Any recommendations for Cosmic Horror / Sci Fi novel?

[Brookshw]

Like it says on the tin, I'm in the mood to read something cosmic horror-ish, probably with a sci-fi bent. Anyone have any recommendations?

[Eldan]

Some of Alastair Reynold's stuff goes a bit in that direction, even if it's still basically hard SciFi. Would you consider Mass Effect's Reapers to be cosmic horror, if they were more horrible?

[Strigon]

Depends on how horrific you actually want it to be. If all you're looking for is cosmic horror ideas, then I'd actually suggest The Expanse if you haven't already read it.
However, The Expanse is not actually a horror series. I'm afraid I don't actually know any good sci-fi horror novels, but I'll keep my eye on this thread in the hopes of finding some!

[KatsOfLoathing]

The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer is great for this. It centers on an area of quarantined land called Area X (probably in the Gulf of Mexico area, but left deliberately ambiguous) where an unknown disaster happened years ago that resulted in all kinds of disturbing, unexplainable things occurring, and one government organization's desperate, probably-fruitless efforts to understand and combat its effects.

Annihilation, the first book, is about an expedition into Area X and the installment that leans most into cosmic horror tropes. Authority and Acceptance, the followups, are more character-driven and take cues from psychological thrillers (especially the former), but there's still plenty of eldritch craziness in both.

[Brookshw]

Some of Alastair Reynold's stuff goes a bit in that direction, even if it's still basically hard SciFi. Would you consider Mass Effect's Reapers to be cosmic horror, if they were more horrible?

I think for me it would depend on the level of "knowable" or mystery that relates to the more horrible Reapers. If there was a "would you like to know more" button here, I'd hit it.


The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer is great for this. It centers on an area of quarantined land called Area X (probably in the Gulf of Mexico area, but left deliberately ambiguous) where an unknown disaster happened years ago that resulted in all kinds of disturbing, unexplainable things occurring, and one government organization's desperate, probably-fruitless efforts to understand and combat its effects.

Annihilation, the first book, is about an expedition into Area X and the installment that leans most into cosmic horror tropes. Authority and Acceptance, the followups, are more character-driven and take cues from psychological thrillers (especially the former), but there's still plenty of eldritch craziness in both.
Is that the same Annihilation the recent movie of the same name would have been based on?


Depends on how horrific you actually want it to be. If all you're looking for is cosmic horror ideas, then I'd actually suggest The Expanse if you haven't already read it.
However, The Expanse is not actually a horror series. I'm afraid I don't actually know any good sci-fi horror novels, but I'll keep my eye on this thread in the hopes of finding some! That was a good series, though I lost my interest after...I think the third or fourth book? Basically when they veered from the unknown aliens and into the galactic civil war/rebellion. Don't know if the last book or two might have gotten back to the aliens, if so then that's great news!

[KatsOfLoathing]

Is that the same Annihilation the recent movie of the same name would have been based on?

Same book, yes, though the movie changes significant amounts of detail about the characters and plot to the point that it's basically two separate narratives that happen to share a name and a few basic plot foundations.

[BeerMug Paladin]

Blindsight (https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm).

It's probably my favorite one.

[IthilanorStPete]

Blindsight (https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm).

It's probably my favorite one.

Beat me to it. :smalltongue: Blindsight is amazing, with some of the most unique aliens ever written.

[Ark Evensong]

While not a novel, instead a collection of short stories from various authors, methinks Space Eldritch contains exactly what it says on the tin.

There's a Space Edritch II as well, if you're hankering for more of the same.
I liked 'em.

[Eldan]

I think for me it would depend on the level of "knowable" or mystery that relates to the more horrible Reapers. If there was a "would you like to know more" button here, I'd hit it.

I don't want to spoil too much. If you've seen Love, Death & Robots, Reynolds is the author of Beyond the Aquila Rift and Zima Blue.

He's written a lot of different Sci Fi, but his largest project is a series of interconnected Space Opera doorstoppers and short stories. The story of the main trilogy is about humanity finding out the answer to the Fermi equation. Where are all the aliens? Dead or hiding.

[Wookieetank]

I'd recommend taking a look at the Joe Ledger series of books by Jonathan Maberry. It follows Joe Ledger as he leads a group of highly trained agents as they take on various threats from secret societies with superbugs, to inter-dimensional aliens that have connections to the Cthulu Mythos. Very actiony style of books, but they definitely get more creepy as you think about them with how realistically the author presents things. More Military fiction than Sci-fi, but there is a fair bit of Sci-fi involved.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Obviously, I must suggest the master and originator of the genre - H.P. Lovecraft. His work is variable (and somewhat old-fashioned, and not what we would call sci-fi these days), but he is generally credited with starting the genre.

From my own point I would recommend the stories The Mountains of Madness, The Call of Cthulhu and The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward (the latter being more straight horror).

[Eldan]

Charles Dexter Ward doesn't really have anything I'd call Cosmic Horror. It's pretty straight "dead necromancer trying to come back to life".

For cosmic horror, I'd say Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow out of Time (which I'd call Lovecraft's best story), Mountains of Madness and The Colour out of Space (to be a Nicholas Cage movie later this year.)

Edit: and The Whisperer in Darkness.