Eldritch Prisoners: A Cthulhu Mythos Anthology

Books of Cthulhu #6

by David Conyers, John A. DeLaughter, Matthew Davenport

Earth is home to us, but to others it is a prison planet, where alien convicts are imprisoned in human bodies. Four tales by veteran Cthulhu Mythos authors explore the collisions between humans and unwilling visitors among us.

“Broken Singularity" by David Former soldier Harrison Peel is resurrected on a vacuum shrouded moon on the edge of the galaxy after a million-year, dead-but-undreaming slumber and forced to repeat the same day endlessly. Why is he ordered to collect alien artefacts and how is his fate entangled with three peculiar incidents in Earth’s distant past? Can he break the endless repeating day before he descends into eternal madness?

“The Prisoner from Beyond" by Matthew After the Civil War, two surviving members of the Esoteric Cavalry head west to recruit, and tame the land. Barrenstand is a town with a problem, a new man at the edge of town is giving them nightmares … that bite. Who is the stranger and where, exactly, did he come from?

“Body Snatchers" by David In 1920’s London, investigator Harry Stubbs is drawn into a case involving an apparent madman with impossible knowledge, and discovers a web of strange sects, multiple identities and an ancient conflict between occult powers, leading to an unforgettable graveyard encounter.

“Leng’s Labythinth" by John Exchange student Francois Delapont is a man on the run. After he witnesses a ritualistic murder in Chartres, inhuman forces pursue him to discover the apocalyptic secrets behind the cabalistic rites he observed. Will he escape them or die during an interrogation that promises to literally turn him inside out?

Genres: Horror, Cthulhu Mythos, Short Story Collection, Fiction, Anthologies

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2023

About the author

David Conyers is science fiction author and editor from Adelaide, South Australia. He has a degree in engineering from the University of Melbourne, and today works in marketing communications. David’s fiction has appeared in magazines such as Albedo One, Ticon4, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Book of Dark Wisdom, Lovecraft eZine and Jupiter, as well as more than twenty anthologies. His previous books include the science fiction Cthulhu Mythos blended thriller, The Eye of Infinity published by Perilous Press and the prequel The Spiraling Worm co-authored with John Sunseri. Previous anthologies he has edited include Extreme Planets, Cthulhu Unbound 3, Cthulhu’s Dark Cults and Undead & Unbound. His e-books include The Uncertainty Bridge and The Impossible Object.

Reviews

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great anthology from four great mythos writers with stories loosely connected through themes of cosmic prisoners or prison. I have been a fan of these four for a while now. And have read most of their works, while this wasnt the mash up I was hoping for (like a Scooby doo crossover) I can honestly say that these authors truly hit their stride with their individual stories here. Cant wait to see what comes next

[Henry Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this for the Harry Stubs story by David Hambling. That was a 5-Star story.

The rest of the book wasn't my cup of tea. 3 stars for the rest of the stories in this collection.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

ELDRITCH PRISONERS, edited by David Hambling is the sixth anthology in the Books of Cthulhu series. The series takes a pulpier more adventurous take on H.P. Lovecraft's mythology. Each book focuses on a specific theme and has some of the best new Neo-Mythos authors contribute their short stories or novelettes. This volume has Davd Conyers (Cthulhu Reloaded), David Hambling (Harry Stubbs), Matthew Davenport (Andrew Doran), and John Delaughter (Time Loopers).

The premise, as the title indicates, is dealing with individuals or groups who have found themselves imprisoned by eldritch forces. The stories are stand alone but are thematically related. There's also the introduction of a new threat to humanity in a group called the Riders, which I found to be an interesting addition to the Mythos.

The first story and chapters spread through the anthology is, "Broken Singularity" by David Conyers. This has his protagonist, Harrison Peele, transported through time to a space station overlooking a black hole. Peele is surrounded by humans from the distant future and equipped with a powerful space suit/power armor but utterly trapped as there's no way to get home. Slowly, he begins to unravel the nature of his captors as well as what their agenda is.

This is probably my favorite of the stories as I really feel it gets into the desperation and oppressiveness of the theme. Harrison is surrounded by a grim and dark future for mankind even if he does manage to escape with mankind having become increasingly machine-like if the future workers around him are any indication. I've always liked the transhumanist element that some Lovecraftian authors have explored. The ending is also incredibly dark but also exceptionally satisfying.

"The Prisoner from Beyond" by Matthew Davenport is a Western with a Man in Black-esque organization of Secret Servicemen (called the Esoteric Cavalry). This is probably my favorite story from Matthew Davenport and one of the darker stories he's created. It has the least to do with the overall theme as the town is held prisoner by the supernatural entity living there. That's not a big deal for me as I really enjoyed the story either way.

"Body Snatchers" by David Hambling is a Harry Stubbs story where the 1920s boxer turned private investigator investigates someone capable of stealing bodies. This is another stretched theme as the antagonist imprisons people in new bodies and leaves them to be judged insane. I'm a huge Harry Stubbs fan and think this is a great standalone adventure.

John DeLaughter's "Leng's Labyrinth" is the longest of the stories and deals with everything from virtual reality, cults, the French catacombs, time travel, and cannibal ancestry. It is a very compl3ex and intricate story that even I had a bit of trouble following. Nevertheless, I was entertained throughout.

In conclusion, Eldritch Prisoners is a solid and entertaining Cthulhu Mythos anthology. It doesn't always stay on theme but it is probably the most devoted to straight horror of the Books of Cthulhu series (which tends toward action horror as or occult adventure). It's a good introduction to the works of the authors as well, I think, and if you like the stories here then you might want to check out their main series.

[Irwin Fletcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's only four stories in this one (though the Harrison Peel story is broken up into four parts scattered through the book) but they're all pretty much novella length so it's not too brief. Overall I wasn't all that impressed with it, the Harrison Peel story was a bit of a let down. It's not really a continuation of the previous stories as much as a spin-off involving a Peel clone in the far flung future. The character barely feels like Peel, it could have been any old character and been the same story. It was interesting though. The historical story about the guys from the "Esoteric Cavalry" was pretty entertaining and the best of the four in my opinion. The other two I didn't really care for too much. The one about the British private detective wasn't awful but it's apparently from a series about a character I've never heard of so I felt like I was missing some events and set-up that would have made it more enjoyable, plus it didn't feel like much of a Mythos story. I just found it kind of boring. The story about the American exchange student in France was just a chore to get through.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broken Singularity - my least favorite, was still decent and creepy but was totally overshadowed by the others 3/5

The Prisoner From Beyond - loved it, reminded me of The Haunter of the Wheel, western pulp eldritch fiction 5/5

Body Snatchers - I need to check out more Harry Stubbs 5/5

Lengs Labyrinth -

[Richard Christou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Mixed Bag

I bought the book because it has a new Harry Stubbs story by David Hambling. Second in my opinion is David Conyers offering. I thought the rest mediocre. But for me just the Stubbs story was worth the price of the book.

[Jack Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag. Two I liked, two not so much. Generally well written. One story is broken up in between the other three which I didn't really like.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it

[George Perz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pass

The other books were SO much better. Skip this one. Most of the stories are flatly without real purpose, and feel verbose for the sake of being verbose.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember some of the plots, so pretty good.

[BERNARD ANDREWS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyably strange stories

Weird tales with a heavy dose of Lovecraftian darkness and mystery to keep you engaged and interested in the storylines.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very mixed bag.