Monsters both figurative and very literal stalk the Turner family. The youngest child, Noah, narrates the family history: how in the late '60s, his bookish mother, marries Lovecraft-lover Harry against her better judgement.
The couple has two daughters Sydney, born for the spotlight, an the brilliant but awkward Eunice, a natural writer and storyteller. But finances are tight, Margaret and Eunice are haunted by horrific dreams, and Harry starts acting strangely. He becomes obsessed with the construction of an elaborately crafted haunted house attraction, christened the Wandering Dark.
The family tries to shield baby Noah from the house's faux horrors, but unbeknownst to them, he's being visited by a furry beast with glowing orange eyes the same ghastly being glimpsed by both his mother and sister. However, unlike them, Noah decides to let the creature in...
As he approaches the conclusion of his family tale, it becomes more and more apparent that there's only one way the story can end: with Noah making the ultimate sacrifice.
About the Author
Shaun Hamill grew up on a steady diet of horror fiction and monster movies. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and his fiction has appeared in Carve and Spilt Infinitive. He lives in Alabama.
Industry Reviews
'I loved it, and think you will, too.'
Stephen King
'Hamill has crafted an ambitious, spellbinding horror novel for the ages, one where the looming specters of ambition, obsession, and loss are every bit as terrifying as the flesh-and-blood monsters themselves.'
Adrienne Westenfeld Esquire The Best Fall Books of 2019
'[A] horror tale unafraid to tackle big issues of familial fealty, the architecture of fear, and the metaphysics of love, all while shocking the pants off the reader…. Cosmology straddles the line between scares and feels with confidence and flair…. It's a book that haunts in a myriad ways, and its monsters are just as often palpably real as they are dredged from the depths of nightmares. Horrific yet emotionally immersive, A Cosmology of Monsters is equally a cartography of the heart.'
Jason Heller NPR.org
'[A Cosmology of Monsters ] is very much John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire by way of H.P. Lovecraft…. The book is a mesmerizing, meandering, dark tale of growing up and finding monsters all around you.'
Jef Rouner Houston Chronicle
'[A Cosmology of Monsters ] is a family saga about the anguish of coming of age. It is a horror novel about the horrors of living. It is also very much about the redemptive nature of love.'
Steven Whitton The Anniston Star
'A magnificent tribute to Lovecraft's vexing achievement, A Cosmology of Monsters redeems…the master's flaws. Hamill's heart-stopping debut novel features exceptionally graceful language and a set of characters we come to worry about, take delight in, grieve for and love. Saturated with endless wonder and horrific consequences…. Bites horror to its core.'
Michael Alec Rose BookPage
