Books like 'The Destroyer of Worlds'
Readers who enjoyed The Destroyer of Worlds by Matt Ruff also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
16 ratingsJohannes Cabal, a necromancer of some little infamy, has come into possession of a vital clue that may lead him to his ultimate goal: a cure for death. The path is vague, however, and certainly treacherous as it takes him into strange territories that, quite literally, no one has ever seen before...Categorized as:
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Maelstrom by Jordan L. Hawk
16 ratingsBetween his father’s sudden—and rather suspicious—generosity, and his own rash promise to help Christine plan her wedding, Percival Endicott Whyborne has quite enough to worry about. But when the donation of a mysterious codex to the Ladysmith Museum draws the attention of a murderous cult, Whyborne finds himself in a race against time to unlock its secrets first... -
Deosil by Jordan L. Hawk
12 ratingsWhyborne, Griffin, and their friends have faced down cultists, monsters, and sorcerers. But their greatest challenge is now upon them.On the return voyage from Balefire Manor, Whyborne receives the worst news possible: Widdershins has fallen before the onslaught of the Fideles and their servants. There’s still time to stop the return of the Masters, but that window grows shorter by the hour... -
Balefire by Jordan L. Hawk
14 ratingsWhyborne’s Endicott relatives have returned to collect on the promise he made to help them take back their ancestral manor from an evil cult. In exchange, they’ll give him the key to deciphering the Wisborg Codex, which Whyborne needs to learn how to stop the masters... -
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Bloodline by Jordan L. Hawk
16 ratingsBetween his bullying father and dissolute brother, Percival Endicott Whyborne has quite enough problematic family members to deal with. So when his sister returns to Widdershins asking for help solving the mystery of a derelict ship, Whyborne is reluctant to get involved. Until, that is, a brutal murderer strikes, leaving Whyborne and his lover Griffin no choice but to take the case... -
Hoarfrost by Jordan L. Hawk
16 ratingsSorcerer Percival Endicott Whyborne and his husband Griffin Flaherty have enjoyed an unprecedented stretch of peace and quiet. Unfortunately, the calm is shattered by the arrival of a package from Griffin’s brother Jack, who has uncovered a strange artifact while digging for gold in Alaska. The discovery of a previously unknown civilization could revive the career of their friend Dr... -
The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
16 ratingsHorst Cabal has risen from the dead. Again. Horst, the most affable vampire one is ever likely to meet, is resurrected by an occult conspiracy that wants him as a general in a monstrous army. Their plan: to create a country of horrors, a supernatural homeland. As Horst sees the lengths to which they are prepared to go and the evil they cultivate, he realizes that he cannot fight them alone...Categorized as:
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Necropolis by Jordan L. Hawk
16 ratingsan alternate cover edition can be found hereIntroverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has spent the last few months watching his lover, Griffin Flaherty, come to terms with the rejection of his adoptive family. So when an urgent telegram from Christine summons them to Egypt, Whyborne is reluctant to risk the fragile peace they’ve established...Categorized as:
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Stormhaven by Jordan L. Hawk
18 ratingsan alternate cover edition can be found hereMysterious happenings are nothing new to reclusive scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne, but finding one of his colleagues screaming for help in the street is rather unusual. Allan Tambling claims he can’t remember any of the last hour—but someone murdered his uncle, and Allan is covered in blood... -
Fallow by Jordan L. Hawk
14 ratingsWhen Griffin’s past collides with his present, will it cost the lives of everyone he loves?Between the threat of a world-ending invasion from the Outside and unwelcome revelations about his own nature, Percival Endicott Whyborne is under a great deal of strain...Categorized as:
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Harmony by Jordan L. Hawk
10 ratingsWhyborne just wants a quiet Christmas Eve at home, but Griffin has other plans.WARNING: Contains spoilers from Bloodline... -
Undertow by Jordan L. Hawk
12 ratingsNote: This novella takes place at the same time as events in Fallow (Whyborne & Griffin 8). Shy secretary Maggie Parkhurst knows there’s nothing special about her. She’s neither sorceress, nor fighter, nor scholar... -
Unhallowed by Jordan L. Hawk
12 ratingsA Novel of Widdershins Monsters. Murder. Librarians.Librarian Sebastian Rath is the only one who believes his friend Kelly O’Neil disappeared due to foul play. But without any clues or outside assistance, there’s nothing he can do to prove it.When bookbinder Vesper Rune is hired to fill the vacancy left by O’Neil, he receives an ominous letter warning him to leave... -
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
20 ratingsAll is not what it seems…In the murky London gloom, a knife-wielding gentleman named Jack prowls the midnight streets with his faithful watchdog Snuff – gathering together the grisly ingredients they will need for an upcoming ancient and unearthly rite. For soon after the death of the moon, black magic will summon the Elder Gods back into the world... -
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Unseen by Jordan L. Hawk
8 ratingsLibrarian Sebastian Rath and his lover Vesper Rune are tasked with seeking and containing the evil Books of the Bound. But one of the Books has been freed from its prison—and is in the hands of a killer.As more bodies turn up, Sebastian finds himself tempted to use forbidden magic to locate the Book and stop the murderer...Categorized as:
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The Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher
12 ratingsR. S. Belcher’s debut novel, The Six-Gun Tarot, was enthusiastically greeted by critics and readers, who praised its wildly inventive mixture of dark fantasy, steampunk, and the Wild West. Now Belcher returns to Golgotha, Nevada, a bustling frontier town that hides more than its fair share of unnatural secrets.1870...Categorized as:
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Threshold by Jordan L. Hawk
18 ratingsIntroverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne wants nothing more than a quiet life with his lover, private detective Griffin Flaherty. Unfortunately, Whyborne’s railroad tycoon father has other ideas: namely hiring Griffin to investigate mysterious events at a coal mine... -
The Bone Key: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth by Sarah Monette
12 ratingsThe dead and the monstrous will not leave Kyle Murchison Booth alone, for an unwilling foray into necromancy has made him sensitive to--and attractive to--the creatures who roam the darkness of his once-safe world. Ghosts, ghouls, incubi: all have one thing in common. They know Booth for one of their own . .Categorized as:
historical-fiction 21st-century adult anthologies cosmic-horror crime dark dark-fantasy -
The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles by G.S. Denning
12 ratingsThe game s afoot once more as Holmes and Watson face off against Moriarty s gang, the Pinkertons, flesh-eating horses, a parliament of imps, boredom, Surrey, a disappointing butler demon, a succubus, a wicked lord, an overly-Canadian lord, a tricycle-fight to the death and the dreaded Pumpcrow. Oh, and a hell hound, one assumes...Categorized as:
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Carousel by Jordan L. Hawk
12 ratingsNote: “Carousel” first appeared in the anthology Another Place in Time. It takes place between the events of Stormhaven and Necropolis. When a child goes missing in Widdershins, ex-Pinkerton detective Griffin Flaherty fears sinister forces are at work in the town...Categorized as:
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The Book of Cthulhu by Ross E. Lockhart, Caitlín R. Kiernan
14 ratingsThe Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century's most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries (the so-called "Lovecraft Circle"), The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own... -
Remnant: A Caldwell & Feximal/Whyborne & Griffin Mystery by K.J. Charles, Jordan L. Hawk
14 ratingsLondon, 1899. The beautiful people are dying…A malevolent power is attacking London’s bright young things, and the only clue to what's happening is written in ancient Egyptian script. As ghost-hunter Simon Feximal and his companion Robert Caldwell investigate the mysterious deaths, the arrival in London of a notorious scholar-sorcerer seems to hold the answer to more than one of their problems...Categorized as:
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The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis
16 ratingsSomeone is killing Britain's warlocks.Twenty-two years after the Second World War, a precarious balance of power maintains the peace between Great Britain and the USSR. For decades, the warlocks have been all that stand between the British Empire and the Soviet Union-- a vast domain stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the English Channel...Categorized as:
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Eidolon by Jordan L. Hawk
16 ratingsGriffin Flaherty wants nothing more than to create a perfect Valentine’s Day for his lover, Dr. Percival Endicott Whyborne. Dinner at a fancy restaurant, an evening at the theater, and a romantic interlude at home should do the trick. But a new client with an urgent case puts Griffin’s plans in jeopardy...Categorized as:
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The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor
18 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling authors of Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours! and the creators of the hit podcast, comes a new novel set in the world of Night Vale and beyond.In the town of Night Vale, there’s a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone’s home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from...until now...Categorized as:
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The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard
18 ratingsJohannes Cabal and his rather inexact powers of necromancy are back once more. This time, his talents are purchased by The Fear Institute as they hunt for the Phobic Animus - the embodiment of fear...Categorized as:
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Shadows Over Baker Street by Michael Reaves, Neil Gaiman
18 ratingsSherlock Holmes enters the nightmare world of H.P. LovecraftNew Tales of Terror!What would happen if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's peerless detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his allies were to find themselves faced with Lovecraftian mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but beyond sanity itself... -
Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard
20 ratingsJohannes Cabal is back -- a little older, a little wiser, but just as sharply funny, cuttingly sarcastic, and unexpectedly violent as ever. For necromancer Johannes Cabal, dealing with devils, demons and raising the dead is pretty much par for the course. But when his attempt to steal a rare book turns sour, he is faced by a far more terrifying entity -- politics... -
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
25 ratingsIn America, demons wear white hoods.In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die... -
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
29 ratingsThe critically acclaimed cult novelist makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy.Chicago, 1954...Categorized as:
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Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk
21 ratingsA reclusive scholar. A private detective. And a book of spells that could destroy the world.Love is dangerous. Ever since the tragic death of the friend he adored, Percival Endicott Whyborne has ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man. Instead, he spends his days studying dead languages at the museum where he works... -
Declare by Tim Powers
18 ratingsAs a young double agent infiltrating the Soviet spy network in Nazi-occupied Paris, Andrew Hale finds himself caught up in a secret, even more ruthless war. Two decades later, in 1963, he will be forced to confront again the nightmare that has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named Declare...Categorized as:
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The Litany of Earth by Ruthanna Emrys
12 ratingsThe state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The Litany of Earth" is a dark fantasy story inspired by the Lovecraft mythos...Categorized as:
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Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys
10 ratingsAphra Marsh, descendant of the People of the Water, has survived Deep One internment camps and made a grudging peace with the government that destroyed her home and exterminated her people on land. "Deep Roots" continues Aphra’s journey to rebuild her life and family on land, as she tracks down long-lost relatives... -
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Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils by James Lovegrove
10 ratingsThe stunning new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Odin, in which the worlds of Arthur Conan Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft collide. Now retired from detective work, Sherlock Holmes is called on once again to do battle with occult forces. Unrest in Europe is threatening to turn into all-out war, and there are certain parties who would seek to gain from the mass slaughter...Categorized as:
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The Elder Ice by David Hambling
6 ratingsLovecraftian weird fiction set in 1920s London.In this atmospheric novella, ex-boxer Harry Stubbs is on the trail of a mysterious legacy. A polar explorer has died, leaving huge debts and hints of a priceless find. His informants seem to be talking in riddles, and Harry soon finds he isn't the only one on the trail -- and what he's looking for is as lethal as it is valuable...Categorized as:
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Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities by James Lovegrove
12 ratingsIt is the spring of 1895, and more than a decade of combating eldritch entities has cost Dr John Watson his beloved wife Mary, and nearly broken the health of Sherlock Holmes. Yet the companions do not hesitate when they are called to the infamous Bedlam lunatic asylum, where they find an inmate speaking in R’lyehian, the language of the Old Ones... -
A Song for Quiet by Cassandra Khaw
10 ratingsDeacon James is a rambling bluesman straight from Georgia, a black man with troubles that he can't escape, and music that won't let him go. On a train to Arkham, he meets trouble — visions of nightmares, gaping mouths and grasping tendrils, and a madman who calls himself John Persons... -
New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird by Paula Guran, Caitlín R. Kiernan
14 ratingsFor more than eighty years H.P. Lovecraft has inspired writers of supernatural fiction, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and gamers...Categorized as:
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Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
24 ratingsIn this uproarious and clever debut, it's time to give the Devil his due. Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is single-mindedly obsessed in heart and soul with raising the dead. Well, perhaps not "soul" . . . He hastily sold his years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. But now, tormented by a dark secret, he travels to the fiery pits of Hell to retrieve it... -
The Three Impostors by Arthur Machen
10 ratingsThree friends in a large old dilapidated house are laughing. They seem as giddy as an acting troupe at closing night. But their laughter is callous, cruel; you might say, evil. One of them, a young woman described as piquant rather than beautiful with eyes of a shining hazel, carries a neatly wrapped parcel. She says it is for the doctor's museum. It is dripping... -
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
27 ratingsPeople move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there.Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook... -
Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows by James Lovegrove
16 ratingsIn the stews of London’s East End, an outbreak of insanity sees ordinary men and women reduced to gibbering, incoherent wrecks; a mysterious creeping fog hides terrifying apparitions within that rob the wits of all who see them and even inspire suicide...Categorized as:
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Delta Green: Denied to the Enemy by Dennis Detwiller
6 ratingsThule, the Nazi Atlantis, legendary home of Aryan superbeings that ruled prehistory. Thule was supposed to be a Nazi myth, but when a defector from the SS occult sciences division, the Karotechia, brings proof of Thule's reality, Delta Green's course is clear: the alien city and its technological and occult secrets must be denied to the enemy at all costs...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book cosmic-horror cthulhu -
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The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
14 ratingsIn this charming, witty, and weird fantasy novel, Alexis Hall pays homage to Sherlock Holmes with a new twist on those renowned characters. Upon returning to the city of Khelathra-Ven after five years fighting a war in another universe, Captain John Wyndham finds himself looking for somewhere to live, and expediency forces him to take lodgings at 221b Martyrs Walk. His new housemate is Ms...Categorized as:
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Chapelwood by Cherie Priest
12 ratingsFrom Cherie Priest, the award-winning author of Maplecroft, comes a new tale of Lizzie Borden’s continuing war against the cosmic horrors threatening humanity…Birmingham, Alabama is infested with malevolence. Prejudice and hatred have consumed the minds and hearts of its populace. A murderer, unimaginatively named “Harry the Hacker” by the press, has been carving up citizens with a hatchet...Categorized as:
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Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West by John Joseph Adams, Orson Scott Card
10 ratingsHOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD! From a kill-or-be-killed gunfight with a vampire to an encounter in a steampunk bordello, the weird western is a dark, gritty tale where the protagonist might be playing poker with a sorcerous deck of cards, or facing an alien on the streets of a dusty frontier town... -
Tidepool by Nicole Willson
10 ratingsIf ye give not willingly, the Lords will rise…In 1913, Henry Hamilton disappeared while on a business trip, and his sister, Sorrow, won’t rest until she finds out what happened to him. Defying her father’s orders to remain at home, she travels to Tidepool, the last place Henry is known to have visited... -
The Six-Gun Tarot by R.S. Belcher
16 ratingsBuffy meets Deadwood in a dark, wildly imaginative historical fantasyNevada, 1869: Beyond the pitiless 40-Mile Desert lies Golgotha, a cattle town that hides more than its share of unnatural secrets. The sheriff bears the mark of the noose around his neck; some say he is a dead man whose time has not yet come. His half-human deputy is kin to coyotes. The mayor guards a hoard of mythical treasures...Categorized as:
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Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
16 ratingsAfter attacking Devil’s Reef in 1928, the U.S. government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future.The government that stole Aphra's life now needs her help...
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