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netslummer's review
4.0
If you said to me "Hey, Nick, I know your favorite board game is Eldritch Horror. Pick an investigator and we'll give you a book with them as the main character!", Norman Withers would be very far down on the list. Give me an Ashcan Pete or a Skids O'Toole.
However this book was actually super fun. I know they're all a bit camp and lame if you're not super into the characters from the Arkham Horror media based on Lovecraft, but I'm a big fan of it and that probably skews my opinion of the books I've read so far.
In this Norman meets a pupil of Einstein named Claus Schmidt giving a guest lecture at Miskatonic University. Schmidt is interested in "discontinuities" within space-time (gates into other worlds, basically) in Arkham where people in the past have disappeared without a trace. Obviously things go awry as the pair are investigating one of these anomalies and Norman must research these historic past events and try to piece together how to rescue his new friend.
It's a fun read. If you're already invested in the characters via the board game or other Arkham media like I am, I fully recommend checking this out.
However this book was actually super fun. I know they're all a bit camp and lame if you're not super into the characters from the Arkham Horror media based on Lovecraft, but I'm a big fan of it and that probably skews my opinion of the books I've read so far.
In this Norman meets a pupil of Einstein named Claus Schmidt giving a guest lecture at Miskatonic University. Schmidt is interested in "discontinuities" within space-time (gates into other worlds, basically) in Arkham where people in the past have disappeared without a trace. Obviously things go awry as the pair are investigating one of these anomalies and Norman must research these historic past events and try to piece together how to rescue his new friend.
It's a fun read. If you're already invested in the characters via the board game or other Arkham media like I am, I fully recommend checking this out.
maxtrommelen's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
the_weirdling's review
4.0
This is one of several novels set in the Arkham Horror gaming universe. It is the first I’ve read. To be honest I was not expecting very much. It may be that this is getting four stars because I was so pleasantly surprised.
The action follows an astronomer who is “on the outs“ at the prestigious Miskatonic university for obsessing over an astronomical anomaly. He volunteers to help a prestigious visiting physics professor visit some sites around town. During these visits, visiting professor reveals that he is embarked on research of an occult nature. After some initial success, to find themselves in over their heads in a way that only happens in a
a Lovecraftian story. Before long, the visiting professor goes missing, the astronomer has complicated explaining to do, the sheriff isn’t buying any of it, and a local mob boss gets seriously pissed off.
This is good, fun, classic (at times stereotypical) Lovecraftian storytelling. While it is not especially original or ground breaking, it manages to be happily satisfying all the same. I steamrolled right through it.
The action follows an astronomer who is “on the outs“ at the prestigious Miskatonic university for obsessing over an astronomical anomaly. He volunteers to help a prestigious visiting physics professor visit some sites around town. During these visits, visiting professor reveals that he is embarked on research of an occult nature. After some initial success, to find themselves in over their heads in a way that only happens in a
a Lovecraftian story. Before long, the visiting professor goes missing, the astronomer has complicated explaining to do, the sheriff isn’t buying any of it, and a local mob boss gets seriously pissed off.
This is good, fun, classic (at times stereotypical) Lovecraftian storytelling. While it is not especially original or ground breaking, it manages to be happily satisfying all the same. I steamrolled right through it.
aljosha27's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this novella! Horror and science fiction go so well together.
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