Picked by The Adversary Cycle fans

Here are 18 books that The Adversary Cycle fans have personally recommended once you finish the The Adversary Cycle series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of Harrow County Omnibus Volume 1

Mark Fearing Author Of Last Exit to Feral

From my list on horror I read again and again and again.

Why am I passionate about this?

One of the gifts of the horror genre is that the stories use metaphor to examine human behaviors that defy understanding. My favorite horror novels, novellas, and short stories can be read again and again. While my Feral graphic novel series is for middle school readers, I wanted to provide grey areas, perhaps more than the editor always liked! I wanted the adventure, the scares, the questions, the uncertainty that would let the small town of Feral take on a larger-than-life presence for a reader and encourage revisiting it whenever the mood strikes. It's almost pleasant, the rhythm, the anticipation. A little unnerving too.

Mark's book list on horror I read again and again and again

Mark Fearing Why Mark loves this book

This is the only graphic novel/comic book on my list and it goes above and beyond in art and story.

I have enjoyed reading the Harrow County stories many times. I prefer the collected edition where you can take your time and read comic issues 1-16 of Darkhorse Comics Harrow County. The artwork pulls you in, and the story is filled with zippy turns and good dialogue.

It pulls from many of the books I've mentioned in building an early American horror story that heads off in multiple directions. I can smell the grass and trees, hear the click-clack of the horse-pulled carts, and taste autumn in the air while reading these books.

A topic for another time would be examining the different experiences when reading a graphic novel compared to a novel. The strengths and weaknesses, what exactly the illustrations add, but for a horror fan who has never…

By Cullen Bunn , Tyler Crook (illustrator) , Carla McNeil (illustrator) , Hannah Lavender (illustrator) , Jenn Lee (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Harrow County Omnibus Volume 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first half of the highly acclaimed, Eisner-nominated horror fantasy tale, collected in a value-priced omnibus.

Emmy always knew that the woods surrounding her home crawled with ghosts and monsters. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she learns that she is connected to these creatures--and to the land itself--in a way she never imagined.

Collects issues 1-16 of Harrow County.


Book cover of The Dunwich Horror and Others

Mark Fearing Author Of Last Exit to Feral

From my list on horror I read again and again and again.

Why am I passionate about this?

One of the gifts of the horror genre is that the stories use metaphor to examine human behaviors that defy understanding. My favorite horror novels, novellas, and short stories can be read again and again. While my Feral graphic novel series is for middle school readers, I wanted to provide grey areas, perhaps more than the editor always liked! I wanted the adventure, the scares, the questions, the uncertainty that would let the small town of Feral take on a larger-than-life presence for a reader and encourage revisiting it whenever the mood strikes. It's almost pleasant, the rhythm, the anticipation. A little unnerving too.

Mark's book list on horror I read again and again and again

Mark Fearing Why Mark loves this book

It's sort of a classic, and yet, there's more to this story than the formal style of the peculiar author. It creates almost a trance when I read it. So many other authors have grabbed parts of this tale, and so many books and movies seem to resonate with aspects of the tale.

The odd Americana aspect of the setting and the historical overtones lull you into solitude while the plot twists the hold on your mind ever tighter. It's a favorite, even though I admit it can be a difficult read when compared to the pacing of modern genre writing.

By H. P. Lovecraft ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dunwich Horror and Others as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Chilling experiences in the supernatural world are revealed in detail in sixteen macabre tales


Book cover of North American Lake Monsters: Stories

Mark Fearing Author Of Last Exit to Feral

From my list on horror I read again and again and again.

Why am I passionate about this?

One of the gifts of the horror genre is that the stories use metaphor to examine human behaviors that defy understanding. My favorite horror novels, novellas, and short stories can be read again and again. While my Feral graphic novel series is for middle school readers, I wanted to provide grey areas, perhaps more than the editor always liked! I wanted the adventure, the scares, the questions, the uncertainty that would let the small town of Feral take on a larger-than-life presence for a reader and encourage revisiting it whenever the mood strikes. It's almost pleasant, the rhythm, the anticipation. A little unnerving too.

Mark's book list on horror I read again and again and again

Mark Fearing Why Mark loves this book

Each short story is an epic in disguise. They have unique settings, and twists on the predictable beats of a horror genre keep you guessing.

Real life is more frightening than the monsters we imagine, isn't it? Highly original and engaging, I read the book three times in the first year of ownership.

By Nathan Ballingrud ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked North American Lake Monsters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nathan Ballingrud's Shirley Jackson Award winning debut collection is a shattering and luminous experience not to be missed by those who love to explore the darker parts of the human psyche. Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud's intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible. These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are monsters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they…


Book cover of The Long Walk

Wendy Church Author Of Knife Skills

From my list on plot twists that nail the art of surprise.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a thrill seeker when it comes to reading, and I want to be so immersed in a story that I have to read it in one sitting and then can be completely taken by surprise by a plot twist. It was extremely hard to pick only five titles, so to narrow it down, I 1) made an attempt to pick from a few different sub-genres and, 2) stipulated that Agatha Christie could populate the entire list. All of these titles blend wonderful writing with great twists, and I hope you enjoy them. I did my best to avoid spoilers in the descriptions, although by being on this list, it’s a little bit of a spoiler…

Wendy's book list on plot twists that nail the art of surprise

Wendy Church Why Wendy loves this book

I know, I know…’What about Sixth Sense’? That’s usually the Stephen King book people remember when they think of plot twists. It was great, but this one is by far my favorite King novel. It’s got multiple twists, starting with one near the beginning, where you quickly realize you’re not reading the kind of story you thought you were reading.

Then there’s a more traditional twist near the end. And in between King displays his special genius, immersing the reader in a character’s slow, steady descent into madness. I finished it in a single session, and after thirty years can still remember sitting there long after it was over, just staring at the wall.

By Stephen King ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Long Walk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this #1 national bestseller, “master storyteller” (Houston Chronicle) Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives.

“I give my congratulations to the winner among your number, and my acknowledgements of valor to the losers.”

Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping...with the winner being…


Book cover of The Jonah

Richard Ayre Author Of Point of Contact

From my list on mixing horror with other genres.

Why am I passionate about this?

After picking up a copy of James Herbert’s Lair (the second in his Rats trilogy) back in the early 80s, I decided I wanted to write something myself one day. That day came in about 1990, when I finished my first manuscript, Minstrel’s Bargain. I also wrote another MS around that time called Point of Contact, but nothing happened with these stories and I gave up on my writing dreams to concentrate on bringing up a family. Fast forward to 2015, and I sent the MS for Minstrel’s Bargain to an indie publisher. To my surprise, they took it on, and that book has spawned two sequels, entitled the Prophecy Trilogy. 

Richard's book list on mixing horror with other genres

Richard Ayre Why Richard loves this book

James Herbert was, for me, the king, and The Jonah is brilliant. Jim Kelso, undercover cop, is a man with dark secrets. Shunned by others in the Police, he is seen as the eponymous Jonah as everything he touches seems to go wrong. Sent off to investigate a suspected drug factory on the coast, Kelso finds himself not only fighting the drug dealers he has been sent to bring to justice, but also with his own horrifying past. Part police procedural, part terrifying horror. Brilliant stuff.

By James Herbert ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Jonah as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The shadow of the past was always with him. But he never knew what it was, or when it would strike next. In James Herbert's The Jonah, detective Jim Kelso is sent to a small coastal town to investigate drug smuggling and stumbles on a dangerous organization. Suddenly more than just his life is at stake. It's his past, his future, his sanity. Through torture and drugs he discovers the terrifying secret of The Jonah. And learns, in the most horrifying way that it can destroy him as well as others . . .


Book cover of The Day of the Triffids

James Marshall Author Of The Poster

From my list on dystopian books set in Britain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved reading alternative visions of Britain since I read a Strontium Dog saga in ‘2000AD’ as a boy. What was science fiction then has become closer to reality now. The idea of one event, such as a meteor shower in Triffids or a virus in ‘Grass,’ causing havoc worldwide is gripping. I prefer the British stories because they are closer to home. Many of these were written close to the Second World War, and their authors describe deprivation in unflinching detail. Recent political events have turned my mind to how human actions can cause dystopian futures, as in Orwell’s 1984.

James' book list on dystopian books set in Britain

James Marshall Why James loves this book

Like H.G. Wells, Wyndham is excellent at depicting normal people who are dealing with an unusual event in normal locations. This creates a level of reality that makes the circumstances more horrific. I could imagine myself in those places, with those people.

The Triffids have never translated well to the screen because the plants look awkward. This isn’t the case in the book. This is my favorite of all the Wyndham books because of their journeys and their descriptions of the landscape around them.

By John Wyndham ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Day of the Triffids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Bill Masen wakes up in his hospital bed, he has reason to be grateful for the bandages that covered his eyes the night before. For he finds a population rendered blind and helpless by the spectacular meteor shower that filled the night sky, the evening before. But his relief is short-lived as he realises that a newly-blinded population is now at the mercy of the Triffids.

Once, the Triffids were farmed for their oil, their uncanny ability to move and their carnivorous habits well controlled by their human keepers. But now, with humans so vulnerable, they are a potent…


Book cover of Full Dark, No Stars

Mark Fearing Author Of Last Exit to Feral

From my list on horror I read again and again and again.

Why am I passionate about this?

One of the gifts of the horror genre is that the stories use metaphor to examine human behaviors that defy understanding. My favorite horror novels, novellas, and short stories can be read again and again. While my Feral graphic novel series is for middle school readers, I wanted to provide grey areas, perhaps more than the editor always liked! I wanted the adventure, the scares, the questions, the uncertainty that would let the small town of Feral take on a larger-than-life presence for a reader and encourage revisiting it whenever the mood strikes. It's almost pleasant, the rhythm, the anticipation. A little unnerving too.

Mark's book list on horror I read again and again and again

Mark Fearing Why Mark loves this book

This is a short story collection I return to every few years. There are four novellas in this collection, but each of them was delivered directly to my cerebral cortex. I can recall passages from each story. And I can see the locations.

I feel King is at his best when he's twisting his way through novellas and short stories. After reading "1922", it was weeks before I stopped seeing the well. And weeks before, I stopped shaking my head at what Wilfred James did or the grit of Tess in "Big Driver" or the pettiness of Dave Streeter. This is worth reading every year.

By Stephen King ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Full Dark, No Stars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the master of the long story form, the Sunday Times No. 1 besteller, Full Dark, No Stars - described by the Sunday Telegraph as 'an extraordinary collection, thrillingly merciless, and a career high point' - now with a stunning new cover look.

Is it possible to fully know anyone? Even those we love the most? What tips someone over the edge to commit a crime?

In '1922', a story which was adapted into a Netflix original film, a Nebraska farmer, the turning point comes when his wife threatens to sell off the family homestead.

In 'Big Driver', a cozy…


Book cover of The Time Machine

Robert J. Pajer Author Of A Handful of Dust

From my list on various modes of time travel.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a young boy, I’ve been fascinated with the concept of time. I’ve spent hours studying the physics of time as a hobby, and to this day, as an adult, that fascination continues. Whenever the topic of time arises in conversation, I will be the first to contribute my understanding of this mystery that has baffled humankind since the beginning of...well, time.

Robert's book list on various modes of time travel

Robert J. Pajer Why Robert loves this book

I loved this book because it’s the granddaddy of time travel stories that use a machine method of transportation to the past or future. The protagonist creates a machine capable of moving through time without actually moving through space.

I easily suspended my 21st-century pragmatic understanding of time travel and was immersed in Wells's plot for a world of the future, one with a socialist propensity. For a book that would be considered a Novella, this has a ‘big story’ feeling—for me anyway.

By H.G. Wells ,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked The Time Machine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

A brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.

The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed by…


Book cover of Panacea

Andrew Golizsek Author Of Rivers of the Black Moon

From my list on thrillers about pandemics and medical mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a college professor who has taught biology and anatomy & physiology, I have a unique insight into the mysteries of the human body and how existing and emerging viruses can wreak havoc on the world’s populations. In light of the COVID pandemic that killed millions and the threat of older and increasingly virulent pathogens, I find it terrifying that viruses could be unleashed that leave us defenseless. Despite all our advances and knowledge, medical mysteries continue to intrigue us and spark our imaginations. We are drawn to them, now more than ever, hoping that the fiction we read about will not become reality.

Andrew's book list on thrillers about pandemics and medical mysteries

Andrew Golizsek Why Andrew loves this book

For me, this book was an intriguing and fast-paced medical thriller centered around a secretive and deadly society keeping alive the belief that human beings deserve a lifetime of pain and suffering since their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

I love reading about strange cults involved in medical mysteries, and this cult happens to be in possession of what it considers an ancient panacea: a cure for all of the world’s illnesses.

I found this book to be a page-turner from the start: fast-moving, intelligent, well-written, and with enough historical background, smart dialogue, and interaction between characters to make it incredibly entertaining.

By F. Paul Wilson ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Panacea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Two secret societies vie for control of the ultimate medical miracle―Panacea―in the latest novel by New York Times bestselling author F. Paul Wilson, author of the Repairman Jack series.

Finalist in RT Reviewer's Choice Best Book Awards for Best Thriller

F. Paul Wilson is the winner of the Career Achievement in Thriller Fiction in the 2017 RT Reviewers' Choice Best Book Awards

Medical examiner Laura Fanning has two charred corpses and no answers. Both bear a mysterious tattoo but exhibit no known cause of death. Their only connection to one another is a string of puzzling miracle cures. Her preliminary…


Book cover of Resistant

Andrew Golizsek Author Of Rivers of the Black Moon

From my list on thrillers about pandemics and medical mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and a college professor who has taught biology and anatomy & physiology, I have a unique insight into the mysteries of the human body and how existing and emerging viruses can wreak havoc on the world’s populations. In light of the COVID pandemic that killed millions and the threat of older and increasingly virulent pathogens, I find it terrifying that viruses could be unleashed that leave us defenseless. Despite all our advances and knowledge, medical mysteries continue to intrigue us and spark our imaginations. We are drawn to them, now more than ever, hoping that the fiction we read about will not become reality.

Andrew's book list on thrillers about pandemics and medical mysteries

Andrew Golizsek Why Andrew loves this book

I find it scary that pandemics and viral mutations are becoming more likely than ever.

In this book, a Doomsday Germ has mutated to the point that it is resistant to all known antibiotics, and as a former biomedical researcher, nothing is more frightening to me than knowing that deadly microbes unleashed on mankind are not only possible but probable.

I really like that the author, a physician who knows a thing or two about epidemics and the danger of antibiotic resistance, was adept at bringing me along for the ride, explaining what’s possible with today’s medical advances and the real dangers of crossing the line.

By Michael Palmer ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Resistant as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They are the most ruthless enemy we have ever faced. And they are one millionth our size. Deep in an Atlanta research laboratory, the world's deadliest germs lie in wait. Dr Lou Welcome knows only too well the destruction they could unleash in the wrong hands and when a research scientist working on a top-secret case is kidnapped, Lou's fears become reality. Soon Lou is locked in a deadly race, from hospital wards to the top corridors of power, to stop a lethal epidemic breaking out. With his best friend's life in the balance, Lou must confront his own demons…