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otterno11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
The second entry in the Lovecraft Squad series, Waiting is an anthology of interconnected stories featuring the Human Protection League, a secretive international anti-supernatural task force affiliated with the American FBI in a world in which H.P. Lovecraft was writing nonfiction. With the contributing authors approaching the founding and early actions of the HPL during the mid-twentieth century, a shared universe of the secret true natures of various historical events is established, though nothing really original is included.
Drawing from various genres, from action pulp to noir, the tone and writing style of the contributors feel a bit disconnected even if they are all working from the same pulp premise. A few are slightly entertaining takes, but most play these tired tropes all too straight, and it's kind of disappointing after all of the recent works subverting Lovecraftian horror and taking it in whole new directions. Lovecraft’s infamous racism is depicted, for instance, but it is not critiqued, which is a problem when we’re taking what he is writing as based on reality. While definitely more coherent than the first entry in the series, All Hallows Horror, in spite of a couple fun twists here and there, Waiting left me waiting for something interesting in all of this.
I write about other works that use Lovecraft as a fictional character in my article Lovecraft Reanimated at Fandom Fanatics.
Drawing from various genres, from action pulp to noir, the tone and writing style of the contributors feel a bit disconnected even if they are all working from the same pulp premise. A few are slightly entertaining takes, but most play these tired tropes all too straight, and it's kind of disappointing after all of the recent works subverting Lovecraftian horror and taking it in whole new directions. Lovecraft’s infamous racism is depicted, for instance, but it is not critiqued, which is a problem when we’re taking what he is writing as based on reality. While definitely more coherent than the first entry in the series, All Hallows Horror, in spite of a couple fun twists here and there, Waiting left me waiting for something interesting in all of this.
I write about other works that use Lovecraft as a fictional character in my article Lovecraft Reanimated at Fandom Fanatics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
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