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brigitte66's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kkehoe's review
5.0
An absolutely stellar collection of stories with only one or two that I just didn’t really really enjoy.
zugzug's review
4.0
This anthology is a treat for anyone wanting to make Halloween a little more cosmically dark. It starts with a poem by old HPL himself, which sets the tone. I have narrowed down the list of tales to three I want to highlight.
Uncle’s in the Treetops by Darrel Schweiter, in under twenty pages creates a town that is familiar and alien with traditions that meld with the Lovecraft ethos wonderfully. The exploration of morality in this world is thoughtful and leaves the reader with a dark satisfaction in the end.
Next up, The Old Man Down the Road by Arinn Demdo takes us along with a couple whose lives would have been difficult already given the time and setting of the story. That is just surface level though Demdo has more in store for the reader as the rabbit hole of this tale is quite dark but worth the journey.
Third Cosmic Cola by Lucy A. Snyder starts comfortably enough with a sleepy family moving to a new town with a misunderstood girl trying to fit in at the start. But we know what kind of stories we have come here for right? So in comes the rituals, cults, and all the right twists.
The other stories are all worth a read as well I hope anyone that takes the time with these tales enjoys them as much as I have.
Uncle’s in the Treetops by Darrel Schweiter, in under twenty pages creates a town that is familiar and alien with traditions that meld with the Lovecraft ethos wonderfully. The exploration of morality in this world is thoughtful and leaves the reader with a dark satisfaction in the end.
Next up, The Old Man Down the Road by Arinn Demdo takes us along with a couple whose lives would have been difficult already given the time and setting of the story. That is just surface level though Demdo has more in store for the reader as the rabbit hole of this tale is quite dark but worth the journey.
Third Cosmic Cola by Lucy A. Snyder starts comfortably enough with a sleepy family moving to a new town with a misunderstood girl trying to fit in at the start. But we know what kind of stories we have come here for right? So in comes the rituals, cults, and all the right twists.
The other stories are all worth a read as well I hope anyone that takes the time with these tales enjoys them as much as I have.
merricatct's review
2.0
A couple of the short stories in this collection were good, but overall it was pretty weak. Also, the majority of the stories focused on Innsmouth and the Deep Ones. I would've liked to see a different take on other aspects of the Cthulhu mythos.
lucasilievskie's review against another edition
3.0
A fun, spooky, and slightly campy anthology of new Lovecraftian fiction with a festive Halloween twist.
While I did enjoy most of the short stories – this book definitely isn’t lacking on the entertainment side of things – I was hoping for something a little more literary and elevated in regards to the writing. I also will echo some of the complaints from other reviewers that the collection felt quite insular in its treatment of Lovecraft’s body of work – the Cthulhu Mythos and Innsmouth and the Deep Ones were well-represented, with little else besides that.
My favorites from this anthology are “Spider Wasp” by Tim Curran, “Waters Strangely Clear” by Alan Baxter, and “Hell Among the Yearlings” by Chet Williamson.
Rating: Three
While I did enjoy most of the short stories – this book definitely isn’t lacking on the entertainment side of things – I was hoping for something a little more literary and elevated in regards to the writing. I also will echo some of the complaints from other reviewers that the collection felt quite insular in its treatment of Lovecraft’s body of work – the Cthulhu Mythos and Innsmouth and the Deep Ones were well-represented, with little else besides that.
My favorites from this anthology are “Spider Wasp” by Tim Curran, “Waters Strangely Clear” by Alan Baxter, and “Hell Among the Yearlings” by Chet Williamson.
Rating: Three
henryarmitage's review
3.0
Do Cthulhu and Halloween go together? Well, sort of. I mean, Cthulhu is scary, right? On the other hand, Halloween is essentially part of the Christian tradition. You wouldn't expect the night before All Saints Day on November first to mean anything special to the Great Old Ones.
Anyway, a few really good stories here and a bunch of lukewarm ones.
Anyway, a few really good stories here and a bunch of lukewarm ones.
vg2's review
1.0
I wanted to enjoy this short story collection, and the premise certainly gave me hope that I would - spooky, halloween themed stories with a vein of lovecraftian mythology is a genre that I can definitely get on board with. Unfortunately, there were two major issues with this book that made it one of most disappointing I have read so far this year.
Firstly, the stories are so incredibly similar. Most followed the same two premises - premise one: young family member who has escaped the distinctly creepy, ancient god-worshipping fold returns at Halloween (why they do so is not ever explored) and fulfils an obscure (because you don’t need to have determined a sensical plot if you leave it vague enough) destiny. If they also have a tag-along significant other who accepts, rather too quickly, the wackiness that is occurring around them, all the better. Premise two is essentially the same, but involves the aforementioned faceless and personality-less family member when they are still a child, succumbing to the ancient power. The tag-along here is usually an even younger sibling with whom they have a strained relationship. The lack of variety made the stories feel repetitive - whilst I enjoy some degree of threads or themes in such collections, the fact that these were not written by the same author, but form a curated volume, was frustrating.
Secondly, many of them were just poorly written. The speech was clumsy, the descriptions and atmosphere lacking almost entirely, and most felt rushed - I didn’t care what happened because I felt no connection or interest. Lovecraftian horror can be flamboyant and steeped in lore whilst remaining horrifying - it’s a sub-genre where, generally, most people die and either the ancient ones are victorious or, if stopped, only temporarily. There is a lot of scope for interesting development and descents into darkness, and very few of these stories had that.
Firstly, the stories are so incredibly similar. Most followed the same two premises - premise one: young family member who has escaped the distinctly creepy, ancient god-worshipping fold returns at Halloween (why they do so is not ever explored) and fulfils an obscure (because you don’t need to have determined a sensical plot if you leave it vague enough) destiny. If they also have a tag-along significant other who accepts, rather too quickly, the wackiness that is occurring around them, all the better. Premise two is essentially the same, but involves the aforementioned faceless and personality-less family member when they are still a child, succumbing to the ancient power. The tag-along here is usually an even younger sibling with whom they have a strained relationship. The lack of variety made the stories feel repetitive - whilst I enjoy some degree of threads or themes in such collections, the fact that these were not written by the same author, but form a curated volume, was frustrating.
Secondly, many of them were just poorly written. The speech was clumsy, the descriptions and atmosphere lacking almost entirely, and most felt rushed - I didn’t care what happened because I felt no connection or interest. Lovecraftian horror can be flamboyant and steeped in lore whilst remaining horrifying - it’s a sub-genre where, generally, most people die and either the ancient ones are victorious or, if stopped, only temporarily. There is a lot of scope for interesting development and descents into darkness, and very few of these stories had that.
jobis89's review
4.0
""Cthulhu fhtagn!", I shouted, as I hefted the bloodied axe onto one shoulder and disappeared into the darkness."
A collection of Lovecraftian tales in celebration of the spookiest time of the year.
Lovecraft fans! Look no further! (Because I know this is exactly what you were trawling through the internet looking for) I have found the perfect Lovecraftian collection for Halloween time.
I would probably label myself a Lovecraft fangirl. I did drag my boyfriend through a cemetery on an incredibly hot day to find his grave in Rhode Island on our recent vacay. So this collection was a whole lot of fun! There are references to and inspiration derived from all the usual Lovecraftian sources: Cthulhu, Innsmouth, the Necronomicon, Yuggoth, Azathoth, the sleeping gods… etc.
I don't think you need to have read Lovecraft in order to enjoy this collection, but I would hazard a guess that it does make it more enjoyable? My absolute favourite story was That Small, Furry, Sharp-Toothed Thing, which was so awesome. The main character descends into a spiral of paranoia and madness upon seeing these Halloween costumes inspired by a Lovecraft tale everywhere. The ending was brutal and incredibly satisfying. 5 stars for that one.
A minor complaint is that perhaps it does feel repetitive at times? A lot of the stories share the same ideas and settings, but as I stretched it out over a couple of weeks it wasn't too off-putting! All of the stories were well-written, even those I didn't enjoy as much. I wouldn't say any of them are complete stinkers.
Worth adding to next year's October TBR if it tickles your fancy! I quite enjoyed it. Average story rating of 3.76, so I've rounded up to 4 stars because I'm generous ;)
A collection of Lovecraftian tales in celebration of the spookiest time of the year.
Lovecraft fans! Look no further! (Because I know this is exactly what you were trawling through the internet looking for) I have found the perfect Lovecraftian collection for Halloween time.
I would probably label myself a Lovecraft fangirl. I did drag my boyfriend through a cemetery on an incredibly hot day to find his grave in Rhode Island on our recent vacay. So this collection was a whole lot of fun! There are references to and inspiration derived from all the usual Lovecraftian sources: Cthulhu, Innsmouth, the Necronomicon, Yuggoth, Azathoth, the sleeping gods… etc.
I don't think you need to have read Lovecraft in order to enjoy this collection, but I would hazard a guess that it does make it more enjoyable? My absolute favourite story was That Small, Furry, Sharp-Toothed Thing, which was so awesome. The main character descends into a spiral of paranoia and madness upon seeing these Halloween costumes inspired by a Lovecraft tale everywhere. The ending was brutal and incredibly satisfying. 5 stars for that one.
A minor complaint is that perhaps it does feel repetitive at times? A lot of the stories share the same ideas and settings, but as I stretched it out over a couple of weeks it wasn't too off-putting! All of the stories were well-written, even those I didn't enjoy as much. I wouldn't say any of them are complete stinkers.
Worth adding to next year's October TBR if it tickles your fancy! I quite enjoyed it. Average story rating of 3.76, so I've rounded up to 4 stars because I'm generous ;)
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