Kyrie
- Joseph Fink
- Marcus Goodyear
- Will Hartwell
- Christopher Scheer
- Jonathan Herzog
- Kyle Levenick
- Hannah Lott-Schwartz
- Justin Marquis
- Daniel McCoy
- Rob Neill
- Zack Parsons
- Brian James Polak
- Marta Rainer
- Brock Savage
- F. Omar Telan
- Kathleen Akerley
- Meg Bashwiner
- Gary Belsky
- Kurt Chiang
- Jeffrey Cranor
- Mark Farr
The idea behind this anthology was fun - the authors who agreed to the project were given a randomized prompt from a list of unused (supposedly) Lovecraft story ideas. And looking at the list at the back of the book, it seems likely that the list was genuine, although a couple of them I recognized as actually used Lovecraft ideas - The Cats of Ulthar (which, granted, was never completed), Pickman's Model, and The Tomb, off the top of my head.*
*Went back and looked up the descriptions that had sparked my memory. I take my Lovecraft seriously.
28. The Cats of Ulthar. The cat is the soul of antique Ægyptus and bearer of tales from forgotten cities of Meroë and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle's lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.
132. Mad artist in ancient sinister house draws things. What were his models? Glimpse.
165. Terrible trip to an ancient and forgotten tomb.
I was (and still am) a huge Lovecraft fan, and I needed something to try to shake me out of this Welcome to Night Vale hangover I've had since marathoning every single current episode, so I picked this up.
The collection itself is about what you'd expect of any anthology - I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Some stories tried harder to stick to the spirit of Lovecraftian writing, while others just took their premise and ran with it.
I'll admit, I was most interested in Cranor and Fink's stories. And they were, indeed, the two stories I enjoyed most in the collection. But as I read them, it hit me - I could hear pieces of Night Vale through their respective stories.
Cranor's "The Man from Providence" read like a typical Night Vale ad. (I kept hearing the Home Depot commercial from The Sandstorm in my head as I read it.)
Plate.
Black.
Light.
Plate.
Plate. Plate.
Plate. Plate.
Plate.
Black.
Turned over, it's okay. We're all plural. Plural as water. As deer. As mice.
Fink's "Relative Damnation", meanwhile, had parts that smacked of Night Vale politician speech.
"How was the trip, Dad?"
"It was, ah. Let's say I know how to make a deal."
"What did the deal make you this time, Dad? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand?"
"The deal. Well. Hm."
Father drank his bowl in three quick gulps. It clattered back onto the table and he wiped his face with the back of his hand. Mother glared at him. Red droplets landed in the empty bowl, a puddle of blood and milk and oatmeal.
"The deal made sense."
The realization that their respective voices were so clear was almost jarring. But jarring in a good way.
I also particularly enjoyed ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ ▋▋▋▋▋. Which is the actual name of the story, and not just me censoring it. ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ ▋▋▋▋▋ reminded me very much of "In the Walls of Eryx", which Lovecraft co-wrote with Kenneth J. Sterling.
Altogether, it was an enjoyable way to pass the morning. Lovecraft fans will probably get more out of this book than just Welcome to Night Vale fans, although it could certainly appeal to both demographics.
(Also, am I the only one who sat stumped at the intro, trying to figure out if this was the real Joseph Fink, or one of his many imposters? - I admit, I probably got more amusement out of that then I should have...)
Finally, I'm just going to...leave this unused story idea here. Hidden behind spoilers.
Why?
No reason. It certainly has nothing to do with any particular theories I might be spewing...
177. The dreams of one man actually create a strange half-mad world of quasi-material substance in another dimension. Another man, also a dreamer, blunders into this world in a dream. What he finds. Intelligence of denizens. Their dependence on the first dreamer. What happens at his death.
The idea behind this anthology was fun - the authors who agreed to the project were given a randomized prompt from a list of unused (supposedly) Lovecraft story ideas. And looking at the list at the back of the book, it seems likely that the list was genuine, although a couple of them I recognized as actually used Lovecraft ideas - The Cats of Ulthar (which, granted, was never completed), Pickman's Model, and The Tomb, off the top of my head.*
*Went back and looked up the descriptions that had sparked my memory. I take my Lovecraft seriously.
28. The Cats of Ulthar. The cat is the soul of antique Ægyptus and bearer of tales from forgotten cities of Meroë and Ophir. He is the kin of the jungle's lords, and heir to the secrets of hoary and sinister Africa. The Sphinx is his cousin, and he speaks her language; but he is more ancient than the Sphinx, and remembers that which she hath forgotten.
132. Mad artist in ancient sinister house draws things. What were his models? Glimpse.
165. Terrible trip to an ancient and forgotten tomb.
I was (and still am) a huge Lovecraft fan, and I needed something to try to shake me out of this Welcome to Night Vale hangover I've had since marathoning every single current episode, so I picked this up.
The collection itself is about what you'd expect of any anthology - I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Some stories tried harder to stick to the spirit of Lovecraftian writing, while others just took their premise and ran with it.
I'll admit, I was most interested in Cranor and Fink's stories. And they were, indeed, the two stories I enjoyed most in the collection. But as I read them, it hit me - I could hear pieces of Night Vale through their respective stories.
Cranor's "The Man from Providence" read like a typical Night Vale ad. (I kept hearing the Home Depot commercial from The Sandstorm in my head as I read it.)
Plate.
Black.
Light.
Plate.
Plate. Plate.
Plate. Plate.
Plate.
Black.
Turned over, it's okay. We're all plural. Plural as water. As deer. As mice.
Fink's "Relative Damnation", meanwhile, had parts that smacked of Night Vale politician speech.
"How was the trip, Dad?"
"It was, ah. Let's say I know how to make a deal."
"What did the deal make you this time, Dad? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand?"
"The deal. Well. Hm."
Father drank his bowl in three quick gulps. It clattered back onto the table and he wiped his face with the back of his hand. Mother glared at him. Red droplets landed in the empty bowl, a puddle of blood and milk and oatmeal.
"The deal made sense."
The realization that their respective voices were so clear was almost jarring. But jarring in a good way.
I also particularly enjoyed ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ ▋▋▋▋▋. Which is the actual name of the story, and not just me censoring it. ▋▋▋▋▋▋▋▋ ▋▋▋▋▋ reminded me very much of "In the Walls of Eryx", which Lovecraft co-wrote with Kenneth J. Sterling.
Altogether, it was an enjoyable way to pass the morning. Lovecraft fans will probably get more out of this book than just Welcome to Night Vale fans, although it could certainly appeal to both demographics.
(Also, am I the only one who sat stumped at the intro, trying to figure out if this was the real Joseph Fink, or one of his many imposters? - I admit, I probably got more amusement out of that then I should have...)
Finally, I'm just going to...leave this unused story idea here. Hidden behind spoilers.
Why?
No reason. It certainly has nothing to do with any particular theories I might be spewing...
177. The dreams of one man actually create a strange half-mad world of quasi-material substance in another dimension. Another man, also a dreamer, blunders into this world in a dream. What he finds. Intelligence of denizens. Their dependence on the first dreamer. What happens at his death.