Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos

Book Description

"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!

Customer Reviews:

J.K. Potter's Illustrations Are Rich (Eldritch).......2007-03-07

Well done thou good and faithful servants. Especially you J.K. Potter! Much has been said about the stories and deservedly so, but Potter's "photos" of Lovecraftian creatures are also well worth mentioning.

Finding Horror in the Little Things.......2006-12-20

I'm currently writing a novel that draws on the Cthulhu mythos as background material, so it made sense for me to read where others have gone before. James Turner, the editor, has done his job, too: each short story smoothly flows from one to the next; creating a narrative you can actually follow that makes it a pleasure to read the collection. Anyone who has read The Hastur Cycle knows that a good organizer is a rare thing amongst short story compilations, particularly H.P. Lovecraft's, where the ego of the editor often takes precedence over the purpose of the compilation.

H.P. Lovecraft stories hew to a particular formula. Each story begins with a quote, usually fictional, from a deceased protagonist hinting at something awful. Then the story begins in first person; perhaps as a dialogue between the author and the reader, sometimes in an imagined conversation and at other times in narrative format, be it a diary, collection of notes, newspaper clippings, etc. There are many adjectives applied to nouns that aren't normally used in everyday speech; rocks and walls and houses become blasphemous and corrupt. This is only appropriate, since ninety percent of the protagonists are failed horror authors, scoffing at the mundanity of vampires and werewolves. The author explains how he came upon the reality-shredding horrors, often scoffs at his naiveté, and then ultimately reveals a terrible truth at the end of the story. Sometimes the author himself reveals this mind blasting madness, at other times a short footnote indicates what happened to the author (if he died/disappeared as a result of the conclusion). And almost always, there is a statement in the conclusion, highlighted in italics, that reveals the OOGA-BOOGA moment. Some examples:

"...what nameless shapes may even now lurk in the dark places of the world?"
"...the revolting and bestial stone miniature of a hellish monstrosity walking on the winds above the earth!"
"What they really are is fingerprints!"

You get the idea.

Ironically, there's little evidence that Lovecraft himself wrote this way. In fact, the italicized declaration is nowhere in evidence in his own two contributions ("The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Haunter of the Dark"). Which is interesting, because one of the sanity-wrenching insights from this compilation is this: Lovecraft birthed his own style of horror by collaborating. Appending his name to the mythos is missing the point of the whole series.

The first story, The Call of Cthulhu, lays out Lovecraft's style and beliefs (including references to Theosophy). The encounter with Cthluhu is a bit anticlimactic (poor thing gets a boat rammed into his forehead), but certainly there's enough dread and action to make the story interesting. The Return of the Sorcerer, by Clark Ashton Smith, is by far the best of the lot. Smith conveys dread and terror on a very small stage (a house). This short story was also clearly the inspiration for Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, including a headless corpse with a saw and hands that move of their own volition. Ubbo-Sathla, on the other hand, is more of a historical piece that's not very interesting. The Black Stone, by Robert E. Howard (he of Conan fame) makes an admirable attempt at imitating Lovecraft but ultimately falls back on rote scare tactics: cultists sacrificing newborns.

The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long, is a foray into time travel through drugs. Or a drug trip where someone thinks they're time traveling. Whatever the case, it introduces said Hounds and the concepts of extradimensional spaces. His take on the concept is interesting. Long also contributes The Space-Eaters, about weird tentacled beings that draw out people's brains through their skulls. While the story is fascinating, he seems to have completely missed the point of Lovecraft's uncaring, alien universe: The protagonists make the sign of the cross to ward off the alien monsters. Alien beings neither care nor even perceive human religions, and to prominently place Christianity as being "right" about the nature of the alien threat really saps the spirit of Lovecraft's isolation and madness.

The Dweller in Darkness and Beyond the Threshold, by August Derleth, are suitably creepy and a little wordy, burdened by Derleth's constant struggle to make the Cthulhu Mythos make sense. As usual, Derleth believes that every elemental being has a counterpart, and that by summoning one you defeat the other. All of which is a little too trite and neat for the unknowable horrors of a universe that conforms to no human logic.

Then we have the Robert Blake collection. Blake fawns incessantly over Lovecraft; if there's an overarching flaw amongst these short stories, it's his imitators' insistence that "Lovecraft was right." And not in a subtle way either. Such declarations are usually exclaimed with hysterical laughter, beating the reader over the head again and again that Lovecraft's work was real. To be fair, these authors were largely writing for each other, so what seems overbearing now undoubtedly appeared to be chummy to the authors. Thus, Robert Blake becomes a fictional character named Robert Bloch in the Shambler from the Stars. H.P. Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark invents and then kills Blake off; it's also one of the most frightening stories in the series. Imagine being obsessed with a terrible, dark place...and then find yourself sleepwalking there, awaking in the very place that haunts your dreams? Excellent stuff.

Unfortunately, Bloch has to go and mess the creepy narrative up with The Shadow from the Steeple. As a follow up to Lovecraft's story, Bloch unintentionally creates a science fiction spoof. Here, we have a villain who is deeply suntanned...because he invented the atomic bomb! A prophesy speaks of how the "dark One" of which "wild beasts followed him and licked his hands." Far be it for Bloch to use any sort of symbolism; instead, two panthers are released from zoos for the sole purpose of licking the antagonist's hands, just in case we're not sure who he is. This is bad science fiction drek on par with Plan Nine from Outer Space, but because it was a tribute to Lovecraft it's included in this section. Bloch redeems himself with Notebook Found in a Deserted House. Perhaps the inspiration for the original Blair Witch Project, this story is told from the point of view of a child, isolated in the woods with only a few adults. As one by one the adults go missing, a palpable dread comes over our poor narrator, who has nowhere to turn to. Of all the "this is my diary" type stories, this is the most disturbing and effective.

The Salem Horror by Henry Kuttner isn't particularly noteworthy, other than to mix witches with alien horrors, diminishing the horrific qualities of both. And again, the protagonist is another writer looking for the next great horror story. Don't any of these authors use their imaginations and come up with some other profession? The Terror from the Depths, by Fritz Leiber, drags and drags and drags. It's also guilty of the "and then he was dead!" appendix. Not great. Rising With Surtsey, by Brian Lumley, is actually interesting, involving the body swap of a horrible alien wizard and a human. It borders on parody at times (see the alien wizard in human form struggle to use these strange things called...HANDS!) but it's still evocative. Cold Print, by Ramsey Campbell, is barely a coherent story, involving Y'golonac, who feasts on the perverted. But our protagonist isn't practically strong-armed into the bad guy's hands (literally), which makes the story less scary.

The Return of the Lloigor, by Colin Wilson, is dreadfully slow. It involves ancient dragon-like beings that control the dark places of the Earth. It also suffers from the postscript syndrome. "For he was a good and sincere man, and is mourned by innumerable friends." My Boat, by Joanna Russ (the only female contribution to this volume), is wish-fulfillment fantasy, completely out of the context of an uncaring alien world, transforming the mythos into some sort of fairyland. Sticks, by Karl Edward Wagner, is supposedly the original inspiration for the Blair Witch Project (although I prefer Notebook Found in a Deserted House). The strange sticks, creepy house, and weird noises in the forest are all here, but it's written in a disjointed style that muddles the story.

A word about the postscript endings: The reason the ending to the Blair Witch Project worked so well is because the audience, even if for only a moment, believed the story was true. This is the only way to effectively pull off this kind of post-narrative horror. It's entirely possible that readers were more willing to suspend their disbelief when these stories were originally printed, but the very nature of the text printed in a collection of short stories ruins the mood. That's what made The Ring so neat; only at the end of the movie was the audience challenged with the possibility that if the film was actually a recording of true events, thereby implicating the audience in the horror by merely viewing it.

The Freshman, by Philip Jose Farmer, is the culmination of too much navel-gazing from the Lovecraft crowd. Now we have everyone at Miskatonic University involved in some sort of bizarre conspiracy, with a misplaced protagonist transplanted into a story for much younger folks. It didn't feel scary, just awkward. Jerusalem's Lot, by our very own Stephen King, is written in letter format. This quickly gets tiresome, interrupting the flow of the narrative. King closely hews to the Lovecraftian format, including the italicized scare and the postscript about the author. He's certainly written much better.

Finally, we have Richard A. Lupoff's Discovery of the Ghooric Zone. Taking The Freshman's fawning over Lovecraft to a new level, this disjointed story follows Lovecraft's universe well into the future. Unfortunately, it doesn't dwell enough on the characters or the premise, instead throwing in tidbits like the rise of the Deep Ones and other crazy stuff. While it might make for a really interesting setting for a role-playing game, it's not a cohesive short story.

Overall, it becomes very clear that Lovecraft wrote better horror than many of his imitators. The best of this collection find horror in the little things: a house, a child's terror, and the dark steeple of a church. In paying homage to Lovecraft, there was a fine line between paying tribute to his work and unintentionally parodying it. The authors that understood the difference wrote the most interesting stories.

Good for a chuckle or a scare.......2006-08-30

Lovecraft is of course the master of his own storytelling framework, but some of the other authors have an interesting take on his work. Others are a bit derivative and didn't hold my attention. I love the genre though.

Best book ever..........2006-05-12

tofcm was a awsome book. I enjoyed all of the authers different stories that were still under one over all subject. at times this book bored me in to a sleeping stuper but lucky most of the it scared me back into awakenes. At times in could not put down the book. then when that story was over and a new one came i got loney for the old story. over all some of the authers can wright and some of them can't.

A Competent Collection.......2005-04-04

It's hard to fault a "best of" collection - each story is, after all, there because it is the best in some way, or represents a vital contribution. There is no point to my going through the listing and mentioning which stories are my favorites; they are all excellent (or at least important). Collecting the out-of-print books that contain these stories individually would cost hundreds, even when searching for the most recent reprint, so this is quite a valuable addition to your library (although you may wish later to read more by the anthologized authors). The authors below are representative of the pool of literature that Lovecraft drew from for his own stories, his contemporaries who collaborated with him, his post-humous successors, and people like Stephen King who were motivated to begin a career from reading HPL's work.

"The Return of the Sorceror" and "Ubbo-Sathla" by Clark Ashton Smith
"The Hounds of Tindalos" and "The Space-Eaters" by Frank Belknap Long
"The Black Stone" by Robert Howard
"The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Haunter of the Dark" by Lovecraft
"The Dweller in Darkness" and "Beyond the Threshold" by August Derleth
"The Shambler from the Stars", "The Shadow from the Steeple", and "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

The last 5 are farther removed from Lovecraft; probably the best is Stephen Kings' "Jerusalem's Lot"

More interesting than my opinion on the stories included is those left out; nothing is said of those authors wholly predating Lovecraft but who significantly influenced him. There is no Lord Dunsany, no Arthur Machen, and most signifcantly no Robert Chambers (and his King in Yellow, which seems to have been the archetype for Lovecraft's Necronomicon). I mention this merely for completeness' sake; this is a superb collection.

The Necronomicon : Selected Stories & Essays Concerning the Blasphemous Tome of the Mad Arab (Cthulhu Mythos Fiction Series)

Average customer rating:

Overly Complete is Feature, not Bug
The necronomicon
How ignorant some can be
Very colorful book but not for lightweights
A mixed bag

The Necronomicon : Selected Stories & Essays Concerning the Blasphemous Tome of the Mad Arab (Cthulhu Mythos Fiction Series)
Robert M. Price , Robert Silverberg , and John Brunner
Manufacturer: Chaosium
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1568820704

Book Description

Although skeptics claim that the Necronomicon is a fantastic tome created by H. P. Lovecraft, true seekers into the esoteric mysteries of the world know the truth: The Necronomicon is the blasphemous tome of forbidden knowledge written by the mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred. Even today, after attempts over the centuries to destroy any and all copies in any language, some few copies still exist, secreted away.

Within this book you will find stories about the Necronomicon, different versions of the Necronomicon, and two essays on this blasphemous tome.

Now you too may learn the true lore of Abdul Alhazred.

This book is part of an expanding collection of Cthulhu Mythos horror fiction and related topics. Call of Cthulhu fiction focuses on single entities, concepts, or authors significant to readers and fans of H.P. Lovecraft.

Customer Reviews:

Overly Complete is Feature, not Bug.......2005-11-13

To begin with, this is the NECRONOMICON published by Chaosium as part of their Mythos fiction line. It is, of course, a fictional work. This anthology does not purport to be anything BUT fiction, so if you are looking for a real grimoire of ancient evil, yeah, good luck with that.

Second, this is absolutely huge. There are 5 "Necronomicons" included, plus some pseudo-Necronomica added as commentary. I agree with previous posters that this is overkill. And truth be known, you will probably do as I did and read the first two and skip the rest, so chronology trumps merit in this case. I am surprised, though, that any reviewers complained about this "feature" - surely more material for the same price is a good thing, right? I am happy knowing that if I ever need a Necronomicon, I have 5 to choose from (or perhaps the reviewers are worried about a "Nine Gates"-esque dilemma?).

The fiction section of THE NECRONOMICON is quite enjoyable, beginning with Manly Wade Wellman's "The Parchment" and ending with Fed Chappell's "The Adder". These stories cover 185 pages, which would make a respectable book on their own. My favorite is by far "Settler's Wall", which is the mental equivalent of living in a world of rational numbers and then running into the number "pi".

Finally, THE NECRONOMICON opens and closes with pieces by editor Robert Price. I have labored through enough editor's introductions and story notes expounding his theories of higher criticism and his religious opinions that I have finally cracked and decided to become his arch-nemesis. However, I feel I must give him credit where it is due for his materful introduction discussing the Necronomicon, postmodernism, higher-criticism, and holy scriptures. Never before have I read such a clear and obvious testament of a cultist who has studied arcane texts to the point that his brains have turned to cottage cheese and run out his ears. Really, I think I was driven insane halfway through his twenty page postmodernist critique of the existence of the concept "book" (fortunately, the next ten pages drove me further to the point of being sane again. Who knew the mind is a moebius strip?). The scary thing is, that I'm not sure if Price meant it as a satire, a fictional account by a crazed cultist, or if he really believes this stuff? I think the ambiguity only adds to the genius.

So, congratulations Robert Price, you have compiled an outstanding anthology. And, if I may say so, you'd make a dam fine cultist.

The necronomicon.......2003-04-16

I have been a student of the five elements and ninjutsu since I was nineteen. I studied anything that revolved to the rising, or ARRA star. I encountered the Necronomicon when I was 25, and Heaven and Earth shook inside of me. I am not saying that it is true to the last detail, but I must admit that the conjuration of the Fire God was legitimate. I even went as far as to summmon
Zaghurim. All I am saying is that if one does not believe in magic, or the idea that if one wants something to happen strong enough it may come to pass, then do not read this book. For those among us who do believe that(whatever name one may call them by) there are beings known as watchers, angels, demons, spirits, then this is a book for those that believe in meditation moreso than those who follow the path of mantra. My experiences with this book have led me to believe that one's greatest thoughts can be manifested by summoning these spirits,
but everything that is great has a great price. "It is thy risk".

How ignorant some can be.......2002-12-23

First off this is a book that offers the chance of a lifetime. I myself have practiced these rituals and saw the truths that are in it. Though i doubt anyone will read this i ask you to even try the rituals with belief that it will work then tell me how wrong it is. I only tried a few rituals and have not found the courage to try more. Sometimes you can study something for so long before you realize how wrong or frightningly true it is!! But remember "Be careful what knowledge you seek, for in the end you still will not Know"

Very colorful book but not for lightweights.......2002-03-06

I noticed that this magnificent anthology has garned a few poor reviews. Having read it, I can see way. It may not be an entertaining collection for casual or half-hearted readers. Oh, they will enjoy the pastiche stories, but then find the "translated" passages of "ye booke by ye Arab" to be rough going. This is actually deliberate. If Lovecraft had a chance to review these translated passages, he might concur. The uninitiated should find these pages difficult, but the genuine fan will detect the clever nuggets of wit, rather pokerfaced, and many wil pass right by them. A solid, colorful book. I also enjoyed the description of Abdul Alhazred's demise. In Charles Mitchell's THE COMPLETE H.P. LOVECRAFT FILMOGRAPHY, he cleverly notes how the creature in the film "Sound of Horror" was based on the story of Alhazred's death. It is great that this collection included it. 4 out of 5 stars. Recommended!

A mixed bag.......2002-02-23

This collection offers the reader a very mixed bag. Pulling off an anthology like this is extremely difficult because the stories threaten to be repetitious, tedious, or both. Robert Price has only moderate success here.

The stories are remarkably varied; Price has taken a good cross-section of stories about the Necronomicon and has avoided the repetition problem for the most part. Despite this, some of the stories are quite predictable.

The strength of this collection indeed lies in its variety. When was the last time you read a Mythos story by John Brunner? His story is one of the best of the book. For that matter, Silverberg and Pohl are not well known for Mythos contributions, but they make contributions to this volume.

The real tedium in the collection comes in the versions of the Necronomicon. There's only so much archaically-written gobbledygook a reader can stand. After a page of it, the rest looks like more of the same. Thus, "The Sussex Manuscript" and Lin Carter's contribution are of little interest to the reader. Carter's repeats the same themes again and again, showing some creativity but soon losing the reader's interest.

The value of this collection, then, is limited. Some of Price's other collections present a much more interesting read. This book is one for the dedicated Cthulhu Mythos fan.

Average customer rating:
Tales of The Cthulhu Mythos, vol. 1 (1)
H. P. Lovecraft , Robert Bloch , J. Ramsay Campbell , Brian Lumley , and Colin Wilson
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0345032268

Product Description

A collection of macabre tales reprinted from the golden age of pulps.

Mysteries of the Worm: 20 Early Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by Robert Bloch (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)

Average customer rating:

Mysteries of the Worm: 20 Early Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by Robert Bloch (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)
Robert Bloch
Manufacturer: Chaosium
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 156882176X

Average customer rating:

Tales Cthulhu Mythos V-2
H.P. Lovecraft
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0345232275
Release Date: 1973-05-12

TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS - Volume (2) Two: The Haunter of the Dark; The Shambler from the Stars; The Shadow from the Steeple; Notebook Found in a Deserted House; Cold Print; The Sister City; Cement Surroundings; The Deep Ones; The Return of Lloigor

Average customer rating:

TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS - Volume (2) Two: The Haunter of the Dark; The Shambler from the Stars; The Shadow from the Steeple; Notebook Found in a Deserted House; Cold Print; The Sister City; Cement Surroundings; The Deep Ones; The Return of Lloigor
H. P. (edited by August Derleth) (Robert Bloch; J. Ramsey Campbell; Brian Lumley; James Wade; Colin Wilson) Lovecraft
Manufacturer: Beagle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M4X1TQ

Average customer rating:

After reading this, see how *you* sleep!

New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos

Manufacturer: Arkham House Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Parodies | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0870540858

Customer Reviews:

After reading this, see how *you* sleep!.......2000-04-22

I was terrified of just about everything after reading this book. Even the great Stephen King writes similarly to Lovecraft! Oh, and speaking of King, with that story "Crouch End"... YIKES! If you want to read this Stephen King story, it is now in Nightmares & Dreamscapes. Sweet dreams...

Nameless Cults: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales Of Robert E. Howard (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)

Average customer rating:

5 stars for the book, ZERO stars for Amazon!
The "other" Robert E. Howard
An Estoteric & Arcane Tome
Skull Face and Others
IMHO, best Chaosium book yet

Nameless Cults: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales Of Robert E. Howard (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)
Robert E. Howard
Manufacturer: Chaosium
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1568821301

Book Description

Robert E. Howard is the world-renowned author of the Conan series and the stories that were the basis of the recent Kull movie. He also was one of H.P. Lovecraft's frequent correspondents, and an author of many pivotal Mythos tales. This book collects together all of Howard's Mythos tales, including the tales that originated Gol-Goroth, Unausspreclichen Kulten, and Friedrich Von Junzt.

Included in this collections are several fragments left behind by Robert E. Howard which have been completed by a variety of authors.

Customer Reviews:

5 stars for the book, ZERO stars for Amazon!.......2006-08-04

Part of the Chaosium series of HPL "Call of Cthulhu" books, so... an inexpensive edition full of excellent stories.
Do NOT, however, waste your time trying to order this from Amazon. I waited something like 4 months for this one, and Amazon, all the while, kept sending me "we're trying to get it" emails. Finally, they gave up.
I immediately ordered the same book from our local Barnes and Noble, and guess what... I had it withing 10 days!
Classic, meaty and manly tales of horror, cheap edition, what else can you ask? Oh, I know, you can ask that if Amazon advertises it, they should actually make an attempt to get it.

The "other" Robert E. Howard .......2006-06-18

Most readers are aware of Robert E. Howard as the creator of Conan The Cimmerian
and possibly even Solomon Kane or King Kull, but this collection features some really amazing rarely collected weird fantasy all in the fairly thin veneer of "Cthulhu Mythos stories" the most likely genuine one in the collection being "The Black Stone" from which the collections tittle is derived. Don't get me wrong These are all Howard at his best, But there's no way you're going to tell me "Skull Face' is a "Mythos" story!
Still Lovecraftian or not this is probably the single best REH collection on the market for sheer variety and value. Highly recommened.

An Estoteric & Arcane Tome.......2005-01-14

Robert E. Howard & HP Lovecraft were close friends. Close enough for Lovecraft to permit Howard to write in his Cthulhu Mythos. Or, perhaps, close enough to shore what Lovecraft KNEW.

In this volume, uncanny horrors shamble from the cloying mist, unholy Things to blast your reason arise from Antediluvian sepulchers, and vile abominations escape from fiend-cursed fanes dedicated to hypernatural beings that Man Was Not Meant To Know.

That's the first ten pages. The rest is REALLY scary....

Skull Face and Others.......2004-12-08

Horror was clearly not a strong point with Robert E. Howard. Proper horror requires a certain frailty of hero, someone who is confronted with something far beyond their powers, beyond their ability to come to terms with. Howard's heroes, however, are all rough-and-tumble fighters, quick to swing and axe or fire a pistol, and never giving into such weak emotions as fear or terror. Not exactly a viable protagonist for a horror story.

However, in "Nameless Cults," Howard showed himself a capable blender of Lovecraft's otherworldly Mythos and his own brand of barbarian triumph. Much of the mythos connections are quite dubious, being only a word or two. A man shouting "yog sothoth" as he dies is enough to add it to the collection.

Stories such as "Worms of the Earth," with Howard's Pictish king Bran Mak Morn, "The Shadow Kingdom" with Kull, and "The Gods of Bal-Soggoth" featuring the Irish adventurer Turlogh Dubh O'Brien, showcase the best of Howard's style, pitting his rugged sluggers against achievable and defeatable cosmic horrors. These stories work very well, and they are clearly Howard stories, not an attempt to mimic a Lovecraft story.

Other stories, such as "Dig Me No Grave," "The Black Bear Bites" and "The Fire of Asshurbanipal," are rousing adventure stories with a supernatural flair, in tune with an Indian Jones movie. This is true pulp fiction. The bayou-set "Skull Face," is on of the best Howard stories I have read, and it is a shame that it gets bogged down in it's own racism, detailing the attempt of a black men to join together and overthrow white men in a global insurrection.

Less successful are Howard's attempts at Lovecraftian-style fiction. He doesn't have what it takes to tell a viable story of book-learned fellows sitting around the fire. Stories like "The Thing on the Roof" and "The Hoofed Thing" are less successful, mediocre works at best.

Worth noting, the cover is terrible, and I am not sure why they picked this image. It has nothing to do with the contents, not even in tone. I put off buying "Nameless Cults" for sometime, based on this silly screaming mouth. I am glad to know that it is the cover that is bad, not the book.

While not on par with his Conan stories, where Howard was an inspired writer, "Nameless Cults" is still an excellent book with enough good stories in it to outweigh the bad. While the Bran Mak Morn and Kull stories are available elsewhere, the book is worth getting for "Skull Face" alone, if you can stomach the racism.

IMHO, best Chaosium book yet.......2004-05-03

Robert Howard has a distinctly different worldview than Lovecraft, and his stories show it. Courage, purity, and strength are sufficient to overcome evil in most of Howard's tales. Very pulpy, but some stories I will read over again.

The best:
"The Shadow Kingdom": this is one of the best fantasy tales ever written, in my opinion. The mythic historicity, the barbarian strength and honor, the horror of the serpent people, the opposing magic, it all just came together and clicked for me. You will probably find this in other Howard or Weird tales anthologies, but I cannot recommend this highly enough.

"Worms of the Earth": opens with the leader of an oppressed people watching the torture and execution of one of his subjects. He then goes on to seek his revenge through truly awful methods. I found this story to be written in a very original style.

"Dig Me No Grave": a genuinely Lovecraftian tale. More Mythos!
Well written, very creepy.

"The Fire of Ashurbanipal" and "Skull-face" both deal with a typical Howardian protagonist confronting an evil from prehistoric times. Both are well-written and differ from most of the stories that Chaosium issues (no moldy towns, 17th century houses, or bizarre tomes).

I didn't care for the finished fragments; the quality clearly dropped off where Howard ended and another author began (these were "The Abbey", "The Door to the World", "The House in the Oaks", "Black Eons", and "The Challenge From Beyond". To my amusement, by the time I had finished Nameless Cults, I knew EXACTLY where Howard did the writing in "Challenge").

Book Description

Six tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by James Ambuehl, featuring his own Lu-Kthu Mythos, including "Sculpture", in which a hideus creature is embodied with an even more hideous life; "The Snake Farm", a tale of hidden horrors at a tourist trap; "The Stalker in the Snow", a Cthulhu Mythos werewolf tale; "The Terror of Toad Lake", where a backwoods marsh is home to a loathsome horror; "The Deep-Lord Awakens", which should remind any artist to never run out of red paint; and "Correlated Contents", in which a series of paintings yield horrifying revelations. These tales should appeal to lovers of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, pulp tales and weird fiction of yesteryear. Introduction by Robert M. Price, editor of the Fan Mythos series, of which this is the first book.

Customer Reviews:

Highly literate fan fiction.......2000-04-03

As a longtime reader of Cthulhu Mythos fiction, I was heartened to see this volume of Jim Ambuehl's work in between covers. Each tale here is solidly based in the Mythos, with the addition of the author's Lu-Kthu cycle, adding some entities to the pantheon. Some are reminiscent of the old Creepy and Eerie black&white mags, all are well-told and most bear the author's singular satirical stamp. Each tale also has an illustration (these are just ok). Robert Price in another of his long intros makes a comparison between fanfic and pro fic, most of which makes sense (this is supposed to be the first of a number of fanfic authors' anthologies, but it's the only one I've seen). Well-worth the buying if only to get Mr. Ambuehl enough sales to be encouraged to do more work in the Mythos. I'm familiar with his work from the various online sources, and am always pleasantly diverted by his fiction.

Average customer rating:

Cthulhu: Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos

Manufacturer: Spectre Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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