This is kind of an esoteric query, but I was curious as to what stories or novels have good descriptions of a number of monsters/strange beings/aliens between their pages - be it an army, litany, etc. of such things. I appreciate any information, as I hope to find more obscure works in the process....

Do you mean stories that are specifically about an army of monsters? Or do you mean stories which happen to feature a large number of different creatures? If you meant the latter, then many of Clark Ashton Smith's stories are crawling with strange creatures, perhaps best of all his "City of the Singing Flame", "The Door to Saturn", "The Monster of the Prophecy", and "The Abominations of Yondo."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 29 Mar 20 | 10:28PM by kojootti.

Ah, I should have mentioned that I'm familiar with Smith's awesome stories and descriptions. I was asking to see what else is out there, both for armies of monsters and stories with a large number of different creatures...

I guess I should also specify what other works/authors....

It would help if you explained what authors and stories you know so that no one suggests what you've already read. It's not easy having to guess everything, but I have a few suggestions, some of which aren't commonly read by weird fans. I'm not listing any Lovecraft stories because most people familiar with weird fiction have read them already.

William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land and The Boats of the Glen Carrig are filled with all kinds of strange, soul-shattering monsters, including a few legions or armies of them. His House on the Borderland and The Ghost Pirates both involve legions of otherworldly beings invading the mundane world.

Robert Barlow's Annals of the Jinns mention a good deal of strange creatures throughout their episodes, including a beast of burden that has six legs and an eerie grin.

While this hardly counts as a monster story, Charles Williams' The Place of the Lion is a beautiful book that deals with the archetypes of animals roaming around the world, bringing a divine form of chaos everywhere they go.

David Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus is also not a monster story, but it features a wide range of strange creatures, gods, and beings.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 30 Mar 20 | 01:04PM by kojootti.

I apologize for not being more specific in terms of authors. I had heard of Hodgson's work, and now plan on investigating it further. I probably should have asked about science fiction stories and tales beyond just weird lit for armies or descriptions of bizarre beings - especially as I'm not as familiar with older sf. Many thanks for your suggestions!

Lovecraft's The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath features a wide array of exotic creatures, sometimes organized into armed forces. I'm not sure I can remember them all. Zoogs, Gugs, Moonbeasts, Devil-Men of Leng, Shantaks, Nightgaunts, Ghouls, Ghasts, Bholes/Dholes, the god Nodens, the demon Nyarlathotep, the Yellow-Veiled High Priest. (Merely mentioned are Magah birds, and the Voonith, and Spiders of Leng).

The rest of his work tends to follow the formula of one main monster, or type of monster, per story, though other gods and monsters do get name-dropped.