Hey all,
I'm looking for any recommendations you have on a very specific niche:
Think of an ancient city/civilisation existing somewhere in the jungle, or in a desert, or literally anywhere at all. It reaches a peak of development before something happens, a madness or a darkness consumes it, and all that remains later are its ruins, corrupt and unexplored except by the insane and the foolhardy.
This is what I am looking for, be it a story of the collapse itself, or stories about people exploring these cursed places. Preferably fantasy horror, but all suggestions are welcome.
examples I can think of:
1) the doom of Valyria in game of thrones (and, to add to that, the horror of what happened to Princess Aerea after visiting the ruins of Valyria – found in Fire and Blood). The lore has similar twisted places, mentioned in the big World of A Song of Ice and Fire lorebook, but I can't remember their names.
2) A whole bunch of lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith stories, which probably influenced the above to be honest.
2) Somewhat adjacent, but the Pandyssian Continent from the video game Dishonoured, and whatever weird stuff keeps happening there.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions you guys might have!
by Ninefingered
4 Comments
City of Saints and Madmen, by Jeff VanderMeer
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (first book of the Locked Tomb series)
**Strange The Dreamer** by Laini Taylor fits. Strange goes searching for the lost city of Weep.
Prisms of the Oneiroi, by Martin Locker – I’ve only read the first story in this collection so far, but that story was 100% what you’re looking for. It takes a couple of extra steps to get ahold of the book (it’s out of print from the publisher, but if you email the author, he’ll sell you a print-on-demand copy: [https://perennialpyrenees.com/purchase/](https://perennialpyrenees.com/purchase/) ), but I think it’s worth it – the first story was a lot of fun, if you’re into the M.R. James style of weird tales.
*‘Prisms of the Oneiroi’ is an anthology of nine short stories set against detailed backdrops ranging from Tibet to Liechtenstein, Paris to Corsica, and beyond, filled with curious liminal encounters through folklore, letters, perfumes and paintings to reveal strange inner geographies. First published by Mount Abraxas Press in 2022 this paperback edition features all nine tales plus an exclusive explanatory preface which explores some of the motivations, themes and inspirations behind the tales.*