“Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.”
Blood Meridian is an epic historical novel by veteran American author Cormac McCarthy. Redefining the Western and anti-Western genres, the story is set in the American frontier and follows a teenage boy and his experiences with the Glanton gang. The Glanton gang are a group of scalp hunters who massacre American Indians across the borderlands for bounty and sadistic pleasure. At the head of the Glantons is Judge Holden, a physically massive, pale and hairless skilled member who revels in the domination and destruction of whatever he runs into. Still considered Cormac McCarthy’s best book and one of the greatest American novels of all time, we’re still waiting for a big-screen adaptation of this classic tale. In the meantime, why not join us at What We Reading for the best epics and other books like Blood Meridian?
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
First up on our list of books like Blood Meridian is Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick. The story centres around on a wandering sailor named Ishmael and his voyage on board the Pequod, skippered by the vengeful Captain Ahab. The ship is setting off on an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous as the ocean it makes its home in. Infamous for its massive size and incredible strength, it is a foe few on the seas have ever seen or lived to tell the tale about.
Moby Dick is a story of adventure, an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, and a powerful meditation on America itself. Filled with humour, philosophical commentaries and explorations into nature and the spirit, it is the perfect read similar to Cormac McCarthy’s work for those looking for another tale focused on the journey and growth of one person.
The Devil All The Time – Donald Ray Pollock
Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of characters from the end of the Second World War up to the 1960s. Williard Russell is a survivor of the carnage in the South Pacific who is unable to save his wife, Charlotte, from a prolonged death by Cancer, no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours onto his ‘prayer log’.
Carl and Sandy Henderson are a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, who roam America’s highways for willing models they can photograph and exterminate. Spider-handling preacher Roy and his guitar-playing sidekick Theodore are on the run from the law. And in the middle of all these characters is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte’s orphan son who grows up to be a good, albeit violent man, in his own right. One of the best authors similar to McCarthy, Donald Ray Pollock’s The Devil All the Time is a sweeping Southern Gothic story following several disgustingly fascinating characters, perfect for anyone who loved Blood Meridian.
House Of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski
Complex, ambitious, philosophical and layered with the supernatural, Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves is undoubtedly one of the best books like Blood Meridian. The story follows a young family as they move into a small home on Ash Tree Lane, and quickly discover that their new house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
Neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his partner Karen Green were prepared to deal with the consequences of this impossible scenario. That is until their two children wander off and echo back another story altogether. A story featuring a creature of darkness, ever-growing behind a closed door, possessing a growl capable of tearing through their walls and devouring all of their dreams.
Butcher’s Crossing – John Williams
It is the 1870s, and Will Andrews drops out of Harvard and heads west. He reaches Butcher’s Crossing, a small Kansas town on the outskirts of nowhere. This small settlement is full of restless men looking for quick ways of making money, and even quicker ways of losing it. Will soon makes friends with one of them. He entices him of tales of immense herds of buffalo, ready for the taking, hidden away in a beautiful valley in the Colorado Rockies.
He convinces Will to join him on an expedition to track the animals down. Their journey together is a gruelling one. Nevertheless, the end is a place of paradise. Once there though, it doesn’t take long for the men to descend into a frenzy of slaughter, so caught up in the killing that they lose track of time. Winter soon sweeps through and leaves them snowed in. By the time spring comes back through, they are half-insane with cabin fever, cold, hungry and stagger back to Butcher’s Crossing to find the world has changed almost as much as they have.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Road By Cormac McCarthy
American Meteor (American Novels #2) – Norman Lock
Another book similar to Blood Meridian featuring an epic adventure across America in the era of Manifest Destiny, American Meteor is a 2015 historical fiction story by Norman Lock. Stephen Moran comes of age as he crosses the Union Pacific, just as the railroad unites the continent. He is pushed westward out of his Brooklyn neighbourhood.
He joins in the chaos of the American Civil War, experiences the chaos of the Battle of Little Bighorn, makes friends with Walt Whitman, receives a medal from General Grant, steals from Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train, works for railroad mogul Thomas Durant, apprentices with photographer William Henry Jackson and stalks General George Custer. But, when he encounters Crazy Horse, his life will be spared, but his dreams become haunted for as long as he lives. Brimming with adventure and featuring some of the most famous names from American history, American Meteor is the perfect epic to follow up Blood Meridian with.
Wise Blood – Flannery O’Connor
Hazel Motes is a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his inborn, desperate fate. He becomes entranced by the ‘blind’ street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Sabbath Lily. In an effort to prove his own non-faith, and to prove that he is a greater cynic than Hawks, Hazel establishes his own Church Without Christ. Nevertheless, he is still unable to lose God. He then meets Enoch Emery, a young man with ‘wise blood’, who leads him to a mummified holy child and whose crazy manoeuvres speak to Mote’s own existential struggles.
Flannery O’Connor’s first novel famously helped inspire Cormac McCarthy and her story of redemption, retribution, false prophets and redemptive wisdom helped make Wise Blood one of the best books like Blood Meridian.
Galveston – Nic Pizzolatto
Moving from one book that inspired McCarthy to one that has been inspired by him, Galveston is a noir crime fiction story by Nic Pizzolatto, creator of True Detective. On the same day that Roy Cady is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he senses that his boss, a ruthless loan-chasing bar owner, wants him dead. He is alert that a routine assignment could be a death trap. Which it is. After dealing with his would-be killers, Roy is about to make his getaway when he sees two women in the apartment. One of them is still alive, and something in her eyes leads him to make a fateful decision.
Taking her on the run with him, the pair embark on a journey on the run from New Orleans to Galveston, Texas. The girl’s name is Rocky, and she is too young, too sexy, too tough and far too much trouble. She, Roy, and her sister hide in the battered seascape of Galveston’s western bars and fleabag hotels, but any chance of finding long-term safety is soon lost. Delivered with maximum tension and a haunting southern Gothic atmosphere, Galveston is the perfect read for any fans of Blood Meridian.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
