERINE, DEADPOOL, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR and the NY Times bestselling MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN, MARVEL UNIVERSE vs THE PUNISHER, and MARVEL UNIVERSE VS WOLVERINE. All of Jonathan's comic book collections will be released as Graphic Novel collections.
Recent short stories include "Pegleg and Paddy Save the World" (HISTORY IS DEAD, Permuted Press 2007), "Doctor Nine" (KILLERS, Swimming Kangaroo Press, 2008; and reprinted in THE STORIES (in) BETWEEN Edited by Greg Schauer, Jeanne B. Benzel, and W.H. Horner. Fantasist Enterprises, 2009), "The Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost" (LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN STATE 2, Bloodletting Books, 2008), "Clean Sweeps" (AND SO IT BEGINS, Dark Quest Books, 2008), "Family Business" (THE NEW DEAD, St. Martins Press, 2010), and "Zero Tolerance" (THE LIVING DEAD 2, Night Shade Books). Jonathan also created two Joe Ledger short stories for the Internet: "Countdown", "Deep, Dark", "Material Witness", "Zero Tolerance", and "Dog Days", all available on audio from Blackstone.
Jonathan is the co-creator (with Laura Schrock) of ON THE SLAB, an entertainment news show in development by Stage 9 for ABC Disney / Stage 9. He was also a 'blog correspondent' on Sony's zombie-themed web show 'WOKE UP DEAD'; and a recurring character on 'IT'S TODD'S SHOW'.
Jonathan's Big Scary Blog (www.jonathanmaberry.com) focuses on the publishing industry. Jonathan's interviews include Charlaine Harris, Sandra Brown, Gayle Lynds, Alafair Burke, James Rollins, Harlan Coben, Jeff Abbott, John Saul, Jonathan Kellerman, Barry Eisler, Robert Kirkman, Maz Brooks, CJ Box, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jack Ketchum, Tom Piccarilli, Dale Brown, Kevin J. Anderson, Joe Lansdale, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, and many other best-selling authors.
Jonathan is a Contributing Editor for The Big Thrill (the newsletter of the International Thriller Writers), and is a member of SFWA, IAMTW, MWA, SCBWI, SFWA and HWA. He is a frequent guest of honor and keynote speaker at genre cons and writers conferences, including Central Coast Writers, KillerCon, AnthoCon, Necon, ThrillerFest, Sisters in Crime, BackSpace, PennWriters, Dragon*Con, PhilCon, Horror-Realm, HorrorFind, Monster Mania, Philadelphia Writers Conference, Balticon, The Write Stuff, Hypericon, LunaCon, and many others.
Jonathan regularly visits local middle schools, high schools and colleges to talk about books, reading, publishing and the writing life.
Jonathan is a founding member of The Liars Club, a group of networking publishing professionals that includes celebrated authors Merry Jones, Gregory Frost, Jon McGoran, Ed Pettit, Dennis Tafoya, Keith Strunk, Don Lafferty, Kelly Simmons, Marie Lamba, Solomon Jones, Keith DeCandido, Sara Shepard, William Lashner, Laura Schrock, and the late L.A. Banks. The Liars Club works to support booksellers, raise awareness and support for public libraries, and cultivate a joy of reading and books.
On the last Sunday of every month Jonathan hosts the Writers Coffeehouse, a free three-hour open-agenda networking and discussion session for writers of all genres and levels of skill. The event is held at the Barnes & Noble in Willow Grove Pennsylvania.
Jonathan has been a popular writing teacher and career counselor for writers for the last two decades. He teaches a highly regard series of classes and workshops including Write Your Novel in Nine Months, Revise & Sell, Experimental Writing for Teens, and others. Many of his students have gone on to publish in short and novel-length fiction, magazine feature writing, nonfiction books, TV, film, and comics.
In 2004 Jonathan was inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame largely because of his extensive writings in that field. His martial arts books include Self-Defense for Every Woman (Vortex Multimedia, 1985); Introduction to Asian Martial Arts (Vortex Multimedia, 1986); The Self-Defense Instructor's Handbook (Vortex Multimedia, 1990); Judo and You (Kendall Hunt, 1991); Ultimate Jujutsu Principles and Practices (Strider Nolan, 2002); The Martial Arts Student Logbook (Strider Nolan, 2002); Ultimate Sparring Principles and Practices (Strider Nolan, 2003).
Visit his website at www.jonathanmaberry.com or find him on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace.
This review is from: THEY BITE!: Endless Cravings of Supernatural Predators (Paperback)
The book is divided into parts, one for vampires, one for dogs (of the demon variety), one for werewolves, etc. Each part begins with an essay on the history of how humans have viewed such creatures, taking in folklore, books, and movies. For instance, the chapter on vampires explains the differences between the traditional concepts and the changes wrought by Bram Stoker regarding the vampire legend. Following the essay, the different variations from all cultures are listed. Every culture has its version of a vampire, a werewolf, a Yeti type being, monsters, demons, devils. Every culture has a being that is the result of a terrible union between a human and some beast. Every culture has a flesh eaters and blood suckers.
This is not a scholarly work. It is aimed at a general audience. It is a good quick read and mentions a lot of contemporary authors of horror and monster fiction for those interested to look up. But it is also a good starting point for researchers.
My only complaint is that the authors did not mention the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling makes extensive use of the monsters and other creatures found in folklore. The authors did include a brief appreciation of Tolkien. The part on dogs discusses Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Hound, noting that the hound was not actually otherworldly. Stephen King and Anne Rice are also featured. A little mention of Harry Potter would have been appreciated, although those books are not, strictly speaking, horror books.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This is a great nonfiction collection co-written by Jonathan Maberry & David Kramer. I also have an essay in the book called "Trolls with a Twist" with a great illustration. Check it out, you won't regret it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
