recent read; Atomic-Age Cthulhu

The United States in the 1950s.

The middle class expanded, GIs earned college degrees, the suburbs sprawled. Rock’n’roll and television arrived, and Hollywood continued to entertain America. But underneath the idyllic facade, there were dangers. The Cold War, atomic annihilation, red communists infiltrating the West and war in Korea.

But what of Cthulhu and sundry Mythos gods? Did they sleep through the boom years? Or were they and their disciples and their enemies actively at work furthering their unfathomable objectives?

Some of these nineteen stories play with our history. Some offer alternate worlds where history is slightly different. The entire set of stories offer a wide range of tones, ideas and Mythos elements - some are humorous, others horrific, some have a spirit of adventure and others drip with paranoia. The humans, of course, are sometimes the worst monsters of all.

Atomic-Age Cthulhu is a very solid anthology that delivers on its premise. Highly recommended for a different slant on the Cthulhu Mythos.

(Perforce, this review is condensed. I wrote a much fuller review for periodical that will be coming in the near future. I will let you know when that becomes available.) 

recent read; Space Eldritch

For various reasons, I figured this anthology of space opera meets Cthulhu mythos was worth a deeper review.  Here's a look at all the stories.

Foreword, by Larry Correia

Correia provides a fun introduction here, answering the question "Lovecraft in space?" with a resounding "Yes!"

“Arise Thou Niarlat From Thy Rest” by D. J. Butler

This story requires the reader to pay attention, but the rewards are worth it.  Butler explores a mythos angle I have not read very often - not only are the Old Ones ancient, but in the case of this story, they exist simultaneously across space and time.  Butler weaves three points in time, and three disparate threads into a cohesive tale as a priest of ancient times attempts to manifest the Old Ones by way of a future colonizing spaceship and a 1930s private investigator's case gets caught in the middle.

“Space Opera” by Michael R. Collings

Collings gives us a nice twist, too, as alien invaders bring worlds to their heels until they tackle the wrong world.  The insect nature and alienness of the protagonists is wonderfully realized throughout this tale.  And in the end, just when you might think the aliens are Lovecratian, the aliens themselves are caught in the dead center of a new Dunwich Horror.

“The Menace Under Mars” by Nathan Shumate

A terraforming team on Mars discovers underground evidence of a previous civilization.  A good atmosphere of tension building runs through this story.  We all know what a "rock that just appears to be an artifact" on the Martian moon Demios really means. Broken minds and alien possessions soon follow.

“Gods in Darkness” by David J. West

David J. West turns the Cold War space race on its ear in this tale.  Rather than jumping into the future with far flung worlds, West keeps us in the past with clandestine space flights between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as cosmonauts and astronauts are tangled by a Jack Parsons inspired character and his sorcerous, nefarious plans.  In orbit, no one can hear you scream.  It's been mentioned elsewhere and I agree - pulpiest tale of the group and this is a good thing.

“The Shadows of Titan” by Carter Reid and Brad R. Torgersen

On Titan, a crew discovers an ancient pyramid and a creature in suspended animation.  The hot-shot captain puts everyone in danger as the alien presence enters her body and mind.  The survivors must battle to keep the aliens from gaining passage to Earth.

“The Fury in the Void” by Robert J. Defendi

Somewhere in the far future and far reaches of outer space, two spaceships - one Russian and one Greek, battle out old heresies and wars.  But something is toying with their minds, driving them to rage and madness.  This story was appropriately violent, and had echoes of Warhammer 40K to me, in a good way.

“Flight of the Runewright” by Howard Tayler

This was a highly original tale.  Having read some Brian Lumley mythos stories lately, I would say this ranks right up with those.  A cruise ship laden with Necronomical symbols offers the faster, surest way to escape the Earth and travel further through the spheres than mere atomic drives or faster-than-light or rockets could ever provide.  As the protagonist takes his insane twin brother's place on the lottery for the voyage, things are not what they seem.

---

I really enjoyed this entire anthology.  The only weak spot was that the plots felt too similar between "The Menace Under Mars" and "The Shadows of Titan."  I've seen some reviews exaggerate this and state you can't read all these in one pass due to similarity.  I disagree.  All together, this is an exceptional, original anthology with distinctive entries.  It was a welcome change on mythos stories.  Very enjoyable and worth reading.

You can get the e'book through usual channels, and a print edition is now also available.

recent reads; The Taint and Atomic Robo

Well, despite the fact that I seemed exponentially to gain e'books (and a few print books) over the course of November, I haven't got a lot of reading done.

First up, Brian Lumley's The Taint and Other Novellas.  I started this in October, and decided to finish it off.

This book contains seven Cthulhu mythos novellas - mostly from Lumley's early work.  As such, a lot of the flavor is Lovecraft pastiching, but Lumley does manage to bring his own voice, and a couple of the stories stand out on their own.

"The Horror at Oakdeene" -  A writer who moonlights at a sanatorium finds himself drawn into the madness of a patient who dealt a little too closely with the occult.

"Born of the Winds" - This tale, though having a very convenient setup, was a good blend of the Wendigo legend with other Lovecraftian elements.  One of the standouts, and one of Lumley's own favorites.

"The Fairground Horror" - Two carny brothers dabble in the occult until one brother takes things too far.  Fun story, but one of those Lovecraftian pastiches that make it hard to suspend disbelief.  I wouldn't imagine carnies as the types to delve deeply, seriously into occult lore, idols and tomes.

"The Taint" - This tale is the most strongly restrictive.  Lumley was not only writing a mythos story, but one specifically for an Innsmouth anthology.  Yet, he manages to touch on Innsmouth tangentially while providing an original story with the best kind of ending - one I should have seen coming all along, but missed.  The clues were all there.

"Rising with Surtsey" - Again, two brothers dabble in the occult.  Touching on "The Call of Cthulhu" and some good underwater dream scenes.

"Lord of the Worms" -  My first introduction to Titus Crow.  Not surprisingly, I enjoyed this one the most.  It was the most original, with only the lightest Lovecraftian touches.  (though, the villain's machinations do owe something to Lovercraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep.")  It serves as a partial origin tale for Crow.  At least, he finally faces the occult and takes action on all his previously gained knowledge, and the adventure spurs him into becoming an occult investigator of the later stories.  I figured from the linked Black Gate article that I would enjoy Crow, and I did.  I will be hunting down the novels and stories over time.

"The House of the Temple" -  Enjoyable tale of a haunted Scot mansion and the nephew who inherits the estate.

All in all, this is a good mythos collection, though expectedly the early efforts feel somewhat pastiche.  I am not sure I'd want to pay the price of a Subterranean Press hardcover, but as an inexpensive e'book, it's certainly worth having.

Atomic Robo; Volume 2, Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War

Yes, Robo is my newest favorite thing!  This volume focuses on Robo's time during World War II.  It's great romp as he makes new friends with covert Allied agents and new enemies among the Third Reich.  He battles robotic style walker tanks, Wolfenstein style zombie super-soldiers and the like.  This comic is absolutely worth your time and money.

It's FUN!

The Call of Cthulhu; the (silent) movie

I finally bought and watched 2005's The Call of Cthulhu silent movie.

H. P. Lovecraft's stories' phantasmagoric aspects have always made them hard to capture on film.  After years of producers trying with modern filmmaking, Sean Branney and Andrew Leman decided to go retro.  Why not make the movie as it would have been adapted when it was written - in the 1920s?  Silent movie, stop motion effects, models, etc.

It's a fun idea.  So, does it work?

Yes & no.

recent read(s); Wrapping up the Halloween reads

To round out my 31 reads for October, I turned to my Kindle while flying cross-country.  The plane ride gave me time for some novellas.

I've been curious about Brian Lumley, especially after learning he's written some sword-&-mythos tales.  As he describes it, he writes Lovecraftian tales, but his protagonists fight back (rather than faint.) Recently, some of his Cthulhu Mythos collection e'books went on sale.

I read two novellas, found in the collection, The Taint and Other Novellas.

"The Horror at Oakdeene" - early effort in a strong Lovecraft mold, but with enough original touches to  have its own voice.  A writer who moonlights at a sanatorium finds himself drawn into the madness of a patient who dealt a little too closely with the occult.

"Born of the Winds" - this tale, though having a very convenient setup, was a good blend of the Wendigo legend with other Lovecraftian elements.

A few tales from Wildside Press e'book, The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack.

"The Graveyard Rats" by Henry Kuttner - I have read this before, but I want to get more Kuttner in my diet.  An unscrupulous Salem grave digger meets his fate at the hand of body-thieving rats - big rats.

"Envy, the Gardens of Ynath, and the Sin of Cain" by Darrell Schweitzer - this one surprised me, it is very good.  A lyrical tale of a domineering friendship gone bad.  A "black stone" even makes an appearance.

"Toadface" by Mark McLaughlin - somewhat humorous take on what happens when you displease the locals of Innsmouth.

That makes 31.

(For those interested, the megapack also includes "The Events at Poroth Farm" by T. E. D. Klein.)

Bonuses;

I finally watched the THRILLER episode of "Pigeons from Hell."  Currently, you won't find a more faithful Robert E. Howard adaptation.  My only dislike (and it is a small one) is that their twist ending was somewhat different, telegraphed a bit too early, and wasn't delivered with the same punch as the original story.

I read Karl Edward Wagner's "The River of Night's Dreaming", and then watched the episode of the old cable erotica series THE HUNGER, which adapted it.  I enjoyed the story which had a lot going on, and is one of those surreal stories where you can connect some of the threads, but nothing is spelled out.  It seems a lot of readers focus on the kinkier elements and miss the strong element of The King in Yellow being involved.  Predictably, the t.v. episode has no mention of The King in Yellow and is only tangentially related to the source material - and it is bland.

Happy Halloween, everyone!