Submitted by drak0bsidian t3_123wg61 in books
Comments
angstt t1_jdwq5lj wrote
Ala' Event Horizon....
For_Grape_Justice t1_jdx3j4l wrote
A little bit off topic, but for more space horror I want to recommend this little pure text mobile game called Lifeline. In its essence it's a short interactive story. You're tasked to help a person stranded on an alien moon, it's not fully horror (starts as a survival), but a few moments coupled with the fact that you can fail and lead the main character to something probably worse than death gave me shivers. Neat stuff and cost me only 2 or 3 bucks.
SunChipMan t1_jdxme98 wrote
yes please!
stef_bee t1_jdxr0f6 wrote
I wonder if the Tor writer has made the aquaintance of Cordwainer Smith (pen name of Paul Linebarger.) His short story "A Planet Named Shayol" is one of the most gruesomely horrific stories I've ever read.
jabbafart t1_jdxvewu wrote
You can only visit so many alien planets and derelict ships before you run out of material.
[deleted] t1_jdxvs8n wrote
[deleted]
mid-world_lanes t1_jdxvwwp wrote
I loved the whole Expanse series, but yeah I think the horror sections might be my favourite parts (maybe tied with the action sequences).
[deleted] t1_jdy0e4y wrote
[removed]
fakepostman t1_jdy107m wrote
If you're reading this thread, I recommend Ship of Fools by Richard Russo
stef_bee t1_jdy4qvp wrote
Those old sci-fi-zine covers are amazing.
Zalack t1_jdy9b9k wrote
Space horror, at its best, grapples with the anxieties that acknowledging our place in the universe entail by necessity: being insignificant, being alone, floating on a small grain of sand suspended in a sea of nothingness with only a thin strip of air holding it back. Being beyond the limits of what the human brain can intuitively reason about. Free Will being a lie the machinery of our brain tells itself. Being at the mercy of random chance the next time the universe decides to hurl a rock or electromagnetic storm at us. Having a finite amount of time before we die.
All of these can be expressed through good cosmic/space horror.
jellyrollo t1_jdygut2 wrote
For anyone else, who agrees (like me) that more space horror would be a dandy prospect, you might enjoy the recent Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes. Edward Ashton's Mickey 7 wasn't exactly horror, but has many creepy horror elements, and its sequel was just released.
deevulture t1_jdyuh1a wrote
Alien (1979) goes here, but it's a film.
We need more rogue spaceship AI taking control over its human crew. Like the stuff in the soap operas mentioned in the Ancillary Justice books. Or aliens that simply do not value human life for whatever reason - either cause they're too non-human or have a different set of moral standards. People getting lost in space in a universe without any other life and having to contend with the horrific reality that they are well and truly alone.
Agree that we need more horror.
kendawg9967 t1_jdywvov wrote
Blindsight!!! It really opened this genre up for me. The space setting is often really just a tool of writers trying to express the alienness of our place in the universe, reality and our consciousness.
dirg1986 t1_jdyxi6z wrote
Yes! Just finished this book it’s fantastic and while not scary it’s pretty chilling…
TheJester0330 t1_jdz1y79 wrote
Which also just a heads up for those who like to own physical copies, the same boon is also called Unto Leavithan.
Ship of Fools has recently only been printed in mass market, trying to get a regular paperback is upwards of like $100. Unto Leavithan however has regular papers backs in $20-30 range.
Beiez t1_jdz650b wrote
Yeah, it‘s more about that feeling of existential dread and absolute loss of control and understanding when it comes to what‘s out there, not about spaceships and aliens.
At its very best, this kind of horror gives me a feeling of insane unease about the fact that there are things out there that could wipe us out in a matter of seconds without us ever understanding why or how. That includes alien forms, but also lots of other cosmic occurances
Inkysin t1_jdzkiyp wrote
That rocked, thank you for sharing.
devraj7 t1_jdzlzvz wrote
> Leavithan
Leviathan*
darth-skeletor t1_jdzoyzz wrote
Yes! I find myself always recommending Ship of Fools by Richard Russo, the Expanse, Blindsight, and Eclipse by Ophelia Rue because there aren’t enough books in the genre.
Lazay t1_jdzp4vi wrote
I won't allow it. Because in space, no one can hear you plea.
PlagueofSquirrels t1_jdzs2by wrote
*Opens article*
*First paragraph is massive spoiler for the book I'm currently reading*
*Closes article before it's too late*
kn0chen t1_jdzxzgo wrote
For all you Star Wars fans out there I can highly recommend Joe Schreiber's fantastic novel Death Troopers. It's a fun read.
fakepostman t1_jdzy8ik wrote
Good information! It's a good book but not a hundred bucks worth of recommendation :D
[deleted] t1_jdzza20 wrote
[removed]
Walmsley7 t1_jdzzc1h wrote
It’s “leviosA,” not “leviOsa”
Troglodeity t1_je022kg wrote
You should play the Dead Space game series.
Apprehensive-Log8333 t1_je03w6l wrote
I came here to recommend The Expanse books, my favorite space horror. Leviathan Wakes is a sci-fi masterpiece.
happygoluckyourself t1_je049s2 wrote
Mickey 7 felt too upbeat and jokey to be even adjacent to horror for me. And I couldn’t get past some of the author’s very strange choices with the protagonist.
Autarch_Kade t1_je064yu wrote
AI is so topical lately that I'm guessing we're about to be carried by an utter tidal wave of new sci-fi books with them at the forefront. Can't wait!
Autarch_Kade t1_je069m2 wrote
Sure, let me know when they've run out.
notsogreatredditor t1_je06mtp wrote
Same energy
Autarch_Kade t1_je06t70 wrote
The Stars are Legion wasn't a horror book. But oh man, was there a lot of body horror in there. Deeply uncomfortable descriptions, ways people use or share their bodies, locations in the ships they lived on... really stuck with me for years. I really enjoyed that book.
I feel like a generation ship could be a good horror setting. Can't escape, mandatory breeding, could introduce mutations that amplify over the generations, etc. That's what I'd want to read if there was a good on out there.
notsogreatredditor t1_je06xci wrote
Deap Space series (the game) is the greatest space horror game to be ever made. If you are into gaming definitely should play. Reading a book is good but seeing it in flesh is something else.
see-bees t1_je09bu4 wrote
Checked out The Outside based on this article and it’s not a BAD book, but it it isn’t all there either. The author was more concerned with setting the stage for the series as a whole than writing one good, complete story.
hail_the_cloud t1_je0cbil wrote
Have you listen to an audiodrama? Cause those things are like 80% space horror
StephBets t1_je0ntos wrote
Man I thought I was the only one who remembered that game!!
SnooBunnies1811 t1_je0nygj wrote
Oooh I forgot about that one! Going in my to-be-read-again pile!
jamieliddellthepoet t1_je0ohgy wrote
Have you watched Pandorum?
vvarthog t1_je11c4a wrote
Thanks for sharing. I picked up a few good recommendations from her!
vvarthog t1_je11mjx wrote
If we gave out awards for movies that disturbed our childhoods, Event Horizon would be in the top 20 for sure.
vvarthog t1_je1211n wrote
I love that Alien isn’t just space horror, but that the protags are trapped between that and corporate horror. “In middle management, no one can hear you scream.”
onken022 t1_je15nhp wrote
Really wasn’t a fan of Dead Silence. The “twists” weren’t impressive (and are incredibly played out in fiction) and it frankly wasn’t that scary imo.
Hum_baba_ t1_je1sd28 wrote
Loved the first 2. I watched my roommate play No. 3.
The first cannot be beat.
My favourite part is What's Making That Noise?
Is it a monster? Is it the ship clattering about? Is it debris hitting the outside? Is it imagination? Is it insanity? Is it just Me?
geronimo_miczo t1_je2kxma wrote
The Three Body Problem, for the love of god- read it
Gnomeopolis t1_je2v836 wrote
I loved Dead Silence, but it's the only thing in this genre I've read
deevulture t1_je3b6ut wrote
scariest of horrors cause it's applicable to real life!
deevulture t1_je3bhp4 wrote
Definitely. Expect a new wave of "evil or out-of-control" AI or "what does it mean to be human?" AI related discussion. And I don't mean that negatively. Can't wait to see what will be done.
deevulture t1_je3c0rg wrote
It's sort of understated horror in a way. The horror comes from the normalization of said use of the body more than intending to scare you. The scene where Das Muni gives Zan >!her afterbirth to drink !<evoked a reaction in me that actual violence depicted in other books does not. I'm reading Mirror Empire right now and while it's no where the level of the Stars are Legion this seems to be a thing that Hurley tends to go for.
[deleted] t1_je5fftr wrote
There are plenty of Alien novels (though none as good as the movie). One even has a lost episode of Ripley waking up between going to sleep and being found by deep space salvagers. There's also a William Gibson treatment of a script for the 3rd movie that was re-published maybe last year. Other than that I would recommend the closest thing being cosmic horror (Annihilation, Lovecraft), and space opera (Iain M. Banks Culture series).
gnatsaredancing t1_je8u7fr wrote
It's one of the themes of the franchise really humanity and the xenomorph are both monsters.
gnatsaredancing t1_je8utd7 wrote
I think we've only begun to scratch the surface really. Most space horror is just being stuck in a place with a monster. It's just a reskin of fantasy, not that different from being stuck in a labyrinth with a minotaur.
Very little space horror explores just how horrific the sheer difference between us and whats out there can be. Stuff like Blindsight or Annihilation.
Or even just contamination horror. You are literally made out of food. Every single moment of your life a horde of microbial life is trying to eat you alive, parasitise you or highjack your cells to force your body to create copies of itself until your body simply fails.
The only reason you're not a failing mind in a decomposing living body right is that your immune system has learned to fight off most other Earth life from eating you alive.
Any life you encounter out there will be unfamiliar to your immune system.
drak0bsidian OP t1_jdwloqf wrote
Before people jump down my neck, I am not the author. It's just the title of the essay written by someone else.
(Although I do agree with their argument . . .)