The term All Tomorrows has evolved far beyond its origins in a single, mind-bending work of speculative fiction. It has become a cultural touchstone, a gateway into a universe of ideas that explores the furthest, most terrifying, and most beautiful possibilities of evolution, time, and human (or post-human) experience. At its heart lies C.M. Kosemen's seminal work, All Tomorrows: The Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man, a book that chronicles a billion-year saga of humanity's transformation by alien hands into a bewildering array of new species. This foundational text is more than a story; it's a thought experiment that has spawned a rich ecosystem of related works across genres.
The Speculative Biology Spectrum: From Yesterdays to Tomorrows
To fully appreciate the context of All Tomorrows, one must look to its conceptual sibling, All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals. Co-authored by Kosemen, this paleoart book applies the same speculative principles to the past, challenging rigid reconstructions of dinosaurs. While All Tomorrows projects evolutionary horror into the future, All Yesterdays reimagines the past with equal creativity. Together, they form the twin pillars of modern speculative biology, inspiring artists and writers to think beyond established norms. For a deeper dive into this fascinating comparison, the blog post All Yesterdays vs. All Tomorrows: Speculative Biology's Twin Masterpieces offers an excellent analysis.
Cosmic Horror and Artistic Nightmares
The cosmic dread permeating All Tomorrows finds a clear lineage in the works of H.P. Lovecraft. This connection is made visually explicit in H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu (Manga), which translates classic cosmic horror into a gripping graphic novel format. The thematic resonance between unknowable alien gods and the Qu, the genetic engineers of All Tomorrows, is profound. Both explore humanity's insignificance in a vast, uncaring universe. This synergy is further explored in the blog All Tomorrows & Lovecraftian Horror: Exploring Cosmic Dread in Manga.
Another artistic parallel lies in the biomechanical nightmares of HR Giger. The recently released HR Giger. 45th Ed. showcases the artist's iconic fusion of flesh and machine, a visual language that echoes the twisted, engineered forms of the post-human species in All Tomorrows. Giger's influence on the aesthetic of evolutionary horror is undeniable, making this art book a perfect companion for fans of Kosemen's visions.
Gaming the Apocalypse: From Zombies to Cyberpunk Parties
The concepts of All Tomorrows have even infiltrated the world of tabletop role-playing. All Flesh Must be Eaten: All Tomorrows Zombies is a supplement for the horror RPG All Flesh Must Be Eaten by Eden Studios. It allows players to experience the terror of a zombie outbreak within the bizarre evolutionary landscape of the All Tomorrows universe, blending apocalyptic fiction with biological fiction. For a practical guide, check out All Tomorrows Zombies: A Sci-Fi Horror RPG Supplement Review & Guide.
On a different literary front, the phrase "All Tomorrow's Parties" resonates in cyberpunk literature. William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties (Bridge Trilogy Book 3) is a seminal work of near-future dystopian fiction that explores technology, society, and consciousness. While thematically distinct from Kosemen's evolutionary horror, it shares a concern with a transformed future humanity. Fans of this angle can explore All Tomorrow's Parties: William Gibson's Bridge Trilogy Finale Explained.
Cultural Echoes: Music, Memory, and Emotion
The phrase itself has deep roots in 1960s music and counterculture. All Tomorrow's Parties: The Velvet Underground Story is a definitive music biography chronicling one of the most influential bands in rock history. Their song "All Tomorrow's Parties" embodies a melancholic, avant-garde spirit that subtly complements the speculative fiction bearing a similar name.
Finally, the exploration of "tomorrows" takes a poignant, human turn in works like All the Tomorrows After, an emotional novel and family saga that deals with time and legacy, and All Yesterday’s Papers, which suggests a personal, perhaps photographic, journey through memory. These works, while not sci-fi, show how the core idea of navigating time—yesterday, today, and tomorrow—permeates contemporary fiction and literary fiction.
In conclusion, the universe of All Tomorrows is a sprawling, interconnected web of ideas. It stretches from the deep past of All Yesterdays to the far future of Kosemen's masterpiece, touching upon cosmic horror in manga, biomechanical art, apocalyptic RPGs, cyberpunk dystopias, and the echoes of a Velvet Underground song. To explore any of these facets is to engage with one of the most creatively fertile concepts in modern speculative thought.