Ken Asamatsu

The third of four titles in the "Lairs of the Hidden Gods" anthology series of Lovecraft inspired fiction from Japan, "Straight to Darkness" offers more unique cosmic horror tales in English for the first time. With awesome cover art drawing from the four seasons, this "autumn" entry includes some very interesting takes on the "Cthulhu Mythos." Like any anthology, there is a mix of ideas, and while I can't say I really enjoyed all of them, there is some neat, scary stuff in here for devotees show more of Lovecraft. The translation in a few of the tales were a bit stilted, but for the most part, I feel that they come through with all of their spookiness intact. Some were traditional pastiches such as Kida Junichiro's "Keepsake of the Grandfather," in which a family heirloom from the South Pacific brings strange and unwelcome attention in 1930s Japan, while others, such as Takeuchi Yoshikazu's "She Flows," take an entirely mundane but bleak look at the horror of life for a pair of young women in the soul numbing ennui of contemporary Japan (not Lovecraftian in style, but Lovecraftian in spirit, perhaps?).

My personal favorites were Sano Shiro's "Horror Special," which deals with strange goings on at the filming of an adaptation of the "The Dunwich Horror" for Japanese TV and Aramata Hiroshi's "The Road," in which a Japanese tourist in Providence, RI, encounters ghosts from Lovecraft's life. "C-City," by Kobayashi Yasumi, just might be the best interpretation of Cthulhu in the modern world I've seen yet. show less

Queen of K'n-yan is the latest Cthulhu mythos offering from Kurodahan Press; it is written by Asamatsu Ken and translated by Kathleen Taji. Asamatsu-san should be familiar to all serious Cthulhu mythos fans for the 4 book series Lairs of the Hidden Gods, translations of modern Japanese mythos fiction. Queen of K'n-yan was apparently written in 1993 but set in 2007. I'm not sure if the author slightly revised it with the later release of the translated edition? This is its first publication show more available to English speakers. List price is $16.00 but discounted to $14.40 from Amazon. The text runs from page 3-213, pretty good value for the money with a price tag similar to other genre trade paperbacks. There is a very entertaining introduction from Darrell Schweitzer that puts the book into its proper context while giving no more spoilers than the blurb on the back, and a page with very brief biographies of the author, translator and cover artist. The exquisite cover art is by Ayami Kojima. I can't get over how beautiful the cover art has been for the Kurodahan Press books has been. Akihiro Yamada gave us the covers for the Lairs of the Hidden Gods and it was very unfortunate that none of his work was included in the recent Centipede Press book of Lovecraftian art. Ayami san's cover is equally wonderful. Production qualities are very good with few typos in this POD book. By and large I had no complaints about the translation except in the action sequences near the end where the writing seemed to lose some hint of immediacy, and I was left wondering if this was due to the author or the translator.

The antecedent story for this novel was the `revision' of Zealia Bishop's story The Mound, which was actually probably 99+% written by Lovecraft (which probably gets an award for the cheesiest use of an italicized ending, being written in both Spanish and English). The concept of a primordially ancient people living undetected in gigantic caverns under the earth must have resonated with Asamatsu-san, resident of a land with a culture thousands of years old, a land of catastrophic earthquakes, a land adjacent to China where discoveries like the terra cotta army are made during mundane excavations. Asamatsu-san did what we would hope any mythos author would do: he took a concept and ran with it. This is no pastiche and is not slavishly beholden to Lovecraft; it is wholly original and all the better for it. No antiquarian resident of Boston poking around a Yig haunted desert here! For the westerner approaching this, it comes from entirely different traditions than our own and a bit of knowledge of some history of Japan and China, which the Japanese author takes as a given for his audience, would be very helpful (in fact, I wish Darrell Schweitzer had provided this in his introduction; maybe it is not necessary as you can infer what you need to, but it would have facilitated things for me.). The occurrence of crimes against humanity in World War II in the west mainly brings to mind Hitler's death camps but in Asia calls to mind Japanese experimentation with infecting Chinese and Manchurian citizens with biological agents. Many scientists from the notorious Unit 731 were never prosecuted. This is fertile ground for a Japanese author of horror fiction. Another piece of history that helps the story make sense is the Yin dynasty (perhaps better known to us westerners as the Shang dynasty), which ruled parts of China from about 1700 to about 1100 BC. The immediate antecedent state was the Xia dynasty, which possibly could be mythical. The Shang dynasty represented fire, and may have needed to create an opponent who they overcame who represented water. Thus the Xia may not have actually been a real political entity. What is important for our story is the opposition of the water people to those of the fire. Finally this story uses political realities of 1990s Asia. Japan's economic star is fading and wealthy Chinese businesses are investing heavily in Japanese companies. To the Japanese, the thought of Chinese economic (or worse, military) masters may be very unpalatable, and adds to the disquieting atmosphere Asamatsu-san is creating for his readers. Whew! Now what about the book itself?

Briefly, in the midst of a relentlessly scorching heat wave and with news of severe earth quakes happening in China, Morishita Anri, a molecular biologist, is driving to her new job in an ultramodern and imposingly large building, the headquarters of Japan Gene Engineering (JGE). Interestingly, Anri is a very girly name in Japan, perhaps like Missy or Tootsie here, making what she ends up doing seem all the more shocking. Once inside the immense tower, things get very weird very quickly. Anri meets an older scientist from China named Dr. Li, who is a very formidable woman. Perhaps she is Anri's mentor or perhaps she is a fiendish opponent. Certainly it becomes obvious that the two main characters are somehow linked intimately. Anri had only a sketchy idea about what she would be doing for JGE, but it turns out the Chinese military is heavily involved. A mummy has been discovered under the earth in China and she may be a denizen of the mythical kingdom of K'n-yan, which may be the origin of early Chinese mythology. Anri unravels the mummy's genetic code, which is discovered to be unhuman. It turns out Dr. Li probably already knew this but needed Anri to find out some other puzzle hidden in this mysterious DNA. When she uncovers what may be a missing piece, tying into the Japanese biological experimentation in World War II, all hell literally breaks loose.

I have indicated how well Asamatsu-san synthesizes varying modern elements with Asian history and a Lovecraftian idea. This novel works wonderfully well on so many levels; I found it to be a refreshingly original and vivid Cthulhu mythos novel. Unlike many mythos pastiches, there are exciting action sequences as well as otherworldly horrific images. The two main characters are believably drawn and come to life on the page. I liked everything: the prose, the plot, the characters, the exotic (for me) cultural setting and history and the Lovecraftian elements. The denouement was just about perfect. Anyone who cares about Cthulhu mythos fiction needs to read this. I can only wonder what other Lovecraftian wonders have been published in Japan or elsewhere, and when we might ever see them. Urgently recommended! show less

The last of a fascinating, rare, unique series, "The Dreaming God" concludes this collection of eldritch Cthulhu Mythos fiction from Japan, and while not the strongest entry in the Lairs of the Hidden Gods series, it is a nice end to an interesting assemblage of tales. I quite enjoyed viewing Lovecraft's style of cosmic horror filtered through a Japanese point of view, and the stories here highlight some thought-provoking aspects of Japanese culture. For instance, Lovecraft's story "The show more Shadow Over Innsmouth," seems to resonate strongly in the series, with three stories in this volume drawing inspiration from the Deep Ones depicted in that story. These stories are, in my mind, some of the most compelling in the series and "City of the Dreaming God," by Yufuko Senowo was my favorite here, as two academics realize how strange the little Japanese mountain town overlooking the sea really is, with some intriguing philosophical and theological debates included as well. Fushimi Kenji's "Rshanabi Street," also provides a dark exploration of a seedy, but mysterious, street in Tokyo, making for some very atmospheric moments. A worthy conclusion to an intriguing series. show less

Sadly, this is the 4th book of the four-volume series entitled "Lairs of the Hidden Gods," meaning that I've come to the end. But it was a great ride. If you are interested in gaining another perspective on Lovecraft's work and legacy, then you must indeed make these four volumes part of your reading experience. I can definitely recommend all four very highly.

As to volume four, overall a very fine collection...some were a bit weird even for my taste (which can be way out there)...a bit more show more graphic than in the other three at times. However, it's a mixed bag, and all are well written and will get your blood racing.

Contents of Volume Four (The Dreaming God) are:

"Quest of the Nameless City," by Tachihara Toya: done in three parts -- you may want to be familiar with "Journey to the West" prior to reading this (at least go read something about that work) because the characters in this story come right out of that work. But here we find our characters in a redo of "Trail of Cthulhu" by August Derleth, with a twist. Very well written and one of the highlights of this volume.

"A Night in Exham Lodge," by Kurasaka Kiichiro: set in the indomitable English countryside, an American politician goes to spend time with an actress in her home, and gets a lesson on the true meaning of life. I left this story with a big "uh-oh" resounding in my head -- a kind of "be warned" alarm going off. I know it's just fiction, but sheesh...scary stuff.

"...Which Art in Heaven", by Azuchi Moe: This one was a wee bit bizarre, and hackle raising. A young woman who spent her childhood in an orphanage often wonders about a strange scar. The nuns in the orphanage aren't talking. Later, when the truth emerges, it's enough to make you gasp.

"Inside Out," by Tomonari Jun'ichi: A Japanese writer named Daisuke spends his days trying to be creative, only to be disrupted by "one of his closest friends" named Chau-chan. Whenever she's around, his writing time is disrupted. But he can't get rid of her. "Inside Out" is the story of how she came to live in his apartment, going back to the time he took a trip to Fiji. I won't say more, but you may want to go easy on your cups of kava.

"Quagmire," by Iino Fumikiko: A man who ultimately ends up going mad, set off by a newspaper item that tells of a man's death, leaves behind a record of how he got on the road to madness. It seems it all started when he went to visit his aunt in a hotel, then meets a beautiful woman. Very well written, and it was enough to send a shiver or two up my spine.

"Rshanabi Street," by Fushimi Kenji: A young man works for a company where a fellow worker has just been fired after thirty years of service. He wants to track him down, and remembers that his friend spoke a lot about Rshanabi Street, so he goes to find him. But it's one of those places that is off the map, so to speak, and it took some doing to find it. Once there, it is equally difficult for the narrator to find his way out. This one was very good -- another back of the neck hair raiser.

"City of the Dreaming God," by Yufuko Senowo: a man lives with his wife and daughter in a strange village by the ocean. His father-in-law is dying, but he still manages to open his home to a young writer who is doing research in the area. As he and his houseguest begin talking, his houseguest comes to some startling conclusions that lay bare the man's choices in life. Think of Innsmouth as being along the Japanese coast and you'll get the drift. Very very good, a fitting end to a brilliant series of books.

There are also two essays at the end of the book, one dealing with Lovecraft and Modern Occultism, and another is a look at Cthulhu and his friends on the silver screen.

Very highly recommended for any reader of Lovecraft's work, or that of his imitators or his devotees. It is an honor to have the collection in my library. show less