Over the course of the new year I’ll be chronicling historic feats from 4chan’s /lit/ and the first entry shall be about what is arguably the very beginning – F Gardner and his incredibly long horror novel series.
In 2020 F Gardner who was previously semi-famous for his Chicago political endeavors made /lit/ history by advertising his book series “Horror’s Call” through 4chan banner ads – something never attempted before for a book series, making him an historic outlier for authors. However, F Gardner became a polarizing figure for a variety of reasons.
Ever since then there have been numerous attempts to imitate F Gardner’s success by aspiring 4channers, even parodies. However, as of 2024, none have matched the viral success of Call of the Crocodile, not even the 15 subsequent books written by Gardner himself. The cover to Call of the Crocodile remains the single most reposted book on all of /lit/, overshadowing even other popular books such as DFW’s Infinite Jest and BAP’s Bronze Age Mindset.
YouTubers have made videos covering Gardner’s books, namely Chris Dw i, Lucas Bineville, The Bookclub From Hell, Chimpsmoking and INTERNETFRIEND. Being a polarizing topic in the literary world, F Gardner’s series has even made its way to the front page of Reddit’s r/books through sheer controversy.
More recently F Gardner wrote a book titled “Kabbalah of the Crocodile” which had gained notoriety on 4chan’s /pol/ for being the first ever horror novel written about Judaism, catapulting F Gardner into even greater controversy.
Gardner’s works are frequently called “The Room of Literature” and he frequently gets comparisons to Tommy Wiseau- The Room’s creator. It is unknown if this was accidental or if Gardner intended his books to be viewed this way.
Gardner himself now chronicles his life as a “famous author” on his own YouTube channel @famousauthor
YouTube videos covering F Gardner
F Gardner Reddit controversies
Goodreads takes down thousands of fake 5 star ratings from horror book series
byu/MechanicalMan101 inbooks
Most blatant example of fake positive reviews I’ve ever seen on Goodreads
byu/MechanicalMan101 inbooks
On the creative end of things Gardner’s books generate controversy due to low quality editing. However, a deeper look at his works indicates that the plots are meant to be from a child’s perspective and the apparent editorial issues are meta plot devices. Horror’s Call remains to this day the most mainstream attention 4chan’s /lit/ has achieved and amongst the most polarizing book series’ in modern literature in 2024.
Stay tuned for more of 4chan’s /lit/ history. The subject of Part 2 will depend on your comments.
by Traditional-Lunch745