Lovecraft Unbound
icarp...@aol.com
edited by the respected Ellen Datlow. It is a large trade paperback
with a generous 336 pages, and costs a reasonable $19.95. The cover
is an appropriate if uninspiring photo of Lovecraft. Production
qualities were good; I do not recall any typos. One thing I really
liked was at the end of each story there was a brief biography of the
author and a comment by them about how HPL influenced them or their
story. This should be a model for other anthologies. In many ways
Lovecraft Unbound is very important because it is the first anthology
of Lovecraftian themed stories edited by a woman, at least that I know
about. Ann K. Schwader and Denise Dumars have released single author
collections with a fair number of Cthulhu mythos stories, and Caitlyn
Kiernan has written novels with Lovecraftian themes and concepts.
Back in 1997 Joyce Carol Oates edited a collection of Lovecraft tales
for Harper. In spite of this, the Cthulhu mythos has, until recently,
been a sort of old boys club. Lately, however, more and more women
have taken up the pen and added their names to the ever widening
Lovecraft circle. Elizabeth Bear just won the Hugo for “Shoggoths in
Bloom.” In particular, the Cthulhu Unbound series from Permuted Press
had a significant number of women authors. I wonder if either editor
knew the other was going to use Unbound in their title.
The purpose of the editor in compiling this anthology was to allow the
authors to take Lovecraft’s contributions and influences, and see what
they could create, rather than asking for a new bunch of Cthulhu
mythos stories. In a way, it is similar to the 1998 Golden Gryphon
anthology Eternal Lovecraft (a least the last third of that book), or
perhaps the 2005 Horrors Beyond from Elder Signs Press. It is roughly
contemporary with Cthulhu Unbound, although in that series the editors
wanted the authors stretching the limits of the Cthulhu mythos (The
difference between the Cthulhu mythos and something being Lovecraftian
is addressed at length by ST Joshi in The Rise and Fall of the Cthulhu
mythos. You can think of it as the difference between the monsters
being the message vs the place of humanity as a flyspeck in an
indifferently hostile cosmos.). more important than any philosophical
underpinnings, whether this anthology will be successful depends on
the quality of the prose. I mostly liked it, although I had quite a
bit of heartburn with it too. When you ask for a Lovecraftian tale, I
guess you get what you get and don’t throw a fit.
"The Crevasse" by Dale Bailey and Nathan Ballingrud – After WWI, a
team of Antarctic explorers accidentally stumble across a crevasse in
the ice. Maybe there is evidence of ancient alien life there, maybe
not. Maybe they are just losing it. This was a pretty engaging tale.
"The Office of Doom" by Richard Bowes – In flashback we find that as a
prank, a librarian ordered an interlibrary loan of the Necronomicon
from Miskatonic University. Complications ensue that echo down the
years. This wasn’t bad prose but for me it committed a major faux
pas. In a mythos story if you mention HPL wrote fiction, and then it
turns out that fiction was real, I find this plot device to be a major
turn off. It destroys the mood/world building. Pay no attention to
the man behind the curtain.
"Sincerely, Petrified" by Anna Tambour - Some scientists spread
rumors that stealing petrified wood from a national park invokes an
ancient curse, trying to warp reality by changing people’s
expectations. Good enough if not especially original concept, but I
found the prose pretty flat.
"The Din of Celestial Birds" by Brian Evenson – A man in some unnamed
mountain range comes across an abandoned hit and sees a cape of
feathers inside a cage. After that his world starts to crumble (fly?)
away. This was a well written story but it wasn’t really what I think
of as Lovecraftian except in a rather tangential way.
"The Tenderness of Jackals" by Amanda Downum – In this story a modern
ghoul is on the hunt. It’s not really a Lovecraftian ghoul. It’s not
really a Lovecraftian tale. Pretty good, but perhaps out of place,
like some others here.
"Sight Unseen" by Joel Lane – A young man whose father went off the
deep end years ago is required to go through his father’s estate to
see if there is anything worth keeping. He tries to come to grips
with his father’s madness and how it affected him. Well written if
not my cup of tea. Also the alternate reality that possessed the
father seems to have been mundane mental illness instead of anything
mythosian.
OK, here I am over 100 pages into the book and I haven’t really been
blown away by anything yet. It’s all just OK.
"Cold Water Survival" by Holly Phillips – And now we get a brilliant
tale, also set in Antarctica, as some young people make their home on
a melting iceberg and seem to see alien shapes inside the ice. This
was wonderful.
"Come Lurk with Me and Be My Love" by William Browning Spencer –
Another absolute gem! A young man falls for the charm of a cultist’s
daughter only to find the cult is the truth. Superbly written and
with a nice leavening of humor.
“Houses Under the Sea" by Caitlín R. Kiernan – Goodness me, but
Caitlin Kiernan can write. This is a masterpiece, perhaps the jewel
of this book. The lover of the leader of a cult tries to sort out
what happened after a mass suicide.
“Machines of Concrete Light and Dark" by Michael Cisco – Michael Cisco
is another outstanding author. This story uses certain Lovecraftian
styles and plot devices without really being Lovecraftian per se. A
young woman is lured to her doom by her incomprehensible friend.
"Leng" by Marc Laidlaw – This is a terrific story about a mycologist
trying to reach the plateau of Leng, to see if there are any new
species of fungus there, at the same time trying to find out what
became of a previous expedition. Wonderful stuff with a great ending.
"In the Black Mill" by Michael Chabon - This is the only story in the
anthology I have read previously, but heck if I can remember where.
HPL names abound here, for example Yuggogheny Hills and Carlotta Brown-
Jenkin. Apart from these in jokes, this is a great story of a secret
society controlling a small town in the service of an ancient evil.
"One Day, Soon" by Lavie Tidhar - In this pretty good story a man
loses himself inside time, inside a book.
"Commencement" by Joyce Carol Oates – Although Ms. Oates is perhaps
the most famous author in the book, this story didn’t do much for me.
As part of a celebration of graduation at an unnamed university, there
is a ritual much like Tlacaxipehualiztli. The anonymity of it all
weakens the story. It was also predictable.
"Vernon, Driving" by Simon Kurt Unsworth – OK, a decent story about
what desperation can lead a man in love to do, but not Lovecraftian or
mythos in any sense.
"The Recruiter" by Michael Shea – Good, in the same way all of Mr.
Shea’s stories are well written, but this is not my favorite of his
work. An elderly man is swept up by an entity he doesn’t understand.
"Marya Nox" by Gemma Files – What a nifty little story! A temple
consecrated to Our Lady of Night is violated, and everyone pays the
consequences.
"Mongoose" by Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear – This is a space opera
short story and actually is about transdimensional rifts and the
Hounds of Tindalos. It is pretty darned good.
"Catch Hell" by Laird Barron – I just recently read The Imago Sequence
and have become a huge fan of Laird Barron. This is a wonderful
story, more about the other, the fantastic, and how it can affect
damaged people. Not really mythosian but has a Lovecraftian feel in
the same sense as The Wicker Man (not the remake, the novel or the
first movie).
"That of Which We Speak When We Speak of the Unspeakable" by Nick
Mamatas – This is a post mythos apocalyptic piece, and is a good, if
brief, story.
So what is my bottom line? I’m not sure! I was hoping for much more
than I got, but maybe I’m just greedy. Some of these stories are as
good as any Lovecraftian tales I have read, for example the ones by
Kiernan, Spencer and Phillips. Most were well written and highly
effective, but a few were more tedious. All such anthologies are a
mixed bag, I guess. I think general horror fans would like it and
there is much here to please the dedicated Lovecraftian. However, for
me the best modern Cthulhu mythos or Lovecraftian anthology remains
Dead But Dreaming.
Matt
Magister
since I wrote a review of this book for DEAD RECKONINGS. I'd say we
agree on most stories. ;-)
Yrs
Martin
Harksen
when I see there's a new review from you:-)
I am currently reading this collection, so I don't have much of an
opinion yet. So far, though, the only one that I didn't really like
was "The Office of Doom," which I found rather bland, all in all. I
have read 5-6 stories so far. (I read the stories in random order,
btw. Choosing the day's read determined by how long the story is and
how much time I have;-))
I'll share my thoughts later, when I have read more stories:-)
-Henrik
icarp...@aol.com
> Thanks for another fine, thoughtful review, Matt. I am always thrilled
> when I see there's a new review from you:-)
I haven't been as active because my life is just so hectic right now!
My sons are into cub scouts, competitive soccer (not that they are any
good, it just means a longer schedule and going more places to play
than recreational soccer!) and Destination Imagination. My oldest is
also doing a major presentation on Shakespeare and is ina robotics
competition. I'm essentially running both dens, managing my youngets
son's soccer team and serving as his DI manager. All this while
trying to get the hang of my new practice! I'm never home!
Oh, well, when I get some time I can finish Wilum's new book.
Matt