Russell Letson of LOCUS magazine (May 2023) wrote that Charles Stross’s new novel, Season of Skulls, is “a mash-up of the Regency gothic and Lovecraftian horrors and intrigue-thriller variations of his Laundry world.” (p. 18) That about sums it up.
In his ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS at the end of the book, Stross delineates how Season of Skulls came to be written during the Pandemic. Stross writes that he was stalled…and then decided to mix Regency romance elements and time travel with the usual spooky aspects of the Laundry world: vampires, sorcerers, secret agents, sinister cultists, horrific alien creatures, and undead powers who want to rule Earth.
Whether you will enjoy reading Season of Skulls depends on your tolerance for England of 1816 with its pirates, highwaymen, evil scientists, and monsters. Magic is in the air, but the air of London “stank of coal smoke and sewage which nearly covered the even more noisome stench of decaying food waste.”
If you’re a fan of Charles Stross’s Laundry series, this oddity may both puzzle and delight you. I, for one, prefer the action take place in the 21st Century. GRADE: B
So, SteanCthulhu?
I might dig it.
Or,even, SteamCthulhu. As in “RugCthulhu is Steamin’ Mad at Dirt!” as no tv ad anywhere suggested. Typos of the hour, on the hour…
Todd, and yes, Cthulhu lurks in the background with other Lovecraftian horrors.
Todd, the NECRONOMICON is mentioned… I think you would dig SEASON OF SKULLS.
Sorry, but this kind of horror is not for me!
Wolf, it’s more Time Travel than Horror…with some magic mixed in.