In the vast landscape of speculative fiction, few works have captured the imagination and existential dread of readers quite like All Tomorrows. This groundbreaking book by C.M. Kosemen, originally shared online, presents a billion-year future history of humanity, transformed by alien intervention into a myriad of bizarre and often horrifying post-human species. It's a masterclass in speculative biology and cosmic horror, asking profound questions about identity, evolution, and the fragility of the human form.
The All Tomorrows Legacy: More Than Just a Book
The core text, All Tomorrows: The Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man, serves as the cornerstone of this unique universe. Its influence, however, extends far beyond its own pages. It has spawned a community of artists and thinkers and sits within a fascinating ecosystem of related works that explore similar themes of deep time, transformation, and dread.
For those fascinated by the "what if" of biology, Kosemen's earlier work, All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals, is an essential companion. While All Tomorrows looks forward, All Yesterdays looks back, challenging rigid paleontological reconstructions with creative, life-filled interpretations of prehistoric creatures. Together, they form speculative biology's twin masterpieces, exploring the full spectrum of life's potential forms.
Cosmic Dread in Multiple Mediums
The cosmic horror and cosmic dread so palpable in All Tomorrows find a clear kindred spirit in the works of H.P. Lovecraft. This connection is made visually stunning in H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu (Manga). The manga format brings a new dimension to Lovecraft's iconic tale, much like the illustrations in All Tomorrows give visceral form to its evolutionary nightmares. Both works explore humanity's insignificance in a vast, uncaring universe filled with incomprehensible beings.
This theme continues in other forms of apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. For instance, All the Fiends of Hell presents another vision of societal collapse and otherworldly terror, appealing to readers who enjoy the bleak, transformative scenarios of Kosemen's work.
The Art of Evolutionary Nightmares
No discussion of the visual aesthetic of biological and evolutionary horror is complete without mentioning H.R. Giger. The biomechanical nightmares he created for the *Alien* franchise share a DNA with the twisted post-human forms of All Tomorrows. The HR Giger. 45th Ed. is a stunning art book that delves into his iconic, haunting work, providing a perfect visual companion for fans of the darker side of sci-fi art and speculative evolution.
Gaming in the All Tomorrows Universe
The compelling world of All Tomorrows has even inspired tabletop role-playing game content. All Flesh Must be Eaten: All Tomorrows Zombies is a supplement for the horror RPG All Flesh Must Be Eaten from Eden Studios. It allows players and game masters to bring the terrifying, transformed creatures from Kosemen's universe into their own apocalyptic fiction campaigns, blending zombie survival with deep-time evolutionary horror.
Literary and Musical Echoes of "Tomorrow"
The phrase "All Tomorrows" resonates in other creative realms. In literary cyberpunk, William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties serves as the finale to his Bridge Trilogy, exploring technology, society, and the near future. On a more intimate scale, All the Tomorrows After offers a poignant family saga and emotional novel about legacy and time, showing how the concept of "tomorrow" fuels all kinds of contemporary and literary fiction.
The title also famously belongs to The Velvet Underground, a pillar of 1960s music and counterculture. All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story is a definitive music biography and a piece of essential rock history, capturing the spirit of artistic innovation that also fuels works like All Tomorrows.
Whether you're drawn to the hard science of speculative evolution, the chilling void of cosmic horror, the stunning visuals of biomechanical art, or the narrative possibilities of tabletop RPGs, the universe that begins with All Tomorrows offers a rich and deeply compelling exploration of all our possible futures—and the haunting beauty and terror they may hold.