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qalminator's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, a good collection. There are a few stories where I question how we are getting a first-person account (though one comes up with a rather nice explanation that also expands the story), and there's one that made me realize that I have at least one trigger-issue (and it's not one that I expect to be common enough that anyone will bother labeling it). Interestingly, these are mostly bleaker than Lovecraft's actual works. As a side note, I'm not entirely sure when I actually started this, so the selected start date is more or less arbitrary. It sat in Kindle Limbo for several years after I got to that one story (and I did not reread that one).
A Darklight Call'd on the Long Last Night of the Soul by Michaelbrent Collings (3 stars, 4 tentacles) - Some "planets" are best left alone.
Dead Waits Dreaming by Larry Correia (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Interesting use of dreams (and the lack thereof), and how they connect to Elder Things.
The Implant by Robert J. Defendi (? stars, ? tentacles) - This story pushed my buttons in such a way that I put this collection aside for several years. I vaguely remember it being well-written, but I had no desire to reread it when I picked this up again.
Plague Ship by Steven L. Peck (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - The dangers of visiting other universes.
From Within the Walls by Steven Diamond (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Prison asteroid turns out to be a bit more. Definite echoes of The Dunwich Horror.
Space Opera: Episode Two—The Great Old One Strikes Back by Michael R. Collings (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Beautiful inversion. The POV character is from an insectoid race, and recoils in horror at the bizarre, fleshy creature with only two locked-socket eyes, 2 arms, 2 legs. Of course, there are also Old Ones...
The Queen in Shadow by David J. West (3 stars, 2 tentacles) - Tug of war over supposed eternal mate, with shoggothoi (which gets pluralized as shoggoths). Annoying to have two strong female characters entirely defined by their relationship with this reincarnated male.
The Humans in the Walls by Eric James Stone (4 stars, 3 tentacles) - A sort of Lovecraftian Hitchhiker's Guide, in some respects. Humans hitch rides on godships,.
Seed by D.J. Butler (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Planet of pink worms makes people obsessed with sex. Interesting and well-written, but not really to my taste.
Full Dark by Nathan Shumate (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Eerie space tale. Very Lovecraftian ending. I like.
Fall of the Runewrought by Howard Tayler (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Investigation into a failure at a power plant leads to aerial battle with Kaiju. Started off very interesting, but ... I think the progression from minor incident to world-threatening horror threw me off a bit. Also, I prefer battles with Lovecraftian horrors to be less physical.
A Darklight Call'd on the Long Last Night of the Soul by Michaelbrent Collings (3 stars, 4 tentacles) - Some "planets" are best left alone.
Dead Waits Dreaming by Larry Correia (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Interesting use of dreams (and the lack thereof), and how they connect to Elder Things.
The Implant by Robert J. Defendi (? stars, ? tentacles) - This story pushed my buttons in such a way that I put this collection aside for several years. I vaguely remember it being well-written, but I had no desire to reread it when I picked this up again.
Spoiler
It involves a character hallucinating. When I am tired enough, I sometimes get an illusory "presence" in my mind. It has a visual form in my mind's eye, but it is not a visual hallucination. Mostly it's just an ominous sense of someone/thing there that should not be. Even knowing that there's nothing there, the fear it causes is real ... and this story had just enough similarity to that to really freak me out. Side note: I haven't actually had this experience in several years. I debated rereading this story, and decided I didn't want to chance starting the not-quite-hallucinations up again.Plague Ship by Steven L. Peck (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - The dangers of visiting other universes.
From Within the Walls by Steven Diamond (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Prison asteroid turns out to be a bit more. Definite echoes of The Dunwich Horror.
Space Opera: Episode Two—The Great Old One Strikes Back by Michael R. Collings (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Beautiful inversion. The POV character is from an insectoid race, and recoils in horror at the bizarre, fleshy creature with only two locked-socket eyes, 2 arms, 2 legs. Of course, there are also Old Ones...
The Queen in Shadow by David J. West (3 stars, 2 tentacles) - Tug of war over supposed eternal mate, with shoggothoi (which gets pluralized as shoggoths). Annoying to have two strong female characters entirely defined by their relationship with this reincarnated male.
The Humans in the Walls by Eric James Stone (4 stars, 3 tentacles) - A sort of Lovecraftian Hitchhiker's Guide, in some respects. Humans hitch rides on godships,
Spoiler
Elder Things might also trySeed by D.J. Butler (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Planet of pink worms makes people obsessed with sex. Interesting and well-written, but not really to my taste.
Full Dark by Nathan Shumate (4 stars, 4 tentacles) - Eerie space tale. Very Lovecraftian ending. I like
Spoiler
the conflation of dark matter and Elder ThingsFall of the Runewrought by Howard Tayler (3 stars, 3 tentacles) - Investigation into a failure at a power plant leads to aerial battle with Kaiju. Started off very interesting, but ... I think the progression from minor incident to world-threatening horror threw me off a bit. Also, I prefer battles with Lovecraftian horrors to be less physical.
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