Talk us through it
Editor Conyers presents us with ten tales, including one self penned, based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. Where normally we would expect tales of tentacled monstrosities terrorising small communities, here we are given more with the deluded followers of Cthulhuian sects and their attempts to keep the great secret from being revealed to a wider world. Of course you can't keep the deranged calamari out of a collection of Cthulhu tales, so hell yeah, you get monsters by the barrel load. Each tale is set in either the 1920s or 1930s and comes to us from all parts of the world. Cthulhu has clearly ensnared followers in Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Europe. It's like a multi national task force of insanity and you never quite know what the next story may involved. Ready to visit the Mountains of Madness and behold that which shouldn't be seen?
Review“One of their members was arrested in Italy recently. He'd flayed a young woman alive.” - Phelps The Cthulhu Mythos is a sub genre of horror that refuses to die. It periodically resurfaces in prose and film, much to the delight of the multitude of Mythos fans out there. Brian Lumley's early career was driven by emulating the dark baroque Prince of Horror H. P. Lovecraft, Stuart Gordon seems unable to stop making Mythos movies, and even Stephen King has penned a Cthulhu story in his time, (Couch End most commonly available in the collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes circa 1993). Just when you think we have heard the last of horrors beyond description something new seems to pop up on our radars. Even though I'm not a dedicated reader of the Mythos I'm still more than excited when something based in that universe lands on my desk. So how did Aussie David Conyers do with an attempted fresh look at the sub genre? [Editor's Note: And whom has three very thick H. P. Lovecraft tomes in his collection?] First up David Conyers is quite honest about the fact that his collection is based more in the role playing world of Call of Cthulhu than following slavishly the text laid down by Lovecraft. While nothing appears to be outside Lovecraft's speculative realm we are given ten tales that focus more on the participants than on indescribable horrors out of space. Depending on your take on the Mythos this may or may not appeal, but should be seen to factor in one of the chief requirements of horror prose. If we feel nothing for the protagonists then we feel nothing for the horror being presented. By and largely Conyers' selected stories achieve what they set out to do, present people in untenable positions who must use their wits and guile to escape from their predicament. Not everyone is going to make it to story end, not every story is going to be wrapped up in a neat package with a conclusion, and not every story is going to follow expected plot lines. Conyers has selected stories that match the grandeur of Lovecraft's vision and the Editor seemingly delights in presenting some pretty off beat stuff to our immense entertainment. I deify anyone not to come away from this collection without at least two favourites, I'll get to mine later in the review. Conyers dusts off the cobwebs and shines up the Mythos for both current readers and new readers who may want to check out what it's all about. Guess we should touch on the writing style which isn't exactly what I would call “modern” from any of the writers. As stated somewhere above David Conyers has selected stories set in the 1920s and 1930s, clearly going for that Cthulhu authentic style that tour guides call the colour out of space. In keeping with the era about every writer has fallen into a narrative style from that era and not a more modern approach. I actually found this difficult to tackle head on and had to drag myself through the first couple of tales before I got my Cthulhu on and grooved to the beat David Conyers was laying down. Don't worry you aren't having to wade through Shakespeare here, but for readers used to a more minimalist style things do tend to get over descriptive in parts. Keep with it and re-read the first couple of yarns, the collection will pay back your perseverance. Another aspect of the collection that may offend some readers, particularly those prone to PC high horses, is an element of racism and gosh misogyny that creeps in here. Once again David Conyers and his cult of writers are staying true to a period where picking up the white man's burden was seen as the natural order of things, where women were barefoot and in the kitchen, and Johnny Foreigner was simply not to be trusted in polite society. If you can't get beyond the mores of the period then you are going to be in deep trouble with this collection as no single writer is pulling his/her period punches. My suggestion would be to suck it up, be thankful that we live in more enlightened times, and hope to hell that Tony Abbott and his cronies don't use the collection as a blueprint for dealing with asylum seekers. Sorry to foreign readers, we are currently in the grip of election fever Down Under and I'm doing my bit to hold back the coalition barbarian hordes, speaking of misogyny. Sorry for the slight digression, back to the bait and tackle. If you managed to get past the slight obstacles put in your path, and they are slight in all reality, then you are in for an engrossing read and an enriching experience. The writers in the collection have really captured the true nature of the Cthulhu Mythos and have managed to twist that nature in a new direction. It's quite the achievement and the collection really does become a must have for lovers of the horror genre. I'm calling this the best Mythos collection since Brian Lumley's seminal Titus Crow works. Okay to the stories I would highlight as being the pick of the collection, please note chronological order here. John Sunseri's The Eternal Chinaman gets things out of the harbour in style with perhaps a “Dagon” inspired tale of magic versus true evil. Bringing the nasty into things David Witteveen hits us with Perfect Skin. Not to be outdone Shane Jiraiya Cummings tells a cautionary tale of not diving in without first looking as the protagonists learn in the sensational Requeim for the Burning God. A touch of the "Boys Own Adventure" was appreciated there. And rounding out the collection in style is David Conyers' Sister of the Sands. As usual read the collection and make your own mind up about which tales got your juices running. Cthulhu's Dark Cults is available online from Chaosium's Site and no doubt a few other places if you want to hunt around for it. Retailing at $14.95 plus postage the collection wont break your bank. David Conyers can be found lurking at his official site, where he claims to be a Science Fiction writer. You ain't fooling anyone Conyers.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... Get ready to rock with the minions of Cthulhu.
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Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as
representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a
“literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.