5 Weird Works of World War I Fiction

The smash hit video game Battlefield 1 has brought World War I front and center to the popular imagination. Even if you’re one of the many gamers glued to their monitors right now, you still might want something to read after you finish leveling up. The Great War has inspired its share of fantasy and horror stories. Here are five of the best.

The Bloody Red Baron
by Kim Newman
In Anno Dracula, Kim Newman answered the question of what might have happened had Count Dracula succeeded in taking over England. This follow-up finds Dracula in charge of Germany and Austria-Hungary in the midst of the Great War. As Dracula’s enemies gather to plot against him, one vampire reporter heads to the front lines to face the Bloody Red Baron. Followed by Dracula Cha Cha Cha, and Johnny Alucard. As a fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I have to say that Kim Newman has written the only sequels that I’ve enjoyed as much as the original.

Ghost Talkers
by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Spirit Corps is a special Spiritualist force that gathers intelligence from soldiers unfortunate enough to die on the front lines of the Great War. Ginger Stuyvesant, a medium of the Spirit Corps, believes that she has discovered a traitor, but top brass doesn’t won’t listen to her. Now Ginger will have to uncover the spy on her own while preparing for a possible attack from German forces. Kowal is a wonderful storyteller, and it’s always a pleasure to dip into one of her novels.

“Herbert West: Reanimator”
by H.P. Lovecraft
Mad scientist Herbert West has created a serum that, when injected into a fresh corpse, returns it to life — kind of. Most of the reanimated corpses become cannibal murderers that have to be killed again, but West sees it as a start. When World War I begins, West joins up to serve as a battlefield doctor for reasons that you can probably imagine. This is probably Lovecraft’s most gruesome story, and for my money, his most horrific. There was a move adaptation of this story back in the eighties, but we won’t talk about that.

Leviathan
by Scott Westerfield
It’s the eve of World War I and the Germans and their Austro-Hungarian allies are preparing their steam-driven robots for war against the British Darwinists’ genetically engineered battle beasts. The war made Clanker Aleksandar Ferdinand and Darwinist Deryn Sharp enemies, but an unexpected turn of fate brings them together for a grand adventure. Followed by two sequels: Behemoth, and Goliath. This is Young Adult fiction in the same way that The Hobbit and the Harry Potter series are: Kids like them, but grown-ups will too.

A Song for No Man’s Land
by Andy Remic
Wounded and far from home, British soldier Robert Jones comes face to face with something that should not exist: a supernatural horror stalking the battlefields of the Great War.Followed by two sequels: Return of Souls and The Iron Beast. Remic’s writing is as gritty and blood-spattered as the war itself. If you like modern takes on ancient evils, then this is your book.