The Children of Cthulhu

I have a confession to make. I am not a huge H.P. Lovecraft fan. I've read his stories (and the stories of innumerable pastiche-ists and pretenders), and I understand his importance and influence on other writers. He's just not my cuppa tea, is all. So when the time came around to review this collection, I was a little apprehensive. As it turns out, I needn't have worried. The Children of Cthulhu is a stellar collection, well worth the time and effort of reading it.

At it's best, in stories like China Mieville's wickedly disturbing "Details," James Van Pelt's "The Invisible Empire," Meredith L. Patterson's dark academic satire "Principles and Parameters," and Matt Cardin's chilling "Teeth," the reader is reminded forcibly why Lovecraft show more has remained popular. It's a matter of atmosphere, mostly -- a general, vague creepiness that you can't quite shake, even when nothing overtly terrible is happening. But it's also the knowledge that, no matter how horrible the incident is that is being described, there's something even worse lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opening.

Not every story is a home run. Some, like Richard Laymon's "The Cabin in the Woods" or Caitlin R. Kiernan's "Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea," are just too . . . well . . . Lovecraftian for my taste. And, yes, I do recognize the irony of saying that a story in an anthology devoted to Lovecraft is too Lovecraftian for me. What can I say? Occasionally, I’m callous and strange.

But every story is readable and each serves to highlight the sheer scope of Lovecraft's influence on modern horror. From Paul Finch's epic "Long Meg and her Daughters” to Brian Hodge's darkly thrilling "The Firebrand Symphony" to W.H. Pugmire, Esq.'s "The Serenade of Starlight" the Lovecraftian influences are clear, but the storylines and styles of the writers couldn't be more different.

If you love Lovecraft, you can't afford to pass this one up. But even if you don't, I think you'll find something here to please. show less

According to the editors (in an interview somewhere I noted then lost), the goal of the book was to follow in Lovecraft's original direction: "the true horror in Lovecraft’s fiction lies in the unknowable, the mystery of a vast and infinitely strange cosmos." They did not want pastiches, they did not want copycat writing or the rehashing of Cthulhu stories based largely on the mythos of August Derleth. This is a concept that I am myself just beginning to understand. Anyway, the stories that appear in this volume, as in any anthology, are a mixed bag -- but most of them have in common the notion that there is something just not quite right within the scope of the cosmos. Some are more intense than others; some, frankly, I just didn't show more find that interesting or appealing. My favorites included "Details," by China Mieville; "The Invisible Empire," by James Van Pelt, Alan Dean Foster's "A Fatal Exception has Occurred at...", "Red Clay," by Michael Reaves, "The Firebrand Symphony," by Brian Hodge, and "Teeth," by Matt Cardin.

If you want a Lovecraft pastiche or an imitation of HPL, you won't find it here. If however, you want to enjoy some highly intelligent, well-written, original stories, you'll like this book. show less

This is a great selection of contemporary short horror fiction. Some of the stories are a little corny, but on the whole, a good read.