Blood Meridian
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthyby Cormac McCarthy
Hacker ApprovedRanked 8 of 122 novels by recommenders
People recommend it for its unmatched prose and imagery, and for rewarding re-reads. Critics call it extremely difficult, and some found the effort not worth it.
People recommend it for its unmatched prose and imagery, and for rewarding re-reads. Critics call it extremely difficult, and some found the effort not worth it.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Unmatched prose and imagery
“The imagery he created with words, some of them his own creations, is just ... beyond compare.”
Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “Half million 'Words with Spaces' missing from dictionaries” “His style won't be to everyone's tastes, but you certainly can't describe it as bland.”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” “my favorite prose is the passage from blood meridian describing the raiders”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “AI safety is mostly a sex cult” - Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “What major works of literature were written after age of 85? 75? 65?”
- Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books”
Counted among favorite novels
“Blood Meridian is one of my favorite novels & made me want to write.”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” “Blood Meridian is one of my favorite novels.”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books” “I loved Blood Meridian for example.”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Cormac McCarthy's Library” Stands apart from other books
“His novels are mind-blowing. Blood Meridian is unsurpassed IMO”
Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “What major works of literature were written after age of 85? 75? 65?” “The only other book that pulled me in that deeply”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “there's nothing else like it”
Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “Half million 'Words with Spaces' missing from dictionaries” Rewards re-reading and effort
“It's probably the book I've read the most amount of times and each re-read still manages to amaze me.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books” “it finally clicked for me last night and I'm fully engaged with it. And man was it worth the effort.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Difficult with unclear payoff
“Extremely difficult for no reason whatsoever. Terrible book.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books” “Blood Meridian felt like a gratuitous ordeal to me.”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” “the difficulty wasn't worth it for me”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “The Style Is Father of the Man” Needs outside sources to follow
“I thought it was a great book it isn't something you should just read without consulting outside sources”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Blood Meridianby Cormac McCarthyThis page | 17 | 3 | 85% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
18 of the 21 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I loved Blood Meridian for example.”
“the difficulty wasn't worth it for me”
“The only other book that pulled me in that deeply”
“my favorite prose is the passage from blood meridian describing the raiders”
“Blood Meridian felt like a gratuitous ordeal to me.”
“Blood Meridian is one of my favorite novels & made me want to write.”
“His style won't be to everyone's tastes, but you certainly can't describe it as bland.”
“His novels are mind-blowing. Blood Meridian is unsurpassed IMO”
“there's nothing else like it”
“The imagery he created with words, some of them his own creations, is just ... beyond compare.”
“the best narrators actually improve the books like The Hail Mary Project and Blood Meridian”
“Blood Meridian is one of my favorite novels.”
“I find normal prose suffocatingly boring and poorly paced so this is wonderful”
“It's probably the book I've read the most amount of times and each re-read still manages to amaze me.”
“some of the best English language prose ever written”
“I thought it was a great book it isn't something you should just read without consulting outside sources”
“it finally clicked for me last night and I'm fully engaged with it. And man was it worth the effort.”
“Extremely difficult for no reason whatsoever. Terrible book.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.