Suggest to me a book/story that has cosmic horror, that is not Lovecraft. I love huge concepts, I love stories where the universe ends, and I would love for it to make me feel tiny and inconsequential, please!
Edit: Thank you all so much, these are great recs!
by Possible_Comfort4792
30 Comments
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer would be the go-to.
*The Fisherman* by John Langan.
Anything by Jeff VanderMeer lol
Also, This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
The Fisherman
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero is basically cosmic horror Scooby-Doo. It follows a Scooby-Doo like troupe who disbanded over an investigation that ended traumatically coming back together as adults to reopen the case. It’s not quite as full of existential anxiety compared to most cosmic horror type stuff but it’s still there. Fun book. Easy, light read. Highly recommend.
Ohhh!!! You should read Revival by Stephen King!
Short story collections by Thomas Ligotti and Laird Barron.
Gideon the Ninth and it’s sequels have some good cosmic fuckery.
If you like some pitch-dark humor and rust-belt poverty mixed in with your existential dread, the “John Dies at the End” series is extraordinary.
You get “potential destruction of earth” and “I’m too depressed to pick up my antidepressants” as important plot points.
*Blindsight* by Peter Watts
Hyperion – Dan Simmons
Illium/Olympus – Dan Simmons
I’m going more with deep concept, immersive ‘horror’ at the terrifying possibilities in the unknown universe.
The Threshold series by Peter Clines, starting with [14](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07YSZ17KB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=). I love this series so much.
I thought the Reality Dysfunction was great as horror. The series loses that and turns into SF as it continues but that first book I remember feeling very cosmically creeped out.
The Expanse series by James S A Corey. Heavy on the sci part of sci fi but has some horror elements, too.
The Things that are not There.
anything by Tim Powers, but especially Alternate Routes or The Stress of Her Regard. Lots of ominous vibes of things just on the other side of the veil.
Graveyard Orbit seems to fit the bill. Its by S.W. Nolton
I think a bunch of Octavia Butler’s novels and short stories would work for this.
The House on The Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
Hollow Places
Ascension by Nicholas Binge. Definitely makes you feel small and inconsequential and if anything is worth it after you get to the conclusion
Ah haaaa, I JUST finished the perfect book for this! Predates Lovecraft actually. The House On The Borderland, by William Hope Hodgson. My new absolute favourite cosmic horror. Hits your request 100% perfectly.
NK Jemisin’s books The City We Became and The World We Make deal with cosmic horror.
Victor Lavalle’s The Ballad of Black Tom is a retelling of “The Horror at Red Hook” and it’s Lovecraft but definitely not Lovecraft if you catch my drift.
The repairman Jack series are my favorite books of all time. As the series evolves it gets much more cosmic horrorish with the main character Jack unwillingly thrust into the middle of this cosmic war.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. Novella retelling of The Horror at Red Hook from the perspective of a black protagonist.
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. Space opera about cosmic-scale mysteries, ancient civilizations, and the incomprehensible vastness of space.
Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Classic Soviet science fiction about the aftermath of extraterrestrial visitation.
People have mentioned “The Ballad of Black Tom” already, which is a great book!
Others I’d like to recommend:
‘The King in Yellow’ by Robert Chambers (pred-dates Lovecraft)
‘Uzumaki’ by Junji Ito
‘My Work is Not Yet Done’ by Thomas Ligotti
‘Black Helicopters’ by Kaitlin Kiernan
A lot of Clive Barker fits this.
Pet Cemetery from Stephen King has very strong cosmic horror vibes. At least for me.
Um. Algernon Blackwood? Natural moreso but spooky.
Clark Ashton Smith had some that were similar, but different. Archaic.
Seabury Quinn was cool too, some cosmicness to his stuff.
Between two fires is okay takes place on France during a war and the plague has monsters in it