Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction

PAPERBACKS FROM HELL: The Twisted History of '70's and '80's Horror Fiction, by Grady Hendrix was one of the most FUN books I've read in a while! A fantastic "reference guide" to some of those old paperbacks that many of us grew up on, Hendrix includes many facts about the horror industry, publishers, cover art, and even the "type" of horror that was in style during certain periods. Along with the factual information, there are many humor laced commentaries that had me grinning from ear to ear. For example, there is a section on "PARENTING THE HOMICIDAL CHILD". After determining the type of "homicidal child" you have, Hendrix gives the reader some great advice stemming from the pages of these old paperbacks. "Adopted or chemically altered children should be destroyed immediately because they can not be reformed. No matter how hard you try, they probably will, at some point, go on a rampage and murder all your other children . . . " There are also precautions to take to make sure you are not dating the devil. If, however, you still give birth to the spawn of Satan, "all is not lost. Look on the bright side: deadly children are the best-dressed children. . . . A coat and tie says either "tiny funeral director" or "psychopath". . . " This book had me scouring my TBR piles for these "golden relics"--and soon to be camping out at any used book store I can find. Personally, I found the uniformity in covers during certain periods to be shocking. When reading all of those books by Patricia Wallace or Ruby Jean Jensen, it never occurred to me at the time that nearly all of the cover art depicted skeletons, in some form or other. Of course, a wise word of warning was included by Hendrix: "Skeleton doctors are the worst doctors." ". . . To be honest, I'm not even sure their licenses to practice medicine are legal. . . " Overall, a fantastic addition to any horror enthusiast's bookshelves, and a great reference on which "forgotten gems" you should run out and spend more money on! Highly recommended!

As I mentioned a few books back, we're now returning to the glory days of pulpy horror paperbacks, most often found littering the shelves of the local grocery store. This time courtesy of Grady Hendrix, who evidently fell into a used books store, wound up with a cart full of late 70s-90 horror, and got inspired to write a history of them in Paperbacks From Hell. While the subject matter might be a bit on the cheesy side, the book is lush in its treatment, with pictures of several of the more lurid covers printed in full color. Indeed, what ended up helping me decide to add this to my collection was the fact that a few titles displayed in the front cover were ones I remember having at a young age. With this being non fiction, it's arranged by subject matter, starting with Satan and ending with Splatterpunk, meaning we go from Blatty's The Exorcist to Bright's Lost Souls, with such luminaries as V. C. Andrews and Graham Masterson in between. For the most part, he avoids going too in depth with the really big names to give the spotlight to much lesser known authors, although he generally does start with the big book(s) that started a trend, and explore what flooded the shelf imitating them, as well as discussing what likely contributed to said explosion in the subject. This helped fill in a few gaps, since some stories I only vaguely remember, or never knew the full story on, like The Amityville Horror, exactly how far the Satanic Panic of the 80's had spread (indeed, more than a few "non fiction" titles discuss the books that presented us with Satanic Cults running day care centers, the backmasking on Beach Boys albums, how Dungeons and Dragons will lead you to try to jump off the world trade center, and how Heavy Metal will make the Dark Lord rise. (That sound is my eyes rolling back in my head.) We get details on the lives of the folks who painted the cover art, we hear about how art directors introduced die cut covers and embossed images to get the books to pop. We learn of the histories of several publishing houses and imprints prior to either going out of business or being absorbed by a larger company. Honestly, while not as blunt or direct, parts of this reminded me quite a bit of that one scene in The Devil Wears Prada, where Miranda explains in graphic detail the business of fashion. (Indeed, a publishing change which allows houses to ship back and shred non selling inventory means books have roughly 6 weeks to catch on, or else. It also means many midlist authors don't get published, since they won't make back their advance.) It was interesting to learn the stories of a few imprints that particularly influenced my reading habits as a kid, namely Zebra and Abyss. The former was the really pulpy stuff, produced on the cheap and usually poorly edited; the latter was post splatterpunk, allowing for similar sensibilities without the machismo and less nihilism. (Indeed, if you follow the tag on here for Rick R. Reed, his was an Abyss book.) It was Zebra, in particular that had lurid cover art featuring skeletons and porcelain skinned cherubs. While I had read more than a few volumes discussed in here, there were several I haven't yet. I fully expect to spend time perusing used book stores looking for fun treasures now. Well worth the read.

BOTTOM LINE: If you enjoy reading older, obscure, gory, disturbing and just plain weird horror-themed books from the past then this book will act as a bright candle to help light your way through the dusty stacks of yellowed, well-thumbed softcover spook stories. A fun & funny read, PAPERBACKS FROM HELL is a worthwhile addition to any horror novel lover's collection. THOUGHTS: My reading desire often goes in spurts; I'll read voraciously for a period then tire of it, stop, and then a few months (or years) later, the cycle repeats itself. I love to spend rainy afternoons scouring through used book stores looking for a new-to-me book or discovering an author I hadn't heard of before. I prefer the occasion science fiction book and delight in finding a solid horror novel, especially if it's got weird monsters of some kind rampaging thorough it. I go out of my way to track down these little shops whenever my wife and I go out of town on vacation. You never know what's waiting for you; a new guilty pleasure treasure is almost certain to be lurking somewhere among those musty-smelling shelves. Digging up some long-forgotten, time-rotted terrors from the heyday of the scary read is great fun. Author Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson are clearly genuine enthusiasts as well. Their work here will hopefully put many first timers on the well-worn path to suspense & terror. Hendrix acknowledges that these books are the pulpy paper equivalent of junk food; a guilty pleasure, probably not good for you, doesn't satisfy for long and often just leaves you craving more. Hendrix (with more than a little help from horror trash collector Will Errickson) pulls no punches and unapologetically spills his guts, so to speak, about the rise, rule and abrupt demise of disposable late night scare pulp & paperbacks. Dozens of books and their plots/characters are discussed, and the varying degrees of those books' success or failure are considered, along with brief insights into some of their authors ...and the talented - often unsung - artists who painted all those lurid, alluring covers that drew us to pick them up in the first place. You're practically guaranteed to add several new titles to your 'must read' list after pouring through this fun, informative book. It's a breezy read (I blew through it in one day), but the info is honest, interesting and Hendrix's disarming writing style is affectionately funny. The book is quite sturdy for a softcover; the pages are thick and the print is clean & crisp. The various covers reproduced throughout the book look terrific, although I felt most were disappointingly small. Overall I found this book to be well worth the money and will be using it as a reference for my horror novel hunting trips for some time to come. PAPERBACKS FROM HELL comes recommended by this casual horror fan.

I've been toying with the idea of purchasing this book for several months... I didn't want to be disappointed with another tiny, flimsy book of blurry copies of book covers with little or no text to accompany the images. When I finally decided to pull the trigger and send off my cash for this collection, I was absolutely NOT disappointed. Thick, glossy paper stock, crisp images, tight binding and a well-thought out, nicely designed package of pleasant, easy-to-see reproductions... plus, the commentary was well-written and anecdotal, providing the author's personal experiences in obtaining or reading (or simply memories incurred by) these "lost gems" of the forgotten and dismissed paperbacks that I read when I was a teen. I wasn't a cheapo "Horror" book aficionado, nor was I a collector, but I did spend a good many hours paging through several of the titles mentioned within, and many that are not. I also appreciated the fact that, no matter how popular (or obscure) the book Mr. Hendrix refers to, he never stoops to spoiling the 'surprise' twists or shock endings. I recommend this book for those like myself, who enjoy a bit of nostalgia mixed in with a large amount of esoteric, bizarre titles that otherwise would remain forever unknown to me. And there's the added bonus of not having to drop $50 for a .75 cent paperback, prices high-jacked by those evil collectors and the dealers that supply them with their fix. And TAKE HEED of the previous reviewer's caveat - buy ONLY the paperback edition. I can't imagine the frustration of attempting to get anything out of this book via Kindle or other electronic device. These books were printed on cheap newsprint and jammed into wire racks in convenience stores, so give them their due respect, and purchase this fine collection, printed on art quality paper. It'll do you well some afternoon...

This is a carefully researched, profusely illustrated, and well-written exploration of paperback horror publishing in the 1970s and 1980s. Grady Hendrix is obviously a fan -- anyone who's read his novels "Horrorstor" or "My Best Friend's Exorcism" knows that already, and "Paperbacks From Hell" leaves no doubt. But Grady doesn't let his affection for the genre keep him from distinguishing between the levels of quality on display in this volume. Whether he's talking about plots, characters, or cover artwork, he's a smart guide to the best examples of the genre, and a wryly funny commentator on the worst. I particularly enjoyed his brief biographies of some of the writers, artists, and publishers involved in the explosion of horror during these decades. You'll probably come away from the book, as I did, with a list of relatively obscure titles to go looking for. The text is great, but the book is worth buying just for the reproductions of cover art. Hendrix documents so many trends in design and illustration of horror novels during this time, such as the use of foil lettering and die cut or step back covers. The galleries he's put together are amazing: who knew there were so many covers with skeletons grasping babies or children, for example? Everyone interested in the horror novels of this period owes Grady Hendrix hearty thanks for spending so much time documenting these books, which are almost all out of print and quietly moldering away.

Paperbacks From Hell is a very thoroughly researched and interesting read. He covers every major type of horror paperback fiction, including some I had never heard of. Lots of neat back stories here and things that lead to trends in horror stories. Perfect book for horror book fans and Halloween.

This book was hilarious...Hendrix is an extremely talented writer! Normally I'm not interested in schlocky, B-grade fiction. But Hendrix's witty, sarcastic, and whip-smart writing pulled me in and I couldn't stop reading! I literally laughed out loud at nearly every page. My mom (who used to read all that tacky crap back in the day) picked it up off my coffee table just to flip through it...and she was sucked in! She spent the next two hours on my couch giggling and laughing. She couldn't put it down! I also really enjoyed the attention he paid to the cover art of those books. They really were bold - as in, grab your eyeballs and yank them out of your skull sockets - and I have to admit I miss that. I feel like most of today's book covers are too slick and air-brushed-looking. I miss covers that were made from real paintings done by real illustrators who weren't afraid to show half-naked women fleeing from slithering monsters or writhing in Satanic orgies. Hendrix delves into the topic with gusto and I learned a lot about cover artists I had never heard of before! Don't let his snarky voice fool you - Hendrix has read *every one* of these books. I feel like I earned an MFA in "Genre Fiction of the late 20th Century." He skewers the really bad (and most of them are REALLY bad), lifts up the surprisingly good, and makes you laugh the entire time. Even if you don't remember or like these kind of books, you should read Paperbacks From Hell. (cue the Crypt Keeper's voice:) Just be careful you don't die laughing!!! Mwa ha ha ha!!!

I must admit in beginning this review, what I expected from this book, and what I got were two completely different things. What I expected was a guide to the best-written classic horror paperbacks of the ’70s and ’80s, delving into such authors as Dan Simmons, Graham Masterton, T.E.D. Klein, Robert R. McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, James Herbert, and of course, Stephen King, among others. What I got was a guide to some of the most ludicrous, over-the-top, and overtly corny horror titles ever released in the ’70s and ’80s. Now some of the top-quality authors mentioned above were included in there, but this book was mostly dedicated to authors whose novels and cover art bordered on the ridiculous; a majority of those authors are now obscure and mostly forgotten. While I was initially disappointed with what I learned this book was, I cannot blame the author for my misunderstanding. In fact, Grady Hendrix does an excellent job of using witty and dry humor to show just how deep the rabbit hole goes into the ’70s and ’80s ultra cheesy paperback horror market. This book contains an overflowing cornucopia of atmospheric and at times eyebrow-raising paperback horror cover art. One really gets a feel for the era, and sees how no amount of bizarre and outlandish cover art choices went untapped; from skeleton surgeons to devilish dolls; from undead, terrorsome tots to carnivorous clowns. Hendrix does an excellent job of covering the now-defunct paperback horror market, and succeeds in entertaining the reader enormously in the process. I would recommend this as a necessary piece of history for any horror fan’s library. I give “Paperbacks from Hell” by Grady Hendrix a 4.5 out of 5.

2017年秋、日本ではあの角川文庫横溝正史シリーズのカバーで一世を風靡した杉本一文の画集が出版された。 まるでそれに呼応するかのように出版されたのが、７０年代半ばから９０年代にかけてのホラー小説ペイパーバックを表紙を集めたこの本。 自分的には高校、大学時代に出版されたものが中心なので、あるものは手元にあったり、ああ・・・こんなのあったよな・・・と何もかもが懐かしい。 玉石混合な部分もあるが、圧倒的な画版の量がうれしい。 その反面、いやそれだけに取りこぼしや十分紹介できていない部分がもどかしいのもたしかだ。 例えば裏表ギンギラ銀色の下地に髑髏が笑っていたりしたジョン・ルッソの一連のノヴェル。自身による「ナイト・オブ・ザ・リビング・デッド」のノベライゼーションもギンギラギンの下地に赤毛の女子が何者かに髪を引きちぎられそうになっている姿が不気味。それ以前になんでギンギラギンだったのか不明なところも面白いのに。 V.C.アンドリュースの「屋根裏部屋の花たち」シリーズに代表される２重表紙。表に小窓が穿ってあって、そこから子供や女性の顔がのぞいていたりして、表紙をめくると骸骨に抱かれていたrり、悪魔にささやかれていたりとまがまがしい第二の表紙が現れる仕掛けだ。Jane ParkhurstのISOBELなど編者もGreatと書きながら肝心の第二表紙が掲載されていない。これにならぶ傑作「悪魔の見張り」は縮小されながらも掲載されているだけに、なんとも悲しい。 ８０年代のポケットブックスのホラー・ペイパーバックはほとんどがこの仕掛けで、ほかの出版社も結構だしていたので全部網羅することもできないだろうが・・・表表紙しか紹介されていないものは意外と多いので、 ・・・そこはこの本をきっかけにカバーだけにご自分の目でカバーされてはいかがだろうか？

This is a great book that fills in some gaps about how the horror fiction genre took off. Recommended.

The book presents a lot of information about paperbacks, authros and illustrators through thr 21st century. We get to know a lot of weird (yet intriguing) books from the 70's, 80's and 90's with very appealing covers. The print is high quality and the illustrations only make the experience better.

Simply amazing. I loved every page of this crazy ride. Wonderful pictures inside!

This book is essential for any enthusiasts of this type of genre. Has literally hundreds and hundreds of pictures showing excellent book cover art. I thought it was well formatted and set out. General note: It only tends to focus on books released in North America. The different (and sometimes better) cover arts used for the same books copyrighted for the UK/Australia/New Zealand markets are not included here. It also does not have a focus on the novelizations of old horror movies (possible copyright issues, I don't know). But regardless, it is essential reading, and a credit to the authors who are clearly passionate about their interests. 5 stars.