jonmhansen's review against another edition
4.0
A good collection. Some I’d seen before, but some newer ones. I’m always surprised how different writers interpret Cthulhuness. Some are pure WTF, others are really interesting.
chmccann's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good anthology - as you expect, there are some winners and some losers in there, but overall it was enjoyable. I listened to the audio version and I didn't really care for the narrators, so I'd recommend reading this with your eyeballs.
macthebrazen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Rape, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Fatphobia, War, Racial slurs, Violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
jeremyjfloyd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
greyhart's review against another edition
2.0
Uneven. Can't say loved any story but most weren't actively terrible.
johnwillson's review against another edition
3.0
Huge volume of short stories of the Cthulhu mythos.
The first couple of stories are great, but things quickly go downhill from there. Some retread familiar ground. "Ooo, Deep Ones... again." Some have an unsatisfying structure, ending suddenly and with arcs unresolved. But there are a few gems, and as noted, it's a huge tome. When one tale bores, one can just skip to the next.
The first couple of stories are great, but things quickly go downhill from there. Some retread familiar ground. "Ooo, Deep Ones... again." Some have an unsatisfying structure, ending suddenly and with arcs unresolved. But there are a few gems, and as noted, it's a huge tome. When one tale bores, one can just skip to the next.
pacardullo's review against another edition
5.0
A gigantic tome of Lovecraftian goodness. A great sampler of Mythos-inspired stories in a variety of styles and tones, and not a bad one in the bunch. If you enjoy seeing what various authors can do when playing in Lovecraft's world, you'll want to check out this collection.
alids's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a simple lady, I see that Silvia Moreno-Garcia contributes and I read it.
This was quite the addition to my Spooktober reading.
Like with any collection of short stories, you have some that make you sad it's not a full book, and others that you can't figure out why it's included.
I actually enjoyed most of the stories in here, it was mostly the western themed ones I didn't enjoy (that's out of personal preference than any other reason).
This was quite the addition to my Spooktober reading.
Like with any collection of short stories, you have some that make you sad it's not a full book, and others that you can't figure out why it's included.
I actually enjoyed most of the stories in here, it was mostly the western themed ones I didn't enjoy (that's out of personal preference than any other reason).
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
A grab bag, like a lot of short story anthologies tend to be. Some stories are great, specifically those by:
- Elizabeth Bear
- Charles R. Saunders
- Edward Morris
- Cherie Priest
- John Hornor Jacobs
- Ann K. Schwader
- Steve Duffy
- John Langan
Some, though, were not good. At all. Specifically the ones by:
- T.E.D. Klein
- Brian McNaughton
- Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
The rest are very YMMV. Still, since most are overall decent stories, I'm rating this pretty high.
stanwj's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly meaty (and slimy/bloody/gooey) collection of stories using Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Horror anthologies are notoriously uneven in my experience so I was pleasantly surprised at how solid this anthology is. While there is no singular standout story here there are also no outright clunkers that I was tempted to flip past. The weakest efforts are probably those that attempt to mimic Lovecraft's actual writing style, like Brian Lumley's "The Fairground Horror". People probably shouldn't do this.
The highlights include Laird Barron's "The Men from Porlock". While I found his style a bit ponderous at times in his own collection, his concluding story set post-World War I is wonderfully weird, gruesome and filled with men who curse like lumberjacks because they are, in fact, lumberjacks.
Charles Stross imagines weaponizing Cthulhu in "A Colder war" and the results are appropriately horrifying, while Elizabeth Bear's "Shoggoths in Bloom" takes a quieter, science-focused approach to Lovecraft's horrors that makes them almost cute. Almost.
Joe R. Lansdale's "The Crawling Sky" features a sharpshooting preacher out to battle evil Old Testament-style. The speech and manner of the preacher reminded me (favorably) of The Dark Tower's Roland.
The remaining stories cover time periods ranging from the early 20th century to the present day and shift in tone from not-quite-outright comedy to relentlessly grim, with a few detours into "What the hell is happening?" territory. There's really something for everyone here, especially if you like faces filled with writhing tentacles or hair that is actually wriggling sentient worms.
Highly recommended.
The highlights include Laird Barron's "The Men from Porlock". While I found his style a bit ponderous at times in his own collection, his concluding story set post-World War I is wonderfully weird, gruesome and filled with men who curse like lumberjacks because they are, in fact, lumberjacks.
Charles Stross imagines weaponizing Cthulhu in "A Colder war" and the results are appropriately horrifying, while Elizabeth Bear's "Shoggoths in Bloom" takes a quieter, science-focused approach to Lovecraft's horrors that makes them almost cute. Almost.
Joe R. Lansdale's "The Crawling Sky" features a sharpshooting preacher out to battle evil Old Testament-style. The speech and manner of the preacher reminded me (favorably) of The Dark Tower's Roland.
The remaining stories cover time periods ranging from the early 20th century to the present day and shift in tone from not-quite-outright comedy to relentlessly grim, with a few detours into "What the hell is happening?" territory. There's really something for everyone here, especially if you like faces filled with writhing tentacles or hair that is actually wriggling sentient worms.
Highly recommended.