arthurbdd's review
4.0
For the most part this is a well-chosen selection of stories - combining fresh new tales with obscurities from yesteryear long since due a reprint. That said, the Michael Shea story Beneath the Beardmore is just kind of silly and sloppily thrown-together.
That may not be Shea's fault - it's a posthumous publication, since Shea died shortly before this was published - but nonetheless, that just makes me suspect that it was included out of a misguided impulse to pay tribute, not because it's actually a good tale, and so it drags down the collection's average.
Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/tales-of-the-cthulhu-mythos-and-its-imitators-part-7/
That may not be Shea's fault - it's a posthumous publication, since Shea died shortly before this was published - but nonetheless, that just makes me suspect that it was included out of a misguided impulse to pay tribute, not because it's actually a good tale, and so it drags down the collection's average.
Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/tales-of-the-cthulhu-mythos-and-its-imitators-part-7/
tbr_the_unconquered's review
3.0
The relationship that I share with the Cthulhu mythos is not a very robust one. There are some stories that hold me in thrall, some that unsettle me, some that draw me in but a lot many of them bore me to tears. There are imaginative retellings which use Lovecraft’s alien entities in the most terrifying ways possible but a lot many of the mediocre retellings have the authors perambulating the same beaten paths with dismal results. The name of S.T. Joshi, one of the foremost scholars of Lovecraftian literature was testimony enough for me to give this collection a shot.
Although it is a cliché to call an anthology a mixed bag, every collection has its share of duds and it goes without saying that this trend continues here too.
There are too many stories here and here are the ones that caught my attention :
The House of the Worm by Mearle Prout
Far Below by Robert Barbour Johnson
The Franklyn Paragraphs by Ramsey Campbell
Black Man with a Horn by T.E.D Klein
The Last Feast of Harlequin by Thomas Ligotti
Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman
A Gentleman from Mexico by Mark Samuels
John Four by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Most of the rest is about people trying their best and worst ways to please the elder gods and end up spilling their marbles all over the place in the process. Loved some but most were just meh !
Although it is a cliché to call an anthology a mixed bag, every collection has its share of duds and it goes without saying that this trend continues here too.
There are too many stories here and here are the ones that caught my attention :
The House of the Worm by Mearle Prout
Far Below by Robert Barbour Johnson
The Franklyn Paragraphs by Ramsey Campbell
Black Man with a Horn by T.E.D Klein
The Last Feast of Harlequin by Thomas Ligotti
Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman
A Gentleman from Mexico by Mark Samuels
John Four by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Most of the rest is about people trying their best and worst ways to please the elder gods and end up spilling their marbles all over the place in the process. Loved some but most were just meh !
pezski's review
5.0
4.5 stars
A generally high-quality collection of Mythos tales edited by master Lovecraft scholar Joshi, giving an overview of Lovecraftian fiction from outside the main circle of authors, from the 1930s to the present day.
Stand out stories: "[Anasazi]" Gemma Files, "John Four" Caitlan R. Kiernan, "A Gentleman form Mexico" Mark Samuels, "...Hungry...Rats..." Jospeph S. Pulver, "Far Below" , "The Deep Ones" James Wade, "In The Shadow of Swords" Cody Goodfellow, "Sigma Octantis" by and, of course, "Only the end of the World Again" by Neil Gaiman
A generally high-quality collection of Mythos tales edited by master Lovecraft scholar Joshi, giving an overview of Lovecraftian fiction from outside the main circle of authors, from the 1930s to the present day.
Stand out stories: "[Anasazi]" Gemma Files, "John Four" Caitlan R. Kiernan, "A Gentleman form Mexico" Mark Samuels, "...Hungry...Rats..." Jospeph S. Pulver, "Far Below" , "The Deep Ones" James Wade, "In The Shadow of Swords" Cody Goodfellow, "Sigma Octantis" by and, of course, "Only the end of the World Again" by Neil Gaiman
joe_mcmahon's review
5.0
Highly recommended
An excellent collection of stories, from gritty to surreal. Some of the best neo-Mythos stories I’ve read; a few I’d read before, but mostly new and highly entertaining.
An excellent collection of stories, from gritty to surreal. Some of the best neo-Mythos stories I’ve read; a few I’d read before, but mostly new and highly entertaining.
academianut's review
3.0
Neil Gaiman story was worth it
I liked some of these stories better than others, the mood varies from mystical to cynical and the genre from noir to thriller to Lovecraft-pastiche - interesting mix, worth it for the Gaiman story alone, but also one with a sympathetic portrayal of Wilbur Whateley.
I liked some of these stories better than others, the mood varies from mystical to cynical and the genre from noir to thriller to Lovecraft-pastiche - interesting mix, worth it for the Gaiman story alone, but also one with a sympathetic portrayal of Wilbur Whateley.
snowbenton's review
3.0
A ramshackle collection of Lovecraftian stories. Mostly forgettable with a few good moments.
blackthirteen's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
I found that the most interesting stories in this anthology were in the latter half; "The House of the Worm" was a strong opener, but the following six stories were more in the vein of a direct Lovecraft pastiche, which might suit the fan of Lovecraft's tropes (epistolary fiction, "it came from beneath the sea", "these people in this secluded town are different from me and I don't like it so I'm going to dig around in their personal business until something bites me", etc) but didn't suit me. there's also one story ("Black Man With a Horn") where the protagonist used to be friends with HPL and didn't like that he got all the posthumous accolades, which was temporarily amusing but the story itself ended up annoying me.
I feel that the anthology picks up at around "The Last Feast of Harlequin" and starts to exhibit more unique voices -- even the obvious callbacks to HPL tales ("Only the End of the World", "The Black Brat of Dunwich", "... Hungry ... Rats", "Beneath the Beardmore") feel fresh here instead of just plain derivative. "Mandebröt Moldrot" is fun if you like funky maths; "In the Shadow of Swords" is as tense as an action movie with a payoff that had my imagination whirring; beleaguered retail workers might relate to "Mobymart After Midnight"; "John Four" is both bleak and lush in its descriptions of an Earth mired in a depthless and devouring darkness; and "[Anasazi]" really packs a lot of punches (literally!) -- it's the one story that stuck with me long after my first read-through of this anthology a few years ago.
it's hard to rate this as a whole when it has such a dichotomous effect on me (I was insufferably bored through the first half and then riveted through most of the second), so I refrained from giving it a star rating.
I feel that the anthology picks up at around "The Last Feast of Harlequin" and starts to exhibit more unique voices -- even the obvious callbacks to HPL tales ("Only the End of the World", "The Black Brat of Dunwich", "... Hungry ... Rats", "Beneath the Beardmore") feel fresh here instead of just plain derivative. "Mandebröt Moldrot" is fun if you like funky maths; "In the Shadow of Swords" is as tense as an action movie with a payoff that had my imagination whirring; beleaguered retail workers might relate to "Mobymart After Midnight"; "John Four" is both bleak and lush in its descriptions of an Earth mired in a depthless and devouring darkness; and "[Anasazi]" really packs a lot of punches (literally!) -- it's the one story that stuck with me long after my first read-through of this anthology a few years ago.
it's hard to rate this as a whole when it has such a dichotomous effect on me (I was insufferably bored through the first half and then riveted through most of the second), so I refrained from giving it a star rating.
bonym's review
4.0
An anthology of the cosmic gorrors
Some anthologies try to keep one theme going throughout.
This one brought fear, comedy, action, and obviously exestential dread to the pages.
A great, albeit long read
Some anthologies try to keep one theme going throughout.
This one brought fear, comedy, action, and obviously exestential dread to the pages.
A great, albeit long read
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