Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao

by Aaron J. French (Editor), T. Kingfisher, Ruthanna Emrys

The first in a series of anthologies devoted to the Lovecraftian gods, Ordo ab Chao follows the highly successful The Gods of HP Lovecraft (published in 2015 by JournalStone Publishing). We begin our series with the primal origins and the god Azathoth, who represents primordial chaos in the Lovecraftian Mythos. H.P. Lovecraft described Azathoth as a demon king ruling from a dark throne in the middle of the fiery cosmic void, out of which all created things emanated. Surrounding this orbiting spiral of infinite chaos and creation sounded the repetitive notes of an incessant flute, a reference to the Greek god Pan and the symbol of chaos behind the orderliness of nature. Taking this as our departure, the stories in this volume approach Azathoth through the concept of "order out of chaos" (or Ordo ab Chao in Latin). Ordo ab Chao includes new work from some of the most talented and respected authors in horror and dark fantasy, featuring stories from T. Kingfisher, Ruthanna Emrys, Adam L. G. Nevill, Kaaron Warren, Brian Evenson, Donald Tyson, Richard Thomas, Richard Gavin, Matthew Cheney, Erica Ruppert, Jamieson Ridenhour, Maxwell I. Gold, Lena Ng, Nathan Carson, Samuel Marzioli, Lauri Taneli Lassila, Akis Linardos, and R. B. Payne.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ORDO AB CHAO: TOWARD THAT ENDLESSNESS by Maxwell Ian Gold
“Agent of Chaos” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
AGENT OF CHAOS by T. Kingfisher
“Expatriate” illustrated by Yves Tourigny
EXPATRIATE by Jamieson Ridenhour
“...And Peer Aloft to Glimpse Some Fragment” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
...AND PEER ALOFT TO GLIMPSE SOME FRAGMENT by Ruthanna Emrys
“Making a Difference” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
MAKING A DIFFERENCE by Brian Evenson
“The Recreationist” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
THE RECREATIONIST by Kaaron Warren
“The Blind God’s Game” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
THE BLIND GOD’S GAME by Matthew Cheney
“In the Grove” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
IN THE GROVE by Erica Ruppert
“Church of the Void” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
CHURCH OF THE VOID by Donald Tyson
“Upon an Iron Bed, Under the Eyes of Chaos” illustrated by Sofiya
UPON AN IRON BED, UNDER THE EYES OF CHAOS by Richard Gavin
“The Root King” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
THE ROOT KING by Lauri Taneli Lassila
“The Infinite Beat” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
THE INFINITE BEAT by Nathan Carson
“The Door at 21 Bis Rue Xavier Privas” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
THE DOOR AT 21 BIS RUE XAVIER PRIVAS by R. B. Payne
“An Unusual Pedigree” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
AN UNUSUAL PEDIGREE by Richard Thomas
“Dust-Clotted Eyes” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
DUST-CLOTTED EYES by Samuel Marzioli
“The Revelations of Azathoth” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
THE REVELATIONS OF AZATHOTH by Lena Ng
“Primordial Jack” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
PRIMORDIAL JACK by Akis Linardos
“Respect Your Elders” illustrated by Yves Tourigny
RESPECT YOUR ELDERS by Adam L. G. Nevill

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy

314 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2023

Reviews

[Minäpäminä · Rating 3 out of 5]

A multi-faceted collection of speculative fiction inspired by Lovecraft's Azathoth. Some of the stories were not very Lovecraftian nor to my tastes, featuring odd political asides and undertones. But the highlights for me were Kingfisher's Agent of Chaos, which was very unusual but perfectly executed; Ridenhour's Expatriate, a film noir tale set in Denmark; and Ng's The Revelations of Azathoth, which depicted a fantastic apocalypse. Also Gavin's Upon an Iron Bed, Under the Eyes of Chaos really stuck around in my mind.

[Kevin Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic anthology of stories all centered around Lovecraft's Great Old Ones, specifically Azathoth.

I had my favorite stories and authors, but wasn't disappointed by any of them. Plus I discovered a few new authors I need to check out.