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starship's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
raechel's review against another edition
4.0
This book is an anthology of Lovecraftian-inspired short stories. I was originally loaned it because one of the featured writers is Stephen King. Some of these stories are awkward, some are kinda racist, some are weird, some drag in a few places, and some are creepy. These are all qualities that can be found in some Lovecraft stories.
I read the hardcover of this book and it's very good quality! The art on the cover is interesting and kind of creepy. The paper is surprisingly sturdy, almost like cardstock. There are 9 stories written by a total of 10 authors.
Crouch End is by Stephen King, which was kind of creepy but with familiar King tropes--ie, you get a backstory on a lot of the characters. A vacationing American couple go on holiday to London and get lost in the titular Crouch End.
I liked the second half of The Star Pools by A. A. Attanasio, which I thought was very Lovecraftian, but the first half just seems to start out of nowhere, drags on and on, and honestly almost made me quit the book. Gangsters, drugs, and racist caricatures.
The Second Wish by Brian Lumley was very Lumley...he wants to write like Lovecraft very badly, and can do a good surface imitation. I really liked this story though, it's about a playboy and the older woman he's totally not using for money on vacation in Old Europe and visit a creepy monk in a creepy castle. Wishes ensue.
Dark Awakening by Frank Belknap Long, who actually knew Lovecraft in life! This story is pretty short and kind of confusing. A man spots a single mother on a New England beach and becomes smitten at once. He tries to weasel his way into her life and assume a father role with her children. Kind of a weird one.
Shaft Number 247 is by Basil Copper and I really enjoyed it. There is a distopian/Lovecraftian/1984 feel to this story which I thought was a really cool genre blend. You learn more about the world it's set in as you read the story, but basically people live underground in a Big Brother-esque setting and there's something creepy happening!
Black Man with a Horn by T.E.D. Klein is not the most Lovecraftian story in this anthology, but it is near the top. It's told in a I'm-leaving-this-journal-for-you-to-find-near-my-mangled-corpse fashion. The narrator described meeting a strange missionary on a plane, and getting sucked into the sinister cult that's after him. The narrator is also an elderly writer, which made it kind of cute.
The Black Tome of Alsophocus is the most Lovecraftian story in this book, which is no surprise since it's written by H.P. Lovecraft and Martin S. Warnes. If you know Lovecraft I think it's easy to spot who added what details to the story. Books of forbidden knowledge, time/space travel, Old Ones.
Than Curse the Darkness by David Drake seemed more like a ghost story with Lovecraftian elements tagged in, but the protagonist is a learned, aging woman--not your typical Lovecraft character. There's a heavy theme of racism, with plenty of n-words sprinkled in which made me wince a lot, but it's still a cool read. And Sparrow was awesome, I wish I knew more about him.
Finally, we have The Faces at Pine Dunes written by the editor himself, Ramsey Campbell. At first I was not into this one. But as I read more it became apparent it was a more modern-day Lovecraftian story about a Romani or traveler family who seems to have finally settled down at Pine Dunes. By the end of the story I could see why it had been included.
If you like Lovecraftian stories I would recommend this book. It's really nice quality and the mix of times and locations in the anthology will hopefully let you find something you like in it.
I read the hardcover of this book and it's very good quality! The art on the cover is interesting and kind of creepy. The paper is surprisingly sturdy, almost like cardstock. There are 9 stories written by a total of 10 authors.
Crouch End is by Stephen King, which was kind of creepy but with familiar King tropes--ie, you get a backstory on a lot of the characters. A vacationing American couple go on holiday to London and get lost in the titular Crouch End.
I liked the second half of The Star Pools by A. A. Attanasio, which I thought was very Lovecraftian, but the first half just seems to start out of nowhere, drags on and on, and honestly almost made me quit the book. Gangsters, drugs, and racist caricatures.
The Second Wish by Brian Lumley was very Lumley...he wants to write like Lovecraft very badly, and can do a good surface imitation. I really liked this story though, it's about a playboy and the older woman he's totally not using for money on vacation in Old Europe and visit a creepy monk in a creepy castle. Wishes ensue.
Dark Awakening by Frank Belknap Long, who actually knew Lovecraft in life! This story is pretty short and kind of confusing. A man spots a single mother on a New England beach and becomes smitten at once. He tries to weasel his way into her life and assume a father role with her children. Kind of a weird one.
Shaft Number 247 is by Basil Copper and I really enjoyed it. There is a distopian/Lovecraftian/1984 feel to this story which I thought was a really cool genre blend. You learn more about the world it's set in as you read the story, but basically people live underground in a Big Brother-esque setting and there's something creepy happening!
Black Man with a Horn by T.E.D. Klein is not the most Lovecraftian story in this anthology, but it is near the top. It's told in a I'm-leaving-this-journal-for-you-to-find-near-my-mangled-corpse fashion. The narrator described meeting a strange missionary on a plane, and getting sucked into the sinister cult that's after him. The narrator is also an elderly writer, which made it kind of cute.
The Black Tome of Alsophocus is the most Lovecraftian story in this book, which is no surprise since it's written by H.P. Lovecraft and Martin S. Warnes. If you know Lovecraft I think it's easy to spot who added what details to the story. Books of forbidden knowledge, time/space travel, Old Ones.
Than Curse the Darkness by David Drake seemed more like a ghost story with Lovecraftian elements tagged in, but the protagonist is a learned, aging woman--not your typical Lovecraft character. There's a heavy theme of racism, with plenty of n-words sprinkled in which made me wince a lot, but it's still a cool read. And Sparrow was awesome, I wish I knew more about him.
Finally, we have The Faces at Pine Dunes written by the editor himself, Ramsey Campbell. At first I was not into this one. But as I read more it became apparent it was a more modern-day Lovecraftian story about a Romani or traveler family who seems to have finally settled down at Pine Dunes. By the end of the story I could see why it had been included.
If you like Lovecraftian stories I would recommend this book. It's really nice quality and the mix of times and locations in the anthology will hopefully let you find something you like in it.
lainibop's review against another edition
2.0
The Cthulu Mythos is a universe created by H.P. Lovecraft and which has been used in many novels, films and even computer games. The main idea in this universe is that there were once a race of deities known as The Old Ones who ruled over the world, however they have been asleep for a long long time. Some of these Gods are still worshipped by cults on Earth, and some don't even dwell on our planet. The theory is that these Old Ones will one day awaken from their sleep and destroy humanity.
With this in mind, this collection of short stories is written by some well-known horror fiction authors. Stephen King is the first author in this collection and anyone who knows me will know that I adore King, mostly his older work. As this book was first published in 1980, I am glad to say I was very happy with his contribution. In my opinion, King's great strength is his creation of atmosphere, he can also be very gruesome in his descriptions, but what always impacts me the most in his works is the not knowing, the fear of what is around the corner and when a writer can drag you so far into his world that you start to wonder what is real and what is imaginary, they have done their job well.
Crouch End, King's story which opens this collection does exactly this. A frightened American woman arrives at a police station in a small English town, with a horrible story to tell. The police listen to her story, and after her statement is taken, the youngest of them recalls it with disbelief. However the older one reassures him that this won't be the last story of this type he will hear. She tells of her husband's disappearance, and how she became lost in what seemed to be a strange world unlike our own, we never truly discover the why's and where's of her husband's disappearance and again, this is what makes this story truly chilling to the bone.
There are many other stories contained within, one which describe an Old One taking over someone's body in an attempt to call himself forth and another where a man uses dark magic to try to attain a level close to an old one.
My favourites though are the ones like Crouch End, where you, the reader is left to wonder about the hidden depths of our world, and if all is really as it seems.
With this in mind, this collection of short stories is written by some well-known horror fiction authors. Stephen King is the first author in this collection and anyone who knows me will know that I adore King, mostly his older work. As this book was first published in 1980, I am glad to say I was very happy with his contribution. In my opinion, King's great strength is his creation of atmosphere, he can also be very gruesome in his descriptions, but what always impacts me the most in his works is the not knowing, the fear of what is around the corner and when a writer can drag you so far into his world that you start to wonder what is real and what is imaginary, they have done their job well.
Crouch End, King's story which opens this collection does exactly this. A frightened American woman arrives at a police station in a small English town, with a horrible story to tell. The police listen to her story, and after her statement is taken, the youngest of them recalls it with disbelief. However the older one reassures him that this won't be the last story of this type he will hear. She tells of her husband's disappearance, and how she became lost in what seemed to be a strange world unlike our own, we never truly discover the why's and where's of her husband's disappearance and again, this is what makes this story truly chilling to the bone.
There are many other stories contained within, one which describe an Old One taking over someone's body in an attempt to call himself forth and another where a man uses dark magic to try to attain a level close to an old one.
My favourites though are the ones like Crouch End, where you, the reader is left to wonder about the hidden depths of our world, and if all is really as it seems.
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