The term All Tomorrows has become a cultural touchstone, representing far more than just a single book. It's a gateway into a fascinating universe of speculative evolution, cosmic horror, and artistic exploration that challenges our perception of humanity's future. At its core, All Tomorrows by C.M. Kosemen (writing as Nemo Ramjet) presents a billion-year future history where humanity is genetically manipulated by alien overlords into myriad bizarre forms. This seminal work has spawned discussions, inspired creators, and connected with other dark and imaginative genres.
The Foundational Epic: All Tomorrows and Its Legacy
The original All Tomorrows: The Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man is a masterpiece of speculative biology and cosmic horror. It doesn't just tell a story; it presents a pseudo-scientific catalog of post-human species, each a tragic or triumphant result of forced evolution. The book's power lies in its blend of detailed biological speculation with a profound sense of cosmic dread—the feeling that humanity is an insignificant speck in a vast, uncaring universe. This theme resonates deeply with fans of H.P. Lovecraft, making the connection between these works a natural one for exploration.
Speculative Biology: From Dinosaurs to Post-Humans
Interestingly, Kosemen is also the co-author of All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals. This paleoart book applies the same creative, speculative lens to the past that All Tomorrows applies to the future. It challenges rigid reconstructions of dinosaurs, imagining behaviors and appearances beyond the fossil evidence. Together, All Yesterdays and All Tomorrows form twin pillars of speculative thought, questioning our assumptions about life across deep time. For a deeper dive into this comparison, the blog post All Yesterdays vs. All Tomorrows: Speculative Biology's Twin Masterpieces offers excellent analysis.
Intersections with Cosmic Horror and Art
The evolutionary horror of All Tomorrows finds a kindred spirit in the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The existential terror of being reshaped by incomprehensible forces is central to both. This connection is made visually explicit in adaptations like H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu (Manga), which brings similar themes of alien geometry and sanity-shattering entities to life in graphic novel form. Furthermore, the biomechanical nightmares of Swiss artist HR Giger—best explored in volumes like HR Giger. 45th Ed.—share a DNA with the twisted, organic-mechanical fates of some post-human species in All Tomorrows. The fusion of biological and mechanical horror creates a uniquely unsettling aesthetic that defines a strand of modern sci-fi art.
From Page to Game: All Tomorrows in Role-Playing
The compelling and horrifying universe of All Tomorrows proved perfect for adaptation into the tabletop role-playing scene. All Flesh Must be Eaten: All Tomorrows Zombies is a supplement for Eden Studios' popular horror RPG, All Flesh Must Be Eaten. This book allows players and Game Masters to inject the bizarre post-human species and apocalyptic scenarios of Kosemen's work into their zombie survival games, creating a hybrid of apocalyptic fiction and biological fiction. It's a testament to the world's versatility and a fantastic resource for fans of both genres.
The Literary Echoes of "Tomorrow"
The phrase "All Tomorrows" and its variants echo throughout literature, often with vastly different tones. All the Tomorrows After is a work of contemporary fiction and an emotional novel that deals with family and time, showcasing the phrase's flexibility beyond sci-fi. In the realm of cyberpunk, William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties concludes his Bridge Trilogy, exploring a near-future of ubiquitous media and corporate control. Finally, All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story is a definitive music biography capturing the essence of the iconic 1960s counterculture band, tying the phrase back to its musical origins in Lou Reed's lyrics.
From its origins as a web-published book review of humanity's own potential futures, the concept of All Tomorrows has grown into a multifaceted exploration of fear, evolution, art, and storytelling. Whether through the direct sequel All Yesterday’s Papers, the cosmic terror of All the Fiends of Hell, or the analytical blog posts that dissect its themes, it continues to inspire and unsettle. It invites us to look at all our possible tomorrows—not with naive optimism, but with a sober, imaginative, and ultimately human curiosity about the strange paths ahead.