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A Colder War
A Colder War is an alternate history novelette by Charles Stross. It follows a "What If" scenario where the follow-up expedition in Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" has occurred, and inexorably fuses the Cold War and Cthulhu Mythos.
Audio CD
First published July 1, 2000
About the author
Charles Stross
162 books5,919 followersCharles David George "Charlie" Stross is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His works range from science fiction and Lovecraftian horror to fantasy.
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams and Richard Morgan.
SF Encyclopedia: http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/...
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Tor: http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
December 9, 2011
WHAT IF there were numerous "gates" to other worlds, not of our making, located all over the world, and in places like Antarctica, Iraq, and a sub-basement of the White House?
WHAT IF these gates led, not to rural Stargate SG-1 type worlds, but to horrifying worlds filled with various radioactive forces, abandoned alien cities, and, oh, the old Lovecraftian gods like Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth and the like?
WHAT IF the world powers knew all of this, and came together in the first part of the twentieth century to create the Dresden Agreement - a treaty of non-use designed to protect the world from these dread forces?
WHAT IF folks like Hitler, Stalin, Ronald Reagan & George Bush & Ollie North & Fawn Hall, and Saddam Hussein of course, have all been breaking this treaty little by little, until finally someone goes too far?
WHAT IF i said that this is a clever, darkly humorous, briskly-paced novella that i was able to read in one sitting last night?
WHAT IF i told you that this story is available for free on the author's website?
WHAT IF these gates led, not to rural Stargate SG-1 type worlds, but to horrifying worlds filled with various radioactive forces, abandoned alien cities, and, oh, the old Lovecraftian gods like Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth and the like?
WHAT IF the world powers knew all of this, and came together in the first part of the twentieth century to create the Dresden Agreement - a treaty of non-use designed to protect the world from these dread forces?
WHAT IF folks like Hitler, Stalin, Ronald Reagan & George Bush & Ollie North & Fawn Hall, and Saddam Hussein of course, have all been breaking this treaty little by little, until finally someone goes too far?
WHAT IF i said that this is a clever, darkly humorous, briskly-paced novella that i was able to read in one sitting last night?
WHAT IF i told you that this story is available for free on the author's website?
November 16, 2022
If his analysis of the situation is wrong, at least he is still alive. And if he is right, dying would be no escape.
He wonders why hell is so cold at this time of year.
He wonders why hell is so cold at this time of year.
September 16, 2014
Note: This novella is available for free online here.
The "nukes are too dangerous to be used" theme has been done innumerable times in science fiction, with different metaphors each time. It's not a new idea, but mixing it with the Cthulhu Mythos is a new take on it, and even if Cthulhu wasn't catnip to me I'd like this story just because of that. Stross is better known among Mythos fans for The Laundry series, but A Colder War has very little of the satire and humor of those books. It's a much more straight take on how some technologies are too dangerous to use by adding in "technology" that is absolutely too dangerous to use.
A Colder War has a lot of minor bits that I just love. The concept that America's space program was allowed to wither and die not because we turned away from space or because of petty politics or because of worries about costs, but rather was a deliberate policy brought about by the knowledge of just what exactly waited in the darkness between the stars and how dangerous to humanity such exploration could be. Referring to the Old Ones in Antarctica as "the Predecessors." The Dresden Agreement formed after the Danforth-Lake Expedition revealed the ruins in Antarctica and how all the signatories stuck to it through World War II--even Hitler. The little hints of alternate history throughout, like the note that JFK didn't seek a second term. The ruins in the Taklamakan desert. Stephen J. Gould giving an evolutionary biology presentation on the Old Ones. The quotes like this:
He hopes that if the balloon ever does go up, if the sirens wail, he and Andrea and Jason will be left behind to face the nuclear fire. It'll be a merciful death compared with what he suspect lurks out there, in the unexplored vastness beyond the gates. The vastness that made Nixon cancel the manned space program, leaving just the standing joke of a white-elephant shuttle, when he realised just how hideously dangerous the space race might become. The darkness that broke Jimmy Carter's faith and turned Lyndon B. Johnson into an alcoholic.Though come to think of it, I spoke too soon saying it was free of satire. Much of the story's themes about American military culture and Reaganite politics, from the ridiculous code names for Mythos knowledge ("SECRET INDIGO MARCH SNIPE") to how silly talk about "Morning in America" sounds in a world with mi-go and shoggoths and Cthulhu who waits dead but dreaming, are obviously satirical, albeit of the whistling-past-the-graveyard sort.
It's not just that, though. I think A Colder War is so effective for me because I know that the only reason we aren't currently playing out a real-world game of Fallout is because several times, the decision came down to one person and they turned away from war. And when the weapons are only dumb tools, that's easy, but when the weapons have minds of their own that are incomprehensible to human understanding...well. As a species, we got lucky. And there's no reason to think that luck will hold out in the future.
Though hopefully it won't end as badly as it did here. I won't spoil the end, but I'll say that it's absolutely worthy of the horror tag. A fantastic story that leaves me wanting a lot more.
September 25, 2018
This may be one of the finest short story applications of the Lovecraftian in the current century. The cleverness lies in taking the 'Mountains of Madness' tale as a starting point for an alternate history that tells the story of the Cold War in terms of the Cthulhu mythos.
Where it scores is in building a degree of documentary realism centred on a rewriting of the Iran Contra affair as seen through the eyes of a CIA officer who has gone beyond the horrors of nuclear war to see a deeper horror lurking beneath the power games that fuelled US-Soviet confrontation.
There is not much more to say. It is grim, an expansion of the fear of nuclear annihilation into an even more disturbing vision of a cosmic annihilation that brings a darker hell to earth and it is certainly not optimistic in tone. A treat for politically educated Lovecraftians.
Several commentators have noted the similarity to Tim Powers' 'Declare' published in the same year (2000). The similarities are remarkable though 'Declare' is a long and even better novel.
Assuming pure coincidence, one can only surmise similar thoughts were triggered on two continents (a synchronicity that should appeal to Powers) in response to the apocalyptic idea of the Millennium - Lovecraftian and Cold War apocalypse are perhaps natural absurd bedfellows.
July 3, 2017
Here's the author:
[In 1998] "I’d published a short story titled “A Colder War” which got some attention, but its tale of a 1980s cold war updated with Cthulhoid horrors was too bleak to expand into a novel." Source:
http://www.torforgeblog.com/2017/07/1...
-- which is a cool essay on the publishing business, and how Stross got his start on the Laundry Files.
“A Colder War” is bleak indeed, but well worth reading. Free copy online at
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories...
Love the cover art for the chapbook!
[In 1998] "I’d published a short story titled “A Colder War” which got some attention, but its tale of a 1980s cold war updated with Cthulhoid horrors was too bleak to expand into a novel." Source:
http://www.torforgeblog.com/2017/07/1...
-- which is a cool essay on the publishing business, and how Stross got his start on the Laundry Files.
“A Colder War” is bleak indeed, but well worth reading. Free copy online at
http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories...
Love the cover art for the chapbook!
April 25, 2014
First off, A Colder War is available online here. I heartily recommend it.
A Colder War is the Cold War except the Soviets have invested deeply in harnessing eldritch monstrosities like shoggoths and Project Koschei. The United States has responded with ramping up their nuclear arsenal to counter Koschei including Project Pluto.
My favorite thing about this story is the ambiguity. For example, Project Pluto is never explained in story. It's definitely given an air of suspense in story but you don't really get a vision of what it is unless you do a little googling. And once I read that Wikipedia article, those first few paragraphs got a lot more ominous. The same applies to a lot of the references. Knowing the background or meaning of the one off cryptic references definitely add a chilling layer to the story.
And that ending, Heaven preserve, that ending. Poor Roger, poor Andrea, poor Ollie, poor humanity.
A Colder War is the Cold War except the Soviets have invested deeply in harnessing eldritch monstrosities like shoggoths and Project Koschei. The United States has responded with ramping up their nuclear arsenal to counter Koschei including Project Pluto.
My favorite thing about this story is the ambiguity. For example, Project Pluto is never explained in story. It's definitely given an air of suspense in story but you don't really get a vision of what it is unless you do a little googling. And once I read that Wikipedia article, those first few paragraphs got a lot more ominous. The same applies to a lot of the references. Knowing the background or meaning of the one off cryptic references definitely add a chilling layer to the story.
And that ending, Heaven preserve, that ending. Poor Roger, poor Andrea, poor Ollie, poor humanity.
January 11, 2009
1980's Cold War paranoia meets the Cthulhu Mythos in this novelette by Charles Stross. Unsurprisingly, the Great Old Ones and the Reagan era mesh seamlessly, providing fertile ground for Stross to extrapolate a "present" (circa 1984) in which the events of H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness actually happened, making the late 20th Century a far, far stranger era. Loaded with detailed references to Cold War politics, military hardware, and, of course, Lovecraft's pullulating pantheon, "A Colder War" is an alternate history/mythos mashup well worth reading.
March 21, 2009
This was a wonderfully dark novella marrying two themes that, in a way, were meant for eachother: Ronald Regan and the Eldritch Dark. In my opinion, this, along with Gene Wolfe's "Lord of the Land" (from Starwater Strains) is one of the best modern Cthulu stories.
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This seems like the perfect companion piece to Declare.
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This seems like the perfect companion piece to Declare.
January 14, 2019
Outstanding tribute to HP Lovecraft! This is an alternative-history novelette of a world where some of Lovecraft's most horrific creations are still lurking about and being exploited in a cold war standoff with the Soviets. The story follows one of the ultra secret agents tasked with safeguarding the US from these eldritch horrors. Highly recommended, especially to fans of HPL. Given the many references to Lovecraft's works, those unfamiliar with him won't likely get as much mileage.
June 21, 2021
This is, in my humble opinion, the greatest appropriation of Mythos into cold-war and espionage territory. Within its few pages, the story contains literally an universe full of hate and horror, fire and fear, dreams and death.
Simply incomparable story. Unforgettable too.
Simply incomparable story. Unforgettable too.
December 1, 2013
Stiililiselt on mõlemad jutud hakitud ja hüplikud aga sisult ideed väga viis pluss. Esimene on tuumapunk+Lovecraft ja teine uumapunk+võõrtsivilisatsioonidega kokkupõrge. Kiidaks ka suurepärast kaanepilti, mis kuidagi eriti maitsekalt välja kukkunud. Väärt ühe õhtune lugemine.
PS: Peamine miinus lisaks hüplikusele on liigne pealiskaudsus. Lugejal kütetakse huvi mõlema maailma vastu viimase piirini üles ja jäetakse seejärel lõpuni rahuldamata. Vot just ühest neist maailmaist oleks võinud Stross raamatuseeria kirjutada, mitte aga Vürtskaupmeestest.
PPS: Mis mulleeriti meeldis oli asjaolu, et ta oli mõlemas
oma jutus pannud reaalselt liikuma ka PLUTO (tuntud ka kui S.L.A.M) nimelise külma sõja ehk kõige hirmuäratavama relvaprojekti - hiiglasuure tuumamootoriga mehitamata lennuki, mis starditakse maalt tavaliste vedelkütusrakettidega, ja mis peale starti muutub niipalju kui arusaan (mu tehniline taip pole väga tugev) muutub sisuliselt kolmekordse ülehelikiirusega liikuvaks 16+ vesinikpommiga relvaplatformiks. Reaktor on seejuures masinal lahtine, osaliselt portselanist valmistatud (sulamise vältimiseks) ja tööpõhimõte üsnagi lihtne. Läbi laia ja õieli hiidpeenist meenutava toru imetakse lahtisesse reaktorisse, õhku, kus seda kuumutatakse ja paisatakse uuesti düüsist välja. Muud kütust vaja pole ning seega võib sihuke jurakas ringi puristada täpselt niikaua kuni reaktoris veel vunki jätkub. Kui pommid otsas võib pluto kasutada tapmiseks põhimõtteliselt isegi oma liikumisest tekkivat lööklainet ja mürgitada maid, millest üle lendab reaktorist erituva kiirgusega. Lisaks võib see mürakas oma reaktori kokku jooksutada ja muutuda sedamoodi ise üheks suureks räpaseks tuumapommiks.
PS: Peamine miinus lisaks hüplikusele on liigne pealiskaudsus. Lugejal kütetakse huvi mõlema maailma vastu viimase piirini üles ja jäetakse seejärel lõpuni rahuldamata. Vot just ühest neist maailmaist oleks võinud Stross raamatuseeria kirjutada, mitte aga Vürtskaupmeestest.
PPS: Mis mulleeriti meeldis oli asjaolu, et ta oli mõlemas
oma jutus pannud reaalselt liikuma ka PLUTO (tuntud ka kui S.L.A.M) nimelise külma sõja ehk kõige hirmuäratavama relvaprojekti - hiiglasuure tuumamootoriga mehitamata lennuki, mis starditakse maalt tavaliste vedelkütusrakettidega, ja mis peale starti muutub niipalju kui arusaan (mu tehniline taip pole väga tugev) muutub sisuliselt kolmekordse ülehelikiirusega liikuvaks 16+ vesinikpommiga relvaplatformiks. Reaktor on seejuures masinal lahtine, osaliselt portselanist valmistatud (sulamise vältimiseks) ja tööpõhimõte üsnagi lihtne. Läbi laia ja õieli hiidpeenist meenutava toru imetakse lahtisesse reaktorisse, õhku, kus seda kuumutatakse ja paisatakse uuesti düüsist välja. Muud kütust vaja pole ning seega võib sihuke jurakas ringi puristada täpselt niikaua kuni reaktoris veel vunki jätkub. Kui pommid otsas võib pluto kasutada tapmiseks põhimõtteliselt isegi oma liikumisest tekkivat lööklainet ja mürgitada maid, millest üle lendab reaktorist erituva kiirgusega. Lisaks võib see mürakas oma reaktori kokku jooksutada ja muutuda sedamoodi ise üheks suureks räpaseks tuumapommiks.
April 28, 2017
This short story is available for free on Infinity Plus. It's an alternative history setting, involving several political enemies and allies, like the USA, Hezbollah, Saddam Hussein, etc. with a touch of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu creature. Oh yes, space (as in extraterrestrial) also plays a role.
Personally, I found this one hard to get, hard to get through and not all that consistent. Or maybe that was just my impression. Technical, military jargon, not a smooth writing style (imho), ...
I'd say: Food for fans of Charles Stross's works. See Mark's review (and others, who go more into detail) for a better impression of this story.
To me, you do need some knowledge of history (Dresden agreement, the Cold War, ...) AND have read Lovecraft's work(s) - which I haven't and probably never will - to better understand and follow this story.
Personally, I found this one hard to get, hard to get through and not all that consistent. Or maybe that was just my impression. Technical, military jargon, not a smooth writing style (imho), ...
I'd say: Food for fans of Charles Stross's works. See Mark's review (and others, who go more into detail) for a better impression of this story.
To me, you do need some knowledge of history (Dresden agreement, the Cold War, ...) AND have read Lovecraft's work(s) - which I haven't and probably never will - to better understand and follow this story.
February 20, 2014
With frequent allusions to both Dr. Strangelove and At the Mountains of Madness, this novelette covers much of the same thematic terrain as The Atrocity Archives, which I read a couple of years ago. Marrying Cold War-era existential angst and paranoia to Lovecraftian existential angst and paranoia seems chocolate-and-peanut-butter obvious in hindsight, but (AFAIK) it was Stross who thought of it first and his insight serves him well.
The story is gloomy, claustrophobic and unsettling: it feels like the best of John Carpenter's work, with just enough revealed to let the reader's imagination fill in the horrible blanks.
April 16, 2018
Kõigile, kellele meeldis esimene jutt "Külmem sõda" soovitan lugeda "Laundry files" seeriat, mis on tunduvalt põhjalikum, sujuvam ja vürtsitatud ka veel suurepärase huumoriga. Antud loost on seeroasse võetud jutu parimad koostised - salajane võidurelvastamine, luureorganisatsioonid ja iidne kurjus - ning põimitud need humoorikasse õuduspõnevikku.
Teise loo, "Raketikeelutsooni" idee oli väga äge, aga jällegi jäi puudu just sujuvusest. Antud lühijutus oli potentsiaali saada isegi paremaks kui auhindu võitnud "Liivakuningate" lool, kuna olid olemas väga head alustalad - ulmeline asukoht, võõrtsivilisatsioonid ja jällegi võidurelvastumine.
Teise loo, "Raketikeelutsooni" idee oli väga äge, aga jällegi jäi puudu just sujuvusest. Antud lühijutus oli potentsiaali saada isegi paremaks kui auhindu võitnud "Liivakuningate" lool, kuna olid olemas väga head alustalad - ulmeline asukoht, võõrtsivilisatsioonid ja jällegi võidurelvastumine.
April 29, 2014
Nauding, mis siin muud öelda, kui esialgne plaan mõned leheküljed lugeda muteerus plaaniks magamaminek paari tunni võrra edasi lükata. Kummaski lühikeses jutus loob Stross huvitavad maailmad, jääb vaid kahetseda, et nendega ei õnnestu pikemalt tutvuda. Külma sõja aegne konflikt on ühel juhul segatud Lovecrafti ideedega, teisel juhul peavad vaenulikud pooled hakkama saama võõras keskkonnas, kus senine status quo on oma tähtsuse kaotanud.
May 13, 2013
Can be found at http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories...
November 12, 2022
Minu jaoks oli esimene lugu hea, aga see teine oli pigem nagu "nääh".
Esimeses loos oli Nõukogude Liit mingi Kuld Juuli Kõmakas või midagi too sugust teinud ja ajanud kogu maailma ohtu.
Teises loos oli keset Kuuba kriisi aetud inimesed ERI kettale keset taevast ja siis oli jälle Nõukogude Liit midagi teinud jälle sõda ning oli inimkonnal juba kriips peal.
Minu arvates see raamat oli küll hea kuid polnud mu lemmik. Mulle see eest ajastu kus sellest räägiti.
Esimeses loos oli Nõukogude Liit mingi Kuld Juuli Kõmakas või midagi too sugust teinud ja ajanud kogu maailma ohtu.
Teises loos oli keset Kuuba kriisi aetud inimesed ERI kettale keset taevast ja siis oli jälle Nõukogude Liit midagi teinud jälle sõda ning oli inimkonnal juba kriips peal.
Minu arvates see raamat oli küll hea kuid polnud mu lemmik. Mulle see eest ajastu kus sellest räägiti.
January 14, 2018
Credo di aver trovato il mio genere, fantastico/horror/Spy/thriller😁
January 8, 2026
Review: 4 stars.
June 19, 2019
Los momentos más oscuros de la Guerra Fría. Conspiraciones políticas dentro de gobiernos legítimos (todo lo que puede serlo un gobierno) que esconden problemas que se pierden en la Noche de los Tiempos aunque, en realidad, ya no están escondidos ni perdidos; los únicos que lo están son los seres humanos (como siempre).
¿Qué echo en falta? Una mayor extensión que ilumine durante eones mi espíritu.
¿Qué echo en falta? Una mayor extensión que ilumine durante eones mi espíritu.
October 6, 2014
Pean esmalt ilmselt vabandama oma ebakompetentsust, kuid pole seni veel Lovecrafti teoste lugemiseni paraku jõudnud. Arusaadavalt tuleks see viga esimesel võimalusel parandada, et mõista käesoleva teose alltektsti ning muid viiteid.
Minu ebapädevusest tulenevalt aga erineb just seetõttu ka minu arvamus sellest raamatust teiste arvustajate omast, kel on kõik eeldused täidetud. Mulle nimelt meeldis just raamatu teine lugu, "Raketikeelutsoon", palju rohkem, kui esimene, mis jäi minu jaoks liiga pealiskaudseks ja "väheseks". Ilmselt puudutas see oma lõppideega ka kusagil minu sees olevat sooja kohta Clifford Simak'i vastu (lõppes ju tema läbi ajaloo kaugele tulevikku kulgev raamat City justnimelt sipelgate võidukäiguga kõigi ülejäänud planeedi rasside üle).
Igal juhul oli tegu põneva lugemisega ning nii mõnegi koha peal käis peast läbi mõte, justkui polekski tegelikult raamatul ja reaalsusel kuigi palju vahet. Meid lihtsalt pole veel diskile tõstetud, kuid me pole rassina ka väga palju oma planeedi ajaloost midagi õppinud :(.
PS. "Lõpuks võtab Maddy ette tööpakkumised linnahalli ees teadetetahvlil." (lk 79)
Veidi jäi hinge kripeldama, et kas tegu võis originaalis olla siiski raekojaga - tundus lihtsalt pisut veider mõte...
Minu ebapädevusest tulenevalt aga erineb just seetõttu ka minu arvamus sellest raamatust teiste arvustajate omast, kel on kõik eeldused täidetud. Mulle nimelt meeldis just raamatu teine lugu, "Raketikeelutsoon", palju rohkem, kui esimene, mis jäi minu jaoks liiga pealiskaudseks ja "väheseks". Ilmselt puudutas see oma lõppideega ka kusagil minu sees olevat sooja kohta Clifford Simak'i vastu (lõppes ju tema läbi ajaloo kaugele tulevikku kulgev raamat City justnimelt sipelgate võidukäiguga kõigi ülejäänud planeedi rasside üle).
Igal juhul oli tegu põneva lugemisega ning nii mõnegi koha peal käis peast läbi mõte, justkui polekski tegelikult raamatul ja reaalsusel kuigi palju vahet. Meid lihtsalt pole veel diskile tõstetud, kuid me pole rassina ka väga palju oma planeedi ajaloost midagi õppinud :(.
PS. "Lõpuks võtab Maddy ette tööpakkumised linnahalli ees teadetetahvlil." (lk 79)
Veidi jäi hinge kripeldama, et kas tegu võis originaalis olla siiski raekojaga - tundus lihtsalt pisut veider mõte...
March 23, 2014
This was the first of Charlie's works I came across, and I was bowled over. If, like me, you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, you start muttering, very early in the work, such original phrases as "Oh shit...". If not, you soon pick up on the mood, helped by 'facts' such as LBJ's aloholism and Jimmy Carter's loss of religion.
Mixed in with the Contragate and Irangate scandals, and the lurking menace of Mutually Assured Destruction, is Cthulhu and his drowned city, where he no longer waits dead and dreaming but has been dragged into the middle of the USSR after the Germans recovered him.
Fan of HPL or not, this is tense, apocalyptic and very scary.
Mixed in with the Contragate and Irangate scandals, and the lurking menace of Mutually Assured Destruction, is Cthulhu and his drowned city, where he no longer waits dead and dreaming but has been dragged into the middle of the USSR after the Germans recovered him.
Fan of HPL or not, this is tense, apocalyptic and very scary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2017
This interesting novelette which is set in a parallel lovecraftian universe creates a paranoid and provocative world order which tries to play with fire and harness alien technology to gain advantage over their respective cold war enemies.
The "fire" being the old gods which the world leaders learn about after the incidents of the story "At the mountains of madness". They really messed with wrong aliens there!
A quick, fun read.
The "fire" being the old gods which the world leaders learn about after the incidents of the story "At the mountains of madness". They really messed with wrong aliens there!
A quick, fun read.
August 19, 2007
Unlike The Atrocity Archive, which is very tongue-in-cheek, this novella (a sequel to At The Mountains Of Madness) starts out dark and only gets darker. One of the best Lovecraftian tales I've read in a long time.
September 23, 2007
This a menacing update of Lovecraft and cold war paranoia..very grim and gripping. I thought this would be really goofy..I was wrong.
November 23, 2016
This was a surprise find via reddit. Mixing the Cthulhu mythos with the Cold War was incredibly engrossing. Check it out.
September 6, 2026
This is my second time around reading Stross's novella... or maybe novelette. Its prescience is startling: Stross wrote the story in 1997 and the publication date is 2000. For example, Saddam Hussein and a Takrit Horror are part of A Colder War. (That isn't a spoiler!) Prior to 2001, I hadn't heard of Takrit, Iraq and I certainly didn't know that it was Saddam's hometown.
A Colder War has many elements of Cthulhu mythos (actually, Lovecraftian mythos), but is modernized, unlike the Clarke Ashton Smith and August Derleth et al stories I have read. I liked the contemporary aspects. Stross isn't heavy-handed; there's just enough eldritch creepiness to be effective but not ridiculous. Dark humor referencing real historical events of the American political past are present too. Probably more than I recognized. Overall, it is strongly evocative of the Cold War era and cynical Washington D.C. "beltway insiders".
Story might be accessible to readers without any knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft, but it helps to have some familiarity to fully appreciate it.
A Colder War has many elements of Cthulhu mythos (actually, Lovecraftian mythos), but is modernized, unlike the Clarke Ashton Smith and August Derleth et al stories I have read. I liked the contemporary aspects. Stross isn't heavy-handed; there's just enough eldritch creepiness to be effective but not ridiculous. Dark humor referencing real historical events of the American political past are present too. Probably more than I recognized. Overall, it is strongly evocative of the Cold War era and cynical Washington D.C. "beltway insiders".
Story might be accessible to readers without any knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft, but it helps to have some familiarity to fully appreciate it.
June 25, 2025
Kaante vahele on koondatud kaks lühilugu, mis mõlemad jagavad sama puudust - nad on liiga lühikesed. Mõlemas on head ideed ja põnevad maailmad, aga lugude lühidus ja hüplikus ei lase neist täit naudingut tunda. Just siis, kui oled mõnuga sisse elanud, saab novellike läbi...
"Külmem sõda" jättis mu külmemaks - aga ta oli vist lühem ka.
"Raketikeelutsoon" oli oluliselt nauditavam - teemad ja tegelased olid paeluvad ja kogu loodud õhustik väga mõnus. Minu jaoks mõjus see nagu kummardus Wellsile, Clarkile ja Simakile - mingi tunne oli lihtsalt sama.
"Külmem sõda" jättis mu külmemaks - aga ta oli vist lühem ka.
"Raketikeelutsoon" oli oluliselt nauditavam - teemad ja tegelased olid paeluvad ja kogu loodud õhustik väga mõnus. Minu jaoks mõjus see nagu kummardus Wellsile, Clarkile ja Simakile - mingi tunne oli lihtsalt sama.
October 20, 2025
A fun mash-up of Lovecraftian horror and Cold War politics. A sort of "what if it wasn't just a nuclear arms race, but also a race for "control" of eldritch forces beyond our comprehension?" As expected, human arrogance and ambition outstrip our good sense, and we bring about the end of days. I like that the story is told from the point of view of a single CIA agent who sees the precipice coming, but can't quite stop himself (or the political leaders he works with) from plunging on ahead. A short and enjoyable story.
February 1, 2018
I loved the way this short story drip-feeds you tid-bits of information, allowing you to build up a slow realisation of the horrific situation the world is in. I really wish Stross expanded this into a full length novel, it's such a fantastic concept. My only criticism apart from the length, is when making the comparison to Lovecraft's work, A Colder War lacks a the quintessential Lovecraftian build-up of tension towards a final climactic reveal.
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