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The Old Gods Awaken
When the stars come right, The Old Gods shall rise again!
When a new star appears in the heavens where no star was before, astronomers class it as a supernova and study it with avid interest, but its novelty is soon taken for granted by the general public. Unknown to all, it is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy in the Necronomicon. When the stars come right, the Old Gods shall rise again from their places of waiting beneath the sea, under the ground, and between the dimensions of space.
The blind idiot, Azathoth, has piped a cosmic song on his cracked flute, and once more the gates of Yog-Sothoth yawn wide to admit nightmares from forgotten ages into our modern world. One by one, they appear in different regions of the globe – Shub-Niggurath in the swamps of Louisiana, Yig in the desert hills of Arizona, Cthulhu on risen R’lyeh, Shoggoths from the mines of the earth, Tsathoggua in the sewers of New Orleans, Dagon and the Deep Ones on the South Sea Islands, the Mi-Go from the depths of space, the Haunter of the Dark through the portal of the shining trapezohedron.
Strange gods and alien races are drawn together to contest for dominion over our world beneath the baneful red glare of the new star, as they fought one another forgotten aeons ago before the evolution of mankind. Which of them shall rule this planet and enslave the human race? Or will the invisible Old Ones finally prevail in their plan to sterilize the surface of our world and wrench it out of its orbit around the sun?
Humans caught up in this cosmic drama find themselves helpless against it, and must fight merely to preserve their lives and their sanity. In all these machinations of battling titans, Nyarlathotep, the servant of Azathoth and the only Old God to take a personal interest in the doings of the human race, shall have a crucial role to play.
H. P. Lovecraft envisioned many terrifying Elder Gods, Old Ones and Deep Ones as part of his Cthulhu Mythos. Donald Tyson has written a series of horrific stories set in that world especially for this volume, in which eleven of these primordial deities from beyond the stars we know are represented—and in which the threats they pose to the continuing existence of humanity are made clear. Or, in some cases, subverted. But take heed of these warnings! A new, menacing red star approaches in the not-so-heavenly heavens.
When a new star appears in the heavens where no star was before, astronomers class it as a supernova and study it with avid interest, but its novelty is soon taken for granted by the general public. Unknown to all, it is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy in the Necronomicon. When the stars come right, the Old Gods shall rise again from their places of waiting beneath the sea, under the ground, and between the dimensions of space.
The blind idiot, Azathoth, has piped a cosmic song on his cracked flute, and once more the gates of Yog-Sothoth yawn wide to admit nightmares from forgotten ages into our modern world. One by one, they appear in different regions of the globe – Shub-Niggurath in the swamps of Louisiana, Yig in the desert hills of Arizona, Cthulhu on risen R’lyeh, Shoggoths from the mines of the earth, Tsathoggua in the sewers of New Orleans, Dagon and the Deep Ones on the South Sea Islands, the Mi-Go from the depths of space, the Haunter of the Dark through the portal of the shining trapezohedron.
Strange gods and alien races are drawn together to contest for dominion over our world beneath the baneful red glare of the new star, as they fought one another forgotten aeons ago before the evolution of mankind. Which of them shall rule this planet and enslave the human race? Or will the invisible Old Ones finally prevail in their plan to sterilize the surface of our world and wrench it out of its orbit around the sun?
Humans caught up in this cosmic drama find themselves helpless against it, and must fight merely to preserve their lives and their sanity. In all these machinations of battling titans, Nyarlathotep, the servant of Azathoth and the only Old God to take a personal interest in the doings of the human race, shall have a crucial role to play.
H. P. Lovecraft envisioned many terrifying Elder Gods, Old Ones and Deep Ones as part of his Cthulhu Mythos. Donald Tyson has written a series of horrific stories set in that world especially for this volume, in which eleven of these primordial deities from beyond the stars we know are represented—and in which the threats they pose to the continuing existence of humanity are made clear. Or, in some cases, subverted. But take heed of these warnings! A new, menacing red star approaches in the not-so-heavenly heavens.
- GenresHorror
292 pages, Paperback
Published October 13, 2024
31 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Donald Tyson
99 books149 followersDonald Tyson is a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early in life he was drawn to science by an intense fascination with astronomy, building a telescope by hand when he was eight. He began university seeking a science degree, but became disillusioned with the aridity and futility of a mechanistic view of the universe and shifted his major to English. After graduating with honors he has pursued a writing career.
Now he devotes his life to the attainment of a complete gnosis of the art of magic in theory and practice. His purpose is to formulate an accessible system of personal training composed of East and West, past and present, that will help the individual discover the reason for one's existence and a way to fulfill it.
Now he devotes his life to the attainment of a complete gnosis of the art of magic in theory and practice. His purpose is to formulate an accessible system of personal training composed of East and West, past and present, that will help the individual discover the reason for one's existence and a way to fulfill it.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 22, 2025
4.8
-This book was gas, the building of each old god and its impact on the other stories was so cool to see
-The illustrations were one of the best additions to this story, really helped me form a clear image of the gods.
-Yig and Yog-Sothoth were my favorite stories and the Mi-Go one was kinda confusing
-The Tsathoggua kinda freaked me out with them stealing the babies and using them for sacrifice and the ending was bleak as hell
-I would’ve loved to have had a chapter of like what happened to the world between Mi-Go and Nyarlathotep to see how everything went nuts
-The “Haunter of the Dark” chapter wasn’t great but I would’ve loved to have seen the ending as an image
-This would go crazy as an animated series or like a graphic novel.
-Donald Tyson if you’re reading this, PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER STORY, I need more story building of what the old gods worlds are like or maybe like a sequel with them coming back
-This book was gas, the building of each old god and its impact on the other stories was so cool to see
-The illustrations were one of the best additions to this story, really helped me form a clear image of the gods.
-Yig and Yog-Sothoth were my favorite stories and the Mi-Go one was kinda confusing
-The Tsathoggua kinda freaked me out with them stealing the babies and using them for sacrifice and the ending was bleak as hell
-I would’ve loved to have had a chapter of like what happened to the world between Mi-Go and Nyarlathotep to see how everything went nuts
-The “Haunter of the Dark” chapter wasn’t great but I would’ve loved to have seen the ending as an image
-This would go crazy as an animated series or like a graphic novel.
-Donald Tyson if you’re reading this, PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER STORY, I need more story building of what the old gods worlds are like or maybe like a sequel with them coming back
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2024
Hell yeah
It's rare to read an anthology without a single story I disliked, and it's rarer to read two in a row.
"The Old God's Awaken" is a great collection of related short stories set in a world where the nastiest of Lovecrafts entities have woken up because the stars were right.
I personally loved Tyson's entries for The Haunter of the Dark, Yog Sothoth, and Nyarlathotep the most, and I recommend this collection for anyone who is deep into the mythos.
It's rare to read an anthology without a single story I disliked, and it's rarer to read two in a row.
"The Old God's Awaken" is a great collection of related short stories set in a world where the nastiest of Lovecrafts entities have woken up because the stars were right.
I personally loved Tyson's entries for The Haunter of the Dark, Yog Sothoth, and Nyarlathotep the most, and I recommend this collection for anyone who is deep into the mythos.
December 1, 2025
A 'who's who' of the Lovecraftian pantheon, with each of these loosely interconnected tales focusing on a specific cosmic deity - Cthulhu, Dagon, Yog-Sothoth, Yig, etc. I was a bit skeptical going into this, because tedious and uninspired Cthulhu Mythos collections are not uncommon. But it was when I had just finished the Shoggoth story (the next to the next to the last story), and I put the book down for a second and said to myself, "huh, that was a really good...", that I realized the book was going fast and all the stories had been pretty darn good so far. The apocalyptic tone resonates - somehow the idea of aliens from another dimension materializing on Earth and eating us all and our cell-phones does not seem too far fetched...
My copy is a double-lettered state of 26 copies that features full color interior illustrations and is signed by the author and artist.
My copy is a double-lettered state of 26 copies that features full color interior illustrations and is signed by the author and artist.
January 17, 2026
This is an excellent collection of interconnected short stories which take place around the world and across time.
Once again Tyson manages to capture the deep haunting dread of cosmic horror. He also tosses in some unsettling body horror to keep it light.
I suggest not reading this before bed unless you enjoy having highly weird dreams.
Once again Tyson manages to capture the deep haunting dread of cosmic horror. He also tosses in some unsettling body horror to keep it light.
I suggest not reading this before bed unless you enjoy having highly weird dreams.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews