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MockingQuantum
Jan 20, 2012



So I recently started a possibly regrettable undertaking: reading H.P. Lovecraft's entire body of work in chronological order.

And it's starting to drag. I love Lovecraft's work, I've been crazy about Cosmic horror for a while now, but I actually haven't run into that much. So who else exists in the genre? Has anybody been writing compelling Lovecraftian horror in recent years? I have some August Derleth on the way and I haven't hit his predecessors (Blackwood and Machen, for example), but I'm curious if there's much representation in the genre right now.

Or maybe it's better to say that I know there's lots of Lovecraft-esque authors out there, but are any of them good?

EDIT: If you just stumbled on to this thread, great! Feel free to post about Cosmic Horror or Weird Tales, as the title suggests. But hey, did you know that there's a general horror thread, too? Well there is! It's here!

MockingQuantum fucked around with this message at 02:48 on May 15, 2018

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Big Mad Drongo
Nov 10, 2006

Try Thomas Ligotti. Some of his stuff is (or at least was, its been a few years since I've checked) hard to find, and he's more about "the world itself hates/is indifferent towards humanity" than having a pantheon of unknowable gods swatting humans like annoying flies, but it has the same weird horror feel.

Guards
Dec 30, 2006

Should you be here?
Should you be doing that?
Robert E. Howard. While not a recent representation, I think there is plenty to enjoy that is similar to Lovecraft's brand of suspense and horror. It probably helps that they were writing at the same time and knew each other.

Also, as cheesy as it may sound, I have really like reading some of the Warhammer 40k books. If the IP itself isn't a turnoff for you, I could look at the ones I've read and tell you which authors I liked best. Lots of terrible cosmic gods manipulating humans in fairly complex ways.

Mr.48
May 1, 2007
A Colder War by Charles Stross is a pretty much a must read for Lovecraft fans. You can read it for free here: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

Jedit
Dec 10, 2011

Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Mr.48 posted:

A Colder War by Charles Stross is a pretty much a must read for Lovecraft fans. You can read it for free here: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

If you're going to mention A Colder War then you also have to mention the Laundry novels - The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue and The Fuller Memorandum. They're equal parts of Lovecraft, John le Carre and second line helpdesk support.

EDIT: Also dig out William Hope Hodgson. Well worth it.

Mr.48
May 1, 2007

Jedit posted:

If you're going to mention A Colder War then you also have to mention the Laundry novels - The Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue and The Fuller Memorandum. They're equal parts of Lovecraft, John le Carre and second line helpdesk support.

EDIT: Also dig out William Hope Hodgson. Well worth it.

I dont know, the Laundry books are fun to ready, but they dont have the note of dread that A Colder War evokes. I would say the Laundry books a more lighthearted take on roughly the same subject matter as A Colder War. A sort of cross-breed between The Dresden Files and Men in Black.

Mr.48 fucked around with this message at 01:59 on Jan 21, 2012

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

MockingQuantum posted:

Or maybe it's better to say that I know there's lots of Lovecraft-esque authors out there, but are any of them good?

There are a rather large number of good authors that would fit this description. IF you want a nice sampling, check out some recent anthologies. The Book of Cthulhu is arguably the best starting point, though Black Wings is also a strong contender.

AS for specific authors, you simply cannot go wrong with Laird Barron. Caitlin Kiernan is also very good, though her short story collections are harder to find since they're all from Subterranean Press. Simon Strantzas is one of my favorite authors, though only his first collection would fall squarely under the cosmic horror label. Jeffrey Thomas has also written some drat fine Mythos stuff.

Also, The Weird comes out later this year, you may want to check it out. The table of contents is simply amazing.

Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Jan 21, 2012

Ogmius815
Aug 25, 2005
centrism is a hell of a drug

I love Lovecraft. Lovecraft is decades ahead of his time. I'll always think reading Lovecraft is worthwhile. That said, Lovecraft is a pretty lovely writer. I couldn't imagine reading that much of him at once.

MockingQuantum
Jan 20, 2012



Ogmius815 posted:

I love Lovecraft. Lovecraft is decades ahead of his time. I'll always think reading Lovecraft is worthwhile. That said, Lovecraft is a pretty lovely writer. I couldn't imagine reading that much of him at once.

It's not bad, since once you pass a certain point you start getting a lot of his good stuff with fair frequency (starting around 1925 with The Horror at Red Hook) but it can be ponderous with the early, dream-cycle stuff.

MockingQuantum
Jan 20, 2012



Lifor posted:

I could look at the ones I've read and tell you which authors I liked best.

I'd definitely appreciate that-- I've never had a problem with the 40k universe, just never had the $$ to play the game.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

I just noticed you said you had some Derleth on the way... I'd advise against reading it. August Derleth completely misunderstood the point of Lovecraft's fiction and shoe-horned in a bunch of good versus evil and elemental affinity bullshit.

One
Jan 9, 2003
My username is creative.
I just recently got into this stuff too. Besides Lovecraft I've enjoyed William Hope Hodgeson, Lord Dunsany, and Clark Ashton Smith for this sort of writing.

Gwamp
Apr 18, 2003

Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo,
Karl E. Wagner's Kane books would be some more reading along these lines as well.

Karl Rove
Feb 26, 2006

Oh man, the Elders are really lovely guys. Their astral projection seminars are literally off the fucking planet, and highly recommended.

MockingQuantum posted:

It's not bad, since once you pass a certain point you start getting a lot of his good stuff with fair frequency (starting around 1925 with The Horror at Red Hook) but it can be ponderous with the early, dream-cycle stuff.
Again, you're reading him in chronological order, which will certainly start you off with his earlier, much more ponderous works. His later and more developed works (The Call of Cthulhu, The Color Out of Space, The Rats in the Walls, etc) are much, much more readable. I actually enjoy his esoteric Dream Cycle works, though that is after having read everything else.

That being said, The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers is excellent, at the very least for the first four stories (mostly The Repairer of Reputations).

pixelbaron
Mar 18, 2009

~ Notice me, Shempai! ~

Ornamented Death posted:

There are a rather large number of good authors that would fit this description. IF you want a nice sampling, check out some recent anthologies. The Book of Cthulhu is arguably the best starting point, though Black Wings is also a strong contender.

AS for specific authors, you simply cannot go wrong with Laird Barron. Caitlin Kiernan is also very good, though her short story collections are harder to find since they're all from Subterranean Press. Simon Strantzas is one of my favorite authors, though only his first collection would fall squarely under the cosmic horror label. Jeffrey Thomas has also written some drat fine Mythos stuff.

Also, The Weird comes out later this year, you may want to check it out. The table of contents is simply amazing.

As far as Black Wings, what would you recommend? Beyond skimming through it, I haven't really sat down and read any of the stories yet and I know with these sorts of compilations it can be hit or miss.

cthulusnewzulubbq
Jan 26, 2009

I saw something
NASTY
in the woodshed.
There are bunch of anthologies out there worth reading, Children of Cthulhu was published in 2002 and represents a lot of recent authors that attempt to capture the horror itself rather than stay within the constraints of a bunch of mythos reference that the genre has already had plenty of. Included is China Mieville's "Details" for example.

That being said, I am currently reading through Brian Lumley's Titus Crow series which kicked off in '74 with The Burrowers Beneath. It's a nice blend horror and action/intrigue as it follows the adventures of the title character amid a backdrop of Lovecraftian beasties. It doesn't drag, is a lot of fun, and the writing is more than competant.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

pixelbaron posted:

As far as Black Wings, what would you recommend? Beyond skimming through it, I haven't really sat down and read any of the stories yet and I know with these sorts of compilations it can be hit or miss.

Pretty much all of it. I mean, you're probably not going to like every single story, but that will be more due to personal taste than any failings of the authors because inclusion in Black Wings was pretty exclusive since Joshi was the editor, and he has high standards when it comes to Mythos fiction.

The best story, in my opinion, is "The Broadsword" by Laird Barron. I was also fond of "Pickman's Other Model" by Cainlin Kiernan and "Lesser Demons" by Norman Patridge.

quote:

That being said, I am currently reading through Brian Lumley's Titus Crow series which kicked off in '74 with The Burrowers Beneath. It's a nice blend horror and action/intrigue as it follows the adventures of the title character amid a backdrop of Lovecraftian beasties. It doesn't drag, is a lot of fun, and the writing is more than competant.

There's so much wrong with this post. I enjoyed the Titus Crow books, but for the exact opposite of the reasons you gave. It's an absurd take on the Mythos, the hero is basically Superman (something wholly out of place in a Mythos story), and there is absolutely no horror. Basically the Titus Crow books are a road map of what not to do when writing Mythos fiction.

Edit: I see in the 52 books thread that you're still going through The Burrowers Beneath. That is, far and away, the best of the Titus Crow books, and you haven't really encountered all the weird stuff that people complain about; that starts in book 2.

Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Jan 21, 2012

Linnear
Nov 3, 2010
Stephen King.

Seriously, he's really, really good at the Lovecraft stuff, in my opinion. They're all short stories and seem to be in multiple collections/anthologies though, I don't know of any one book that has all of them.

1408
Crouch End
Jerusalem's Lot

I might be missing one more short story, but those are the three I recall.

MockingQuantum
Jan 20, 2012



Linnear posted:

Stephen King.

Seriously, he's really, really good at the Lovecraft stuff, in my opinion. They're all short stories and seem to be in multiple collections/anthologies though, I don't know of any one book that has all of them.

1408
Crouch End
Jerusalem's Lot

I might be missing one more short story, but those are the three I recall.

You could make an (albeit fuzzy) argument for The Mist as well.

Overlord7517
Jul 9, 2007
I AM A BAD POSTER I MAKE BAD POSTS.
Demons by John Shirley hits the sense of horror pretty well, I think. It takes place after a bunch of demons rip into our world and start decimating the human population. Its not very epic, but a very fun read.

cthulusnewzulubbq
Jan 26, 2009

I saw something
NASTY
in the woodshed.

Ornamented Death posted:

There's so much wrong with this post. I enjoyed the Titus Crow books, but for the exact opposite of the reasons you gave. It's an absurd take on the Mythos, the hero is basically Superman (something wholly out of place in a Mythos story), and there is absolutely no horror. Basically the Titus Crow books are a road map of what not to do when writing Mythos fiction.

Edit: I see in the 52 books thread that you're still going through The Burrowers Beneath. That is, far and away, the best of the Titus Crow books, and you haven't really encountered all the weird stuff that people complain about; that starts in book 2.

Oh yeah, the "horror" is really just LOOK MONSTERS but I'm excited for the weird stuff. (I'm telling myself this because I've committed to finishing them regardless).

MockingQuantum
Jan 20, 2012



For those interested in reading some Thomas Ligotti, one of his short stories (I'm told it's one of his best) can be found here: http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=433

a silver spaceship
Dec 27, 2009
Read Faith of our Fathers by Philip K. Dick. It's very much cosmic horror, and one of the best I've read in the genre.

For a less serious take on the genre, read A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman. It's kind of a spoof but develops some interesting ideas.

Apart from these two short stories, Thomas Ligotti is great. Just focus on his short stories though, because his novel - My Work is Not Yet Done - is a letdown.

a silver spaceship fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Jan 21, 2012

One
Jan 9, 2003
My username is creative.

MockingQuantum posted:

For those interested in reading some Thomas Ligotti, one of his short stories (I'm told it's one of his best) can be found here: http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=433

Thanks for that link. Has anyone ever read House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgeson? There's a really good audiobook version of it out there and I found that story really enjoyable and actually a little scary. It probably had a lot to do with listening to it in the dark at 2am with rain outside though. There's a lot of good Lovecraft stuff in audio format too. Some of the Librivox readers make me want to stab my eardrums out though. I know it's a volunteer thing but I wish people didn't use it as an opportunity to practice their English. Lovecraft stories rely a lot on creating an atmosphere and it's ruined by people mangling the names or reading in some inappropriate tone. There's this guy who reads Clark Ashton Smith stuff and constantly mispronounces semi-archaic words left and right.

Rough Lobster
May 27, 2009

Don't be such a squid, bro

a silver spaceship posted:



For a less serious take on the genre, read A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman. It's kind of a spoof but develops some interesting ideas.


This story can be found a Neil Gaiman's website, here:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf

It's got some pretty sweet illustrations in it.

For those who don't know, it's a short story that mashes together the Sherlock Holmes stories with Lovecraftian stuff. It's great.

Mr.48
May 1, 2007

MockingQuantum posted:

You could make an (albeit fuzzy) argument for The Mist as well.

The Mist fits in really well, as does IT.

Jedit
Dec 10, 2011

Proudly supporting vanilla legends 1994-2014

Would it be completely outlandish to suggest Mignola's Hellboy? It's more Titus Crow than HPL, to be sure, but it's fun to look at it from the perspective of a lead character who is himself an agent of Extradimensional Tentacular Evil.

Rough Lobster
May 27, 2009

Don't be such a squid, bro
I don't think so. And the Hellboy movies, while definitely flawed, have some pretty cool lovecraftian inspired things in them.

MockingQuantum
Jan 20, 2012



Jedit posted:

Would it be completely outlandish to suggest Mignola's Hellboy? It's more Titus Crow than HPL, to be sure, but it's fun to look at it from the perspective of a lead character who is himself an agent of Extradimensional Tentacular Evil.

Hellboy is DEFINITELY "Weird Tales" material, if not outright Mythos. The Ogdru Jahad have a real Lovecraft flavor to them though.

Shirkelton
Apr 6, 2009

I'm not loyal to anything, General... except the dream.

Jedit posted:

Would it be completely outlandish to suggest Mignola's Hellboy?

Mignola actually did a rather excellent and rich take on the Mythos in the Batman universe of all places.

Kerbtree
Sep 8, 2008

BAD FALCON!
LAZY!
If you're having trouble reading HPL, how about listening?

ed: there's a sample of the re-working of W. H. Hodgson's "The Night Land" here, the original of which Lovecraft considered "one of the most potent pieces of macabre imagination ever written."

Kerbtree fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Jan 22, 2012

Evfedu
Feb 28, 2007

Ornamented Death posted:

Here is an unsolicited recommendation:

Do you like horror? Do you like Lovecraftian horror? Then you need to read That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley. Holy poo poo it is good.
This is a really good recommendation.

EDIT: Also, I'd really recommend the CONEX series.

With Cosmic Horror in general, does anyone find that the best bits are the nagging, inevitable sense of wrongness, rather than the actual "mountainous creatures of three-lidded eyes rising from the core of the earth" payoff at the end? With Conex in particular, finding out that poo poo was going horribly wrong was way more fun than when it all actually went wrong.

Evfedu fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Jan 22, 2012

One
Jan 9, 2003
My username is creative.

Evfedu posted:

This is a really good recommendation.

EDIT: Also, I'd really recommend the CONEX series.

With Cosmic Horror in general, does anyone find that the best bits are the nagging, inevitable sense of wrongness, rather than the actual "mountainous creatures of three-lidded eyes rising from the core of the earth" payoff at the end? With Conex in particular, finding out that poo poo was going horribly wrong was way more fun than when it all actually went wrong.

I definitely agree that the best part is the dread and knowledge of evil acts going on somewhere out there. I really liked the Horror at Red Hook by Lovecraft for this kind of thing. Where you hear noises coming from a place and know there's a cult out there having rituals but you aren't there to see it happen. You investigate the aftermath. awesome.

Groke
Jul 27, 2007
New Adventures In Mom Strength

One posted:

Thanks for that link. Has anyone ever read House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgeson?

Yes. One day I intend to read The Night Land as well.

Mode 7
Jul 28, 2007

I really enjoy Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stuff. Everything just seems so ever-slightly off and even when he is describing beautiful parts of the Dreamworld there's this undercurrent of menace.

That's just me rambling though - on topic, I'd really recommend tracking down a copy of the anthology Lovecraft Unbound where a number of authors are tasked with writing a Mythos story without resorting to its most overt and cliche elements like tentacles and dripping ichor.

There's a couple of so-so stories buried in there but most of them are really, really great.

DickParasite
Dec 2, 2004


Slippery Tilde

Mr.48 posted:

A Colder War by Charles Stross is a pretty much a must read for Lovecraft fans. You can read it for free here: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

Stross has another great one, Missile Gap, that while not exactly Lovecraftian has a very similar feel. Also available at infinity plus:

http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring2007/fiction-missile-gap-by-charles-stross/

Mr.48
May 1, 2007

Kerbtree posted:

If you're having trouble reading HPL, how about listening?

ed: there's a sample of the re-working of W. H. Hodgson's "The Night Land" here, the original of which Lovecraft considered "one of the most potent pieces of macabre imagination ever written."

Man I read the whole of the re-write that is currently available in one reading and it was really great. I really wanted to know what happed after the most recent re-written chapter and switched over to the original. I cannot express in words just how terrible the original is compared to the re-write. I gave up after about 5 more minutes because reading the original was like hammering nails into my own head.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

Yeah, The Night Land is a tough read because of idiotic manner of writing Hodgson adopts to make the protagonist seem like a 17th century guy. But, it's totally worth fighting through because the story is just absolutely wild.

Victorkm
Nov 25, 2001

cthulusnewzulubbq posted:

Included is China Mieville's "Details"

Wait...is that the one where the dude starts seeing a...something...in the patterns and lines of the world around him that he can't unsee and it keeps getting closer to the surface?

If that's the one I'm thinking of it was a fantastic story. I didn't know that was by Mieville.

If its not what I was thinking of, anyone know what I am thinking of?

Neil Gaiman writes a bunch of Lovecraftian horror stories if I recall correctly.

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cthulusnewzulubbq
Jan 26, 2009

I saw something
NASTY
in the woodshed.

Victorkm posted:

Wait...is that the one where the dude starts seeing a...something...in the patterns and lines of the world around him that he can't unsee and it keeps getting closer to the surface?

If that's the one I'm thinking of it was a fantastic story. I didn't know that was by Mieville.

Yeah that's basically it.

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