Dance of the Damned

Lord of Nightmares #1

by Alan Bligh

A grim dance has begun, and for Miskatonic University librarian Daisy Walker, it is a dance of memory, one that will awaken a horrible nightmare she hoped would stay long forgotten. When an unexpected letter from an estranged friend arrives, Daisy is quickly pulled into an unraveling mystery in Kingsport, Massachusetts - a place where her memory will not be the only thing haunting her dreams. Now, her fate will intertwine with that of world-weary bounty hunter Tony Morgan. The elusive Copperhead Industries wants their stolen secret back, and through manipulation and blackmail, they have secured Tony's acclaimed talents. But this recovery job has quickly turned into one of survival, and this time it's not only Tony's life that hangs in the balance, but the fate of the entire world! From New York City to Kingsport, Massachusetts, Dance of the Damned follows a harrowing search for truth in the midst of eldritch horror.

Genres: Horror, Cthulhu Mythos, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, Mystery

336 pages, Paperback

Published November 29, 2011

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly well-written horror novel. Normally game-to-book writing is...well, let's say not so good, but I was quite pleased with the author's skill, as well as his loving treatment of the H.P. Lovecraft inspired story. For those of us who have played Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu, this book is essentially an gaming adventure in novel form...and a darn good one.

An ancient stone. A dying, inhuman sorcerer. A corrupt global company. Gangsters in New York. A cult. A private eye. A librarian. A debutante. Arkham. Kingsport. The Terrible Old Man. And...the Lord of Nightmares! The Feaster from the Stars! And nightgaunts! Oh, the glorious nightgaunts!

Fun genre novel. Highly recommended for those who know what it means to take a 1d20 sanity hit.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on my nook. I enjoyed the first FFG Arkham book, but this one was on a whole different level. The difference was in the writing. Alan Bligh can really write! The descriptions of Kingsport were especially engrossing. If you want a good Mythos book, pick up this one!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

So "Dance of the Damned" By Alan Bligh is the third Arkham Horror book I've read. Arkham Horror being the intense board game that follows the Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft's written works. So it's a book based on a board game which is based on other books. "Meta" enough for you?

Just like in all the previous Arkham Horror books, you can get a free promo game card if you tear out and mail in the last page of the book with all your pertinent details written upon it.

Other than the significant amount of typos (not misspelled words so much as wrong words that might look correct in a cursory edit) and the narrative collapse at the end of the book, I'd say this was my favorite of the Arkham Horror books so far. It's the first book in the "Lord of Nightmares" trilogy (as opposed to the two Arkham Horror "Dark Waters" trilogy books I've reviewed previously), and I like where they're going so far.

The two main characters from the Arkham Horror game featured are librarian Daisy Walker and bounty hunter Tony Morgan. Though characters like professor Harvey Walters get a bit of page space as well. And no trip to Kingsport seems complete without an appearance by The Terrible Old Man.

As per usual with Arkham Horror books, there are corrupt cultists trying to tear open a gate and let a Very Bad Thing into our world. There's ritual aplenty and magical, accursed objects that need to be sought out (or kept from the wrong hands and/or tentacles) and plenty of bloody battles against humans who are no longer very human and horrible beasties from other planes of existence.

Where "Dance of the Damned" falls flat is in the final confrontation with the evil cultists. There's very little narrative payoff, the action is a bit confusing (to say the least), and we only find out who definitely survived the final battle in passing during a tacked-on epilogue (and we are left to winder about the rest). It is almost like there was a supreme rush to finish the book and all the excellent plotting and pacing just went out the window in a dash to the finish line.

What gives me a bit of pause about book two of this series--"The Lies of Solace"--is that I can see it was written by a different author. And from reading the back of the book, it seems like Jacqueline Fine the psychic, not Daisy Walker or Tony Morgan, is the game character protagonist for the second book. We shall see.

As before, if you're a fan of H.P. Lovecraft or of the Arkham Horror series of games (or the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game), you will likely enjoy all of the Arkham Horror books.

[Holden Attradies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy it but it ended up being VERY enjoyable. For those that enjoy the Cthulhu Mythos this should be a home run, although I'm not sure how enjoyable it will be to those not familiar with this specific genre (the line: "It's a calendar and it tells when the stars are right" was particularly chilling if your familiar with the genre).

The beginning is, sadly, a little slow and all over the place. It takes a few chapters to find out how all the characters being followed are connected and once you get past that initial hump and the pieces start to slowly fall in place the book becomes pretty hard to put down. The three main characters were all pretty strong, and there is some great character development throughout out the book.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more like 3.5. I liked the setting and Lovecraftian nature of the book. For me the major drawbacks were introducing too many characters too quickly, some of whom had little to do with the story, and the plot at times dragged and at other times ran too quickly. All and all I would recommend this to a fan of the game and cosmic horror genre as a light read.

[vonblubba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trilogia ambientata nel mondo del gioco da tavolo "Arkham Horror" della fantasy flight games (a sua volta basato sui dei romanzi di H.P. Lovecraft). Normalmente quando affronto libri di questo tipo, che normalmente hanno solo la funzone di arricchire un po' il mondo di gioco sul quale si basano, non mi aspetto molto. Se mi trovo tra le mani una trama non del tutto scontata ed un autore dalla prose non completamente soporifera mi considero già soddisfatto.
In questo caso mi è andata molto meglio del previsto. Bligh scrive molto bene, le sue descrizioni sono asciutte, brevi ma molto efficaci; i personaggi vivi e credibili. La trama segue canoni piuttosto standard, ma l'introduzione dell'elemento horror/soprannaturale è lenta e insinuata gradualmente, e non infilata frettolosamente di punto in bianco come spesso accade in questo tipo di fiction. Un'ottima lettura di svago e non troppo impegnativa.

[J Valance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, full on pulp-style Cthulhu, morally murky characters and some really scary villains, I reckon it will be a bit high on the action/adventure for some so-called 'purists' but it succeeds very well as what it's meant to be. Let down only by some patchy proofing, but that's the publisher's responsibility, rather than the author. I'll look forward to reading the rest.

[Jordan West · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like three and a half; but definitely superior to McNeill's Ghouls in pretty much every way.

[Dev S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun pulpy read. It captures the feel of the game play but it would be good to see the actual game characters feature a little more heavily.

[João P · Rating 3 out of 5]

This being a tie-in book for a game, I went into it without much expectation and was positively surprised. The narrative is well-paced, the characters are likeable, and the stakes feel real.

More often than not the writing is fluid and engaging enough to allow the book to transcend its functional inception, with moments of very sublime use of language. When the characters sit down in a hotel lobby surrounded by a deadly mist, the whole situation carries an emotional weight as it finally dawns on the characters (as well as the reader) how immense is the scope of their struggle, how desperate and suicidal is their attempt to fight. In some ways the book manages to capture a truly emotional, existential dimension of the Lovecraftian horror which I don’t see portrayed often (even though the high-energy, explosion-packed, action ending undoes a bit of that emotional atmosphere).
Mr. Bligh was clearly passionate for books, and this love transpires in his writing.

Mr. Bligh’s writing is able to lend a measure of depth to characters who are originally paper thin (pun intended), notably Daisy Walker. Daisy is—for all it’s worth—a delightful example of good female representation, a « strong independent woman » whose strength is one shade of a more complex personality, and her friendship with Annabel feels earnest and affectionate. Mr. Bligh’s attention to the issue of female representation is clear throughout the text and, if a bit clumsy at times, is very welcome.

[Sylri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does what the original Dark Waters trilogy from Arkham Horror did so well: have a bunch of separate story threads that all come together for an explosive (a lot of times literally) climax.
And also like that trilogy this book had a significant chunk of its story take place in my beloved Kingsport setting. I’m not sure if that’s going to be a recurring pattern with these Arkham Horror books but I do approve - also more cameos by my favorite terrible old man.

Not as many Derlethian references in this one, but we can’t have it all can we?

There was less Arkham Horror game names dropping in this one like there was in Ghouls of the Miskatonic, though I can’t say I’m too surprised.
There was a subplot with a Mythos entity/cult that I don’t see referenced very often in my reading which I found a neat inclusion.

Feels weird to say too much more than that, because I read this book over such a long period of time because of a book slump I entered while reading this (which was not because of this book in any way).
Will say I got a little upset that when I finished this up and got all excited to read the second in the trilogy I noticed the second book has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the characters of this book from what I can tell and isn’t even written by the same guy. The fate of one of the characters in this book was left in the air and I had been kind of hoping it was merely a cliffhanger for the next book but hopefully that will be addressed in the third book tying things together.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably more a 1.5-star book (a book has to be truly horrible in one way or another to justify a one-star rating from me), but if I could make it, say, 1.1, I'd probably use that, instead. Dance of the Damned just isn't very good.

Bligh's style is awkward; there was at least one sentence on every page that was structured in such a way that I had to stop to parse it into something I could understand. There were comma splices and run-on sentences, too (and a few typos, but I can't blame him for what a copy editor should have caught), and the end result was difficult to read. As such, I started checking out along the way, and I'd find myself having read ten to twenty pages, realizing I had no idea what happened during that span of the story. By the end, it all sort of meshed together, but I didn't have the kind of connection to the characters I needed to make me care about it.

The next two books in the series have another author involved, so I'll see if this series improves.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forgot to update here, since i'm so woefully behind on my 2017 challenge.

Really really enjoyed this book. The characterization of Daisy Walker and Tony Morgan was great, and and the book is easily one of the most atmospheric of all the Arkham Horror novels that FFG has published so far. I only wish we could have had many more books by Alan Bligh, he was a hell of an author and a stand out creative games designer. He will be sorely missed.

[Honor (honorbound13) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has a commanding grasp of both the Cthulhu mythos and the world of Arkham horror. The author combined those settings into a compelling story told through multiple perspectives that came together at the end that feel as if they should have been obvious from the start but weren’t. The descriptions of the locations of the Cthulhu mythos were particularly captivating, and felt akin to Lovecraft.

[Stephanie Gustafsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable 3 hour read. The story focused around Daisy Walker and 3 other newly introduced characters. If you have read the AH Novella’s prior. You will be rewarded with some cameo appearances from other protagonists from the books. It was fun to piece together the different back stories of the side characters.

[Danillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me in a way that I wasn't expecting! The characters and the story are well built, the danger is always there, and the momentum grows to reach a very nervous climax. It's only the first book of the "Lord of Nightmares" trilogy, but what a start!

[Dave O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whole lotta fun! Given it’s based on a card game of Lovecrafts Mythos, it would be easy to think it would be sub par. Instead it’s a pulp romp with interesting characters and a tight plot. I would easily consider a re-read given how accessible it is. The prose was also top notch.

[Rysm]

This was a wild book. A great jump back to the 1920s with a heavy dose of horror. If you are reading this book, you know why you are. The elder signs brought you.

[Γιώργος Μπελαούρης · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh meh
ΔΕΝ ΘΑ ΓΙΝΕΤΕ ΛΑΒΚΡΑΦΤ ΠΟΤΕ

[Carlsagansghost · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 20 page short story stretched into the first part of a trilogy. No thank you. So much boring useless description used to pad out the length.

[Drew German · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but it is incomplete. The ending is abrupt and leaves you with many questions. I am hoping these are answered by the third book in the series.

[Kevin Whiteneir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Dance of the Damned after deliberately searching for Arkham Horror books that feature investigator Daisy Walker and was initially delighted by the fact that she was on the cover of the book and this being her debut in the board games novel series. Daisy is a favored investigator of mind so I jumped at the chance of reading an author's take on her character and delving into some RP-esque backstory on her.

Chapter one opens to Daisy, a promising start for me, and the author's balance of dialogue and narration was a good start to the book. I felt like I was getting a good deal of background to get me situated and some dialogue to keep things fresh and moving along in terms of action. But, rather quickly, there is a scene and perspective change to a new character. Then another after a little bit of time with Annabel to Tony Morgan, another investigator in the Arkham Horror series.

Though I liked the book, this became one of its biggest flaws for me. Early on, the reader is quickly thrust into the perspective of three characters after quickly getting situated with what's going on with them. At this point, it isn't done badly, but it is a bit brusque.

By the end of the book,though, we are given the perspective of Daisy, Tony, Annabel, a homeless man, a detective, a minor but important character known as the old man, and the primary "antagonist." That's a total of seven characters to follow each with multiple instances of PoV swaps. By the middle of the book, it was jarring and I met POV changes with disdain and wanted to put the book down to take a break because I felt what I described to my roommate as "mentally nauseous."

It unfortunately became so distracting that it broke the narrative flow for me, making the book that much more of a chore than an entertainment. The PoV swaps are also unbalanced later in the book, so you might spend a long time with a character, swap to another for a short moment, swap back, and then swap to someone else. This was the case with Detective Heskell at the Falling Angel.

The second of the major flaws, I'm just going to put it this way: not everyone is meant to imitate HP Lovecraft's style. In fact, even Lovecraft got a little carried away sometimes waxing prosaically. It seemed like Bligh tried after the second chapter to imitate this but his sentences were incredibly bogged down. I would read his narration, and they would go on for so long that I lost the point of action. He sometimes would do this during scenes specifically meant to be action scenes, going into elaborate detail about everything during a scene that was supposed to be fast paced because it was hazardous to the characters.

The ending with Tony in the car and Daisy trying to come to terms with the climatic cress though seemed to balance itself back out, still suffering from the second flaw at points but not so much the first. It actually felt for a moment like I was watching a focused player in an RP try to figure out how they were going to fix the problem at hand. I think it was the ending really that pushed me from rating this a 2/2.5 and going full on to 3 stars.

Though the book slogged at points and I would become disenchanted with PoV swaps more often than not, the story is compelling, a good jaunt into the dark horror/fantasy that is so arresting about the Arkham/Eldritch Horror series.

3 out of 5 stars.

[Kimmo Makinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly well written and gripping horror novel set in the 1920's era New England dealing with strange cosmic powers rippling through to our world and part of a series of novels paid for by Fantasy Flight Games to further compliment their wide range of games influenced by the writings of H.P.Lovecraft and his disciples. Considering the nature of the work - ordered up by a games publishing house to compliment one of their product lines - the author Alan Bligh was an unexpected surprise to me in both providing a vivid, lively writing and a thrilling story of mystery and not just a rehash of a possible gaming experience. The author combines seemingly without seams the Lovecratian style of writing full of describing adjectives (to things (un)naturally resistant of description!) and long language constructs, locations and persons familiarized by FFG's long-standing and award winning co-operative game of survival horror - Arkham Horror - and a story wide enough to feel fresh and tight enough to maintain it's coherency all the way to the last page.

Alan Bligh is by no means a novice in the writing business and has made a name for himself by writing not only fiction but games expansion materials for various gaming products and for various publishers. His experience in writing role-playing scenarios shows here, but what is clearly visible in this particular book is that Alan Bligh is not merely just a hired gun paid to churn out yet another Mythos -infused book slapped with familiar Mythos -names to side with Fantasy Flight Games' line of gaming products. He is indeed well versed in the subject matter, has obviously spent quite a lot of time (perhaps earlier in his life?) with Lovecratian fiction, understands what fans of Lovecraftian fiction are after and respects the reader by writing with patience and thought. The main characters and events are introduced to the reader with a high level of proficiency in knowing what to say to make the reader understand their motives, past life, weaknesses, strengths and forecasts of their future. And yet Bligh manages to keep the story arch flowing from the get go and unravelling things and introducing new aspects to the story just at the proper intervals to both keep the characters of the book and the thrilled reader guessing right to the monumental climax.

The horror novel by Alan Bligh comes highly recommended to any and all fans of traditional Lovecraftian fiction regardless of their interest in the FFG's line of gaming products the novel is attached to. Knowing the games does have it's advantages but is not in any sense a requirement to enjoy the book and it's story about unlikely heroes trying to thwart - and while doing so both remain sane and understand - the plans of powers beyond their comprehension or wildest nightmares. The book is but first of a trilogy (The Lord of Nightmares trilogy to be exact) but wraps itself tightly enough not to feel that the story was left hanging which is yet another example of respecting the reader by providing a solid reading experience with a clear story arch and ending.

[Christian Petrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When reading the books in the Arkham Horror series, I don't expect them to be the top notch of literature. I do expect them to entertain me. With this, the first installment of the Lord of the Nightmare series, it was not what I expected in the plot, but it was an interesting diversion.

At the beginning of the story we are introduce to multiple characters. Out of them, one you expect to be the good guy. The others you try to see how it fits together. One thing I have to say is the plot keeps you guessing on how things will turn out.

The characters are developed enough for the story. You get an idea of the goals of the main two, while the others they leave you guessing on what their motives are. As for what they are seeking, it is not clearly revealed until half way through the story.

With most my reviews I try not to give anything away that would spoil the story. When reading this keep in mind the first half is building and placing the characters in place. Some of it is not exciting, but it is not boring either.

Once you reach the half way point of the story things start to fall in place and head towards the final confrontation. Now there are some surprises with the ending. Though there was one I was not surprised with. The ending is interesting and the fall out, well I was pleased with how it ended.

If you are looking for a horror book, this might not reach the full qualifications of one. However, it is enjoyable and well written.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Several disparate stories revolve around a numinous threat. The book reads like a modern day "urban fantasy" tale, although the author is very careful to keep the 1920's to 1930's setting intact. The Lovecraftian feel is there somewhat, but fades in and out as the story follows different point-of-view characters.

Oddly enough the magic user character seems the less Lovecraftian of all the characters. Most likely this is because he is the most obviously "magical" of the people in this story. In this type of fiction sometimes less is more. For example, the two young ladies are attacked by a monster. Instead of simply calling the creature a nightgaunt, the author describes its features, or lack thereof. Mr. Henri Damascus, an assumed name, is more blatant about the forces and magics that he employs and battles. The style of horror that the story follows relies on a show-don't-tell aesthetic. Damascus is a decent character and a useful story element, but is somewhat jarring to the story.

A few issues exist, but all in all this is a good rainy day story. Just remember to read it with the lights on.

[Iain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thankfully it's rare that I pitch a book as I did this one.

I didn't expect Steinbeck, I never do with these light sci-fi TV tie in books. I like Lovecraft's work, I like the way the world he created has been handled by others in books and games ... but this book failed, epically, to engage me. The plot was plodding. The characters boring, the descriptions ... if one more thing smelled like a "charnal house" ... and all this with prose full of the sort of usage errors that pass spell checkers. "Ewe" "no" the sort of nonsensical sentences "eye" mean?

In the end life's too short and there are simply too many other books. This book killed my interest in the either FFG line of Arkham tie-ins.

[Jörg · Rating 3 out of 5]

After having read Ghouls of Miskatonic, the first installment of the second Arkham Horror trilogy published by Fantasy Flight Games, I expected DotD to be quite similar. This was pretty much the case in all regards. It has the same 'modern' style of narration which completely spoils the feeling of the 20's setting. I always felt like the story took place today because characters are very modern in their views and attitudes which does not fit the American 20's background. Furthermore the plot is very predictable and there hardly was any feeling of suspense. However, it was quick and fun to read.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent book written in a noir style. The plot is interesting and quite suspenseful at times. The characters are a little cardboard but it goes along with the style. My enjoyment of the book had a lot to do with my familiarity with Lovecraft and his writings. I would call it a fan book; I don't know if someone who is not a fan of Lovecraft would enjoy the book on its own merits.

[Cameron Crawford]

I'm liking how the story is progressing with all the fan-drop-references and character development without any gorey horror elements. However, I get the feeling that this new series from Fantasy Flight Games will have little of the literary writing styles of Lovecraft. It's missing the artistic flair that made the original short stories so steeped in atmosphere.

[BJ Haun · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly solid read. Folks expecting full-on Lovecraft might be a bit disappointed, but compared to some other books I've read, Dance of the Damned handles the Lovecraft mythos fairly well. I'm only giving it 3-stars because there were a couple of places where my interest flagged, but the book ended well, and I'm going to pick up the next in the series.