Writing about the Lovecraft Mythos has become a cottage industry. Last year, over a dozen Lovecraftean collections were published. I’ve enjoyed the two earlier collections–Shadows Over Innsmouth and Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth. In this new anthology, Stephen Jones brings together a variety of Lovecraftean pastiches. I especially liked “Innsmouth Bane” by John Glasby and “The Long Last Night” by Brian Lumley. In these type of anthologies, quality is uneven. There’s an entertaining Nick Nightmare story, “You Don’t Want to Know,” by Adrian Cole. And then there are some duds like “The Archbiship’s Well” by Reggie Oliver. If you’re a fan of H. P. Lovecraft’s fiction, you’ll want a copy of Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION: WEIRDER SHADOWS . . .Stephen Jones
THE PORT By H.P. Lovecraft
INNSMOUTH BANE By John Glasby
RICHARD RIDDLE, BOY DETECTIVE IN “THE CASE OF THE FRENCH SPY” By Kim Newman
INNSMOUTH CLAY By H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth
THE ARCHBISHOP’S WELL By Reggie Oliver
YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW By Adrian Cole
FISH BRIDE By Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE HAG STONE By Conrad Williams
ON THE REEF By Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE SONG OF SIGHS By Angela Slatter
THE SAME DEEP WATERS AS YOU By Brian Hodge
THE WINNER By Ramsey Campbell
THE TRANSITION OF ELIZABETH HASKINGS By Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE CHAIN By Michael Marshall Smith
INTO THE WATER By Simon Kurt Unsworth
RISING, NOT DREAMING By Angela Slatter
THE LONG LAST NIGHT By Brian Lumley
This is getting a little ridiculous. Cthulhu is the new Sherlock Holmes! For the most part I’ll stick with Lovecraft himself.
Jeff, Cthulhu is a Hot Property right now. And, in the case of WEIRDER SHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH, Dagon, too. None of the pastiches come close to Lovecraft’s unique style.
Say rather, Jeff, it’s the new vampire-zombie thing. This has been going on for almost a decade, maybe long, and I can’t say I’ve read more than a half dozen stories, before I gave up reading it at all, that were very good or memorable.
Rick, there’s no doubt people are buying these faux-Lovecraft collections just as another market segment is buying anthologies and novels about zombies/vampires.
Favorite bumper sticker: VOTE FOR CTHULHU. WHY SETTLE FOR A LESSER EVIL? Of course, with Hitlery running that’s no longer appropriate.
Bob, I want one of those VOTE FOR CTHULHU bumper stickers!
Other than Gaiman’s excellent Holmes/Cthulu short story that came out several years ago, I’ve not really read any Lovecraft pastiches…there is still so much Lovecraft that I have yet to read. And I like the work!
Carl, I highly recommend THE NEW ANNOTATED H.P. LOVECRAFT. It’s a marvelous collection of Lovecraft’s work with plenty of cool footnotes!