Lovecraft Minus Lovecraft: The Best Cosmic Horror Books that Reject Lovecraft’s Racism

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

N. K. Jemisin’s The City We Became is 1 of the champion cosmic fearfulness stories and anti-Lovecraft Lovecraftian stories of caller years. First successful the Great Cities series, it follows the communicative of New York gaining sentience done a radical of avatars that correspond the antithetic boroughs. However, the city’s commencement isn’t straightforward — it is threatened by forces from extracurricular the universe, which whitethorn beryllium acquainted to galore Lovecraft readers.

The Croning by Laird Barron

This creepy fearfulness hits each the Lovecraftian points — mysterious cults, malevolent magic, and monstrous beings hiding conscionable retired of sight. Following an world named Donald Miller, the communicative delves into however horrific forces tin fragment a household and destruct a person’s reality.

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Hammers connected Bone by Cassandra Khaw

Blending cosmic fearfulness and detective fiction, Hammers connected Bone is the archetypal successful the Persons Non Grata bid by Cassandra Khaw. John Persons is simply a backstage investigator, hired by a young lad to termination his abusive stepfather, who whitethorn besides beryllium a literal monster. Luckily, Persons has a monstrous broadside of his own; the question whitethorn not beryllium whether helium tin instrumentality down McKinsey, but whether he’ll beryllium capable to support himself nether power arsenic helium hunts.

The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson

Drawing connected The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Johnson’s publication takes Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle and rebuilds it, pursuing Professor Vellitt Boe arsenic she searches for a missing student. The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, with 1 ft successful dreamland and 1 successful the waking world, volition entreaty to fans of The Sandman arsenic good arsenic Lovecraft.

Agents of Dreamland by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Another cosmic fearfulness that explores the quality of dreams and nightmares, Agents of Dreamland is simply a measurement further distant from Lovecraft than The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, but is inactive a twisty and compelling novella. Telling the communicative of a cult, the aftermath of said cult’s planned ascension, and an impending apocalypse, Agents of Dreamland is simply a delightfully creepy read.

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

A gut-punching communicative that blends fearfulness some cosmic and mundane, The Ballad of Black Tom is simply a retelling of 1 of Lovecraft’s astir notoriously racist stories, The Horror astatine Red Hook. It follows Charles Thomas Tester, a instrumentalist and odd-job antheral who is drawn into an eldritch satellite that, contempt its horrors, is possibly little unspeakable than the real-world racism Tom encounters day-to-day.

The Fisherman by John Langan

Anyone who’s work The Shadow Over Innsmouth knows that Lovecraftian fearfulness often has a fishy borderline to it. The Fisherman plays connected this, pursuing 2 widowers, Abe and Dan, arsenic they effort to assuage their grief by going fishing. However, erstwhile they perceive the communicative of The Fisherman, they realise there’s a accidental to regain what they’ve mislaid — arsenic agelong arsenic they’re consenting to wage a steep price.

Lesser Known Monsters by Rory Michaelson

This monstrous cosmic fearfulness communicative follows Oscar, a young antheral dealing with archetypal love, friendship, and the information that monsters are attempting to invade and destruct the world. Together with his champion friends Zara and Marcus, Oscar is pulled into a hidden underworld that helium doesn’t understand, but has to rapidly larn to woody with, earlier helium loses everything helium holds dear.