The Madness of Cthulhu Anthology (Volume Two)

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By S. T. Joshi

Publisher Description

THE MADNESS GROWS

Recognized as Lovecraft’s masterpiece of terror, At the Mountains of Madness has
for decades inspired dread in
his readers and sparked the imaginations of the most hallowed practitioners of fantastic fiction. Taking the essence of his horrific vision, these modern masters have crafted new tales of the fantastic...

Featuring never-before- seen tales by

KEVIN J. ANDERSON
LAIRD BARRON
ERIK BEAR AND GREG BEAR
ALAN DEAN FOSTER
JASON C. ECKHARDT
CODY GOODFELLOW
KAREN HABER
MARK HOWARD JONES
NANCY KILPATRICK
JONATHAN MABERRY
WILLIAM F. NOLAN
BRIAN STABLEFORD
STEVE RASNIC TEM DONALD TYSON

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4 Reviews

3.5

Mechberg

Created over 2 years ago

Ravenlily

Created almost 3 years ago

Aira.reads

Created almost 3 years ago

“Madness of Cthulhu 20,2000 years under the sea by Kevin J. Anderson We start off with a fun one! Like Jules Verne’s popular work, we have a Captain Nemo. Unlike Verne’s science fiction classic, this one is a little bit more scary. I thought this was my favourite short piece until…. Tsathoggua’s Breath by Brian Stableford When you mix real life facts into fiction seamlessly, it feels like a plausible tale. ThTs what we have with the Norseman Magnus Eriksson who “had berserker blood in him” and want to end the creature that keeps steals the village’s children from the Eastern Settlement. As he ventures into the cold, he’s met with voices echoing him to leave and then: the creature itself. The ending is one I’m still curious about. And I thought this is my favourite until… The Door Beneath by Alan Dean Foster This has everything I want with a neat bow: underground science facility, silly humans experimenting on THINGS THEY DONT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT AND SHOULDNT HAVE DONE SO IN THE FIRST PLACE, a clearly suspenseful work when THE THING THEY SHOULDNT MESS WITH MESSES WITH THEM and of course: relating it to real life incident. I went out loud “OHHHH” in the line “Meanwhike the greenery and wildlife has returned to Chernobyl.” I love it! Dead Man Walking by William F. Nolan Dexter the writer being called to investigate the artist who died. The pace is fast, which I like. The myth behind the monster, however, feels a tad more vampire-esque than Lovecraft. A Crazy Mistake by Nancy Kilpatrick It’s the little details to Lovecraft’s connection, such as name dropping Miskatonix University, a fictional university located at Arkham and the slow insanity spill that makes this a fun read. Kim’s research about Amazons lead her to beehive queens to old goddess and Old Gods was interesting to see how the author connected these dots. The voice, unlike most of the stories here, is very much present with a splash of pop culture references The Anatomy Lesson by Cody Goodfellow Where the previous story is set is present day, this one felt like a period piece. It’s about 2 friends, both studying medicine and August Odum has the craziest solution to uncover immortality: by making a deal with the head ghoul as “ghouls do not age. Steeped in filth, yet they are immune to disease.” The description is hella creative. It’s both disgusting and methodical with a dash of body horror in it. It didn’t feel like a Lovecraft but it’s still an enjoyable read! The Hollow Sky by Jason C. Eckhardt This is one of my favourite pieces. The suspense, the meat of the story, the voice. I loved it. Victor Hope Metcalfe is a professor of climatology who was tasked on a secret mission. Professor William Dyer entrusted his notes to Lovecraft, who then made fictional accounts of Dyer’s expedition. Everyone forgets the name Dyer - except for those who knows. There’s conspiracy, science, and it’s probably one of the longer pieces in the collection, which means the characters feel more fleshed out. The Last Ones by Mark Howard Jones Patrick is revisiting his mother’s old town, a “tiny and seemed half-dead” little village because he wants to do research on “Saint Deigion.” From the start, you get the feeling that something is not quite right with this village, as “even the pubs - usually the mainstay of such communities - had doors that were resolutely barred to visitors.” Patrick found more questions than answers as the few people he encountered weren’t chatty. It all rose (pun intended) for that finale where he gets the answers. And more A Footnote in the Black Budget by Jonathan Maberry Immediately, I’m getting House of Ashes , a Dark Pictures Anthology video game and I cream for that so of course, I’m hooked with this one. Echo Team has been tasked to evaluate a new research facility but of course, nothing is ever easy. ”Seems like they’re throwing us into a situation about which we have shit for intel.” “Pretty much,” I said. “The day must end with a ‘Y’,” muttered Bunny The story blends horror and action pretty well and the protagonist’s voice is clear throughout until the end. It’s one of the longer pieces but I honestly could go for more. Deep Fracture by Steve Rasnic Tem This is probably on the shorter side, with a sense of something is happening in the background. Tom is searching for a ceramic frog for his partner, Naomi”s ‘’To Do’ list. There’s been quakes, “averaging three a week” and he’s replacing one that’s broken. His friend, Walt (“a geologist for the coal companies”) tags along. Walt opens up to Tom about why Walt’s dad, a mine worker, quit his job. He “became convinced that down below the mines - ‘somewhar short o’ Hell’ is the way he put it - there was a city down there.” There’s a lot of telling in this short story, which is something I’m not a fan of but it somehow works here. As I’ve mention: there’s something not quite right but it’s in the background, behind the scenes. It’s strange but the human brain tries to rationalise it. The Dream Stones by Donald Tyson Walt, our protagonist and antisocial by nature is roommates with Tommy. They stumbled upon a homeless man with “some colored fragments of sea glass. Braided necklaces made of wooden beads and hemp twine. Small wood carvings whittled that depicted some sort of primitive female figure.” Just all sorts of random items but one in particular caught Tommy’s eyes. A piece of “greenish stone that looked like soapstone about six inches and maybe an inch and a half thick, very crudely carved in the shape of a pentagram.” After purchasing it, Walt notices Tommy is acting strangely, especially since he found a group of likeminded people. This story was exciting, not in a fast paced fashion but in its subtle suspense delivery. There’s a constant feeling of Walt being in an “out group” and he wants to fit in but not really, cause Walt has got brains okay and as the story progress, it got darker. I’m honestly impressed because I didn’t see it going this way. The Blood in my Mouth by Laird Barron Laird Barron can write. I have no idea what’s going on. He adds details but it’s almost too much, too random for me to focus on the story. Someone might need to explain this one to me. On the Shores of Destruction by Karen Haber First of all, we need more female horror writers. Second of all. This short story slaps! Immediately, I know where and when it’s set, whose voice we’re reading in, and the slow dread of what’s to come. Kate Rankin lives Galveston, Texas, the “city is a little worn around the edges but alive with day-trippers and sun-browned locals”. Josh, her nephew temporarily stayed with her. Hurricanes swept something close to shore. Something strange is happening to her town but who would believe? Mix in a naturist cult and I feel this could stretch into a full length novel + movie. Object 00922UU by Erik Bear and Greg Bear What a way to end the anthology!!! My cousin was talking to me about how there’s not a lot of horror in space (hear me out) There’s lots of alien sci fi themed outer space stories, alien invasion in space, but not a lot (that we can think of) of lovecraftian horror in space. (I’m talking about Event Horizon as opposed to Alien type of horror). This serves as an entry point for me. “Officially its name is Object 00922UU, the first U is for “u known civilization,” the second for “unknown function.” The less official name is Tenebrae, and the even less official name is the Big Black Ball.” The story began by explaining the universe’s history, how “these once-mighty civilisations went extinct thousands or more years before mankind ever dreamed of leaving Earth.” The description of the extinction themselves can be a novel on its own. I love the creativity of it. The Xenic Disposal Team - consists of highly trained experts in fields “such as engineering, computing, biorobotics, xenoarcheology” - aboard the GSS Searcher is tasked to “study these relics, determine if they are dangerous, and if so, disarm and dismantle them before they can cause any harm.” Strange things happen when they start mapping things out. The Tenebrae defies all known laws of physics. There’s a dreadful thing that’s happening in the back, and we know something is wrong and the characters know somethings not right but logic tries to explain. The story unravels and we get just the tiniest bit of explanation: “they are beyond happening. They are eternally beyond. Our world grew around them but they cannot live in it.” This story is hits all the right notes. I know it’s wishful thinking but novel or movie please”

marleygreads

Created almost 3 years ago

About S. T. Joshi

S. T. Joshi is a leading authority on H. P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, and others. He has edited the definitive restored editions of the works of Lovecraft, several annotated editions of Bierce and Mencken, and has written such critical studies as The Modern Weird Tale. His biography H. P. Lovecraft: A Life won the Horror Writer Association's Stoker Award for best-non fiction.