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Cozy Cosmic #1
The Cozy Cosmic
Some argue existence is an exercise in futility. They claim there are no winners in life. Ultimately, we are insignificant in the face of vast cosmic intelligences that were old when the Universe began.
The best minds gibber at the incomprehensibility of it all. Other minds lose themselves in strange geometries because they can't comprehend any alternative.
Whatever. The rest of us have to get up in the morning, feed the cat, and go to work.
The Cozy Cosmic contains 33 stories of the horrors hidden within the micro-aggressions, the horrors trapped beneath the floorboards, and the horrors waiting patiently on the windowsill. This is the horror that forgets to turn off the light at night. This is the horror of waiting for the tea to boil, knowing full well who you just buried-for the second time-in the yard less than a hour ago. This is the horror of knowing where the dark wool comes from, but you wear the sweater anyway because it was a gift—an expression of love—and, well, being alone is worse than the horror of the unknowable, isn't it?
The full table of contents for The Cozy Cosmic is as follows:
John Shirley “Death, in Two”
Tais Teng “On Hearing the First Shoggoth in Spring”
Tyler Battaglia “What the Sea Provides”
Ellis Bray “My Grandmother's Sacristy”
E. E. Marshall “Right and Bright”
Devan Barlow “Dinner, Overlooking the Sea”
Scotty Milder “A Little God in Their Hands”
Maxwell I. Gold “Great Cosmic Itch”
Remy Nakamura “Wet Dreams in R'lyeh”
Andrew S. Fuller “A Perfectly Fine Hobby”
Kiera Lesley “Obsolescent”
Kurt Newton “A Mournful Melancholia of Things Forever Lost”
J. B. Kish “Lo-Fi Chocolate Cake”
Rajiv Moté “Carrisa and Kevin Gaze into the Abyss”
Daniel David Froid “In Another Distant Land, in a Luminescent Land”
Kate Ristau “Shine”
Erik Grove “Fuzzy Fuzzy Kitty Kitties”
William J. Connell “Poe's Guys Respond to Their Significant Others”
Paul Jessup “The Museum of Endless Summer”
Ngo Binh Anh Khoa “Through Life and Death, Forevermore”
Jonathan Wood “Javapocalypse”
L. E. Daniels “Final Cycle”
Ken Hueler “The Unknowable Ones”
Tania Chen “A Study of Metamorphosis Calamity”
Eric Shanower “The Purple Emperor”
Kevin Wetmore “A Child's Christmas in Innsmouth”
Megan Lee Beals “Splinterbone”
Corinne Hughes “The Sheep Rancher's Husband”
Shanna Germain “A Napkin Upon Your Glass”
Simone Cooper “Gnocchi”
Jessie Kwak “Blood and Glitter”
Cody T Luff “Den Mother”
R. Ostermeier “The Dark Young”
The best minds gibber at the incomprehensibility of it all. Other minds lose themselves in strange geometries because they can't comprehend any alternative.
Whatever. The rest of us have to get up in the morning, feed the cat, and go to work.
The Cozy Cosmic contains 33 stories of the horrors hidden within the micro-aggressions, the horrors trapped beneath the floorboards, and the horrors waiting patiently on the windowsill. This is the horror that forgets to turn off the light at night. This is the horror of waiting for the tea to boil, knowing full well who you just buried-for the second time-in the yard less than a hour ago. This is the horror of knowing where the dark wool comes from, but you wear the sweater anyway because it was a gift—an expression of love—and, well, being alone is worse than the horror of the unknowable, isn't it?
The full table of contents for The Cozy Cosmic is as follows:
John Shirley “Death, in Two”
Tais Teng “On Hearing the First Shoggoth in Spring”
Tyler Battaglia “What the Sea Provides”
Ellis Bray “My Grandmother's Sacristy”
E. E. Marshall “Right and Bright”
Devan Barlow “Dinner, Overlooking the Sea”
Scotty Milder “A Little God in Their Hands”
Maxwell I. Gold “Great Cosmic Itch”
Remy Nakamura “Wet Dreams in R'lyeh”
Andrew S. Fuller “A Perfectly Fine Hobby”
Kiera Lesley “Obsolescent”
Kurt Newton “A Mournful Melancholia of Things Forever Lost”
J. B. Kish “Lo-Fi Chocolate Cake”
Rajiv Moté “Carrisa and Kevin Gaze into the Abyss”
Daniel David Froid “In Another Distant Land, in a Luminescent Land”
Kate Ristau “Shine”
Erik Grove “Fuzzy Fuzzy Kitty Kitties”
William J. Connell “Poe's Guys Respond to Their Significant Others”
Paul Jessup “The Museum of Endless Summer”
Ngo Binh Anh Khoa “Through Life and Death, Forevermore”
Jonathan Wood “Javapocalypse”
L. E. Daniels “Final Cycle”
Ken Hueler “The Unknowable Ones”
Tania Chen “A Study of Metamorphosis Calamity”
Eric Shanower “The Purple Emperor”
Kevin Wetmore “A Child's Christmas in Innsmouth”
Megan Lee Beals “Splinterbone”
Corinne Hughes “The Sheep Rancher's Husband”
Shanna Germain “A Napkin Upon Your Glass”
Simone Cooper “Gnocchi”
Jessie Kwak “Blood and Glitter”
Cody T Luff “Den Mother”
R. Ostermeier “The Dark Young”
274 pages, Paperback
First published October 9, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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June 25, 2024Got this just for the R. Ostermeier story, "The Dark Young", and it is as rich and weird as I have come to expect, brief as it is.
January 24, 2025
Like any anthology, this one turned out to be a real mixed bag. There were several very bad stories that were boring, overlong, and without either wit or horror. Most of the poems felt like morbid attemts at mixing Poe and Lovecraft. But there were some very good, even exceptionally brilliant tales which redeemed the collection significantly.
My favourites were~
1. 'On Hearing the First Shoggoth in Spring' by Tais Teng;
2. 'Carissa and Kevin Gaze Into the Abyss' by Rajiv Mote';
3. 'Shine' by Kate Ristau;
4. 'Fuzzy Fuzzy Kitty Kitties' by Erik Grove;
5. 'Poe's Guys Respond to Their Significant Others' by William J. Connell;
6. 'Javapocalypse' by Jonathan Wood;
7. 'Blood and Glitter' by Jessie Kwak;
8. 'The Dark Young' by R. Ostermeier— the darkest and sharpest story of this collection.
These works take the anthology to a 'Good' level, despite the predominance of boring stuff.
My favourites were~
1. 'On Hearing the First Shoggoth in Spring' by Tais Teng;
2. 'Carissa and Kevin Gaze Into the Abyss' by Rajiv Mote';
3. 'Shine' by Kate Ristau;
4. 'Fuzzy Fuzzy Kitty Kitties' by Erik Grove;
5. 'Poe's Guys Respond to Their Significant Others' by William J. Connell;
6. 'Javapocalypse' by Jonathan Wood;
7. 'Blood and Glitter' by Jessie Kwak;
8. 'The Dark Young' by R. Ostermeier— the darkest and sharpest story of this collection.
These works take the anthology to a 'Good' level, despite the predominance of boring stuff.
November 7, 2023
I absolutely loved how unabashedly weird some of these were, from stamp collecting that has vaster implications than you would imagine, to a missed connection escaping the void, to cooking at the end times, to adopting a cat that may or may not be a cat.
More fulsome review to come, I hope!
More fulsome review to come, I hope!
January 26, 2024
One of the most spirited collections from madly talented writers that I've read in a long time. Light and dark, funny and sharp--The Cozy Cosmic has everything. Kevin Wetmore's "A Child’s Christmas in Innsmouth" is an instant holiday classic.
November 10, 2024
I loved this collection of cozy stories and poems of cosmic horror, ranging from hilarious to heartfelt. Perfect vacation reading for your next trip to Innsmouth!
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May 19, 2025Erick Grove, Megan Lee Beals and R Ostermerier's works are astounding!
July 16, 2025
Some stories were more interesting than others, but overall, it was a fun read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews