Doesn't meet its goal, but doesn't fail to entertain either

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	• The Children of Cthulhu Del Rey, 2003 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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Lighten up people

After reading these mostly scathing reviews I have only to say...look above. Sure, some of these stories were somewhat trivial (Alan Dean Foster really tanked)but the point is entertainment. As Lovecraft himself often stated "These pieces are for my and friends amusement". "Details" was wonderful, for Lovecraft veterans (35 years in my case) read and enjoy, and move on. By the way, to all the people trashing this book...when was the last time YOU had something published?

smile.

Doesn't meet its goal, but doesn't fail to entertain either

The aim of this anthology was to take Lovecraft's ideas into new realms (as the introduction puts it, the Mythos aren't something that need fixing, but that doesn't mean you can't play with them). While it's certainly not pastiche & has some clever moments, this collection doesn't quite succeed in taking the Mythos to brand-new places. Many of the stories follow tried-and-true Lovecraft conventions too closely. That's not necessarily a bad thing; they're still entertaining, but not what the book promises. Some others do succeed in escaping the boundaries of Lovecraft while keeping essential Mythos ideas intact. It's too bad they all didn't.

I would certainly recommend giving it a read (I found it at my local library) but don't expect it to be a revolutionary collection.

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Modern Mythos Inspired by HPL

The problem with reviewing books in this genre is that usually you've read a lot of them. And I mean a lot. After you've read 20 or so Mythos anthologies, they all blend together. You already know what you're getting before you open the book. Not that it's a bad thing; you are after all buying a very specific niche and there's not a lot of unmapped parameter space. Maybe it's just nice to evoke the spirit of the Old Man once again. Definitely understand that CHILDREN OF CTHULHU is a good collection of good stories. In the new millenium, the Old Ones are new again...

Some of the stories are fairly predictable, like "Red Clay", "The Victorian Pot Dresser", and "The Cabin in the Woods". Some were able to evoke the spirit of HPL while standing on their own as a creepy tale, like "The Invisible Empire", "Details" and "Long Meg and Her Daughters" (the imagery in this story was VERY disturbing - and here I thought I was getting jaded), intentionally or unintentionally amusing like "A Fatal Exception has Occurred at...", and sometimes just very confusing (I won't name names here). Poppy Z Brite had an original composition in "Are you Loathsome Tonight?" I would have bet money it would be a romantic comedy involving Deep Ones. No, it's a short piece on Elvis. You really have to read it to believe it.

So, in the end, is this anthology worth your time and money? The writing quality is high, many of the ideas are original (if oddly developed?) or at least subtle in their derivation. And like anyone who has encountered the NECRONOMICON in some dusty bookshop, my final words are "What could it hurt?"

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Descend to the depths of primal horror with this chilling collection of original stories drawn from H. P. Lovecraft?s shocking, terrifying, and eerily prescient Cthulhu Mythos. In twenty-one dark visions, a host of outstanding contemporary writers tap into our innermost fears, with tales set in a misbegotten new world that could have been spawned only by the master of the macabre himself, H. P. Lovecraft. Inside you?ll find:

DETAILS by China Miéville: A curious boy discovers that within the splinters of cracked wood or the tangle of tree branches, the devil is in the details.

VISITATION by James Robert Smith: When Edgar Allan Poe arrives, a callow man finally gets what he always wanted?and what he may eternally despise.

MEET ME ON THE OTHER SIDE by Yvonne Navarro: A couple in love with terror travels beyond their wildest dreams?and into their nightmares.

A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED AT . . . by Alan Dean Foster: Internet terrorism extends far beyond transmitting threats of evil.

AND SEVENTEEN MORE HARROWING TALES

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