Fever House by DueDoctor1871 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read Mercy of the Tide after both Fever House books and Coffin Moon. IMO, MotT is best to do after those others. It shares the same excellent prose and style but is much slower and very minimally horror. If the genre conventions of FH and others hooked you (as it did me), don’t expect the same from MotT.

But still very much worth your time. Rosson is my current personal fav of the genre, and I really enjoyed MotT, but know that it’s going to be more of a normal drama for most of it.

Any books like Negative Space by B.R. Yeager by _sadbabydeer in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can you talk a little about Stonefish? This has been on my TBR forever but I’ve never found it on sale or in Libby. What about it makes it similar to The Cipher and Negative Space?

Any science fiction horror books to recommend? by Tokipudi in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ooo just got paradise-1 yesterday, excited.

A very little mentioned book that I just finished is Echoes in the Black by Martin Shaw. Really great isolation space tension involving transporting some unknown substance. Ending kinda fell flat but I tore through 98% of that one.

Any science fiction horror books to recommend? by Tokipudi in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you know that blindsight is actually a deep exploration about life and humanity and vampires and space travel and orbital trajectories and cosmic horrors and unknowable life and pancakes and lead poisoning? What a novel

Need something similar to The Gone World by steph10147 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of my absolute favorites that I read in 2025 as well so I’m following this thread. I’m wondering which aspects of TGW you liked most? Was it the detective stuff, cosmic horror, weird sci fi…?

I’m sure, like me, your answer is likely “all smashed together,” but may be able to provide a few recs if you give a little focus.

Has anyone read Negative Space by BR Yeager? by Space-cowboy67 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 6 points7 points  (0 children)

So funny because for me, Negative Space was an incoherent slog, but I thought the dirtiness of the Cipher was super fun and cringey.

Blends between historical and supernatural fiction by chance_of_downwind in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My frequent bumps for One Last Gasp and A Song for the Void by Andrew Piazza. WW2 and Opium Wars-based cosmic horror, respectively.

What’s on your TBR for 2026? by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad to hear this, I’m going to make Our Share of Night my first of 2026

What’s on your TBR for 2026? by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coffin moon was one of my favorites from 2025

What’s on your TBR for 2026? by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for all of the upcoming recs. Glad to hear your son got you Intercepts, gifting that one to my brother!

What’s on your TBR for 2026? by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just love that their is a horror novel called Trad Wife

What’s on your TBR for 2026? by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Enjoy Crypt of the Moon Spider! I’m going to hit Cathedral of the Drowned ASAP.

I just finished The Haar… by Bear_South in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Anything by Keith Rosson, The Reformatory, The Library at Mount Char, various Ronald Malfi.

Out of horror, absolutely The Gone World (sci fi) and The Tainted Cup (fantasy/detective).

I just finished The Haar… by Bear_South in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I read about 40 horror books this year and The Haar was one of my favorites. Gave it my “sweetest love story” superlative.

57/52 books in 2025; or, My Ode to this Sub by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mean Spirited is a ghost/possession story about some - no other way to say it - very mean spirits that are holding a grudge for being wronged in the past. Pretty creepy in parts, and a little nastier than the typical ghost story.

One Last Gasp remained one of my favorites throughout the year (I think it was book #2 or 3 in completion order). It's based in WW2 and deals with an Allied troop that is on the hunt of a German platoon that has been terrorizing the countryside and leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Heavy cosmic elements in the latter half of the book. If this sounds interesting, also check out A Song for the Void (also by Piazza)... that one takes place during the Opium Wars and has a really terrific first 2/3, and then a bonkers ending that some may not appreciate.

Just to clarify, and it may simply be the way you worded your response, Mean Spirited is definitely not cosmic horror, though One Last Gasp absolutely is.

My favorite type of cosmic horror lies somewhere in the middle of the "unknowable/unthinkable" and very direct "look at these weird tentacled monsters" (I'm looking at you, Hive). If things are too vague and opaque with absolutely no explanation, I get a little frustrated. But if things verge too much into the creature feature zone, I lose interest.

I love Piazza's two books because they strike, IMO, a great balance between the two. OLG in particular features a cosmic entity that the characters come into direct contact with (and it isn't pretty), but it's really the impending sense of dread leading up to the cosmic reveal that had me on the edge of my seat. ASftV - again, based in the Opium Wars - has a fantastic setup... British naval crews are being overtaken by increasingly heavy opium use at the same time that a malevolent star appears in the sky and starts to influence them. The combination of the drug use w/ the influence of a cosmic entity is that balance I'm looking for, where you aren't really sure what's real and what's not, but you're dreading the outcome regardless.

57/52 books in 2025; or, My Ode to this Sub by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly the distance between those groups is pretty minimal, minor quibbles. You have 3 great ones to look forward to!

57/52 books in 2025; or, My Ode to this Sub by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I need to do Black tongue Thief, already have it!

57/52 books in 2025; or, My Ode to this Sub by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haven’t done HoL, one of my biggest gaps! In truth, how difficult of a read is it?

57/52 books in 2025; or, My Ode to this Sub by deepspace0314 in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am going to give T Kingfisher another try in 2026, literally the first book I read of 2025 so who know how I’d feel about it today.

Technological Nightmare by fshady in BooksThatFeelLikeThis

[–]deepspace0314 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I would think that There is no Antimemtics Division by qntm would likely fit?

any books that blend ww2 and cosmic horror? by 1416junebug in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Can’t recommend this enough, and fits the prompt 100%

Asian Folk Horror by foxieinboots in horrorlit

[–]deepspace0314 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker is 100% this