You know how some books are just made for you? How you don’t so much read them as happily tumble into their pages? Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix was like that for me. It’s a meticulously, joyously researched celebration of paperback horror from the 70s and 80s. I spent my teens in the 70s and my twenties in the 80s, fully immersed in horror, science fiction, and fantasy. This book is pure, unadulterated nostalgia for me, and I loved every minute of it.

I’m a huge fan of Hendrix’s fiction, and it turns out he’s just as good at non-fiction. Paperbacks from Hell brings a telling eye for detail and historical perspective to the books that made this time period such an important one for horror. His words have the ring of authenticity.

But for me, that’s not the best reason to pick up Paperbacks from Hell. Hendrix fills it front to back with glorious, high res, full color examples of the cover art that graced these books. I remember so many of them—I read them, I sold them as a sales associate at Waldenbooks, I collected them—and seeing them all here again was like coming home.

If you’re a fan of horror in general, horror of this time period in particular, or just gonzo, balls-to-the-wall, book cover art, Paperbacks from Hell is a helluva ride. Thank you, Mr. Hendrix, for the exciting trip down memory lane.