Paperbacks from Hell(2017) by Grady Hendrix

Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of 70's and 80's Horror Fiction (2017) by Grady Hendrix: A delightful book about the boom in horror paperbacks that lasted from roughly 1968 to 1993. What a time it was to be alive! I know! I was there!

Copiously illustrated. Maybe obscenely illustrated! Horror writer Grady Hendrix keeps things zipping along, aided by all the crazy covers from those paperbacks (and discussions of some of the more famous cover artists of the period). A chronological discussion of the era shares space with thematic discussions (Insects! Incest!) and pieces on notable writers of the boom. 

Nazi leprechauns!

The covers, though. Really, even if this were just a picture book, it would be worth the money, even for a casual horror reader. I'm not casual, so I really loved it. 

Hendrix begins the story of his own infatuation with horror paperbacks by discussing his discovery of John Christopher's batshit-crazy novel The Little People, thanks to its batshit-crazy cover art. 

Holy moley! I have to buy and read this book!

I noticed a few factual errors (most puzzlingly, the misidentification of the writer of Watership Down). But overall, Grady has an interestingly idiosyncratic take on the Golden Age of Paperback Horror, along with the reasons for its rise and fall. Will Errickson supplies an essay at the back of the book, along with a lot of help Hendrix gleaned from Too Much Horror Fiction. Highly recommended.