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Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird
by Wendy Dunlap, J. Edward Tremlett, Ada Hoffmann, Nadia Bulkin, DaVaun Sanders, Richard Lee Byers, Brian Evenson, Desirina Boskovich, Angus McIntyre, Tom Dullemond, Remy Nakamura, Scott Gable, Wendy Nikel, J.E. Bates, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., Wendy N. Wagner, Robert White, D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Cody Goodfellow, Lucy A. Snyder, D.W. Baldwin, Bogi Takács, C. Dombrowski, Premee Mohamed, Gord Sellar, Tim Curran, Heather Hatch, Heather Terry, Brandon O'Brien, Ingrid Garcia, Kara Dennison
Unnerving Magazine Review
It’s dark out there folks. It is dark and vast and scary. Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird is exactly what you’d expect given the title. Gees, it’s almost a guarantee given that title that you’ll get to space opera, space monsters, space weird, mingling with the cosmic scent of Lovecraft’s leavings. What isn’t so automatic is the quality. The writing is lyrical and smooth and vibrant in all the layers of darkness and bloodiness. The spaces and closed quarter worlds locked just walls away from the forever unknowns are full and vibrant. The reaching tendrils and fungi and notions of god-like pressures are delivered wonderfully.
There were a handful of great stories, many, many more good stories, and only a few that I didn’t see through (this perhaps thanks to a common thread wearing on me) or that I felt ran on too long. Nearly every story nailed that familiar vibe of impending dread that will chase you into oblivion (a few times humor poked its head too). So much so that at times, if not for subtle author tendencies and flourishes, it would almost seem if the same author penned several in a row.
This thing is enormous, and not only in the cosmic, all-encompassing sense either. It’s plain huge. And if doing a couple reviews a week didn’t turn my reading habits into something akin to a factory floor machine, I have a feeling I would’ve made this one work a little more for me. That is not to say I did not enjoy the stories, because obviously I did. That is more to say that, although the very best Lovecraftian fiction has been written decades after his death, twenty-nine stories told along the same vein was a lot to drink over the course of a few days. Had I gobbled down five or six stories at a time amidst reading other titles, I have a notion that I’d find a warmer spot in my heart for these undeniably cold tales.
There are also pieces of art added for each story, which still worked in the eBook version… that on its own is something to be proud of, and all added to the vibe of the collection. It is probably the best cosmic space collection I’ve read and it really reads like two collections stacked together.
It’s dark out there folks. It is dark and vast and scary. Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird is exactly what you’d expect given the title. Gees, it’s almost a guarantee given that title that you’ll get to space opera, space monsters, space weird, mingling with the cosmic scent of Lovecraft’s leavings. What isn’t so automatic is the quality. The writing is lyrical and smooth and vibrant in all the layers of darkness and bloodiness. The spaces and closed quarter worlds locked just walls away from the forever unknowns are full and vibrant. The reaching tendrils and fungi and notions of god-like pressures are delivered wonderfully.
There were a handful of great stories, many, many more good stories, and only a few that I didn’t see through (this perhaps thanks to a common thread wearing on me) or that I felt ran on too long. Nearly every story nailed that familiar vibe of impending dread that will chase you into oblivion (a few times humor poked its head too). So much so that at times, if not for subtle author tendencies and flourishes, it would almost seem if the same author penned several in a row.
This thing is enormous, and not only in the cosmic, all-encompassing sense either. It’s plain huge. And if doing a couple reviews a week didn’t turn my reading habits into something akin to a factory floor machine, I have a feeling I would’ve made this one work a little more for me. That is not to say I did not enjoy the stories, because obviously I did. That is more to say that, although the very best Lovecraftian fiction has been written decades after his death, twenty-nine stories told along the same vein was a lot to drink over the course of a few days. Had I gobbled down five or six stories at a time amidst reading other titles, I have a notion that I’d find a warmer spot in my heart for these undeniably cold tales.
There are also pieces of art added for each story, which still worked in the eBook version… that on its own is something to be proud of, and all added to the vibe of the collection. It is probably the best cosmic space collection I’ve read and it really reads like two collections stacked together.