The Cthulhu Cycle: Thirteen Tentacles of Terror

Consistent with the general plan of the series of Lovecraftian "Cycle Books" in which this book occurs, sage editor Robert M. Price here collects precursors and successors together with "The Call of Cthulhu" itself, and offers some entertaining commentary.

The forerunners are an especially interesting set, including one reproduced in Price's introduction that doesn't get its own entry in the table of contents for the volume: Tennyson's poem "The Kraken." Dunsany's "A Shop in Go-by Street" is included as the story mentioning sleeping gods that was probably a proximate inspiration for Lovecraft in writing "The Call of Cthulhu." And I was very interested in the M.R. James story "Count Magnus," less for it's influence on HPL than on show more Thelemic adept Jack Parsons, who seems to have found in it the germ of his idea of the Black Pilgrimage.

"The Call of Cthulhu" itself needs no review from me. If you haven't read it, you're missing a story that helped to develop the genre as surely as Frankenstein or Dracula did. I am even tempted to credit it further, and suggest that its perspective is as symptomatic of the 20th century West as was Pico della Mirandola's "Oration on the Dignity of Man" of Quattrocento Italy.

Predictably, the more recent materials are somewhat more varied in quality. Several of them were enjoyable reads flawed by weak endings. My two favorites were "Recrudescence," in which Leonard Carpenter pits a paleontologist against petrochemical companies and eco-cultists, and Steven Paulsen's "In the Light of the Lamp," which brings a young stoner couple to no good end. show less

Attention Mythos fans! Do NOT miss this one! Each story in this book is very well done, and some of them will get your adrenaline flowing late into the night. At least it did for me. The ambience for reading this book was perfect: high winds, rain throughout the day and night, a fire blazing in my living room....who could ask for more!

Here's the lineup of the stories in the book:

"A Shop in Go-By Street" by Lord Dunsany: An example of the fantasy fiction of one of Lovecraft's favorite authors & inspirations.
"Count Magnus" by M. R. James: Another early and scary example of HPL's inspiratios
"The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft: The original 3-part story; the one that got me hooked on HPL. This one also introduces Inspector show more Legrasse
"The Black Island," by August Derleth: Very good story that takes the reader to R'lyeh
"Some Notes Concerning a Green Box" by Alan Dean Foster: Good mythos-type story in more modern setting
"Patiently Waiting" by C. J. Henderson: To be honest, I skipped this one, because I have his Tales of Inspector Legrasse that contains this one
"The Sign of Kutullu" by David C. Smith: Another cult is located archaeologically, this one with Sumerian roots
"Recrudescence" by Leonard Carpenter: In a present-day setting, Cthulhu supporters on the coast of California
"Rude Awakening" by Will Murray: A team of NOAA scientists are experimenting with a sonic device under the waters; warned by various agencies, groups and people from all over the world, they do not listen....
"The Eye of Hlu-Hlu," by Donald R. Burleson: One of the creepier stories in the book; A young archaeologist uncovers a gateway to the nether regions on his property in the woods
"Black Fire" by Will Murray: Meet Cthulhu's dad in the Arctic; very unlike any of the other Cthulhu-based stories but very well done.
"In the Light of the Lamp" by Steven Paulsen: Two young dopers pop into a junk store and buy a lamp with some tragic consequences
"Zombies from R'lyeh" by Pierre Comtois: The lure of the South Seas is going to get someone in a LOT of trouble here! Probably my least favorite, but still good.

Be sure to read the introductions to each story; sit back, relax and enjoy the book. show less