The most recommended sci-fi horror books

Who picked these books? Meet our 320 experts.

320 authors created a book list connected to sci-fi horror, and here are their favorite sci-fi horror books.
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Book cover of The Department of Truth

Scott Brooks Author Of And There We Were and Here We Are

From Scott's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Theatre lover New Yorker Dad Playwright Reader

Scott's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Scott Brooks Why did Scott love this book?

As a writer, I have sworn to read all over the place and try to get out of my comfort zone as much as possible. I also believe that great stories lie in waiting in many places in many forms. (The Last of Us, a video game, was the source material for one of the best HBO series last year.) For a long while I thought I should probably explore the banquet of great work being done in comics and graphic novels.

(Writers note: If you want to learn a lot about plotting and economical storytelling, Frank Miller's Batman comics are a great place to start.)

I was so lucky to have picked up The Department of Truth from the line at the register at Forbidden Planet here in New York City. It is a fever dream of conspiracy madness that slowly unwinds what we believe is theā€¦

By James Tynion IV,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Department of Truth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

COLE TURNER has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn't prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true: the JFK Assassination, Flat Earth Theory, Bigfoot, Mothman, and so much worse. One organization has been covering them up for generations, controlling the narrative for what they claim is the greater good.

What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth-and will learning it destroy Cole's life from the inside out?

The first three arcs of the critically acclaimed series by Eisner Award-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV (Something is Killing the Children, Theā€¦


Book cover of Bigfoot Hunters

Nick Sullivan Author Of Zombie Bigfoot

From my list on Bigfoot to satisfy your creature feature cravings.

Why am I passionate about this?

My writerā€™s journey has been circuitous. Originally, Iā€™d intended to become a screenwriter, until I was bitten by the acting bug. Appearing often in film, television, and on Broadway, I found myself drawn to audiobook narration. After so much exposure to so many genres from so many authors, I decided to return to writing. Zombie Bigfoot is a novelization of a screenplay of mine, inspired by SkyMall magazine I read during a scuba diving trip. One page had a Bigfoot garden statueā€¦ the adjacent page had a garden flagstone with a zombie coming up out of the ground. I looked at those two images and thought: ā€œHow has nobody done this?ā€

Nick's book list on Bigfoot to satisfy your creature feature cravings

Nick Sullivan Why did Nick love this book?

Another heavy hitter in the realm of Horror Comedy, Rick Gualtieri is a skillful wordsmith who knows how to build tension with chuckles sprinkled throughout. I met him recently at a book signing and we traded books. Naturally, I grabbed one of his with ā€œBigfootā€ in the title.

Filled with action and humor, Bigfoot Hunters is a roller-coaster rampage when a troop of enraged Sasquatch cut loose, racking up an impressive body count. I donā€™t often laugh out loud when I read, but this one pulled quite a few giggles out of me.

By Rick Gualtieri,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bigfoot Hunters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

MANKIND IS NO LONGER THE DOMINANT SPECIES.

When Harrison Kent suggests an outing to a secluded campsite in Colorado, his friends are all eager for a few days of fun and adventure. But what awaits them is far more terrifying than they ever bargained for.

They learn that Sasquatch is real, but these are not the shy creatures of myth & legend. A madness has claimed them, erasing their once peaceful nature and leaving in its wake a ravenous horde of cryptids that's about to descend upon the unsuspecting residents of a remote town.

The woods hold more than oneā€¦


Book cover of Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

Amanda Desiree Author Of Smithy

From my list on creepy epistolary horror novels.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always admired epistolary novelsā€”stories told in the form of diaries, letters, or other mass media. They seem so real and so much more believable than plain narratives. When dealing with fantastic subjects, like paranormal phenomena, any technique that can draw the weird back into the real world helps me become more invested as a reader. Itā€™s a quality Iā€™ve also tried to capture as a horror writer. Moreover, the epistolary format pairs well with unreliable narrators, often filtering stories so as to make them more ambiguous and disturbing. From the many epistolary works Iā€™ve read over the years, here are my picks for the most compellingā€”and creepy.

Amanda's book list on creepy epistolary horror novels

Amanda Desiree Why did Amanda love this book?

I know the concept of a sasquatch attack on a remote commune sounds silly on the surface, but Brooks crafts it into a realistic, serious story. As a believer in the possibility of Bigfoot, I was fascinated to see how disastrously an encounter between humans and cryptids could conceivably go.

The naivete of the settlers in the wilderness is even more distressing than the hostility of the animals. Unsettling news reports (of which the characters remain unaware) interspersed with diary entries underscore their desperation and peril. I thought the situation was completely credible. Really, we ought to have more sasquatch horror books.

By Max Brooks,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Devolution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WORLD WAR Z

'TRUE TERROR' Guardian 'NAIL CHOMPING SUSPENSE' Total Film
______________________________________
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier's eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town's bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing - and too earth-shattering in its implications - to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate's extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations intoā€¦


Book cover of Bill The Vampire

EJ Kindred Author Of In Harm's Way: The Annie Velasquez Mystery Series

From my list on intriguing characters in unusual situations.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve read everything I could lay my hands on since I was young, and like so many others, Iā€™ve always preferred to read about unusual characters, uncommon situations, or both simultaneously. The books I described here fulfill those requirements for me, even though they are superficially very different from one another. Now that I write my own novels, my over-arching goal is for each of my books to be better than the one that precedes it. I do my best to offer my readers interesting characters in compelling situations, and if my readers think Iā€™ve succeeded, I will be a very happy author.

EJ's book list on intriguing characters in unusual situations

EJ Kindred Why did EJ love this book?

Quirky characters are my favorite, and if they come with a snarky attitude and impending death, so much the better. Nerdy Bill gets invited to a party by a beautiful woman he meets by chance. At the party, heā€™s turned into a vampire. This is the first book in a series following Billā€™s adventures as one of the undead, along with his human friends and a host of other characters, including a 300-year-old vampire girl who claims Bill as her mate, sasquatches, rock people, and the human woman Bill loves from afar.

Iā€™ve read the entire series at least three times, and Iā€™m always entertained. The writing is good and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and the storylines are somehow plausible. It's one of my favorites, for sure.

By Rick Gualtieri,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bill The Vampire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THERE ARE REASONS WE FEAR THE NIGHT. HE'S NOT ONE OF THEM.

Dateless dork Bill Ryder never suspected it would take death to make his life a hell of a lot more interesting, but then he met a girl to die for - so he did.

Now heā€™s a vampire, surrounded by creatures stronger, deadlier, and much cooler than he is. Theyā€™re giving him just ninety days to prove he has what it takes to be an apex predator of the night, assuming he doesnā€™t give them a reason to dust his ass sooner.

Bill isnā€™t exactly average, though. Aā€¦


Book cover of The Department of Truth
Book cover of Bigfoot Hunters
Book cover of Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

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