Welcome to Cracking Spines: Three Decades Of Horror by Jason Cavallaro. Having read over 3,000 horror books, Jason has a valuable outlook on the many genres of horror fiction. Choosing reading material can be a daunting task, never fear, Jason’s addiction to horror books benefits us all. Providing a list of 13 favorite books from a number of horrific categories, this book about scary books is a great reference point to begin your TBR collection.

It all starts with Cracking Spines beautiful cover art by Kealan Patrick Burke. Then it’s on to multiple sub-genres of distinct variations. Jason covers many successful monsters like Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts, but it’s the chapters of Dead Stuff, Cannibals, Survival and Folklore Horror that really “cracks the spine.” You will submerge yourself into categories such as Science-Fiction, Splatterpunk/Extreme and Comedy (find out which books leverage laughs with genuine scares, one of my favorite chapters). Also included are short stories, novellas, novels and anthologies…they are all here fellow horror readers.

While Jason dives into some of his obscure recommendations, he also references some of the talented greats, such as Richard Laymon, Chuck Palahniuk, Edward Lee, Jack Ketchum, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Carlton Mellick III, Robert McCammon and Clive Barker. My favorite Jason quote is in reference to Clive Barker’s The Books Of Blood (six volumes) - “This was the literary equivalent of kicking in horror’s door and rolling six grenades into the room.”

Among the plot points, atmospheric structure and of course good ol’ horror tropes, Cracking Spines’ insightful analysis and fresh perspective is what makes this a must read. Let’s face it, books are a sacrifice of your time. This reference guide is your golden ticket to a twisted creepy land where eccentric owner Jason Cavallaro happens to reside.