Best Horror Books of all Time: 6 Top Cosmic Horror Authors!

It takes a lot of nerve to try and identify what the best horror books of all time are, so we're going to break this conversation up into smaller chunks. A couple of months ago we discussed the 8 Top Horror Writers, and tried to keep to the artists who inspired generations of literary terror. Now let's focus in on the mind-bending terror of cosmic horror and look at some of the most read books in this sub-genre!
Books reviewed in this episode:
At the Mountains of Madness (H.P. Lovecraft): www.amazon.com...
The Call of Cthulhu (H.P. Lovecraft): www.amazon.com...
The Willows (Algernon Blackwood): www.amazon.com...
The Wendigo (Algernon Blackwood): www.amazon.com...
Lovecraft Country (Matt Ruff): www.amazon.com...
Annihilation (Jeff VanderMeer): www.amazon.com...
The Fisherman (John Langan): www.amazon.com...
The Ballad of Black Tom (Victor LaValle): www.amazon.com...

[@BenjaminsBookclub]

Great video! I loved The Algernon Blackwood stories, and obviously Lovecrafts stuff, The Fisherman was amazing as well! I still need to get to Annihilation, I loved the movie. My faveourites would be The Colour out of Space, and any of the short story collections from Laird Barron.

[@D3Reads]

I checked out a collection of Algernon Blackwood from Hoopla, but after reading The Willows I bought a bound collection of his work. Really good stuff! And thanks for the comment!

[@SightlessSenshi]

Thanks for this list. I'm totally blind (I use a screenreader and braille computer), and I love to read. Cosmic horror is kind of my jam. Mostly because I'm immune to the whole "that which has been seen cannot be unseen" thing. Yay blindness! Seriously though, great recommendations, and I am loving your channel already. Definitely got my subscription.

[@D3Reads]

Wow, thanks so much! And thank you for that comment, I'm really glad you liked it. Do you have any favorites you can recommend? I've learned that as much as I like these kinds of stories a lot of folks have favorites I haven't yet experienced. Thanks again for your comment and super glad you're here!

[@SightlessSenshi]

@@D3Reads Ah, good question! I particularly loved "The Thing on the Doorstep" by Lovecraft. I read it in the middle of the day, in a crowded room, and still managed to feel very freaked out. Another I enjoyed, though it's part of the WarHammer 40K setting, which can be off-putting for some folks, is "The House of Night and Chain" by David Ananndale. That one was an absolutely captivating read.

[@D3Reads]

I read Doorstep so very long ago, but I've never heard of The house of Night and Chain. I just looked it up on Amazon and it sounds intriguing. I love this about KZbin because I doubt I'd have found out about this any other way, thank you very much!

[@SightlessSenshi]

@@D3Reads OMG thanks so much for actually looking into it! That's awesome of you. It's a great read, whether or not you like 40K, because the horror of it is just very...unpleasantly human, while being profoundly beyond the bounds of our limited moral and intellectual comprehension. Great book. I'd have more recs, but right now I'm on a bit of a Wuxia reading craze, so most of my recommendations at present are more for epic kung fu novels than cosmic horror. But I always come back to cosmic horror, whenever the mood for knowing the unknowable sets in, and then it's time to pull out some Lovecraft (or a cute Arkham Horror book if I'm looking for some very easy reading that just has a light cosmic horror touch to it), and listen to some excessively loud doom metal of course, to set the ambience. :D Anyhow, I hope you enjoy The House of Night and Chain. It was a great read.

[@D3Reads]

Of course! One of the great things I enjoy about these videos is learning about books I may never have considered before. I went a LONG time sticking to authors I was familiar with and rarely ventured into unknown territory, which is really sad. So I'm making up for it now! Just have to make the time to read all these novels and stories. And even better I'll get to recommend them when I update these videos in the future, so more people can learn about them. So I am really grateful for the recommendation!

[@jamiescott1080]

The fisherman has echos of the case of Charles Dexter Ward by HPL in that it is in a contemporary setting but there is a big chunk of it describing historical events which are directly linked to the current events in the novel. Impressive nod to the classics.

[@D3Reads]

I definitely got a Lovecraft vibe from The Fisherman. But now that you mention it, I thought I had read all of Lovecrafts stories, but I don't think I actually read that one. I did a quick search to "refresh" my memory and I don't remember that one at all. So now I've got a new Lovecraft to read. For that, I thank you! And thanks for the comment!

[@jamiescott1080]

It’s one of his best I think. Incidentally, I can recommend Lovecraft and Carter - I forget the name of the author, but they are contemporary lovecraftian books and are very well done.

[@Cersey-rd1rh]

I absolutely loved The Willows. I hadn't heard of The Wendigo, so I'll be getting that.

[@D3Reads]

Both of these stories are so good. I think the Wendigo does just as good a job as The Willows of building dread as the story progresses. Very well done. I'd love to hear what you think when you get a chance to read it!

[@Cersey-rd1rh]

@@D3Reads I just downloaded it from Project Guttenberg. I'm really excited to hear that the story builds dread. I want to be scared. Thr Willows really creeped me out. I hope this one will too.

[@D3Reads]

@@Cersey-rd1rh I originally read Blackwood's stories by checking out a collection using Hoopla. But I enjoyed The Wendigo and the Willows so much I went out and bought a hardbound collection. I really like his style.

[@natg6264]

Grandpa is hella cool. I feel the appreciation he has for the genre in his great descriptions and in his detailed reasoning for grading. Wasn’t too interested in this side of horror but maybe my mind has changed. Thank you very much. -228

[@D3Reads]

HA, thank you very much! Really appreciate the comment, and if you do read any of these let me know what you think. A number of other commenters point out that The Colour out of Space is probably one of Lovecraft's best, and I can't recommend The Ballad of Black Tom enough. Thanks again! ( oh and not a grandpa yet, but probably not that far off either)

[@jacko859]

Awesome video! I think it's about time I read The Fisherman. Interested to hear your thoughts on the film adaptation of Annihilation once you watch it!

[@D3Reads]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate that. And I can't recommend the Fisherman enough, I really think it's one of my favorite books I've read this year. And I'm hoping to watch that movie soon, maybe even this weekend so when that happens I'll comment here. Thanks again for watching!

[@grantross2609]

Lovecraft's "The Shadow Out Of Time" is arguably the single greatest "cosmic horror" story ever written...... Shame HPL didn"t live long enough to expand on his incredible ideas !

[@D3Reads]

Wow, I barely remember that one! I've got to reread it. I went on a Lovecraft kick a few years ago and read everything I could get my hands on. I reread a couple of his "signature" stories for this article, since they're the ones on the Goodreads list. But I know he's got much better stuff out there. Thanks for the comment!

[@rexfordhazelton7601]

I like this type of horror, but I have not read too much Lovecraft. The Call of Cathulu was good, maybe 3 of 5 stars. The Croning by Laird Barron and The Fisherman by Mark Langan are my favorites. I also love the Southern Reach books

[@D3Reads]

I haven't read The Croning yet but it sounds really interesting based on the quick search I did and so it's now on my list. Thank you!

[@monstersfromtheid9372]

Here's my COSMIC HORROR book review: racism against the blacks is scary m'kay?

[@D3Reads]

I actually like critical comments on my videos, because I learn a lot. But in fairness, what you said is a far cry from what I said. I reviewed both the horror and the story of each book, and found that both Lovecraft Country and Ballad, both of which t are set amidst racism in the US, were good books. The racial context added a different element of horror, but the Ballad of Black Tom was excellent cosmic horror. If you've read the books, then let me know what you think. If not, and stories that highlight social injustice aren't your thing, then I guess I've saved you some time. Thanks for watching all the same.

[@justanaverage1762]

OHHH A SQUIDD....I'M TURNING MAD NOOOO.. tried to read a lovecraft book some time ago and it was boring as hell

[@D3Reads]

LOL. That's fair. I thought The Shadow over Innsmouth was outright silly. But he's got some real horror out there. But more to the point, there's better horror out there.

[@alankenyon9035]

I read the Colour Out of Space recently and can definitely recommend. Was disturbing to me at least.

[@hollyvanwye9294]

Wow. Try reading The Colour Out of Space and/or The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and if those stories don't evoke your fear and terror then you've got nerves of steel!

[@D3Reads]

I was going to reread the Color Out of Space because I remember it being pretty good! It's been a while and I wanted to refresh my memory before putting up this video, but I ran out of time. It made an impact though so I'll definitely revisit.

[@D3Reads]

I remember liking Colour out of Space (though it's been a while) and I will definitely reread. Innsmouth just didn't do it for me. It starts strong, but I felt it didn't deliver in the end. Thanks for your comment!

[@Michael-ue3ku]

All you guys talk too much Get to the list!

[@D3Reads]

We're like the people who post recipes on cooking blogs, like "here's how to make a bowl of cereal for breakfast" and then you have to comb through 2 pages of how the author's grandparents emigrated to America in the 1600s and then built a farm and only had one cow but they used that milk to eat Cheerios or something. And to be fair, I felt this particular video went longer than it should. We just love talking about books! But point taken! I'm looking to add chapters to our videos so you can easily see and skip to the books in the future. Really appreciate the comment!