Back in 2002, a monstrous anthology crawled out of nowhere and became a well sought after item on the open market. Why? Dark Tales Press only put out 75 copies of the anthologies – just enough for friends and family to have copies – then it closed up shop. Thankfully, Miskatonic Press picked it up and in Keith Herber’s honor in 2008. Dead But Dreaming garnered critical acclaim upon its release, hence Ross’ willingness to return for an encore.
A summary of the premise would suffice here but the editor himself says it better than most reviewers.
“This book also offers a broader range of settings and themes, and, as I said, a lot of explicit Cthulhu Mythos references. We have tales dealing with cryptozoology, pop culture, psychedelia, decadent subcultures, some surprisingly human aspects of Mythos races, age-old conspiracies, historical settings, Lovecraft Country, urban horror, academic horror, near-apocalypse science-fiction, and — as with the first volume — a final terrible revelation involving Cthulhu himself.”
When a Lovecraftian anthology begins in an urban setting based around “taggers,” the expectations shift.
We’re not in Innsmouth anymore, Cthulhu.
This is a good thing and the entrants, hardly any “names,” provide a strong backbone for which the vision the theme calls. However, Rick Hautala, Cody Goodfellow, and Weird Tales guru Darrell Schweitzer lend the book some heft for those unwilling to take a chance on unknowns. They will be rewarded as those “unknowns” are mostly successful and highly entertaining here. Ross chooses wisely in his selection and keeps true to the original’s high standards.
Besides those already mentioned, Ted E. Grau, W.H.Pugmire, and Brian Sammons hold the top honors but many others make the grade, with rank depending on one’s own preference of locale, not quality of tale.
A fine addition to the Cthulian tome of literature.
- THE BEST OF ROD SERLING’S TWILIGHT ZONE - April 11, 2015
- BLIND RAGE - April 11, 2015
- Black Static #44-45 - April 11, 2015
- The Halloween Children - February 12, 2015
- Darkness Ad Infinitum - November 24, 2014
- Fear City - October 5, 2014
- The Boneyard - July 24, 2014
- Double Feature: A Novel - July 24, 2014
- Never Alone - July 24, 2014
- Blind Vengence - July 24, 2014
