Hide and Seek: A Harry Stubbs Adventure

Harry Stubbs #0.5

by David Hambling

In 1919 South London, Harry Stubbs is freshly out of the army and dreams of glory as an up-and-coming heavyweight boxer. Afraid of nothing, after a few drinks Harry carelessly takes on a dare to explore a disused amusement park attraction. The fake mine is said to be haunted by something with a craving for human blood, but Harry doesn't believe a word of it. What follows is stranger and more dangerous than Harry could ever have dreamed, but the full horrifying truth does not emerge until a chance encounter years later in a waxwork museum...

Audible Audio

Published April 26, 2024

Reviews

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

HIDE AND SEEK by David Hambling is the fifth Harry Stubbs novella and the continuation of one of my all-time favorite Cthulhu Mythos novels. It's also a prequel and only about seventy four pages long, which makes it more of a novelette. "The Horror in the Museum" plays a big role in the inspiration for this book and it does a lot of subtle as well as not-so-subtle homages. It's a very fun but quick read. If you liked the other Harry Stubbs stories, you'll like this but I think it probably should have been longer or part of an anthology.

[Michael Parrish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Stubbs adventures are always exciting and draw you in quickly. He's a vibrant character just home from the Great War and working to make his way through life. I find the character very interesting and the dialogue very snappy and used to really propel the story along. In this case, Harry finds himself in an underground mine under the Crystal Palace grounds encountering...well, something unique. Rolling out his boxing skills, he manages to escape the danger. The story moves ahead ten years and things come full circle. I'll leave it at that.

Love the Stubbs books. This was my third ride-along with Harry, and I'm dearly looking to get to the next one. Hambling is an expert at melding his own Norwood Mythos into the original Mythos of Lovercraft's that inspired it, with appearances or mentions of Whatelys and others, without veering terribly into bad pastiche. Just enough layering that you feel it further fleshes out both worlds, and doesn't detract with its mentions. Recommended.

[BERNARD ANDREWS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Lovecraftian story

Harry Stubbs is a great character and this has all the right touches of Lovecraftian horrors in a 1920's English setting.
My only complaint is it's too short

[H Jesseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has struck a rich seam with Harry Stubbs. Great characterisation and well researched. My only complaint...it's over too soon.

[Christopher Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracking entry in the Harry Stubbs series, this time filling in some more of Harry’s back-story. It also serves as a little prequel to ‘The Horror in the Museum’ (1933) by HP Lovecraft and Zelia Bishop. I absolutely loved the nature of what Harry comes up against in this one and wish I could say more without spoiling the revelation, but it’s a wonderful blend of horror and period-appropriate science-fiction. This is a short, punchy read that delivers exactly what it needs to and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

[A_Place_In The_Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great series!

[Henry Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific Harry Stubbs tale.

As usual, David Hambling has crafted a fast-paced and immensely entertaining story about Harry Stubbs. Like his other tales, this story touches upon Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos stories, pitting every-man Harry against an obscure (at least to me) tale in Lovecraft's milieu.

Highly recommended!

[M.H. Thaung]

This short story drew my attention when I was looking for something weird and historical. I’ve not read anything by the author previously.

The story’s told by Stubbs himself, and his personality came through clearly. The prose was easy to read without obtrusive typos. I got a distinct sense of the weird. And, even better, a feeling there’s more out there to be explored.

I’m sure I’ll be visiting Stubbs’ world again.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hambling is back with another great Harry Stubbs story. This series is always an automatic purchase for me because they are always so darn fun. Hide and Seek was no different. This one was perfect for summer with the Crystal Palace locale, the perfect ambiance of run down amusement park after dark…

[Philip Hemplow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stubbs is back, this time on the trail of a... ah, but that would be telling! On this outing we are taken on an exploration of some of his teenage misdeeds, before discovering the sequelae to some of them, ten years down the line. As always, there are memorable characters, spooky locations, entertaining punch-ups, abundant south London lore, and fun variations on Mythos standards. The story, in two acts, rattles along like a steam train, with assured pacing and appropriate amounts of disclosure. The monster, when it appears, is entertainingly unpleasant, and the denouement satisfies. If you're looking for a fast, fun Mythos read, this is what you need.

[Alex Sarll]

More local Mythos for local people, with investigator Harry Stubbs reconsidering a youthful misadventure in light of what he's since learned about the uncanny things with which mankind shares the world. The novella's most thrilling scene is undoubtedly the climactic confrontation in an unnerving house of wax (as in, even more so than the default creepiness of waxworks), but that takes place near London Bridge - practically north London! Still, earlier developments have given me something to look out for closer to home, which is always a big part of the appeal.