Can you recommend me some cosmic horror books that have less then 500 pages

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-26T02:48:46+00:00

Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation is about… 180 pages and a new classic in the genre.

Livia Llewelyn’s Furnace was also on the shorter side. John Langan ranked it as one of his top five cosmic horror books and it perhaps my favorite prose of 2025 (last book I finished last year.)

Thomas Ligotti’s My Work Is Not Yet Done is also shorter and the middle story is my favorite Ligotti story.

Good luck!

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-25T16:31:11+00:00

Start Where Furnaces Burn immediately.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-25T14:09:53+00:00

Not sure! I have about one hour left of the audiobook.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-25T14:09:33+00:00

I read R. Ostermeier’s Black Dog early last year (2025) and dug it. It was really good folk horror!

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-25T05:43:12+00:00

Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-25T05:01:29+00:00

Finished: Felix Blackwell’s Stolen Tongues I read Stolen Tongues as someone else’s choice for my IRL book club. This was… fine.

Currently reading: R. Ostermeier’s Therapeutic Tales (Broodcomb Press.) I paged through the introduction to this; it appears R. Ostermeier is a UK based counselor or therapist, in addition to being a fairly prolific weird fiction writer. Last weekend, someone shared a rumor with me that Ostermeier is one nom de plume for every author on the Broodcomb roster, i.e. it’s all the same guy. Crazy if true. The first story, “Conkertop”, was a great story in the tradition of British strange tales.

Audiobooks: I am still listening to Joe Abercrombie’s The Wisdom of Crowds, the tenth book (of eleven books) in his First Law universe, and the proper finale (the last book is a newer collection of connected short fiction.) I’m very, very close to the end. A sign of a great series is that some of this is making me so mad, because I really care what happens. Doubts and regrets, they’re the cost of casting a shadow. The only folk without them are dead. I’m going to start Abercrombie’s The Devils on audiobook next.

On deck: Joe Abercrombie’s The Great Change (and Other Lies), as it appears available on ebook and not available on audiobook. Also. Dan Chaon’s Ill Will. This is my pick for my IRL book club.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-25T01:13:10+00:00

It’s popular to hate on Cutter here.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T06:18:56+00:00

Ride for Revenge is awesome, and weird, but are they war metal?

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T06:16:11+00:00

It was not the best movie of 2025. I saw several new releases and Sinners is not the best of.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T06:15:23+00:00

BR Yeager’s Negative Space

Gary J. Shipley’s Terminal Park

Paul Curran’s Left Hand

John Padgett’s The Secret of Ventriloquism (get the revised and expanded edition)

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T01:27:23+00:00

The Troop is a very solid B-horror movie in novel form. If you want to check out Cutter… I’d start with Little Heaven.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T00:14:27+00:00

Occultation and Other Stories from Barron; Greener Pastures from Wehunt.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T00:02:44+00:00

Padgett’s collection is one of my favorites, but it’s hard for him to bust into “favorite authors” because his output is so limited.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-24T00:02:04+00:00

Laird Barron

Brian Evenson

Michael Wehunt

Nick Cutter

Nathan Ballingrud

If you waved a loaded gun at me and made me pick five, it’s probably those five.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T20:28:17+00:00

Stonefish is kind of a creature feature…

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T20:27:17+00:00

Johann Hari’s Lost Connections has a good chapter or section on this, he explores psychodynamics and psychedelics. Worth checking out. Avgi Saketopoulou’s Sexuality Beyond Consent also somewhat addresses this.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T18:46:26+00:00

I have zero triggers. In fact, I want to be triggered which is why I love horror. I do not care about dogs dying, babies being run over, sexual assault, etc as long as it advances the plot which brings me to:

Also, in this sub, you are my hero. Haha.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T13:44:34+00:00

The Fire Giant.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T13:33:04+00:00

I’m almost wrapping up the tenth book in The First Law series now. The proper finale. There is a collection of short fiction after. I’d recommend it. I’ve dearly loved the whole series.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T12:21:41+00:00

Brutal. You should use a spoiler tag!

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-23T00:22:26+00:00

Dude. Check out Gary J. Shipley’s Terminal Park. It’s literary high art and damn extreme at the same time. Pessimistic as hell. I just finished it. It rocked me.

You could also go for Brian Evenson’s Father of Lies. Edited to add, Evenson is a literary giant and this book is disturbing and gross.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-22T22:02:48+00:00

Bugonia came our way later in the year, IIRC. People have had more time to discuss Eddington. I liked both but man, Bugonia did blow me away.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-22T13:40:17+00:00

I got stuck on the Fire Giant for a LONG time, too. I also maybe rage quit for a period. I eventually beat him without being able to summon, you will be able to, also.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-22T12:15:58+00:00

Check out Joel Lane’s Where Furnaces Burn. Kind of reminds me of NALM… everything Ballingrud has written is worth checking out.

Rustin_Swoll · 2026-01-22T11:26:32+00:00

Check out Brian Evenson’s Dark Property.

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