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  • Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos - Writers Past & Present Circle Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.

  • One of the first collections of non-Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos stories I have seen printed by Del Rey (they have published three previous collections of material written by Lovecraft himself), Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos is a mixed bag.

    Some top writers past and present contribute their vision o ... Continue

    One of the first collections of non-Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos stories I have seen printed by Del Rey (they have published three previous collections of material written by Lovecraft himself), Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos is a mixed bag.

    Some top writers past and present contribute their vision of a Lovecraftian story, Mr. Stephen King, Robert Bloch, Brian Lumley, even Conan creator Robert E. Howard. Most of the stories are entertaining. One of my favorites is 'The Hounds Of Tindalos' by Frank Belknap Long. I haven't read any previous material by him in the past but will definitely in the future. Heck, that's what is the surprising bit about this collection. Big heavy weights like Stephen King show up and offer their contributions, but it's these unknown writers who entertain the best.

    Even a couple of my favorite writers, Robert E. Howard and Brian Lumley have included 'average' stories but what makes up for them? 'The Space Eaters' (another Frank Belknap Long story), and 'The Return of The Sorcerer' by Clark Ashton Smith.

    Then again, much like Lovecraft's original stories, many are written 'heavily'. What I mean by that is the text is a little dated and it can be hard to read for some people. Lovecraft's stories for example, I've read a few times and with each new read understand more and more of them (and like them even better). Perhaps given a few more reads of some of the stories contained in this collection the same thing may happen.

    The thing I found strange about the stories contained in this collection is the fact that so many of them don't even mention Cthulhu. Many don't even mention any Gods from the Cthulhu Mythos whatsoever. The only thing that seems to tie them into the 'Mythos' is the sense of cosmic horror. Lovecraft felt that Mankind is a tiny thing when it comes to the grandness of the Universe and all of these writers have written in this vein.

    Overall pretty nice collection of works for Lovecraftian fans. For me personally I found it a great book to find out about other good Lovecraftian authors that I want to check out. Much like a music sampler with different bands and such on it, this collection is a great way to get a taste of each different author.

    Table Of Contents:

    The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
    The Return of the Sorceror by Clark Ashton Smith
    Ubbo-Sathla by Clark Ashton Smith
    The Black Stone by Robert E. Howard
    The Hounds of Tindalos by Frank Belknap Long
    The Space-Eaters by Frank Belknap Long
    The Dweller in Darkness by August Derleth
    Beyond the Threshold by August Derleth
    The Shambler from the Stars by Robert Bloch
    The Haunter of the Dark by H.P. Lovecraft
    The Shadow from the Steeple by Robert Bloch
    Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert Bloch
    The Salem Horror by Henry Kuttner
    The Terror from the Depths by Fritz Leiber
    Rising with Surtsey by Brian Lumley
    Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell
    The Return of the Lloigor by Colin Wilson
    My Boat by Joanna Russ
    Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner
    The Freshman by Philip Jose Farmer
    Jerusalem's Lot by Stephen King
    Discovery of the Ghooric Zone by Richard A. Lupoff

    

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• ― CaptHowdy said on Sep 8, 2007 | Add your feedback

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  • Interesting collection of stories, beginning with Lovecraft's original Cthulhu short story, and including stories written by other "masters of horror" based upon Lovecraft's piece.

    

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• ― guaddess said on Aug 2, 2007 | Add your feedback

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
--H. P. LOVECRAFT, "Supernatural Horror in Literature"

Howard Phillips Lovecraft forever changed the face of horror, fantasy, and science fiction with a remarkable series of stories as influential as the works of Poe, Tolkien, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. His chilling mythology established a gateway between the known universe and an ancient dimension of otherworldly terror, whose unspeakable denizens and monstrous landscapes--dread Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, the Plateau of Leng, the Mountains of Madness--have earned him a permanent place in the history of the macabre.

In Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, a pantheon of horror and fantasy's finest authors pay tribute to the master of the macabre with a collection of original stories set in the fearsome Lovecraft tradition:

¸  The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft: The slumbering monster-gods return to the world of mortals.
¸  Notebook Found in a Deserted House by Robert Bloch: A lone farmboy chronicles his last stand against a hungering backwoods evil.
¸  Cold Print by Ramsey Campbell: An avid reader of forbidden books finds a treasure trove of deadly volumes--available for a bloodcurdling price.
¸  The Freshman by Philip José Farmer: A student of the black arts receives an education in horror at notorious Miskatonic University.

PLUS EIGHTEEN MORE SPINE-TINGLING TALES!

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