Singers of Strange Songs

As I am ever so fond of saying, when you read an anthology, you're reading a mixed bag. What one person may think is a great story may not be so true for another. With that in mind, I thought overall, it was okay; not on the whole as good as some of the CofC collections I've read. I love Brian Lumley's work, and so I was quite eager to read this one.

Here's the contents list; a * marks a story I really enjoyed:

1."City out of time," by Brian Lumley: a well-known poem about the whole Cthulhu thing

2. "Cement Surroundings," * by Brian Lumley: very well done story about the coming of some of the worse bad things as told by seismic activity

3. "Bad Soil," * by Don D'Ammassa: dead & rotting soil brings down parts of a town and some of its show more inhabitants, but the cause is scarier than its effects.

4. " The Temple of Yig," * by Donald R. Burleson: This one reminded me of Bradbury's "Something Wicked this Way Comes," a wee bit. The action takes place at a bizarre carnival -- and the exhibits go way beyond the worst freak show you can imagine. Very nice story.

5. "Not to Force the Rhymes,"* by Benjamin Adams: This one was pretty good -- A nurse at Oakdeene Sanitorium is told not to deal with a certain patient, and finds out in good time why. I liked this one.

6. "In His Daughter's Darkling Womb," by Tina L. Jens: This one I didn't care for much -- it seems that some scientists are studying a bizzare "octopoid," with some pretty serious (and kind of silly) consequences. Not up there as far as I'm concerned.

7. "The Reliable Vacuum Company," by James Robert Smith: A man decides to buy his wife a vacuum for Christmas (this should have been my first clue that something was wrong with this story) -- and ends up having dealings with the thing often called Ithaqua. I could pass on this one as well.

8. "The Nullity of Choice," * by John Tynes: Another one set in the area of Oakdeene -- and featuring the Lord Yib-Tstll.

9. "Where I go, Mi-go," * by Lois H. Gresh: I've read this one before (sorry, I can't recall where) -- featuring the last of a family line who hasn't been told the secrets of her family's past much to her detriment. Very well done.

10. "Subway Accident," by Gregory Nicoll: Very short story about what happens when a man ignores the "danger, do not enter" signs at an excavation. Okay.

11. "The High Rollers,"* by Benjamin Adams and James Robert Smith -- A hotel/casino in Innsmouth is plagued with curses because its owner will not sell to an Innsmouth-based company. Very very well done; one of my favorites in the book.

12. "A Forty Share in Innsmouth," by CJ Henderson -- another one I've read somewhere, and not my favorite by Henderson. What some people won't do for higher ratings, featuring an appearance by Bugg-Shash.

13. "Shudder Wyrm,"* by Stephen Mark Rainey -- Rainey is one of my favorite authors and he's written a very cool story here about the unleashing of horrific beasts. Very good.

14. "Spaghetti," * by Brian Lumley -- Excellent story about the forces unleashed because of the greed of a man's grandson.

Overall, an okay collection; I am pleased to have it in my collection. show less