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.) 

Return to Lovecraft Country

When the first cool, post-August day breezed in, I began to turn my attention to thoughts of Autumn reading, which of course means Halloween and horror stories.  I have a hankering to return to the Cthulthu mythos, which I haven't read deeply for some years.  I am hoping to get through one if not two of Brian Lumley's Titus Crow novels, as I enjoyed his stories last year - one of which was a Crow tale.

I saw mention of some of Lumley's potential influences on the character of Titus Crow, including H. P. Lovecraft's character of Randolph Carter.  The Clock of Dreams, in fact, is the same strange clock featured in "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."  That spurred me to re-read the Randolph Carter tales before October arrives.  I'm through "The Unnamable", "The Silver Key", and "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."  I still have "The Statement of Randolph Carter" and "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" to read.

Being on a Mythos kick lately, I investigated the availability of the Chaosium Call of Cthulhu Fiction series, which I missed the first time around.  The first entries in the series are long out-of-print, of course, and I'll need to monitor eBay and ABEBooks.  But, it turns out that Chaosium have a large selection of "Boo-boo Books" - books that have wandered between stores and warehouses and have some scuffing or slight crumpling of cover corners - and they sell them at half-price.  While none of the classic ones seem available (shopworn or not) - e.g.; The Book of Iod - I couldn't resist expanding my Mythos library a little.

I could have gotten some e'books, but sometimes you just want print.  Plus, I have some new bookcases on order.  :)   (Hey, I am also moving some books along, really I am.)

It feels creepily good to wander the haunted hills of the surrounding countryside and walk through the darkened streets of gambrel-roofed houses of timeworn Arkham again.