New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird (New Cthulhu #1) by various authors (Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, Marc Laidlaw et al.)

"A fun and interesting idea, to see what other authors do with the Lovecraft Mythos but overall, by the end of it all, it was a disappointment."

2 Stars.
Pros: Entertaining to see many different authors take on Lovecraft and his Mythos/A handful of stories were truly eerie and unsettling.

Cons: After awhile it all turned into the same old thing, throw in a reference to Cthlhu here, dabble in a bit of Shoggoths there, it got boring and old and honestly by the end of it, I was glad to be done.

Full Review:

H.P. Lovecraft is a staple of horror fiction and his mythos, Cthulhu and all the Elder Gods, are a Pantheon well known in Science Fiction/Fantasy. He is more or less the Father of Horror fiction and so I was eager to see how other authors handled "Lovecraftian" fiction. Unfortunately, for the most part, it was a disappointment.

There were a few stand out stories that really had that Lovecraft feel. The atmosphere of a chilly air off a New England pier, sinister fog creeping in, the distinct feeling of someone or "something" watching you and waiting. Bad Sushi, Old Virginia, The Oram County Whoosit and The Disciple, were all big wins in this area. They left me feeling unsettled, unnerved and like I had to look over my shoulder to make sure that nothing was going to crawl out of the darkness.

Other stories like The Vicar of R'yleh, Head Music, Mongoose and A Colder War were either just plain confusing or a struggle to get through. The authors took the Lovecraft Mythos and ran with it but in a disappointing, confusing way.

Then there were a choice few that were more middle of the road, not terrible but not great, that had potential but weren't absolute page turners like, Mr. Gaunt, Bringing Helena Back, The Essayist in the Wilderness and Shoggoths in Bloom were just a few. Overall though, the collection of short stories fell into the middle character. Only a few were really entertaining, the rest were just there to fill up the pages.

I'd recommend this book, or at least a few of the stories to any fan of Lovecraft and anyone who's looking for something a little outside of the box and unsettling.

Comments

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