2026-06 - Cosmic - WHO GOES THERE? - Live ⚡ > Likes and Comments

We'll have three Cosmic Horror/Sci-Fi group reads in June.

Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr.



This book served as the basis for the movie The Thing, which I loved! I'm very much looking forward to jumping into the icy depths of this one! 🥶

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Another excellent short book. I hope everyone enjoys it! (And realizes that if you go into this read expecting to read The Thing, you will be disappointed.)

I just started this one and I’m enjoying it thus far.

jessi wrote: "I just started this one and I’m enjoying it thus far."

Good stuff, Jessi, keep us posted as you go.

I started this on audio as it's such a quick listen but I didn't care for the reader at all! I'll try again with the ebook as the story itself intrigued me.

Looking forward to reading this later in the month! I've yet to see the infamous movie so will not be burdened with expectations going into it. Will likely watch the movie after reading the book, I usually enjoy the the original written work much more than the movie adaptation in most cases.

Netanella wrote: "Another excellent short book. I hope everyone enjoys it! (And realizes that if you go into this read expecting to read The Thing, you will be disappointed.)"

Indeed. An excellent novella.

It’s really such an interesting novella. You can see where Carpenter was inspired when working on The Thing.
Perhaps it’s just me, but there are moments when I have to reread as I think I’ve missed something.

jessi wrote: "Perhaps it’s just me, but there are moments when I have to reread as I think I’ve missed something."

I felt the same way: Incongruity, poor plot fluidity, and quite poorly written.

But you have to read it, right?

And then over time the technical failures become less important as the overall concept comes to the fore.

jessi wrote: "It’s really such an interesting novella. You can see where Carpenter was inspired when working on The Thing.
Perhaps it’s just me, but there are moments when I have to reread as I think I’ve misse..."

I feel the same way.

Richard Alex wrote: "jessi wrote: "Perhaps it’s just me, but there are moments when I have to reread as I think I’ve missed something."

I felt the same way: Incongruity, poor plot fluidity, and quite poorly written.

..."

I am in the midst of reading it. I only have so much time to read during the day, so it's bit by bit. I should be done with it by Saturday (when I'm not working).
I am enjoying it, it's just thinking I've missed something. I'm glad to know it's not just me.

👆It's cosmic horror, Jessi, which means you need to fill in the action and visual gaps gaps, whereas the movie does that for you and leaves little to the imagination.

I know which interpretation I prefer - the movie - what about everyone else?

I read it today. Despite the Carpenter film getting not-so-great reviews when it came out, I definitely prefer the film over the novel. The author doesn't bring out the paranoia much at all compared to the film, which really makes the story work I think. Not to mention the crazy, sometimes darkly funny special effects in the film. I'm not a huge fan of early sci-fi to be honest, but this story is a classic and I'm glad I finally read it.

Jim wrote: "I read it today. Despite the Carpenter film getting not-so-great reviews when it came out, I definitely prefer the film over the novel. The author doesn't bring out the paranoia much at all compare..."

I agree with you, Jim, it's very difficult to disassociate movie from book and the movie is so much better, well it was back in the early 1980s.

2 stars is a bit harsh, but good for you.

My rating system is a bit harsh, and I plead guilty to that, but I fault GR's Overlords for not allowing 1/2 star (or a 1 - 10) rating system. In my system, 2 stars means "disappointed." I had given the novel 3 stars at first, but then compared it to A Dowry of Blood which I read last weekend and which I rated 3 stars, creating a dilemma (in my own mind at least) that using a half star would have easily solved. So Mr. Campbell had to take the fall this time.

Jim wrote: "My rating system is a bit harsh, and I plead guilty to that, but I fault GR's Overlords for not allowing 1/2 star (or a 1 - 10) rating system. In my system, 2 stars means "disappointed." I had give..."

I agree with you wholeheartedly.

It's better to have a harsh rating system than an overly generous one.

Periodically I like to go through my ratings and notch things down a bit.

Sometimes we feel concerned about creating an illusion of positivity, whereas giving 3 stars is actually a favorable review.

Anyone else not really feeling it with this book?

Richard Alex wrote: "👆It's cosmic horror, Jessi, which means you need to fill in the action and visual gaps gaps, whereas the movie does that for you and leaves little to the imagination.

I know which interpretation I..."

There's cosmic horror and then there's this. I can fill in the blanks when it comes to most things, but this was something else.

I finished this over the weekend. Needing a few days to digest -and dig through my notes- I was finally able to write a review.
I didn't bring up the film, because while it did influence The Thing, the film far surpasses this read. John Carpenter took great liberties to create the cult classic. While I did see the frame work in Who Goes There?, it did nothing for my imagination. However, to be fair, I did go in expecting some semblance between the book and film. I must say this is the first-and hopefully only-time I've ever preferred the film to the book.

@Jim and @Jessi found It a bigger pile of balls than I did, which is reassuring. I didn't hate it but it's so disjointed.

In its defence, it's the mother of some scary horror and the reason we read it, to now have an opinion.

There's the fantastical science fiction element in there too - aliens come from outer space, freeze in the ice and get thawed out millions of years later. We are also group reading At the Mountains of Madness and who knows what's hidden out there in the freezing cold?

As though cosmic horror authors from the past didn't know how to express themselves either, instead preferring to leave us with the building blocks.