A while back I decided to read all the winners of the Bram Stoker Award for best horror novel from the beginning (1987) to now (2009). Two years and twenty-three books later I have read a lot of really good books, a few really great books, one average book, and two books that really surprised me with how good they were. This week I'll be looking at the first of those two; Creepers by David Morrell.
Lets begin with the fact that this book is actually a little different than the horror I usually read: no monsters, no supernatural, and no end of days scenario to be seen. Actually this book takes place in the (previously unknown to me) world of urban exploring. Basically, this pastime involves exploring closed or condemned buildings in cities, and involves a lot of climbing, personal danger, and comfort with dirt.
Creepers is actually the popular nickname for these urban explorers and they are definitely a real thing, check out one of their Canadian websites at http://www.uer.ca/
The author, David Morrell (pictured right) is actually most famous for having written First Blood (The novel that the first of the Rambo films was based on), which by the way is an excellent book in its own right, ends differently that the movie, and took me over a year to find in various used-book stores before I could read it.
The story itself leans more towards Thriller than Horror; basically it follows a group of Creepers as they explore an abandoned hotel while some very nasty thieves are up to the same thing, so it involves the adventure of exploring an old building with a treasure hunt and a lethal game of hide and seek.
I really, really dug this book and I have to say that although I wasn't expecting much at all from it initially, it was by far one of my favourite Horror books of the last 10 years. (Suck it, The Ruins.)
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