Depending on how you look at it, perhaps some or even most of these books are the best-written stories of all time, or in fact, the best-selling Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Horror stories ever.  They are not in any particular order,  because certain of these stories really made a strong impression on me growing up (e.g. Frank Herbert’s books), and yet I’ve listed them without regard to their popularity.

Some of these are older classics that our parents may have read too, and some are pretty new (the latest Harry Potter for instance). Due to my own interests, several of these are on my personal “most recommended books of all time” list and I’ve certainly read most of these over and over.

Some of them don’t exactly fit into a given genre, but a few of them are either currently about to be released as movie versions, or are already top-selling book and movie franchises.

And if high-quality literature is something that you care about, then I’m sure you’ll agree that all of these are capable of taking you to another microcosmic universe, world, or parallel dimension, where romantic and strange things are happening.  A place where the long, hot, summer time months will go by more enjoyably, as you wander through these stories with a sense of wonder.

1. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Series) by Douglas Adams (HUMOR, SCI-FI)
3. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (TIME TRAVEL)
4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
6. The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien (EPIC FANTASY ADVENTURE)
7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (FANTASY ROMANCE)
8. Twilight (Series) by Stephenie Meyer (VAMPIRES, ROMANCE)
9. Ender’s Game (Series) by Orson Scott Card (SCI FI)
10. Interview with the Vampire (Series) by Anne Rice (VAMPIRES)
11. The Stand by Stephen King (HORROR, POST-APOCALYPTIC)
12. Dune (Trilogy + Series + Prequels) by Frank Herbert (SCI FI)
13. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (FANTASY)
14. Dracula by Bram Stoker (THEE VAMPIRE)
15. Dead Until Dark (Series) by Charlaine Harris (VAMPIRES)
16. Outlander (Series) by Diana Gabaldon (TIME TRAVEL, ROMANCE)
17. The Shining by Stephen King (FANTASY, HORROR)
18. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (FANTASY – MAGICAL REALISM, ROMANCE)
19. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (FANTASY, SUPERHEROES, COMIC BOOKS)
20. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (FANTASY ADVENTURE)

This summer’s Red Mist is a new supernatural thriller film directed by Paddy Breathnach, starring Arielle Kebbel (The Grudge 2, The Uninvited), Andrew Lee Potts, Martin Compston (Doomsday), MyAnna Buring (The Decent) and Sarah Carter (Skinwalkers).

Red Mist a.k.a. Freakdog is the winner of eight international film awards, including Best New Director at San Sebastian, and a Special Award at American Independent Film Festival. Director Paddy Breathnach won critical acclaim and scored a scary success at the box-office with his previous film Shrooms.

The film’s Screenwriter, Spence Wright, sets the well-developed characters on their paths to destruction, with a series of mishaps that builds the tension in each scene, right up to the ultimate conflict and climax of horror.

The plot consists of a group of medical students who play a cruel prank on the hospital’s janitor, Kenneth, (Andrew Lee Potts) that sends him into a deep coma. Guilt-ridden Catherine (Arielle Kebbel) attempts to save Kenny’s life, by administering an untested experimental drug. Instead of curing him, it sends his brain waves spiking and triggers a powerful out-of-body experience. Kenny, using his newly enabled and sinister mental powers, takes revenge on those responsible for his condition. As her fellow med students are savagely killed off, Catherine is faced with the realization that what started out as a medical miracle, has now transformed Kenny into a brutal monster. She is forced to get confrontational with the comatose killer, as he moves in and out of bodies at will, growing ever more closer to defeating her as his supernatural powers increase.

Just as he did in Shrooms, box-office savvy Director Paddy Breathnach, delivers gut-wrenching fear by employing some unique camera work, editing techniques, and visual special effects, which combined with the great musical score, deliver a raw intensity to this movie that might just impress you in spite of it’s predictableness.

US audiences are more likely to catch the film coming out on DVD, since it is currently only being shown in theatres in the UK. Included in the DVD’s special features is “The Making of Red Mist,” an “Extended Interview with Arielle Kebbel,” and “The Red Mist Cast in Northern Ireland.”

RED MIST TRAILER

Here’s some good news for all of us Horror fans. Master of suspense and horror fiction author Dean Koontz, is releasing his newest novel “Relentless” (Bantam Books) today (June 9). You can get a sneak preview of the thriller here, or explore his previously published books (listed here).

Relentless offers plenty of Koontz’s special brand of dark terror and even some sci-fi mixed into a plot that introduces us to Cullen “Cubby” Greenwich, a bestselling novelist who runs into problems when he confronts an influential book critic who gives his new book a bad review. Cubby and his family barely stay one step ahead of the threatening book critic Shearman Waxx, as he tracks his intended victims down with intent to kill.

Koontz’s latest novel, adds to a list of over a hundred, including ten hardcovers and thirteen paperbacks that have reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. As of 2008, his success has listed him as the sixth highest-paid author, in a tie with John Grisham. Often featuring fantastical plot elements, Koontz’s stories also offer plausible, logically consistent science-based explanations for the bizarre events depicted. Although very few of Koontz’s novels are purely supernatural, he tends to use strange and quirky themes that idealize how love and compassion can save his characters from the apparent absurdities of existence and the cruelties of life.

His fans seem to favor the novel Watchers, and the Odd Thomas Series, but his most recent work extends to graphic novels and comic projects like Frankenstein and Nevermore, and are likely to increase the scope of his already substantial fan base. You can sign up for his newsletter, and get the latest updates from his official website.

We’ll also be looking forward to the July release of Frankenstein 3, which is Koontz’s retold version of Mary Shelley’s classic story, featuring an adaptation by legendary comic book writer Chuck Dixon and gorgeous illustrations by acclaimed artist Brett Booth. It’s sure to be a hot and horrible summer, if Dean Koontz has anything to say about it.