Hi Reddit! I'm a fairly new science fiction/horror reader and was hoping to get some advice!
Most of my reading over the years has been nonfiction, and I've been trying to get more into fiction. I am planning to listen to this book, as I drive a lot and I find listening to books relaxing.
My most recent listen was the Crypt by Scott Sigler, which was a lot of fun. I loved the descrptive writing style and strong characters. I was super disappointed to learn the second book hasn't come out yet! I also listened to the Three Body Problem which was amazing conceptually, but maybe a bit detached for my taste. I've also listened to some Stephen King and enjoyed them. Ideally I'm looking for a science fiction book with horror elements. I'm honestly open to straight up horror recommendations too.
I enjoy creature features, so weird extra terrestrials or science experiments gone wrong are welcome. I love character driven stories with people I can care about and get invested in. I don't really enjoy anything too pretentious or high concept. Also unless it's absolutely incredible, please no time travel. Thank you all!!
by Alutnabutt
9 Comments
Dungeoncrawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
I’m with you on driving and listening to books. There’s something that feels so zen about the steady rhythm of the road lines passing in parallel the lines of a story.
Since you mentioned King, have you checked out his Dark Tower series? A great blend of sci-fi mingled with horror.
Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer or Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
The Last Astronaut is sci fi horror. It’s mid, but fits the bill.
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey combines sci-fi and horror
>creature features, so weird extra terrestrials or science experiments gone wrong are welcome. I love character driven stories
* Leech by Hiron Ennes
* The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem
* The Xenogenesis series by Octavia E. Butler
* The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
* Not a book, but there’s some short sci fi and horror podcasts you might like: [Escape Pod for sci fi and Pseudopod](https://escapeartists.net/about-ea/) for horror, Lightspeed Magazine for sci fi and Nightmare Magazine for horror, and Clarkesworld for sci fi.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones and Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay both have fantastic audiobooks!
I think you’d really enjoy **The Luminous Dead** by Caitlin Starling. It’s a sci-fi/horror where the two main characters are both women. One is a 20-something woman trying to get off-planet, so she lies a LOT on her resume to get a very lucrative – but very dangerous – job searching for mineral veins way underground (hope you’re not too claustrophobic). the other is the only person the young woman has contact with top side through a radio. As she journeys deeper underground, she starts to learn the woman, the company, and the stated purpose of her mission are all lies as well. Very good audiobook imho.
Also pretty much everything by Jeff Vandermeer – he has the craziest most interesting cosmic horror novels. if you’ve never heard of him, just go look at the cover art for all his books and i think it will give you a good idea of his vibe. i’ve only listened to one of them on audiobook – **Annihilation** – about a team of women who enter a mysterious, growing section of the US that seems to kill or drive mad anyone who enters. It was a great read but also a great audiobook.
**Horror Movie: A Novel** by Paul Tremblay is a great horror audiobook – though it isn’t sci fi really. It’s narrated by this guy who had played a small but pivotal role in a super campy, microbudget horror in the 90s. It was never released because of something terrible that happened during filming (everyone in the world knows but as the reader, you won’t for a while). A few excerpts of the script and clipped scenes eventually leak onto the internet, gaining a cult following that eventually gets big enough to justify an indie studio in present-day hollywood to remake and release the movie. The narrator has been asked to reprise his role. it jumps back and forth between the making of the first movie in the 90s and the current day production. i think it’s a great story on its own, but the narrator is just the perfect blend of the grunge i-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude of the 90s, but also with the pathological self-absorbency and self-doubt i imagine is common in hollywood.