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Future Lovecraft
Decades, centuries and even thousands of years in the future:
The horrors inspired by Lovecraft do not know the limits of time...or space. Journey through this anthology of science fiction stories and poems inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Listen to the stars that whisper and drive a crew mad. Worship the Tloque Nahuaque as he overtakes Mexico City. Slip into the court of the King in Yellow. Walk through the streets of a very altered Venice. Stop to admire the beauty of the flesh-dolls in the window. Fly through space in the shape of a hungry, malicious comet. Swim in the drug-induced haze of a jellyfish. Struggle to survive in a Martian gulag whose landscape isn't quite dead. But, most of all, fear the future.
Featured authors include: Nick Mamatas, Ann K. Schwader, Don Webb, Paul Jessup, E. Catherine Tobler, A.C. Wise, and many more.
The horrors inspired by Lovecraft do not know the limits of time...or space. Journey through this anthology of science fiction stories and poems inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Listen to the stars that whisper and drive a crew mad. Worship the Tloque Nahuaque as he overtakes Mexico City. Slip into the court of the King in Yellow. Walk through the streets of a very altered Venice. Stop to admire the beauty of the flesh-dolls in the window. Fly through space in the shape of a hungry, malicious comet. Swim in the drug-induced haze of a jellyfish. Struggle to survive in a Martian gulag whose landscape isn't quite dead. But, most of all, fear the future.
Featured authors include: Nick Mamatas, Ann K. Schwader, Don Webb, Paul Jessup, E. Catherine Tobler, A.C. Wise, and many more.
294 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2011
31 people are currently reading
1541 people want to read
About the author
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
157 books27.3k followersSilvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of several novels, including Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. She has also edited a number of anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (a.k.a. Cthulhu's Daughters). Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
December 19, 2015
Future Lovecraft is a collection of numerous (38 to be exact) various authors' work based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
I think this book is quite the challenge to successfully and accurately rate. For starters, the very premise of book reviews on Goodreads, I question.
There is a difference between one's likes, biases, and opinions and actually critiquing a book. A true (book) critic is looking for certain criteria to be met. Although there is always a degree of subjective opinion in any true critique, in theory, it shouldn't be based on whether its reader liked the genre or book. When we (at Goodreads) rate a book, ultimately we are commenting on our personal tastes and enjoyment.
This book - Future Lovecraft - further compounds this challenge as being numerous short stories, poems, and authors. To be fair, this should have 38 different ratings.
Of the 8 poems, none particularily stood out to me. I found most of the poems were a bit too abstract and convoluted for my tastes.
As for the short stories, I especially enjoyed "Dolly in the Window" by Robyn Seale, "A Welcome Sestina fron Cruise Director Isabeau Molyneux" by Mae Empson and "The Comet Called Ithaqua" by Don Webb.
Three out of 5 stars!
March 28, 2012
Edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles
The Cthulhu Mythos gets flung far ahead in space and in time, and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth from this vast collection of stories that explore Lovecraftian monsters invading humanity’s future, as well as aliens, other worlds and very trippy dimensions. Exploring both inner and outer space, it’s likely that more than one story that will stay with you. There are more than a couple involving insane astronauts and doomed spaceships, but the greatly varying approaches used ensure nothing in this collection blends into a big tentacally lump. This is an exciting, yet unsettling look at mankind’s possible future, and questions if it even has one at all. Perfect for Lovecraft fans, frankly.
The particularly strong stories in this collection are marked with a ‘*’ and explanations about why are given in the brief summaries underneath.
In This Brief Interval by Ann K. Schwader
Poem. Best line – ‘Before our sun first sparked, the stars / turned right.’
In the Hall of the Yellow King by Peter Rawlik
A diverse group of Lovecraftian alien races and outer-dimensional beings meet for a grave negotiation, and a power play which could change the very structure of the universe.
Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nylarthotep by Mick Mamatas
Humanity evades the return of the Great Old Ones by transporting themselves into the virtual Newspave, but they haven’t quite avoided the threat of destruction and madness, and it’s possible that the only way out is to evolve into a self-replicating PAC-MAN-esq game. Utterly mad, although I think it almost made sense.
*Tri-TV by Bobby Cranestone
Channel hopping was never this fun on Earth. Flicking between TV stations somewhere in space, it appears our future is indeed touched by Cthulhu, and all his mates, too.
Do Not Imagine by Mari Nessas
Poem. “We see your grey ships
and thirst
We eat upon human screams,
and in the shadows of the stars,
We hunger.”
*Rubedo, An Alchemy of Madness by Michael Matheson
Brilliant tale. Stranded at the ass end of space, a female scientist assists with a difficult birth. Terrific description really pulls you into this tale of insanity, sadness and solitude. Very impressive space action here, too.
People Are Reading What You Are Writing by Luso Mnthali
Felt like a highly surreal Margaret Attwood study on the power of words to stir people, especially women, from their oppression, even after humanity has colonised other worlds. Interesting.
*Harmony Amid the Stars by Ada Hoffman
More madness aboard a spaceship, but who is truly losing their mind? Effective use of the diary entry format (this is a Lovecraft collection after all) and the characters are cleverly sketched as events unravel. Feels nicely old-school, and I mean that in a highly complimentary way.
*The Comet Called Ithaqua by Don Webb
A deliciously ghoulish tale of outer space madness and folks pushed to breaking point losing a bit of their humanity in the process. Another classic Lovecraftian tale of mankind bringing its nightmares wherever it goes.
Phoenix Woman by Kelda Crich
Poem. “Groomed with persistent
nano-mites”
and
“ancient teeth/ feed by fluttery mouths”
Postflesh by Paul Jessup
A spaceship crew are stranded on an alien world inhabited by leftover biotech creations. Graphic, poetically written and appealingly nasty.
*The Library Twins and the Nekrobees by Martha Hubbard
Two super-powered twins guard a futuristic library containing the last few hard copy books in existence. They catch a powerful entity attempting to alter the meaning in their pages, and a battle soon ensues. A great story, witty and flowing, and the fearless twins’ banter is great fun to read, while the creature they encounter poses a significant threat. Leaves you wondering ‘what if they failed….?’
Go, Go, Go, Said the Byakhee by Molly Tamzer
Utterly mental in an enthralling way. You don’t so much read as tumble between the lines, but this zips along with an irresistible sense of primitive, savage innocence, and also, it’s full of tentacles. Great fun.
*Skin by Helen Marshall
After a fateful trip to Egypt, a university professor reports on a morbid secrets of the Alexandria library which were learned while investigating the origin of ancient book cover, bound in an unidentified type of leather. What is the price of preserving knowledge? Ominous and very effective.
The Old 44th by Randy Stafford
Poem: “Right there, where the mesa ends,
And their blue, frothy Hound blood
Shone under the moons,
Is where they’re kennelled.”
Iron Footfalls by Julio Toro San Martin
Partly a stream of conscious, a cyborg soldier awaits rescue, and as she tries to figure out the cause of the delay, it seems she might be waiting an eternity.
This Song is Not For You by A. D. Cahill
Poem: “His writhing, festering pleasure
Strikes a ten-dimensional chord.”
*Tloque Nahuaque by Nelly Geraldine Garcia-Rosas
Scientists harness the power of creation, via the hadron collider, with some dire repercussions for reality. Surreal and full of monsters, which are a good thing, this was written with authority and class.
*Dolly in the Window by Robyn Seale
Excellent story creating a real switch in the reader’s perspectives as the narrator, who appears deeply violent and unpleasant, starts to explain the unhappy reality of the situation. Creepy, very effective.
*A Cool, Private Place by Jen White
The real estate in this part of Australia is cheap, but only because no one else is crazy enough to live so near to ‘time wells’, bubbles of time past and future. Occasionally, something gets into present day, and this expertly crafted tale explores how you might survive it.
Venice Burning by A. C. Wise
A jaded private eye investigates a missing person case, in a bleak world where timestreams have mashed together following the rising of R’lyeh. Great imagery.
A Day and a Night in Providence by Anthony Boulanger
A pilgrim isn’t all he seems as prayers bring forth madness and the end of the world. Perceptions of holiness are about to change. An effectively realised sense of doom, destruction and religious madness.
*A Welcome Sestina From Cruise Director Isabeau Molyneux by Mae Empson
In retrospect, feeding the starving people of earth with baby giant squid, found underneath the ice cap, might have been a mistake. Presenting in an unravelling stream of consciousness, this was effectively quirky and may possibly make you very hungry while you read…
* Lottie Versus the Moon Hopper by Pamela Rentz
A space-shuttle cleaning crew get a lot more than they bargained for. This blue collar sci fi story is written with a very wry sense of humour, and some vividly realistic, world-weary characters really bring this great piece of ‘horror from a mundane perspective’ to life.
*The Damnable Asteroid by Leigh Kimmel
A strange meteorite is sucked into the orbit of a mining-pod’s asteroid, and starts to have an unpleasant effect on the men underneath its gaze. Proper old school science fiction nightmare, there are things out there in space we really shouldn’t mess with, and keep watching the skies!
*Myristica Fragrans by E. Catherine Tobler
An alien market owner (although actually considerably more exotic than that sounds) comes into contact with some unusual specimens which start to obsess her to a dangerous extent. Unusual, and highly effective.
*Dark of the Moon by James S. Dorr
A female Russian cosmonaut deals with outer space by reading Western science fiction writers, only to discover that Lovecraft may have been on to something. Definitely worth a look, sadness and the dark side of the moon are a powerful combination.
*Trajectory of a Cursed Spirit by Meddy Ligner
A fantastic tale of the Russian gulag translated up to Mars, and what a political prisoner found out there. This story has a really classic feel, with a very impressive use of setting and character.
Transmigration by Lee Clarke Zumpe
Poem: “the sparks of his divine machinery
danced above the roofless temple
beneath the swarming, callous stars.
I saw inappropriate shadows.”
*Concerning the Last Days of the Colony at New Roanoake by Tucker Cummings
Another great story using the classic diary entry structure. More of a report on what was found at a doomed colony, and it leave just enough is left unsaid, or has been lost, for the reader to draw their own startling conclusions.
The Kadath Angle by Maria Mitchell
Set in Lovecraft’s notorious town of Innsmouth, many years after the army got involved, many years after humanity forgot all about it. Even this mutated town has its social pariahs, but even monsters can greatly underestimate each other.
*The Last Man Standing by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso
This takes an unusual perspective on a worldwide apocalypse, basing its story in Nigeria. It turns out, old superstitions die hard, even through a modern day plague. Bleak but very involving.
Exhibit at the National Anthropology Museum in Tombustou by Andrew Dombalagian
A short piece that examines an artefact that ‘early’ humans used to plead with the Elder Gods for protection, with more poetry than prose here, a cleverly frozen moment using a futuristic perspective.
The Door From Earth by Jesse Bullington
On an alien world, they have as much trouble stopping mad scientists as Earth-bound heroes. Really fun, Lovecraft-flavoured science fiction here. Its non-human protagonists add some real spice, too.
The Deep Ones by Bryan Thao Worra
Poem: “We grow with uncertain immortality
At the edge not made for man,
Bending, curving, humming cosmic
Awake and alien,”
* The Labyrinth of Sleep by Orrin Grey
A professional dreamer (shades of Inception here if you’d like a reference) seeks out a missing friend in the universal labyrinth of dreams, and learns something rather troubling about the deepest levels of humanity’s sub-consciousness. Highly recommended.
*Deep Blue Dreams by Sean Craven
Using jellyfish sludge creates a cheap, natural high, only you’ve gotta feed it something…the term ‘Jellyhead’ is great, and this is a delightfully squidgy tale of a worldwide addiction going badly wrong.
Big Bro by Arlene J. Yandug
Poem: “Watching the dust
Of our names
In the wake of our own thoughts,
Crawling out
through the cracks of cubicles.”
The Cthulhu Mythos gets flung far ahead in space and in time, and you’ll definitely get your money’s worth from this vast collection of stories that explore Lovecraftian monsters invading humanity’s future, as well as aliens, other worlds and very trippy dimensions. Exploring both inner and outer space, it’s likely that more than one story that will stay with you. There are more than a couple involving insane astronauts and doomed spaceships, but the greatly varying approaches used ensure nothing in this collection blends into a big tentacally lump. This is an exciting, yet unsettling look at mankind’s possible future, and questions if it even has one at all. Perfect for Lovecraft fans, frankly.
The particularly strong stories in this collection are marked with a ‘*’ and explanations about why are given in the brief summaries underneath.
In This Brief Interval by Ann K. Schwader
Poem. Best line – ‘Before our sun first sparked, the stars / turned right.’
In the Hall of the Yellow King by Peter Rawlik
A diverse group of Lovecraftian alien races and outer-dimensional beings meet for a grave negotiation, and a power play which could change the very structure of the universe.
Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nylarthotep by Mick Mamatas
Humanity evades the return of the Great Old Ones by transporting themselves into the virtual Newspave, but they haven’t quite avoided the threat of destruction and madness, and it’s possible that the only way out is to evolve into a self-replicating PAC-MAN-esq game. Utterly mad, although I think it almost made sense.
*Tri-TV by Bobby Cranestone
Channel hopping was never this fun on Earth. Flicking between TV stations somewhere in space, it appears our future is indeed touched by Cthulhu, and all his mates, too.
Do Not Imagine by Mari Nessas
Poem. “We see your grey ships
and thirst
We eat upon human screams,
and in the shadows of the stars,
We hunger.”
*Rubedo, An Alchemy of Madness by Michael Matheson
Brilliant tale. Stranded at the ass end of space, a female scientist assists with a difficult birth. Terrific description really pulls you into this tale of insanity, sadness and solitude. Very impressive space action here, too.
People Are Reading What You Are Writing by Luso Mnthali
Felt like a highly surreal Margaret Attwood study on the power of words to stir people, especially women, from their oppression, even after humanity has colonised other worlds. Interesting.
*Harmony Amid the Stars by Ada Hoffman
More madness aboard a spaceship, but who is truly losing their mind? Effective use of the diary entry format (this is a Lovecraft collection after all) and the characters are cleverly sketched as events unravel. Feels nicely old-school, and I mean that in a highly complimentary way.
*The Comet Called Ithaqua by Don Webb
A deliciously ghoulish tale of outer space madness and folks pushed to breaking point losing a bit of their humanity in the process. Another classic Lovecraftian tale of mankind bringing its nightmares wherever it goes.
Phoenix Woman by Kelda Crich
Poem. “Groomed with persistent
nano-mites”
and
“ancient teeth/ feed by fluttery mouths”
Postflesh by Paul Jessup
A spaceship crew are stranded on an alien world inhabited by leftover biotech creations. Graphic, poetically written and appealingly nasty.
*The Library Twins and the Nekrobees by Martha Hubbard
Two super-powered twins guard a futuristic library containing the last few hard copy books in existence. They catch a powerful entity attempting to alter the meaning in their pages, and a battle soon ensues. A great story, witty and flowing, and the fearless twins’ banter is great fun to read, while the creature they encounter poses a significant threat. Leaves you wondering ‘what if they failed….?’
Go, Go, Go, Said the Byakhee by Molly Tamzer
Utterly mental in an enthralling way. You don’t so much read as tumble between the lines, but this zips along with an irresistible sense of primitive, savage innocence, and also, it’s full of tentacles. Great fun.
*Skin by Helen Marshall
After a fateful trip to Egypt, a university professor reports on a morbid secrets of the Alexandria library which were learned while investigating the origin of ancient book cover, bound in an unidentified type of leather. What is the price of preserving knowledge? Ominous and very effective.
The Old 44th by Randy Stafford
Poem: “Right there, where the mesa ends,
And their blue, frothy Hound blood
Shone under the moons,
Is where they’re kennelled.”
Iron Footfalls by Julio Toro San Martin
Partly a stream of conscious, a cyborg soldier awaits rescue, and as she tries to figure out the cause of the delay, it seems she might be waiting an eternity.
This Song is Not For You by A. D. Cahill
Poem: “His writhing, festering pleasure
Strikes a ten-dimensional chord.”
*Tloque Nahuaque by Nelly Geraldine Garcia-Rosas
Scientists harness the power of creation, via the hadron collider, with some dire repercussions for reality. Surreal and full of monsters, which are a good thing, this was written with authority and class.
*Dolly in the Window by Robyn Seale
Excellent story creating a real switch in the reader’s perspectives as the narrator, who appears deeply violent and unpleasant, starts to explain the unhappy reality of the situation. Creepy, very effective.
*A Cool, Private Place by Jen White
The real estate in this part of Australia is cheap, but only because no one else is crazy enough to live so near to ‘time wells’, bubbles of time past and future. Occasionally, something gets into present day, and this expertly crafted tale explores how you might survive it.
Venice Burning by A. C. Wise
A jaded private eye investigates a missing person case, in a bleak world where timestreams have mashed together following the rising of R’lyeh. Great imagery.
A Day and a Night in Providence by Anthony Boulanger
A pilgrim isn’t all he seems as prayers bring forth madness and the end of the world. Perceptions of holiness are about to change. An effectively realised sense of doom, destruction and religious madness.
*A Welcome Sestina From Cruise Director Isabeau Molyneux by Mae Empson
In retrospect, feeding the starving people of earth with baby giant squid, found underneath the ice cap, might have been a mistake. Presenting in an unravelling stream of consciousness, this was effectively quirky and may possibly make you very hungry while you read…
* Lottie Versus the Moon Hopper by Pamela Rentz
A space-shuttle cleaning crew get a lot more than they bargained for. This blue collar sci fi story is written with a very wry sense of humour, and some vividly realistic, world-weary characters really bring this great piece of ‘horror from a mundane perspective’ to life.
*The Damnable Asteroid by Leigh Kimmel
A strange meteorite is sucked into the orbit of a mining-pod’s asteroid, and starts to have an unpleasant effect on the men underneath its gaze. Proper old school science fiction nightmare, there are things out there in space we really shouldn’t mess with, and keep watching the skies!
*Myristica Fragrans by E. Catherine Tobler
An alien market owner (although actually considerably more exotic than that sounds) comes into contact with some unusual specimens which start to obsess her to a dangerous extent. Unusual, and highly effective.
*Dark of the Moon by James S. Dorr
A female Russian cosmonaut deals with outer space by reading Western science fiction writers, only to discover that Lovecraft may have been on to something. Definitely worth a look, sadness and the dark side of the moon are a powerful combination.
*Trajectory of a Cursed Spirit by Meddy Ligner
A fantastic tale of the Russian gulag translated up to Mars, and what a political prisoner found out there. This story has a really classic feel, with a very impressive use of setting and character.
Transmigration by Lee Clarke Zumpe
Poem: “the sparks of his divine machinery
danced above the roofless temple
beneath the swarming, callous stars.
I saw inappropriate shadows.”
*Concerning the Last Days of the Colony at New Roanoake by Tucker Cummings
Another great story using the classic diary entry structure. More of a report on what was found at a doomed colony, and it leave just enough is left unsaid, or has been lost, for the reader to draw their own startling conclusions.
The Kadath Angle by Maria Mitchell
Set in Lovecraft’s notorious town of Innsmouth, many years after the army got involved, many years after humanity forgot all about it. Even this mutated town has its social pariahs, but even monsters can greatly underestimate each other.
*The Last Man Standing by Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso
This takes an unusual perspective on a worldwide apocalypse, basing its story in Nigeria. It turns out, old superstitions die hard, even through a modern day plague. Bleak but very involving.
Exhibit at the National Anthropology Museum in Tombustou by Andrew Dombalagian
A short piece that examines an artefact that ‘early’ humans used to plead with the Elder Gods for protection, with more poetry than prose here, a cleverly frozen moment using a futuristic perspective.
The Door From Earth by Jesse Bullington
On an alien world, they have as much trouble stopping mad scientists as Earth-bound heroes. Really fun, Lovecraft-flavoured science fiction here. Its non-human protagonists add some real spice, too.
The Deep Ones by Bryan Thao Worra
Poem: “We grow with uncertain immortality
At the edge not made for man,
Bending, curving, humming cosmic
Awake and alien,”
* The Labyrinth of Sleep by Orrin Grey
A professional dreamer (shades of Inception here if you’d like a reference) seeks out a missing friend in the universal labyrinth of dreams, and learns something rather troubling about the deepest levels of humanity’s sub-consciousness. Highly recommended.
*Deep Blue Dreams by Sean Craven
Using jellyfish sludge creates a cheap, natural high, only you’ve gotta feed it something…the term ‘Jellyhead’ is great, and this is a delightfully squidgy tale of a worldwide addiction going badly wrong.
Big Bro by Arlene J. Yandug
Poem: “Watching the dust
Of our names
In the wake of our own thoughts,
Crawling out
through the cracks of cubicles.”
October 6, 2012
I didn't like these stories much. And I think it's because the authors simply took Lovecraftian names and plugged them in to sci-fi stories. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with that in theory, but the reason I read Lovecraft is for the STYLE of writing. This book featured pretty standard-issue sci-fi stories featuring Cthulu; they weren't stories about Cthulu set in the future, if you see my meaning. And I also read Lovecraft because it's primarily horror with some sci-fi thrown in. These were all sci-fi with some Cthulu thrown in.
If you like sci-fi and / or short stories, go ahead and pick this one up - you'll probably enjoy it. If you prefer horror, this anthology will disappoint you.
If you like sci-fi and / or short stories, go ahead and pick this one up - you'll probably enjoy it. If you prefer horror, this anthology will disappoint you.
July 13, 2016
Lovecrafty stuff in scifi contexts. That means different things for different stories. The "lovecraft" part of this book stands out differently depending on the story, including such elements as: the verbose writing style, the supernatural monsters, gothic or macabre elements, even a couple poems/Dunsanian fantasy influenced bits as well. The "future" depends on the story, but a lot of them are in space. Rarely however are the "Gods" reduced to some scientifically comprehensible beings. Their incomprehensibility is just conveyed through more advanced science. The lovecraft universe is super adaptable to scifi.
Too tired to pick through the table of contents and try to identify my "hits" and "misses".
Too tired to pick through the table of contents and try to identify my "hits" and "misses".
April 15, 2012
"Future Lovecraft" was definitely an interesting and worthwhile read. While the overall rating is at 4 stars, there were several stories which I would emphatically give 5 stars to, such as "Harmony Amid The Stars" by Ada Hoffmann, "This Son Is Not For You" by A.D. Cahill, and "The Labyrinth of Sleep" by Orrin Grey. The editors made some fantastic selections, ranging from die-hard Lovecraft tributes to imaginative explorations of the future and our psyche. There were a few short-stories and poems that were not up to par, and about 1/4 of the way in were a number of editorial issues, but overall I would heartily recommend this for any lover of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Weird Fiction.
July 14, 2012
An anthology of Lovecraft-inspired SF that doesn't feel much like Lovecraft.
There's a fair amount of stories and poetry here, and some of them aren't bad, but none of them really grabbed me. I think it's because the writers don't seem to get what makes a good Lovecraft story, or if they do, they aren't given the length to do it right.
Lovecraft starts out slow and normal, and lets the horrors mount. Most of the stories here don't have enough length to do so, and without that slow build up its hard to have any sense of dread. The Elder Gods and the higher cosmic threats aren't also namechecked as much; generally the more visible the horror, the weaker it is, but not always here. There's also themes of slow degeneration that don't get referenced much.
Some of the stories are really just regular horror tales with very little connection to the mythos, and some misuse the mythos badly, like the first story. The story with the book loving twins made no sense either. Also, what's with all the Russian-themed stories? It's a bit of an odd anthology-I'd sample it, but realize its more horror Sf with a thin Lovecraft veneer than a real tribute.
There's a fair amount of stories and poetry here, and some of them aren't bad, but none of them really grabbed me. I think it's because the writers don't seem to get what makes a good Lovecraft story, or if they do, they aren't given the length to do it right.
Lovecraft starts out slow and normal, and lets the horrors mount. Most of the stories here don't have enough length to do so, and without that slow build up its hard to have any sense of dread. The Elder Gods and the higher cosmic threats aren't also namechecked as much; generally the more visible the horror, the weaker it is, but not always here. There's also themes of slow degeneration that don't get referenced much.
Some of the stories are really just regular horror tales with very little connection to the mythos, and some misuse the mythos badly, like the first story. The story with the book loving twins made no sense either. Also, what's with all the Russian-themed stories? It's a bit of an odd anthology-I'd sample it, but realize its more horror Sf with a thin Lovecraft veneer than a real tribute.
January 25, 2013
I picked this up solely due to the title - the idea of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos in futuristic environments seemed like a can't miss idea. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a can't hit. That's not to say the stories are bad (and I don't consider myself a fair judge of the poetry), but none are stellar. Only one, The Labyrinth of Sleep (a mashup of Cthulhu and Inception) sparked at all, and while I've got fragments of some of the other stories still in mind, my overall impression of the book is not-quite-average. Not bad, but not worth the effort to track down and read.
June 29, 2012
I just couldn't finish this book. I read through a good portion of it but I just found the majority of entries to be terribly boring or just plain uninteresting. I did enjoy a couple of the stories which is why I didn't rate the book a one star. Overall I was very disappointed. Perhaps some day I will try to finish but honestly I don't think I will.
August 5, 2012
This book is a great example of what's possible for Indie publishers. The book looks great, was pretty clean, and the stories were solid. I can definitely see what it's been picked up for larger distribution.
I had just a couple personal sticky points when it came to this anthology. From the cover, I was expecting more hard sci fi/mythos stories, and there was a lot more soft SF/Fantasy than I usually like with my tentacles. Obviously that's a very subjsctive statement; your mileage will vary.
Second, I'm not a fan of poetry and there is a lot of it in here. Nothing against poets, I just don't get anything out of it. Probably why I'm a bigger Lovecraft than Poe fan, and again this is just a personal taste thing but I wanted to comment on it.
Standouts:
Standouts for me included "Inky,Blinky,Pinky, Nyarlathotep" by Nick Mamatas. Great mash of SF, old video game culture and Lovecraft.
"The Dark Side of the Moon" by James S. Dorr. I'm a really big fan of Dorr's work, and this story is no exception. With all the references to other writers in the story, I was tortured by the last line...I'm sure I missed the joke, because it hit me with a wave of Deja Vu but I couldn't for the life of me remember where I'd read it before.
Finally, "Deep Blue Dreams" by Sean Craven was a knockout punch for the anthology. Brilliant. I've never read anything by this person before, but I will definitely be on the lookout in the future.
So to summarize: Book looks awesome, reads pretty good, probably won't have everything you want, but there is definitely something for everyone.
I had just a couple personal sticky points when it came to this anthology. From the cover, I was expecting more hard sci fi/mythos stories, and there was a lot more soft SF/Fantasy than I usually like with my tentacles. Obviously that's a very subjsctive statement; your mileage will vary.
Second, I'm not a fan of poetry and there is a lot of it in here. Nothing against poets, I just don't get anything out of it. Probably why I'm a bigger Lovecraft than Poe fan, and again this is just a personal taste thing but I wanted to comment on it.
Standouts:
Standouts for me included "Inky,Blinky,Pinky, Nyarlathotep" by Nick Mamatas. Great mash of SF, old video game culture and Lovecraft.
"The Dark Side of the Moon" by James S. Dorr. I'm a really big fan of Dorr's work, and this story is no exception. With all the references to other writers in the story, I was tortured by the last line...I'm sure I missed the joke, because it hit me with a wave of Deja Vu but I couldn't for the life of me remember where I'd read it before.
Finally, "Deep Blue Dreams" by Sean Craven was a knockout punch for the anthology. Brilliant. I've never read anything by this person before, but I will definitely be on the lookout in the future.
So to summarize: Book looks awesome, reads pretty good, probably won't have everything you want, but there is definitely something for everyone.
June 1, 2015
I debated over the 2/3 stars and settled with 3 because I suspect my biases concerning the theme played a role in how I felt reading this collection. I really enjoy the anthologies that Innsmouth Free Press puts together. I discovered that I'd overlooked this one somewhere along the way. I would blame at least one missing star from this rating on my generally picky disposition when it comes to this stuff. I have a low tolerance for two types of Mythos fiction--the Dunsanian sort (think Dreamlands fare, and oddly enough I like to read Dunsany--it's the Tolkien-esque progeny that I can't take too much of, etc.) and the sci-fi infused type often inspired by stories like The Shadow Out of Time. It's an odd comfort zone, I guess. I will say, though, that I loved to see this collection include poetry; I enjoyed it very much. Orrin Grey's story, 'Labyrinth of Sleep' was enjoyable (I'm finding I like most of Grey's work), and there were a few others that were good, though too short--an issue with many of the stories in the collection. All in all, though, it's still quality Mythos fiction for those of us who consume this stuff like candy. :)
December 25, 2021
I've been looking forward to reading this for a while because I love cosmic horror and sci fi, but unfortunately a lot of writers in this anthology I guess thought by Lovecraft it meant awful goddamn writing and editing instead which is fair. This book was a slog and took me forever to read because once I was about a third of the way through I realized what I was dealing with.
There are 38 stories and poems in this book. Just 6 of them are good.
A lot of this is down to the editing and selection process for sure. Most aren't distinctly terribly written? They just really, really read like a rough first draft. I think a good amount could have been polished up to be solid. There are of course just some hugely bad stinkers.
I'm going to talk about the 6 good stories because most of the bad ones either left my brain as soon as I finished or I just don't want to be too mean because god DAMN they're just like bad.
Harmony Amid the Stars by Ada Hoffman. Isolation and paranoia on a deep space vessel brought about by environmental instability or maybe star gods speaking to the crew, WHO CAN SAY. Nicely paced and interesting.
The Comet Called Ithaqua by Don Webb. Again, isolation and paranoia on spaceship leading to cannibalism and some cosmic horror lite.
Go, Go, Go, Said the Byakhee by Molly Tanzer. Damn this one is legit my favorite in the book. Stuck around with me for a while after. Dicle is a child wanting to grow up, to meet the Mother in the Salt. Shit gets wild. I would love to read more about this world and setting and tribe for real.
Skin by Helen Marshall. A little on the grandiose side, like books made of human skin aren't THAT rare, chill. But well-written.
A Cool, Private Place by Jen White. Time travel puddles! A small town dealing with folks who fall through time. Really cool concept and execution.
Lottie Versus the Moon Hopper by Pamela Rentz. I think this story really could have used another page or two to draw out the suspense, because the end is very sudden and nothing technically happens in it? But I still enjoyed it.
This book was a task to finish. Debating ripping out the good stories and rebinding and tossing the rest to save book shelf space. We'll see....
There are 38 stories and poems in this book. Just 6 of them are good.
A lot of this is down to the editing and selection process for sure. Most aren't distinctly terribly written? They just really, really read like a rough first draft. I think a good amount could have been polished up to be solid. There are of course just some hugely bad stinkers.
I'm going to talk about the 6 good stories because most of the bad ones either left my brain as soon as I finished or I just don't want to be too mean because god DAMN they're just like bad.
Harmony Amid the Stars by Ada Hoffman. Isolation and paranoia on a deep space vessel brought about by environmental instability or maybe star gods speaking to the crew, WHO CAN SAY. Nicely paced and interesting.
The Comet Called Ithaqua by Don Webb. Again, isolation and paranoia on spaceship leading to cannibalism and some cosmic horror lite.
Go, Go, Go, Said the Byakhee by Molly Tanzer. Damn this one is legit my favorite in the book. Stuck around with me for a while after. Dicle is a child wanting to grow up, to meet the Mother in the Salt. Shit gets wild. I would love to read more about this world and setting and tribe for real.
Skin by Helen Marshall. A little on the grandiose side, like books made of human skin aren't THAT rare, chill. But well-written.
A Cool, Private Place by Jen White. Time travel puddles! A small town dealing with folks who fall through time. Really cool concept and execution.
Lottie Versus the Moon Hopper by Pamela Rentz. I think this story really could have used another page or two to draw out the suspense, because the end is very sudden and nothing technically happens in it? But I still enjoyed it.
This book was a task to finish. Debating ripping out the good stories and rebinding and tossing the rest to save book shelf space. We'll see....
January 26, 2020
Problems with the book
1- most of the stories are subpar - the main problem is very common, lack of pay off. "The new roanork colony" for instance finishes almost midsentence.
2- many stories, unfortunately, were shoved in the collection, with poor editor´s choice - there is an interesting story, from a nigerian author about a new aids mutant plague. But no lovecraftian element at all. Just random. I think none of the stories use a lovecraftian writing style. Many of the stories just use names like shogoth for street cred, but no significance in the story. All the symptons of "oh, I have to write a short story of scifi lovecraft in 2 minutes".
Most of all, I am very unhappy with the stupid scoring system of goodreads - almost all the books are in 3 points category. They could easily use recommendation systems, standard deviations, but seem to be too lazy for this. Very hard to find a good book to read based on the site.
1- most of the stories are subpar - the main problem is very common, lack of pay off. "The new roanork colony" for instance finishes almost midsentence.
2- many stories, unfortunately, were shoved in the collection, with poor editor´s choice - there is an interesting story, from a nigerian author about a new aids mutant plague. But no lovecraftian element at all. Just random. I think none of the stories use a lovecraftian writing style. Many of the stories just use names like shogoth for street cred, but no significance in the story. All the symptons of "oh, I have to write a short story of scifi lovecraft in 2 minutes".
Most of all, I am very unhappy with the stupid scoring system of goodreads - almost all the books are in 3 points category. They could easily use recommendation systems, standard deviations, but seem to be too lazy for this. Very hard to find a good book to read based on the site.
July 11, 2023
A decent collection of space and sci-fi based short stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Like many anthologies, it's uneven. I was on the verge of giving up after the first few--the writing seemed awkward and unpolished--but I'm glad I stuck with it, as I ended up finding several stories that satisfied the itch for the dark, weird and cosmic.
Favorites included:
- Ada Hoffman's "Harmony Amid the Stars," a spooky tale of long-haul transit through the whispering regions of space.
- Dan Webb's "The Comet Called Ithaqua," offered a nice, eerie "toxic house" tale.
- Pamela Rentz's "Lottie vs. the Moon Hopper" offered a strong working-class voice in a creepy space station.
- Orrin Grey's "The Labyrinth of Sleep" offered a slow, mysterious build as we navigate a dreamscape, something difficult to do well.
- Sean Craven's "Deep Blue Dreams" offered a spooky, narcotic tale of jellies and bliss.
Favorites included:
- Ada Hoffman's "Harmony Amid the Stars," a spooky tale of long-haul transit through the whispering regions of space.
- Dan Webb's "The Comet Called Ithaqua," offered a nice, eerie "toxic house" tale.
- Pamela Rentz's "Lottie vs. the Moon Hopper" offered a strong working-class voice in a creepy space station.
- Orrin Grey's "The Labyrinth of Sleep" offered a slow, mysterious build as we navigate a dreamscape, something difficult to do well.
- Sean Craven's "Deep Blue Dreams" offered a spooky, narcotic tale of jellies and bliss.
September 16, 2023
I picked this up purely on the strength of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's other work, and my general interest in "Lovecraftian"/existential horror & sci-fi.
Like most anthologies, the stories here are a bit hit or miss but there's probably something in here for most fans of the two mashed-up genres.
"The Labyrinth of Sleep," "Harmony Amid the Stars," "The Damnable Asteroid" and "Trajectory of a Cursed Spirit" were all quite good, but my favourite was the highly imaginative, surprising "Myristica Fragrans" which alluded to a fascinating wider universe while still telling a perfectly well-contained little story.
Overall, I found this collection to be okay: a lot of skimmable entries, but a few authors added to my 'check out later' list.
May 11, 2012
I found a large number of the first few stories either uninteresting or poorly done, lacking that Lovecraftian feel despite obviously trying for it. The quality seemed to improve about half-way through, with the stories thereafter displaying a much better crafting as well as capturing more effectively the namesake feeling. I am afraid I was not a fan of any of the poetry, that I recall.
November 20, 2013
What is the future of Lovecraft? Although they don’t express the intention explicitly, the editors of Future Lovecraft have not only produced a quality collection of Lovecraft-related science fiction, but have done a fantastic job of selecting stories that raise that very question. Interest in Lovecraft is flourishing, and may now be greater than at any prior point in history. The iconic elements of the Mythos have moved beyond cult status into popular awareness, becoming cultural touchstones with a life of their own. But despite the explosion in interest, Lovecraftian fiction is arguably in crisis. There is some danger that “Lovecraftian” will lose its meaning and become a catch-all for any work that includes tentacle monsters, forbidden texts, or other popular tropes, while ignoring the underlying core philosophical concerns of the genre. Yet, those philosophical concerns themselves do not resonate today as they once did, and must be re-examined. In particular, Lovecraft’s use of the Other as a source of horror and his sense of awe at the vast indifferent cosmos are increasingly problematic.
The idea of beings or knowledge so alien that the mind cannot encounter them and remain intact is an essential theme in Lovecraft’s work, and this was expressed in part through the portrayal of various foreigners, savage tribes, and degenerate miscegenated hybrids. His views on women, homosexuals, minorities, and eugenics, found in his correspondence and stories, are likewise out of step with most modern readers. There is a notable lack of forgotten backwards tribes and barely repressed vagina monsters in Future Lovecraft, which is necessary in the evolution of the genre. Is it an obvious point? Perhaps, but there is probably a reason that I still see calls for Lovecraftian fiction in which the editors specify that they do not want to see the racial stereotypes common in the original. Otherness cannot legitimately be defined as “anyone who is not an educated straight white male” in a global multicultural society. The editors of Future Lovecraft propose that the future of Mythos fiction is very much international, with authors from North and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia included in the anthology. Several of the stories were translated from the original French or Spanish specifically for this volume. The editors thus make a statement about the genre with the selection of pieces for inclusion: going forward, the Other must be truly alien, not merely different.
But even then, the existence of alien races is not even horrifying in and of itself. The possibility that they may be hostile and more technologically advanced than we are maybe, but the probability that life exists outside our solar system is increasingly accepted. So what do you do as a writer of Lovecraftian fiction? We could normalize the Mythos – the aliens and others become simply races we were not familiar with, strange, but essentially just other people with their own concerns. They become potential members of the Imperial Senate or the Federation of Planets. But when we do this, they lose some of their power as agents of horror. There is no sanity check when you enter the Cantina on Tatooine, simply discomfort. This may be fair, given the way in which Lovecraft has entered global popular culture. I have purchased cuddly Cthulhu plush toys and wished people Mythos-related holiday greetings. There’s even a Japanese light romance series with titles including Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos. Is normalcy and harem anime the future of Lovecraft’s vision? I hope not. If it is, it would be unsatisfying. The stories in Future Lovecraft that attempt to normalize the Mythos and its creatures or use them as a source of humor do not work well. They are at best amusing, and aren’t philosophically Lovecraftian fiction, even if they include characters or elements. However, their inclusion does make a point about Lovecraft as horror versus something else, and so the addition of a couple of stories in that vein serves to strengthen the anthology overall.
A second major theme of importance to Mythos work is Lovecraft’s sense of cosmic emptiness or scale. It may have filled him with a sense of awe and horror, but people are increasingly aware of the vastness of the universe – that the stars we see may well have died millions of years ago. And the idea that the universe does not care about us as individuals or as a species is no longer shocking to most. Obviously, it does not. We at least believe that we have come to terms with the void. Several stories in the volume deal very effectively with cosmic isolation, reminding the reader that intellectual understanding does not equal the experience of the endlessness of space or the existential dread that accompanies an authentic experience of the abyss, or encounters with impossible geometries and broken time. The anthology is at its strongest in this territory, dealing with the horror of the incomprehensible, and the sanity-rending power of cosmic experiences.
Overall, this is a fine collection of short fiction, including works that integrate essential Lovecraftian ideas into science fiction with great skill. The quality of prose is consistent, and there are several pieces that are of exceptional quality. In general the authors do not fall prey to the needless thesaurus browsing that writers sometimes inflict upon their readers when Lovecraft is the inspiration. There are two stories that lack any clear Lovecraftian element, and seem shoehorned into the volume. This is not to say that every piece needs an appearance by a named Mythos being, but if these represent the future of Lovecraft, then the future is diluted, and at risk of becoming an empty descriptor. Their inclusion does highlight this essential concern, which may have made them worthwhile additions.
There is a liberal quantity of poetry in the volume, which seems like a risky editorial decision. The strength of the volume is in the fiction. There are probably not very many successful volumes of science fiction and horror poetry on the market today compared to story anthologies, and, for people who do not care for it, poetry can feel like filler. There was certainly nothing in the poems that grabbed my attention, but this may reflect my personal tastes more than the work itself. I would suggest a second opinion from reviewers who enjoy the form and can better compare the quality of these works to other genre poetry.
I enjoyed the volume a great deal and found the way in which the editors probed the future of the genre with their selections intriguing. Even if I did not care for all the stories, the selection of them made me think about what Lovecraft has been, and may become, in ways that were intellectually stimulating. Future Lovecraft is very successful as an editorial effort and contains some wonderful stories that I would recommend to fans of both horror and science fiction.
[Originally published on Hellnotes.com]
The idea of beings or knowledge so alien that the mind cannot encounter them and remain intact is an essential theme in Lovecraft’s work, and this was expressed in part through the portrayal of various foreigners, savage tribes, and degenerate miscegenated hybrids. His views on women, homosexuals, minorities, and eugenics, found in his correspondence and stories, are likewise out of step with most modern readers. There is a notable lack of forgotten backwards tribes and barely repressed vagina monsters in Future Lovecraft, which is necessary in the evolution of the genre. Is it an obvious point? Perhaps, but there is probably a reason that I still see calls for Lovecraftian fiction in which the editors specify that they do not want to see the racial stereotypes common in the original. Otherness cannot legitimately be defined as “anyone who is not an educated straight white male” in a global multicultural society. The editors of Future Lovecraft propose that the future of Mythos fiction is very much international, with authors from North and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia included in the anthology. Several of the stories were translated from the original French or Spanish specifically for this volume. The editors thus make a statement about the genre with the selection of pieces for inclusion: going forward, the Other must be truly alien, not merely different.
But even then, the existence of alien races is not even horrifying in and of itself. The possibility that they may be hostile and more technologically advanced than we are maybe, but the probability that life exists outside our solar system is increasingly accepted. So what do you do as a writer of Lovecraftian fiction? We could normalize the Mythos – the aliens and others become simply races we were not familiar with, strange, but essentially just other people with their own concerns. They become potential members of the Imperial Senate or the Federation of Planets. But when we do this, they lose some of their power as agents of horror. There is no sanity check when you enter the Cantina on Tatooine, simply discomfort. This may be fair, given the way in which Lovecraft has entered global popular culture. I have purchased cuddly Cthulhu plush toys and wished people Mythos-related holiday greetings. There’s even a Japanese light romance series with titles including Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos. Is normalcy and harem anime the future of Lovecraft’s vision? I hope not. If it is, it would be unsatisfying. The stories in Future Lovecraft that attempt to normalize the Mythos and its creatures or use them as a source of humor do not work well. They are at best amusing, and aren’t philosophically Lovecraftian fiction, even if they include characters or elements. However, their inclusion does make a point about Lovecraft as horror versus something else, and so the addition of a couple of stories in that vein serves to strengthen the anthology overall.
A second major theme of importance to Mythos work is Lovecraft’s sense of cosmic emptiness or scale. It may have filled him with a sense of awe and horror, but people are increasingly aware of the vastness of the universe – that the stars we see may well have died millions of years ago. And the idea that the universe does not care about us as individuals or as a species is no longer shocking to most. Obviously, it does not. We at least believe that we have come to terms with the void. Several stories in the volume deal very effectively with cosmic isolation, reminding the reader that intellectual understanding does not equal the experience of the endlessness of space or the existential dread that accompanies an authentic experience of the abyss, or encounters with impossible geometries and broken time. The anthology is at its strongest in this territory, dealing with the horror of the incomprehensible, and the sanity-rending power of cosmic experiences.
Overall, this is a fine collection of short fiction, including works that integrate essential Lovecraftian ideas into science fiction with great skill. The quality of prose is consistent, and there are several pieces that are of exceptional quality. In general the authors do not fall prey to the needless thesaurus browsing that writers sometimes inflict upon their readers when Lovecraft is the inspiration. There are two stories that lack any clear Lovecraftian element, and seem shoehorned into the volume. This is not to say that every piece needs an appearance by a named Mythos being, but if these represent the future of Lovecraft, then the future is diluted, and at risk of becoming an empty descriptor. Their inclusion does highlight this essential concern, which may have made them worthwhile additions.
There is a liberal quantity of poetry in the volume, which seems like a risky editorial decision. The strength of the volume is in the fiction. There are probably not very many successful volumes of science fiction and horror poetry on the market today compared to story anthologies, and, for people who do not care for it, poetry can feel like filler. There was certainly nothing in the poems that grabbed my attention, but this may reflect my personal tastes more than the work itself. I would suggest a second opinion from reviewers who enjoy the form and can better compare the quality of these works to other genre poetry.
I enjoyed the volume a great deal and found the way in which the editors probed the future of the genre with their selections intriguing. Even if I did not care for all the stories, the selection of them made me think about what Lovecraft has been, and may become, in ways that were intellectually stimulating. Future Lovecraft is very successful as an editorial effort and contains some wonderful stories that I would recommend to fans of both horror and science fiction.
[Originally published on Hellnotes.com]
April 9, 2024
Most of these stories were completely forgettable. Many stories of nameless terrors on space ships that causes people to go insane. One story felt was taking place completely in the present, but it was “future” just because the date at the start said so.
The bios for many of the authors spoke of Lovecraft as one of the greatest literary minds of all time, which kinda grossed me out. This collection was published in 2012 though and I think the community’s thoughts on Lovecraft have changed a lot in the years since publication.
A handful of stories that were good.
"Venice Burning" by AC Wise
"A Cool, Private Place" by Jen White
"Tloque Nahuaque" by Nelly Geraldine Garcia-Rosas
"Concerning the Last Days of the Colony at New Roanoke" by Tucker Cummings - I like the “inventory list as storytelling” mechanism
"The Kadath Angle" by Maria Mitchell
“Deep Blue Dreams” by Sean Craven
The bios for many of the authors spoke of Lovecraft as one of the greatest literary minds of all time, which kinda grossed me out. This collection was published in 2012 though and I think the community’s thoughts on Lovecraft have changed a lot in the years since publication.
A handful of stories that were good.
"Venice Burning" by AC Wise
"A Cool, Private Place" by Jen White
"Tloque Nahuaque" by Nelly Geraldine Garcia-Rosas
"Concerning the Last Days of the Colony at New Roanoke" by Tucker Cummings - I like the “inventory list as storytelling” mechanism
"The Kadath Angle" by Maria Mitchell
“Deep Blue Dreams” by Sean Craven
May 6, 2020
my problem with this collection is that even though there were some good to great sci fi stories there weren't very many that felt Lovecrafty to me, which is a bit of a problem when that's the point of the collection. one of the stories is about a guy who thinks he's the last survivor on earth after a mutation of AIDS kills everyone in the towns around him. maybe i missed something but that's not incredibly Lovecraftian, it's not even really scifi.
i also feel like some of the stories seem rushed or like they were sketches for something larger. that's really a shame when there would finally be a story i was getting into and then it was just kinda over. i found a couple authors whose work i'll look into more but kind of a meh experience overall
i also feel like some of the stories seem rushed or like they were sketches for something larger. that's really a shame when there would finally be a story i was getting into and then it was just kinda over. i found a couple authors whose work i'll look into more but kind of a meh experience overall
February 7, 2025
As with short story anthologies in general, the quality of the stories varies quite a bit. Once you get past the beginning, I would say this collection is worth it to fans of cosmic horror. Do note that some stories get more into the fantastic tale of the Dreamlands.
The first story is the absolute worst of the book, being Derlethian in its namedropping and reading more like overtly grandiose space opera with mythos entities, without any inkling of horror. The two stories following that (not counting the odd poem) are also pretty weak, but after that they get more enjoyable and overall bring my opinion of the book to the positive.
The first story is the absolute worst of the book, being Derlethian in its namedropping and reading more like overtly grandiose space opera with mythos entities, without any inkling of horror. The two stories following that (not counting the odd poem) are also pretty weak, but after that they get more enjoyable and overall bring my opinion of the book to the positive.
August 7, 2020
Some nice futuristic takes on the Mythos - but not really Lovecraftian, just the setting. Think "Granma" or "Crouch's End" by King instead of Dunwich Horror. .
As with most compilations, this is a diverse collection of stories. Some passed by without much impact, but a couple of them were really enjoyable. Especially Tloque Nahuaque, but I think you need to be Mexican (or at least well versed in the Nahuatl mythology) to really enjoy it much. So... maybe recommended to all my fellow Mexican Lovecraft fans?
As with most compilations, this is a diverse collection of stories. Some passed by without much impact, but a couple of them were really enjoyable. Especially Tloque Nahuaque, but I think you need to be Mexican (or at least well versed in the Nahuatl mythology) to really enjoy it much. So... maybe recommended to all my fellow Mexican Lovecraft fans?
June 30, 2021
I keep going back and forth on how to review this book. Boiled down I only read 10 of the 40 stories and of those 10 I only found 3 to be enjoyable. Harmony Amid the Stars, had so much of what I love about space horror. The Comet Called Ithaqua, an inventive take on one of my favorite mythological creatures. Skin, a subtle horror that would have been perfect if not for the very end.
As for the other stories, most of them felt incomplete or read as a sci-fi piece with some Lovecraftian figures thrown in for flair.
As for the other stories, most of them felt incomplete or read as a sci-fi piece with some Lovecraftian figures thrown in for flair.
November 17, 2023
This is a collection of Lovecraftian sci-fi short stories. Lovecraft is not an author that I read very often-just not my taste-but I did enjoy quite a few of these stories-mainly for the sci-fi speculative aspects. If you really like Lovecraft and sci-fi, then you will definitely enjoy this book. It’s not a top book for me but it was very interesting and entertaining-I do love horror and sci-fi.
April 23, 2018
A better-than-average Lovecraftian anthology; the median story is pretty darned good, and there are a couple of stunners here. (As usual, there are also a couple of stinkers -- and predictably, they're the ones that left the social-commentary-lecture aspect of the writing overshadow the actual story.)
August 30, 2023
Disappointing when grammatical errors and subjectively bad literary engines overtake the potential of any novel or story. But this was a long, agonizing read, with nothing really standing out as 'good', in my humble opinion.
September 2, 2024
This is possibly the most forgettable thing I've ever read. I just finished it and all I can recall is there was a story with cannibalism. Everything else is a wash.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a far better author than editor, but I suspect she had a hell of a time rustling up submissions for this.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a far better author than editor, but I suspect she had a hell of a time rustling up submissions for this.
April 27, 2025
A mediocre collection of Lovecraftian-inspired short stories, in which, alas, none of them really stand out. Much more could have been accomplished with the premise.
September 13, 2013
When I told my brother about this book, his initial response (he was barely listening to me) was a derisive snort. I immediately vowed to read this book, just to show him that he shouldn't be so judgmental (he hadn't even seen the cover after all).
So it is with a sigh that I pass judgment on this book after having read it, every page, from cover to cover. Including all the poetry. Every line of every poem.
I had only ever heard of one of these authors and had not read a single piece by any of them. The only one I knew was because I happened to notice a review of his on good reads, with which I disagreed. Perhaps not a good sign.
The stories in here were not all three stars, some of them were two. And of course, some were a four as well, but none really inspired any sort of thoughtfulness in me, as did Lovecraft. None of these authors has inspired me to seek out more of their work, which is really, I think, one of the points of anthologies, aside from creating a volume of themed works.
The problem with this anthology is the same as with a poorly made, rushed, mixed tape. One can always tell when the mixer got tired or ran out of time and just stuck songs in without listening to them fully, just grabbing by title. We all know that titles can be deceiving.
Although an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction set in the future could inherently involve any number of different takes, I felt that this particular series really could have used a bit more guidance. Some of the stories didn't fit either category very well. And worse than that, some of these stories seemed like tiny excerpts from much longer pieces, they had no resolution at all, just ended awkwardly.
Of the poems...there were a few exceptions to the rule, but for the most part they followed Lovecraft's example perfectly and were terrible to behold.
One thing that disturbed me, the strange obsession that seemed to catch story through story oddly...the women in these stories were either bi-sexual or suffering from motherhood (either the loss of a child or the loss of child by self-consumption). What was with that? I'm not talking about one or two examples here, throughout this anthology if there was a women in a story she was one of these two things, nearly all the time. Just weird.
Of these stories the ones worth reading,
Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nyarlathotep by Nick Mamatas
Harmony Amid the Stars by Ada Hoffmann
The Comet Called Ithaqua by Don Webb
Go, Go, Go, said the Byakhee by Molly Tanzer
Dolly in the Window by Robyn Seale
Lottie vs. the Moon Hopper by Pamela Rentz
The Damnable Asteroid by Leigh Kimmel
The Labyrinth of Sleep by Orrin Grey
Deep Blue Dreams by Sean Craven - perhaps my favorite, really takes Lovecraft to the modern mind and into the future, the only author to have made me want to find more.
So it is with a sigh that I pass judgment on this book after having read it, every page, from cover to cover. Including all the poetry. Every line of every poem.
I had only ever heard of one of these authors and had not read a single piece by any of them. The only one I knew was because I happened to notice a review of his on good reads, with which I disagreed. Perhaps not a good sign.
The stories in here were not all three stars, some of them were two. And of course, some were a four as well, but none really inspired any sort of thoughtfulness in me, as did Lovecraft. None of these authors has inspired me to seek out more of their work, which is really, I think, one of the points of anthologies, aside from creating a volume of themed works.
The problem with this anthology is the same as with a poorly made, rushed, mixed tape. One can always tell when the mixer got tired or ran out of time and just stuck songs in without listening to them fully, just grabbing by title. We all know that titles can be deceiving.
Although an anthology of Lovecraftian fiction set in the future could inherently involve any number of different takes, I felt that this particular series really could have used a bit more guidance. Some of the stories didn't fit either category very well. And worse than that, some of these stories seemed like tiny excerpts from much longer pieces, they had no resolution at all, just ended awkwardly.
Of the poems...there were a few exceptions to the rule, but for the most part they followed Lovecraft's example perfectly and were terrible to behold.
One thing that disturbed me, the strange obsession that seemed to catch story through story oddly...the women in these stories were either bi-sexual or suffering from motherhood (either the loss of a child or the loss of child by self-consumption). What was with that? I'm not talking about one or two examples here, throughout this anthology if there was a women in a story she was one of these two things, nearly all the time. Just weird.
Of these stories the ones worth reading,
Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nyarlathotep by Nick Mamatas
Harmony Amid the Stars by Ada Hoffmann
The Comet Called Ithaqua by Don Webb
Go, Go, Go, said the Byakhee by Molly Tanzer
Dolly in the Window by Robyn Seale
Lottie vs. the Moon Hopper by Pamela Rentz
The Damnable Asteroid by Leigh Kimmel
The Labyrinth of Sleep by Orrin Grey
Deep Blue Dreams by Sean Craven - perhaps my favorite, really takes Lovecraft to the modern mind and into the future, the only author to have made me want to find more.
May 29, 2013
One of the great elements of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos (an unofficial ‘shared world’ setting where uncaring alien gods drive humanity mad merely at us understanding their nature, gods who will eventually destroy us and not even noticed when they do so because we are that insignificant) is that it is a setting that translates so well across so many genres. In the last decade we’ve seen Hard-Boilded Noir Cthulhu, Wild West Cthulhu, Historical Cthulhu, Romance Cthulhu and many others. Because Lovecraft’s creations have a timeless quality about them, they fit into almost any cross genre one can imagine. This keeps the subgenre alive.
The idea of the science fiction Cthulhu Mythos setting is an excellent idea, and one that holds so much promise, as did Future Lovecraft. Edited by the very talented Slivia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles of Innsmouth Free Press, who are renowned for bringing world culture and authors to the eldritch horror scene, they seem the ideal team to tackle such an anthology.
The author list too is impressive. A quick scan of the table of contents presents some sound veterans of the Mythos and up and coming authors who are making their mark already, such as Ann K. Schwader, Peter Rawlik, Don Webb, James S. Dorr and Lee Clark Zumpe, but what I didn’t notice were the science fiction authors who had turned their hand at a Lovecraft tale.
Despite all this promise, Future Lovecraft unfortunately fails. The writing style is too literary. The Cthulhu Mythos is too vague and often not central to the tales. Many of the stories lack characterisation to draw me into what was transpiring. The science fiction unfortunately is the worst, in that most of the authors failed to get what at its heart science fiction is all about: take out the science fiction elements and the story essentially remains intact. In its totality, the collection doesn’t deliver anything new on either front, Lovecraftian horrors or science fiction concepts. One hopes that Brian M. Sammons and Glynn Barrass’ Cyberpunk Cthulhu blended anthology, Eldritch Chrome, due for release later this year, delivers on the science fiction front.
Despite all this, I still believe Moreno-Garcia and Stiles did a commendable job at pulling this anthology together. The layout, proofing, structure and cover art are all excellent. I just think they would be better focused on blending genres with ones they understand, and judging by the fiction I’ve read from both of them I would really like to see them produce Magic Realism Lovecraft. Now that could be a really cool book from Innsmouth Free Press!
This review originally appeared in www.albedo1.com
The idea of the science fiction Cthulhu Mythos setting is an excellent idea, and one that holds so much promise, as did Future Lovecraft. Edited by the very talented Slivia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles of Innsmouth Free Press, who are renowned for bringing world culture and authors to the eldritch horror scene, they seem the ideal team to tackle such an anthology.
The author list too is impressive. A quick scan of the table of contents presents some sound veterans of the Mythos and up and coming authors who are making their mark already, such as Ann K. Schwader, Peter Rawlik, Don Webb, James S. Dorr and Lee Clark Zumpe, but what I didn’t notice were the science fiction authors who had turned their hand at a Lovecraft tale.
Despite all this promise, Future Lovecraft unfortunately fails. The writing style is too literary. The Cthulhu Mythos is too vague and often not central to the tales. Many of the stories lack characterisation to draw me into what was transpiring. The science fiction unfortunately is the worst, in that most of the authors failed to get what at its heart science fiction is all about: take out the science fiction elements and the story essentially remains intact. In its totality, the collection doesn’t deliver anything new on either front, Lovecraftian horrors or science fiction concepts. One hopes that Brian M. Sammons and Glynn Barrass’ Cyberpunk Cthulhu blended anthology, Eldritch Chrome, due for release later this year, delivers on the science fiction front.
Despite all this, I still believe Moreno-Garcia and Stiles did a commendable job at pulling this anthology together. The layout, proofing, structure and cover art are all excellent. I just think they would be better focused on blending genres with ones they understand, and judging by the fiction I’ve read from both of them I would really like to see them produce Magic Realism Lovecraft. Now that could be a really cool book from Innsmouth Free Press!
This review originally appeared in www.albedo1.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2013
Science Fiction and Lovecraft, what more could one want?
I follow Silvia's blog and tweets. She does good work, and produces pretty good material. I saw her plea for honest reviews about this book and decided to purchase it and give it a go. She mentioned this was the highest pirated book out of all of the ones released by her, but also one of the lowest rated.
I think I know why now.
Like many, I picked this up because it was Lovecraftian themed. Anything with Lovecraft in the title will draw the masses of fans, read to get their tentacles onto another collection of fiction that will entice them and make them dream forbidden dreams. Hence the high level of piracy in regards to this book. You tap into something so popular as Lovecraft, and people will come and snap it up as fast as possible. I was excited to read this anthology, especially after having read Space Eldritch (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...) which in itself was a sci-fi Lovecraftian themed anthology.
Reading this anthology was like riding a roller coaster with huge peaks and very low valleys. There are some really, really good stories in this collection. "In The Hall Of The Yellow King", "The Labyrinth of Sleep", "Deep Blue Dreams", "The Comet Called Ithaqua", and "The Door From Earth" were some of the stories that I enjoyed the most. Wonderfully written, they contained Lovecraftian themes, even the ones that didn't contain his monsters. They were entertaining, understandable, and were a good mix of sci-fi and horror. I will probably go back and read these on a future date if I want to brave the bad stories of this anthology.
And that's where we run into the issue with this anthology. There were some stories in this collection that were hard to enjoy and most of the time felt as if I was being force fed a joke such as in the story "Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nyarlathotep", or shoehorned into the anthology such as "The Library Twins And Nekrobees". (actually, more than one story felt shoehorned into the anthology)
In the end, this anthology is only middle of the road when it comes to Lovecraftian themed collections. If you are a fan of Lovecraft, then you might like this anthology. Just understand you might have to do some digging in the rough to find those diamonds.
I follow Silvia's blog and tweets. She does good work, and produces pretty good material. I saw her plea for honest reviews about this book and decided to purchase it and give it a go. She mentioned this was the highest pirated book out of all of the ones released by her, but also one of the lowest rated.
I think I know why now.
Like many, I picked this up because it was Lovecraftian themed. Anything with Lovecraft in the title will draw the masses of fans, read to get their tentacles onto another collection of fiction that will entice them and make them dream forbidden dreams. Hence the high level of piracy in regards to this book. You tap into something so popular as Lovecraft, and people will come and snap it up as fast as possible. I was excited to read this anthology, especially after having read Space Eldritch (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...) which in itself was a sci-fi Lovecraftian themed anthology.
Reading this anthology was like riding a roller coaster with huge peaks and very low valleys. There are some really, really good stories in this collection. "In The Hall Of The Yellow King", "The Labyrinth of Sleep", "Deep Blue Dreams", "The Comet Called Ithaqua", and "The Door From Earth" were some of the stories that I enjoyed the most. Wonderfully written, they contained Lovecraftian themes, even the ones that didn't contain his monsters. They were entertaining, understandable, and were a good mix of sci-fi and horror. I will probably go back and read these on a future date if I want to brave the bad stories of this anthology.
And that's where we run into the issue with this anthology. There were some stories in this collection that were hard to enjoy and most of the time felt as if I was being force fed a joke such as in the story "Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Nyarlathotep", or shoehorned into the anthology such as "The Library Twins And Nekrobees". (actually, more than one story felt shoehorned into the anthology)
In the end, this anthology is only middle of the road when it comes to Lovecraftian themed collections. If you are a fan of Lovecraft, then you might like this anthology. Just understand you might have to do some digging in the rough to find those diamonds.
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