What do you think?
Rate this book
The Black Circle and Other Eldritch Episodes
A sellsword encounters a mysterious group guarding a plot of land and determines to find out what they're hiding....
A gang initiate is tasked with stealing something from an isolated house, and finds something malicious waiting for him inside...
A man is haunted by the sound of pounding tribal drums and hunted by a religious cult that refuses to let him abandon his destiny...
Author Derek Hutchins returns with his second collection of pulse-pounding short stories. This collection compounds ten tales and one novella of cosmic terror, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Step into THE BLACK CIRCLE and prepare to be driven to the edge of madness and beyond...
A gang initiate is tasked with stealing something from an isolated house, and finds something malicious waiting for him inside...
A man is haunted by the sound of pounding tribal drums and hunted by a religious cult that refuses to let him abandon his destiny...
Author Derek Hutchins returns with his second collection of pulse-pounding short stories. This collection compounds ten tales and one novella of cosmic terror, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Step into THE BLACK CIRCLE and prepare to be driven to the edge of madness and beyond...
- GenresHorror
278 pages, Paperback
Published October 7, 2024
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 27, 2025
One of the things I’ve always loved about books like Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man, or Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, is how they weave together a series of seemingly unrelated short stories into a cohesive and compelling larger narrative. Each story feels like it could stand alone as an episode of The Twilight Zone, yet together they create a rich, interconnected mythology.
That’s exactly how I felt while reading The Black Circle and Other Eldritch Episodes by Derek Hutchins. Spanning across time and set in diverse locations around the globe, each story is fun and engaging in its own right, yet subtly contributes to the intricate and masterfully crafted mythology that ties the collection together. Hutchins has created a universe that is as mysterious as it is captivating, and every tale feels like another piece of a puzzle you’ll want to keep solving.
This was my first foray into the eldritch horror genre, and Hutchins has me hooked. His storytelling not only makes me eager to explore more of the genre but also excited to see how he continues to expand and contribute to it in the future.
That’s exactly how I felt while reading The Black Circle and Other Eldritch Episodes by Derek Hutchins. Spanning across time and set in diverse locations around the globe, each story is fun and engaging in its own right, yet subtly contributes to the intricate and masterfully crafted mythology that ties the collection together. Hutchins has created a universe that is as mysterious as it is captivating, and every tale feels like another piece of a puzzle you’ll want to keep solving.
This was my first foray into the eldritch horror genre, and Hutchins has me hooked. His storytelling not only makes me eager to explore more of the genre but also excited to see how he continues to expand and contribute to it in the future.
November 15, 2024
I'm going to use a DM I sent to Derek as the body of this book review. My candid thoughts say it all.
"I've always thought that no one should attempt to write about Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. I've read numerous short stories trying to capture the feel of his world and none of them have succeeded. You have. I was extremely wary about reading the collection when I realized what you were trying to do. I had nothing to worry about. You succeeded where others have failed because you didn't try to duplicate/imitate things. The world is there but it's your shaping of it that works so well."
I loved every story in this collection, and the first and last tales bookend them all perfectly. Excellent book. Highly recommended.
"I've always thought that no one should attempt to write about Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. I've read numerous short stories trying to capture the feel of his world and none of them have succeeded. You have. I was extremely wary about reading the collection when I realized what you were trying to do. I had nothing to worry about. You succeeded where others have failed because you didn't try to duplicate/imitate things. The world is there but it's your shaping of it that works so well."
I loved every story in this collection, and the first and last tales bookend them all perfectly. Excellent book. Highly recommended.
April 5, 2025
Fantastic collection of cosmic horror tales, in which Hutchins lifts the veil on the uncanny dimension of the Old Ones. This is the horror of knowing, where vile things blur the line between sanity and madness. And with the different narrative styles (thinking of The Gungywamp Files in particular), Hutchins shows his creative range as a storyteller. Excellent.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews