The March 29, 1929 issue of WEIRD TALES unleashed on the world Frank Belknap Long’s “The Hounds of Tindalos.” H. P. Lovecraft encouraged his friends to contribute to the “Mythos” he constructed and Long’s story might be the best of the bunch. “The Hounds of Tindalos” presents hideous creatures from an alien geometry. Scary hounds from another dimension resonated with readers for almost a hundred years.
Caitlin R. Kiernan, known for her Lovecraft pastiches, returns to the Men (and Women) in Black and Cthulhu mashup that began with Agents of Dreamland (2017) and continued in Black Helicopters (2018) with her newest novel, The Tindalos Asset (2020). Without giving too much away, one of the agents trying to prevent Lovecraftian menaces from destroying our world has a strong connection to a Hound of Tindalos. If you’re a fan of Caitlin R. Kiernan like I am, The Tindalos Asset is a must-buy. If you’re a fan of Lovecraft pastiches, you’ll find The Tindalos Asset a thrilling read. I’m hoping Kiernan continues writing these Agents of Dreamland novels. GRADE: A
Glad I have you to make me aware of these books.
Patti, you might like the craft of Caitlin R. Kiernan’s writings. Her short stories are excellent.
I’ve read and enjoyed much of her short fiction but had a lot of trouble reading an earlier book in this series, Black Helicopters, so I will probably pass on this.
Steve, Kiernan jumps around in Time with these Dreamland short novels. I find that occasionally annoying but not in THE TINDALOS ASSET.
You know Rick is going to read this immediately – not! (Just kidding.) It is amazing to me (and I’m sure it would be equally as amazing to Lovecraft), how much Lovecraft-related material is coming out these days. When I first read him in the early ’70s (I went looking for the place he lived in Red Hook, which was quite close to where we lived at the time), I never could have imagined the Lovecraft boom almost 50 years later.
Jeff, I’m as surprised as you at the production of Lovecraft anthologies and pastiches that continue to get published. Apparently, the Age of Coronavirus is an ideal time for Lovecraft and his monsters.
George, I will probably have to read a fair amount of Lovecraft before venturing to read any of the Lovecraft pastiches, even if books like these stand on their own.
Prashant, Lovecraft collections are readily available online. Or, you could see if your local Library has the ANNOTATED LOVECRAFT which is the Gold Standard.
George, every time you feature something by Kiernan I think of giving her a try, but I can never settle on a good place to start. My usually reliable library system has nothing but two horror anthologies containing one Kiernan story each. Any suggestions?
Michael, I would suggest you give The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan (2019; Tachyon Publications) a try.
Thanks, just ordered it.
I know you’re a fan of Lovecraftian and Lovecraftian-type fiction, but not me, so this is an ignore for me. As Jeff so astutely pointed out.