Maybe because of the subjectiveness of what each person considers horror, especially when it comes to individualized interpretations that are more inherent to written works than film, but I’ve been noticing that so many horror recommendations are really unsatisfying.

I love horror books and have been looking for some fun horror that feels like some of my old favorites like The Stand and Dean Koontz’s Watchers. My last few suggestions, however, have just fallen completely flat. I just finished My Heart is a Chainsaw, which was advertised to me as one of the most awarded recent books in horror. It was very poor. Very unsuccessfully written and executed (although I did ultimately finish it). Before that I was suggested The Sphere by Michael Chichton. Was overall very meh due to problems that I’ve found are common in most Crichton books.

Besides those two most recent, I’ve read quite a few in the last few years that just don’t feel like they’re hitting. Why is good horror so hard to find?? Any recommendations?