Books with author John Lang

John Langan has, in the last few years, established himself as one of the leading voices in contemporary horror literature. Gifted with a supple and mellifluous prose style, an imagination that can conjure up clutching terrors with seeming effortlessness, and a thorough knowledge of the rich heritage of weird fiction, Langan has already garnered his share of accolades. This new collection of nine substantial stories includes such masterworks as “Technicolor,” an ingenious riff on Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”; “How the Day Runs Down,” a gripping tale of the undead; and “The Shallows,” a powerful tale of the Cthulhu Mythos. The capstone to the collection is a previously unpublished novella of supernatural terror, “Mother of Stone.” With an introduction by Jeffrey Ford and an afterword by Laird Barron.

"My Dear Alec,When Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe, nearly two hundred years ago, boys had more time on their hands, fewer books and fewer games than they have now, and they, as well as their fathers, read it and loved it. And when your father and I were boys—though that is rather less than two hundred years ago—we too used often to read it.But boys nowadays do not seem to read Robinson Crusoe as they used to do. It is too long, they think, and there is much in it that they have not time to read. That is why I have written here, in as few words as possible, the tale of Robinson's twenty-eight years in his Island, and I hope that you, and other boys, will like it.The sea that lay round Robinson's island is not like the one you know, nor like the grey North Sea, stormy and cold; hut it is blue like a sapphire, and where the rollers break in white foam on the coral reefs it seems as if it were edged with pearls. On the shores of the islands, cocoa-nut palms wave their feathery fronds in the breeze; butterflies of wondrous colours hover about; and in and out amongst the thick-leaved trees clash birds, chattering and screaming, all crimson and blue and yellow and green.Often there are snakes too, and it was lucky that no snakes on Robinson's island troubled him. For on some islands that I have seen there are snakes—black and white, the most poisonous of them—that swim about in the sea and come up on the beach, and you have to be careful that you do not sit down on the top of one, for they are not always very quick at getting out of the way.When you are a man, perhaps someday you will go to one of those tropical islands, And if you take a boat and row out to the inside of the reef of Coral that lies round the island, and put your face close down, and look through the quiet, crystal dear water, you will know what Fairyland beneath the sea is like. You will find there gardens of a beauty never seen on land, only the branches of the trees are of coral, and in and out amongst them, instead of bright-coloured birds, you will see fishes swimming, some of a vivid yellow and black, others blue as the sky. That is where the mermaids used to play, when the world was younger than it is now.Affectionately yours,JOHN LANG."

From B-movie bogeymen and outer space oddities to big-budget terrors, Monsters in the Movies by legendary filmmaker John Landis showcases the greatest monsters ever to creep, fly, slither, stalk, or rampage across the Silver Screen!Landis provides his own fascinating and entertaining insights into the world of moviemaking, while conducting in-depth "conversations" with leading monster makers, including David Cronenberg, Christopher Lee, John Carpenter, and Sam Raimi- to discuss some of the most petrifying monsters ever seen. He also surveys the historical origins of the archetypal monsters, such as vampires, zombies, and werewolves, and takes you behind the scenes to discover the secrets of those special-effects wizards who created such legendary frighteners as King Kong, Dracula, and Halloween's Michael Myers. With more than 1000 stunning movie stills and posters, this book is sure to keep even the most intense fright-seekers at the edge of their seats for hours!

Which 1932 film is considered the first feature-length zombie movie?Learn everything there is to know about special effects in films and what it goes into designing iconic monsters that still show up in nightmares in Monsters in the Movies, newly released in paperback. From B-movie bogeymen and outer space oddities to big-budget terrors, legendary filmmaker John Landis showcases the greatest monsters ever to creep, fly, slither, stalk, or rampage through theaters!Landis provides his own unique and entertaining insights into the world of moviemaking, and hosts in-depth conversations with leading monster makers, including David Cronenberg, Christopher Lee, John Carpenter, and Sam Raimi, to discuss the art of monster making. He also surveys the historical origins of the archetypal monsters, such as vampires, zombies, and werewolves.Go behind the scenes to discover the secrets of the special-effects wizards who created legendary frighteners like King Kong, Dracula, and Halloween's Michael Myers.With more than 1,000 stunning movie stills and posters, Monsters in the Movies is sure to keep even the most intense fright-seekers at the edge of their seats for hours!

My dear Harry,When you are a big man, perhaps you will go out into the world, and see many strange things.I cannot promise that you will find any people so little as the Lilliputians, nor any quite so tall as those that Mr. Lemuel Gulliver found in Brobdingnag.But undoubtedly there are yet many small folks in the world, and a few great ones. Did not Mr. Stanley himself find in Africa a race of dwarfs so little that he called them Pigmies?Who knows, then, what you may discover when you are grown up?Affectionately yours,JOHN LANG.

You have heard of India, of its riches and its grandeur and its glory, of its hundreds of millions of people, and of the great deeds that have been done there. But perhaps you have never heard who it was that gave India to England; you may possibly know nothing of Robert Clive, the boy who, when he was really little more than a boy, laid for us the foundations of the vast Empire in the East..

From the "pulse pounding" (Kirkus Reviews) writer of the eBook bestsellers, "The Devil's Necktie," and "Blond Cargo," comes a riveting action-packed thriller that will keep you captivated until the shocking conclusion.Retired Inspector Jack Bertolino gets his first taste of the erratic nature of Hollywood when A-list producer, George Litton, options one of Jack's recent cases for a film. Jack is engaged as the film's technical advisor, which stars It Girl Susan Blake. But more importantly, he's on hand to keep a protective eye on Susan, who's being harassed by a disturbing cyber-stalker. But that's not all that starts to turn Jack's world upside-down. When a five-year-old girl is shot dead in her family's living room, just blocks from where the movie is being filmed, Jack realizes there are threads connecting the movie, the murder, a brutal gang of brothers, and a terrifying body count. Will Jack be able to find justice for the young girl and keep Susan safe? Or will this be his last and fatal trip to Hollywood?

As you read Ten Real-Life Stories, you will meet a fascinating variety of people. The one thing they have in common is they are real. So are their stories. Here are a few of the people you will learn about:Vingo, a man released from prison, going home to a wife who may not want him.Richard, a little boy who “invented" a father to hide his embarrassment.Paul, so afraid of bullying that he betrayed a friend at school. Lupe, a "retarded" girl who wasn’t.Ben, whose mother would not allow him to fail.Marvel, who fooled everyone into believing she could read.Jean, who found that education could counter the hard blows of life.