The coming year certainly looks to be a banner one for genre fiction. Here's a QuickList of ten books fans should keep a watchful eye for in 2012:
1.The Croning by Laird Barron. I guess I jumped the gun when I put this first novel from the weird-tale maestro on last year's list. But I have no doubt Barron's book will be worth the wait.
2.Somewhere I Have Never Travelled by Alden Bell. Set in the same world as (and featuring some of the key characters from) the author's post-apocalyptic masterpiece, The Reapers Are the Angels.
3.The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett. Bradburian dark fantasy. I have a feeling that something wicked good this way comes.
4.The Twelve by Justin Cronin. Speaking of post-apocalyptic fiction...this timely-titled novel continues the epic story begun in The Passage.
5.Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. If it is even half as good as Dark Places, this new mystery form the ultra-talented Flynn could be the runaway winner for Best Book of 2012 honors.
6.The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King. A return to the world of The Dark Tower? Count me (and no doubt millions of others) in.
7.Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale. "Mark Twain meets classic Stephen King," heralds the book copy. Now I'm on edge awaiting this release.
8.The Century's Best Horror Fiction, edited by John Pelan. Long overdue (I was starting to wonder if the title referenced the Twenty-first Century), this massive two-volume anthology collecting the top tales from 1901-2000 is finally ready to be published by Cemetery Dance.
9.The Dragon Griaule by Lucius Shepard. OK, this one ventures beyond the realm of American Gothic, but a collection of Shepard's incredible fantasy work (centered on a "dormant, not quite dead dragon measuring 6000 feet from end to end") is an absolute must-read.
10.Gothic High-Tech by Bruce Sterling. The latest collection from the most ingenious scribe in the science fiction field. Another highly anticipated release (along with Lucius Shepard's book) from Subterranean Press.
And there they are...ten books to keep bibliophiliacs in bliss all year long. Any other 2012 releases that you are eagerly anticipating? Feel free to cite them in the Comments section of this post.
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