UNITED STATES AUTHOR · GENERAL · FICTION
Michael McDowell
Also known as: Axel Young, Mike McCray
Michael McEachern McDowell was an American novelist and screenwriter described by author Stephen King as "the finest writer of paperback originals in America today". His most well-known work is the screenplay for the Tim Burton film Beetlejuice. Source: Wikipedia
MY father died unpleasantly.
— from Candles burning, 2006
Most acclaimed
The Flood
The Human-Covenant War, a desperate struggle for humankind's very survival, has reached its boiling point on the mysterious, ring world called Halo. But the fierce Covenant warriors, the mightiest alien military force known, are not the only peril lying in wait.As the fortress world of Reach and its brave defenders were bombarded to rubble, a single cruiser fled the carnage with the battle's only human survivors--Captain Keyes, his crew of a few hundred Marines, and the last remaining SPARTAN super-soldier, the Master Chief.With the cruiser's artificial intelligence, Cortana, concealed in his battle armor, the Master Chief crash lands on Halo in the midst of a massive Covenant occupation. Curiously, the alien soldiers appear to be searching for something hidden on the ring. Built by a long-dead race, Halo harbors many deadly secrets, but one overshadows them all. Now the Master Chief must lead the scattered troops in a brutal race to unravel Halo's darkest mystery--and unleash its greatest source of power. . . .This novel is based on a Mature-rated video game.
The war
These extraordinary pages, written in 1944 but first published in 1985, form a totally new image of the heroine of The Lover and, through her, of Paris during the Nazi Occupation and the first months of Liberation. Married and living in Paris, part of a Resistance network headed by François Mitterrand, Duras is swept up in the turmoil of the period. She tells of nursing her starving husband back to life on his return from Belsen; interrogating a suspected collaborator; playing a game of cat and mouse with a Gestapo officer who is attracted to her; and more. The result is a book as moving as it is harrowing - perhaps Duras's finest yet.
Katie
When Philo Drax receives a letter from her wealthy grandfather saying he fears for his life at the hands of the vicious Slape family, she rushes to the rescue. But too late! Katie Slape, a monstrous girl with psychic powers and a penchant for smashing skulls with her hammer, has already finished him off and gotten hold of his cash. Determined to track down the murderers, Philo hunts Katie and her family through the streets of 1860s New York, where the Slapes' coffers are filling up with money as their cellar fills up with corpses. But going after the Slapes might be the worst decision of Philo's life, for no one escapes the bashing of Katie's hammer! A bloody, action-packed romp, Katie (1982) is a throwback to the exciting and violent "penny dreadfuls" of the Victorian era and features the same brilliant writing as Michael McDowell's classic horror novels The Elementals and Blackwater.