Book recommendations needed

[Volaran]

This seemed like the best place to come for advice...

I'm headed to visit some friends teaching in Japan later this week. They've asked me to bring some english books, as they're somewhat starved for them. Fiction is preferred and they've asked me to check the used book stores, so I can bring a number of books for a relatively low price.

Now comes the difficult part...what to look for? Though both have read the occasional fantasy book, and are in particular Discworld fans, both have tastes that run in other directions.

I'm not too concerned about picking up things they may have already read, but I'd like to get a good assortment.

So, does anyone have something to suggest in the following genres?

Light Fantasy (ala Discworld)
Historical fiction
Horror (particularly the bizarre variety. Both were obsessed recently with something called "House of Leaves" which seemed along these lines)
Mystery

...or really anything you might have a fondness for that I could find on the shelves of a used book store.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sir Whiskers]

Light fantasy: Try the early "Myth" books by Robert Asprin. The series begins with Another Fine Myth. Avoid the last two books in the series (which is, IIRC, 12 books).

Historical Fiction: Well, since he also wrote Shogun, try James Clavell's Tai-Pan and Noble House. They're both outstanding, set in Hong Kong. They might also like some Clancy, like Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising.

Horror: Anything Cthulhu.

Mystery: If you can find them, consider the Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. The stories are about a monk in England during the Middle Ages, who solves the occasional murder mystery. Great attention to historical accuracy, and I just like the character. The first two books are A Morbid Taste for Bones and One Corpse Too Many.

 

[Wombat]

Historical fiction is a tricky category, always. Actually I would not recommend taking Clavell to Japan -- I have heard that his material is fine for a gaijin, but not terribly accurate for the Japanese. Of course, I only heard that second-hand from a guy who studied in Tokyo about a decade ago, so take that with a grain of salt. Ellis Peters might cover both mystery and historical fiction for you; same could be said for Elizabeth Peters (no relation) with her Amelia Peabody mysteries set in late 19th and early 20th century Egypt.

Yeah, the Myth books should be good for Light Fantasty. For fantasy/horror, if the tastes run a bit to the odd, I might suggest Storm Constantine's Wraeththu books. I must admit that in horror I have a strong taste for Shirley Jackson -- most people only know her for her short story The Lottery, but she also wrote the novels The House on Haunted Hill and We Have Always Lived In A Castle, both of which are excellent.

Just some ideas

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

For Historical Fiction, the first thing that immediately popped into my mine was The Killer Angels by Michael Shea. It's the book that the film Gettysberg was based on. It's very well done, not too heavy on the military history aspect of things, and probably represents parts of US history that wouldn't be known to them.

There's also the possibility of mixing the historical and mystery stuff. Joe Lansdale's last few books have been set in the thirties or fifties. Lansdale's books are sort of uniquely American, it's the kind of thing they'll either love or hate. I'm not aware of any mass-market editions, so you may not find them in any used bookstores.

The same goes for James Ellroy, who sets all his books in the 1950s and 1960s- there's very few mass market editions. If you can find American Tabloid, that dealt with a lot of Kennedy-era history such as the Bay of Pigs and the assassination, all from a criminal underworld standpoint. Again, not for everyone.

Otherwise, they might be interested in the original mysteries from the era, such as Dashiel Hammet or Raymond Chandler.

For horror- definately Cthulhu. There's so much Lovecraft influence in things like anime and video games that I doubt they're aware of how pervasive it is (I read an online account somewhere from a guy who took the original Romero films over for some Biohazard fans that he knew. They had no idea the games were derived from American movies). The Shirley Jackson books are good suggestions, especially since they mirror the sort of traditional Japanese ghost stories (more emphasis on atmosphere and character). Also in a similar vein, some Peter Straub books such as Ghost Story will probably be easy to find used.

For truly weird horror, Thomas Ligotti is your best bet. Alas, he's also very hard to find in mass-market editions (I'm starting to notice a trend with my favorite authors... :\ ) Clive Barker might be a good one (again, Lovecraft/anime type connections), especially shorter works like the Books of Blood or Cabal. I generally prefer short stories to novels in horror, and I think these will have more stuff in line with recent Japanese movies like Ringu or Uzumaki. There was a series of books called Borderlands put out a while ago that had a lot of good stuff, I think they might still be in print.

Wayne reminded me that I forgot all about Matheson. I Am Legend is the basis for pretty much the entire survival horror genre, assuming your friends like Res Evil and similar games.

 

[WayneLigon]

Horror -- If you can find any, try Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John books; both horror and fantasy, it'll also give them a glimpse of American Appalacian legend and folk magic. S.P. Somtow's Vampire Junction. Poppy Z Brite's Lost Souls and Drawing Blood; Swamp Foetus, her first story collection is worth checking out.
Come Fygures Come Shadowes by Richard Matheson. The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson.

 

[Volaran]

Thanks a bunch, all.

I'm writing down titles and authors to look for in the morning. Lovecraft does indeed sound like a keen idea. I'll have somewhere between 16 and 20 hours on planes both ways, so I can't say these book recommendations won't help myself as well.

Keep 'em coming.

 

[kingpaul]

For historical fiction, may I suggest Howard Pyle? I really enjoyed his Men of Iron book (this book belonged to my great-grandfather as well...he's an older author).

 

[Maraxle]

For light fantasy, I'd like to suggest Wizard's First Rule. See this thread for more info about the book and subsequent series.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

For light fantasy, I'd like to suggest Wizard's First Rule. See this thread for more info about the book and subsequent series.

Where do you get the impression that Wizards First Rule is light fantasy? :\
It is NOTHING like Pratchett or Asprin (not that Pratchett is always light, but he is always funny), and I'd never even consider calling it light fantasy, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[NeuroZombie]

For Mystery, pick up Angels and Demons and the Da-Vinci Code by Dan Brown, two of the best books I have read in many a year. Come to think of it,the Da-Vinci Code may not be available in paperback yet, but I know Angels and Demons is available.