Recommend me some epic horror books
 

Hello. This is my first post here.

I am a fan of epic fantasy and dark fantasy stories. I have read some stuff from the more horrific end of fantasy, and now I want to read something from the fantastic end of the horror genre.

This is in part just for the reading pleasure, and in part because I am looking for inspiration for my own writing. What I am writing is some very dark, epic fantasy in a medieval-style high fantasy setting.

The kind of stories I prefer are long-winded epic ones with a load of background/setting/world/mythology. I have always found the overall setting/background more interesting than characters and story alone, but those are of course also important elements. I also prefer things with a really dark, evil world view where good does not triumph in the end (although of course I don't want that kind of spoilers in this thread).

I haven't read much horror fiction, so the only good example of what I am looking for is the whole Cthulhu Mythos world by H.P. Lovecraft and others (although that is quite fragmented - I would prefer a more coherent story).

Can anyone recommend some books or (preferably) series that match this? Thanks.

Books I consider epic horror, though they are only a single volume:

The Stand by Stephen King

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

I assume you are familiar with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (not horror but fantasy of course)...

Thanks, I'll look into these.

Yes, I know Wheel of Time. I've read the first ten books and am working on the eleventh. It's good (tho it sucks in certain aspects), and it's among my sources of inspiration, but it's not remotely what I am looking for in this thread. WOT is not dark fantasy, not even remotely. It's bright fantasy. Bob Jordan doesn't even have the guts to kill off a single major character, for F's sake! (BTW, can I say the "F-word" on this forum?)

yes and use it with wild abandon:cool:

LOL, OK, thanks, I will.

The Stand and Swan Song are good recommendations.

Also I would recommend Imajica by Clive Barker and The Great and Secret Show by Barker.

Alot of King's books would fit the bill. Three of his best would be:

The Dark Tower series (7 books, over 4,000 pages)
The Stand uncut version (around 1200 pages)
It (around 1,200 pages)

Someone else mentioned Imajica by Clive Barker. It is a good read.

If you pick up all four of these, then that should keep your horror/fantasy appetite satisfied for a few months. ;)

Ugh... I tried to read this one. I got halfway through the Gunslinger before I gave up. I found it extremely uninteresting. :(

Still, thanks for the replies. I'll check out the other ones.

The first book is really slow, but not a long read. The second book Drawing of the Three is fantastic. Alot of action. You'll be glad you forced your way through the first book when you get to the second.

Hm, yeah, OK, I may give it another try some time. But I'll read some of the other things first.