Warhammer 40,000 has drawn significant inspiration from American author H.P. Lovecraft and the genre of cosmic horror more broadly. Lovecraft stands as an icon of pulp and horror literature who has inspired countless contemporary works of science fiction and pioneered the genre of Lovecraftian, or cosmic horror. The alien nature and design of the Tyranids is reminiscent of Lovecraft’s infamous deity Cthulhu, and the terrifying yet sometimes whimsical portrayal of the realms of chaos invite comparison with Lovecraft’s dream cycle. Yet perhaps the most prominent mark of Lovecraft’s influence on the grim darkness of the far future can be seen in the shattered gods of the necrons; the C’Tan. This paper will serve as a literary critique of the C’Tan as they are portrayed in necron codexes and Black Library novels, and it will argue that the C’Tan serve as the strongest example of Lovecraftian horror in the Warhammer 40,000 setting.
Much of H.P. Lovecraft’s literary work focuses on a pantheon of deities known as the Great Old Ones. Of these, it is Great Cthulhu who has risen to the greatest cultural prominence. The Great Old Ones are, much like the C’Tan, incomprehensible beings which defy the laws of physics and nature. While the C’Tan lack the visual hallmarks of Lovecraftian monsters, they align perfectly with Lovecraft’s ideas of cosmicism; the notion that humans or other lesser beings are ultimately insignificant in the face of an uncaring cosmos. This comparison becomes even stronger from the perspective of the necrons themselves, as seen in Robert Rath’s The Infinite and the Divine, and Nate Crowely’s Twice Dead King duology. This paper’s literary comparison aims to deepen the conversation around the varied inspirations for Warhammer 40,000’s setting and background.
Author bio
Christopher DeRosa is an adjunct professor at Saint Thomas Aquinas College, a scholar of weird fiction and a fiction writer. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in literature with a concentration in creative writing from Ramapo College Of New Jersey, and later received a master’s degree in teaching from Saint Thomas Aquinas College.
His work focuses on modern interpretations of pulp stories and themes, and he has presented academic work on the changing landscape of pulp genres at NEPCA, Necronomicon, and The Armitage Symposium. A paper of his is anticipating publication in the journal Lovecraftian Proceedings. Christopher is also an published fiction writer and has had stories published in Bewildering Stories and Cold Open Stories.
