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Autumn Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft, the American master of horror, understood with horrible clarity that all things must die. After summer is winter, and life inevitably gives way to frozen sterility. In our modern world, we live cushioned existences, and congratulate ourselves on our supposed escape from the old dangers. We think ourselves caught out of nature's reach by our technological wizardry. Safely cocooned. This foolishness blinds us to the truth that our elder forebears could not avoid. Engulfed by the rhythms of the world, they understood... Autumn means death.
There are far worse fates than mere death, of course. As blight spreads, the leaves wither and fall - as do the most important foundations of life. There is nothing more horrible than watching the sources of meaning in your world unravel before you. But these things we cherish are just pretty lies. In autumn's cold grasp, the bright petals of our reality shrivel and die. Beneath them, there is nothing but the insanity of the howling void. Faced with inevitable, agonizing corruption, death is a gentle blessing.
The stories collected in Autumn Cthulhu reflect the darkest, most ancient truths of the season. Inside, you'll find nineteen beautiful, terrifying glimpses of decay and loss inspired by Lovecraft's work. Be sure that you want the burden of understanding before venturing further, though. The dissolving strands of mind, of love, of legacy within leave no room for merciful doubt.
The true meaning of life is that there is no meaning.
Table of Contents
“Introduction” by Mike Davis
“The Night is a Sea” by Scott Thomas
“In the Spaces Where You Once Lived” by Damien Angelica Walters
“Memories of the Fall” by Pete Rawlik
“Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees” by Laird Barron
“There is a Bear in the Woods” by Nadia Bulkin
“The Smoke Lodge” by Michael Griffin
“Cul-De-Sac Virus” by Evan Dicken
“DST (Fall Back)” by Robert Levy
“The Black Azalea” by Wendy N. Wagner
“After the Fall” by Jeffrey Thomas
“Anchor” by John Langan
“End of the Season” by Trent Kollodge
“Water Main” by S. P. Miskowski
“The Stiles of Palemarsh” by Richard Gavin
“Grave Goods” by Gemma Files
“The Well and the Wheel” by Orrin Grey
“Trick… or the Other Thing” by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
“A Shadow Passing by Daniel Mills
“Lavinia In Autumn” by Ann K. Schwader
(NOTE: The print edition of "Autumn Cthulhu" contains four story illustrations that were used for promotional purposes. You'll find them near the end of the book.)
There are far worse fates than mere death, of course. As blight spreads, the leaves wither and fall - as do the most important foundations of life. There is nothing more horrible than watching the sources of meaning in your world unravel before you. But these things we cherish are just pretty lies. In autumn's cold grasp, the bright petals of our reality shrivel and die. Beneath them, there is nothing but the insanity of the howling void. Faced with inevitable, agonizing corruption, death is a gentle blessing.
The stories collected in Autumn Cthulhu reflect the darkest, most ancient truths of the season. Inside, you'll find nineteen beautiful, terrifying glimpses of decay and loss inspired by Lovecraft's work. Be sure that you want the burden of understanding before venturing further, though. The dissolving strands of mind, of love, of legacy within leave no room for merciful doubt.
The true meaning of life is that there is no meaning.
Table of Contents
“Introduction” by Mike Davis
“The Night is a Sea” by Scott Thomas
“In the Spaces Where You Once Lived” by Damien Angelica Walters
“Memories of the Fall” by Pete Rawlik
“Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees” by Laird Barron
“There is a Bear in the Woods” by Nadia Bulkin
“The Smoke Lodge” by Michael Griffin
“Cul-De-Sac Virus” by Evan Dicken
“DST (Fall Back)” by Robert Levy
“The Black Azalea” by Wendy N. Wagner
“After the Fall” by Jeffrey Thomas
“Anchor” by John Langan
“End of the Season” by Trent Kollodge
“Water Main” by S. P. Miskowski
“The Stiles of Palemarsh” by Richard Gavin
“Grave Goods” by Gemma Files
“The Well and the Wheel” by Orrin Grey
“Trick… or the Other Thing” by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
“A Shadow Passing by Daniel Mills
“Lavinia In Autumn” by Ann K. Schwader
(NOTE: The print edition of "Autumn Cthulhu" contains four story illustrations that were used for promotional purposes. You'll find them near the end of the book.)
406 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
October 27, 2016
Autumn is a strange theme for a novel about H.P. Lovecraft's universe. I mean, you can combine Cthulhu with just about anything. Cthulhu has fought the Real Ghostbusters, the Justice League, Godzilla, and a host of other characters once people realized he was public domain. The Mythos has been at the center of Westerns, Space Operas, and even a teenaged romance which parodied Twilight.
But autumn? The season? It's a strange combination even as the editor, Mike Davis, explains that autumn is the perfect season for the Mythos. Much like humanity's existence, it is the twilight of the world, giving rise to the end before a new world begins thereafter. Humanity, in Lovecraft's world, is in its perpetual autumn as the Great Old Ones are waiting just around the corner to devour us all.
So, I was intrigued. In fact, the concept of autumn is not related to the Cthulhu Mythos and the end of humanity at all. Those coming here looking for the familiar staples of Deep Ones, ghouls, the Great Old Ones, and Elder Gods will not find them. Instead, Autumn Cthulhu is devoted to the concept of Lovecraftian feeling stories. This is a book of, to use one of Lovecraft's favorite descriptors, "Weird Fiction."
How weird? Well, Andy Kaufman shows up instead of Cthulhu but he's actually creepier than Old Bat Wings himself. Yes, that Andy Kaufman. Those who may be put off by this should note the stories are all enjoyable horror. Stephen King would be proud at how many of the authors develop a wonderfully believable protagonist only to then shove them into something horrific and inexplicable.
That is perhaps the book's strongest suit in that everyone and everything our protagonists encounter are unexplained. Bizarre stuff happens and or protagonists just have to deal with it despite a lack of information or ability to resist. There's plenty of Lovecraftian "themes", though. Like "Grave Goods" by Gemma Files, in which an archaeological dig which discovers a parallel evolutionary offshoot of humanity which is terrifying in its implications plus "Trick...or the other thing" in which someone discovers just how awful it is to gain the attention of the Other Gods on Halloween.
My favorite tales are "Andy Kaufman Creeping Through the Trees" which juxtaposes the bizarre with the nightmarish and "The Night is a Sea" which feels very much like The Dunwich Horror without copying any elements from it.
About the only thing I can say which is a complaint is this sometimes feels like it could be a Stephen King homage versus a Lovecraft one. That's hardly a terrible complaint, though, since Stephen King owes a lot of his style to the original New England horrorsmith. Not all of the stores scared the pants off me but enough of them did that as a seasoned scare reviewer like myself gives this top marks.
In conclusion, Autumn Cthulhu is an anthology of weird fiction and strange tales which is perfect as a purchase for Halloween or just for some enjoyable Fall scares. It's not quite as Cthulhu Mythos-orientated as I would have liked but Lovecraft, himself, believed codifying the supernatural was missing the point. Besides, there's some true standouts here.
9/10
But autumn? The season? It's a strange combination even as the editor, Mike Davis, explains that autumn is the perfect season for the Mythos. Much like humanity's existence, it is the twilight of the world, giving rise to the end before a new world begins thereafter. Humanity, in Lovecraft's world, is in its perpetual autumn as the Great Old Ones are waiting just around the corner to devour us all.
So, I was intrigued. In fact, the concept of autumn is not related to the Cthulhu Mythos and the end of humanity at all. Those coming here looking for the familiar staples of Deep Ones, ghouls, the Great Old Ones, and Elder Gods will not find them. Instead, Autumn Cthulhu is devoted to the concept of Lovecraftian feeling stories. This is a book of, to use one of Lovecraft's favorite descriptors, "Weird Fiction."
How weird? Well, Andy Kaufman shows up instead of Cthulhu but he's actually creepier than Old Bat Wings himself. Yes, that Andy Kaufman. Those who may be put off by this should note the stories are all enjoyable horror. Stephen King would be proud at how many of the authors develop a wonderfully believable protagonist only to then shove them into something horrific and inexplicable.
That is perhaps the book's strongest suit in that everyone and everything our protagonists encounter are unexplained. Bizarre stuff happens and or protagonists just have to deal with it despite a lack of information or ability to resist. There's plenty of Lovecraftian "themes", though. Like "Grave Goods" by Gemma Files, in which an archaeological dig which discovers a parallel evolutionary offshoot of humanity which is terrifying in its implications plus "Trick...or the other thing" in which someone discovers just how awful it is to gain the attention of the Other Gods on Halloween.
My favorite tales are "Andy Kaufman Creeping Through the Trees" which juxtaposes the bizarre with the nightmarish and "The Night is a Sea" which feels very much like The Dunwich Horror without copying any elements from it.
About the only thing I can say which is a complaint is this sometimes feels like it could be a Stephen King homage versus a Lovecraft one. That's hardly a terrible complaint, though, since Stephen King owes a lot of his style to the original New England horrorsmith. Not all of the stores scared the pants off me but enough of them did that as a seasoned scare reviewer like myself gives this top marks.
In conclusion, Autumn Cthulhu is an anthology of weird fiction and strange tales which is perfect as a purchase for Halloween or just for some enjoyable Fall scares. It's not quite as Cthulhu Mythos-orientated as I would have liked but Lovecraft, himself, believed codifying the supernatural was missing the point. Besides, there's some true standouts here.
9/10
February 7, 2017
A well-rounded collection of stories that move far past Lovecraftian pastiche. Standouts for me include the stories by Gemma Files, Robert Levy, and Laird Barron, and an excellent novella from John Langan. "Anchor" takes up about 20% of the book and is riveting from start to finish. Not just for Lovecraft fans, AUTUMN CTHULHU is a long book showcasing some of the best weird horror writers currently on the scene.
October 28, 2017
And in the autumn of the year, when the winds from the north curse and whine, and the red-leaved trees of the swamp mutter things to one another in the small hours of the morning under the horned waning moon, I sit by the casement and watch that star.
— H.P. Lovecraft, Polaris
I finally finished this book, which I swore I would read and complete in autumn, as is appropriate for its theme. Autumn Cthulhu is an anthology I backed on Kickstarter a couple of years ago, largely because Laird Barron was one of the contributors. Also it came with some evocative artwork.
Lovecraft anthologies are almost as ubiquitous nowadays as Lovecraft-themed boardgames — with a readily-identifiable iconic IP that is in the public domain, poor old Howie and his tentacular horrors is much more marketable now than he was in life. The strength of an anthology is in the strength of its stories, so how well did editor Mike Davis rassle these writers?
The premise of Autumn Cthulhu is, duh, Lovecraftian stuff happening in the fall. So all the stories are set in the autumn, and the majority do an excellent job of evoking cooling temperatures, falling leaves, and death and decay coming with shortened days. Despite the title, Great Old Tentacle-face himself doesn't make an appearance, and in fact, very few of the stories explicitly reference any of Lovecraft's creations (though Nyarlathotep makes an appearance in Joseph F. Pulver Sr.'s Trick...Or the Other Thing.)
Here is a list of all the contributors and their stories; those in boldface are the ones that stood out to me.
The Night is a Sea, by Scott Thomas.
In the Spaces Where You Once Lived, by Damien Angelica Walters.
Memories of the Fall, by Pete Ravlik.
Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees, by Laird Barron.
There is a Bear in the Woods, by Nadia Bulkin.
The Smoke Lounge, by Michael Griffin.
Cul-De-Sac Virus, by Evan Dicken.
DST (Full Black), by Robert Levy.
The Black Azalea, by Wendy N. Wagner.
After the Fall, by Jeffrey Thomas.
Anchor, by John Langan.
End of the Season, by Trent Kollodg.
Water Main, by S.P. Miskowski.
The Stiles of Palemarsh, by Richard Gavin.
Grave Goods, by Gemma Files.
The Well and the Wheel, by Orrin Grey.
Trick...Or the Other Thing, by Joseph F. Pulver, Sr.
A Shadow Passing, by Daniel Mills.
Lavinia in Autumn (poem), by Ann K. Schwader.
So about half the stories were memorable, and not a single one was bad. Even the less notable ones all had something to recommend them.
For example, I did not like Joseph F. Pulver's writing style at all, but the story, Trick...Or the Other Thing, in which Nyarlathotep pays a visit to a has-been rock star, was a pitch-perfect capture of how Nyarlathotep of the Thousand Forms, Herald of the Outer Goods, might condescend to mess with mortals — petty, personable, but not even a little bit charming or sympathetic or hopeful.
Scott Thomas's The Night is a Sea was just... strange, but did capture some memorable imagery, and while I thought The Well and the Wheel by Orrin Grey was really too short, the chilling idea behind it was something that really could have supported a longer story.
Which ones were my favorites? I would have to say Grave Goods, by Gemma Files, was the outright scariest; a group of anthropologists deep in the Canadian backwoods, digging up an old "First People's" burial mound, discover something that is typically Lovecraftian. In some ways, it's the most traditional horror story of the bunch — the twist is hardly a twist for anyone familiar with Lovecraft or the horror genre, but it's still executed in a manner that would make this short story perfect fodder for a creeper-feature movie. Gemma Files becomes the writer I most want to look up after reading this.
Laird Barron never disappoints, and Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees is strange and creepy and somehow manages to make Andy Kaufman, creeping through the trees, work in a Cthulhu mythos story.
End of the Season by Trent Kollodg took what's almost a Lovecraft cliche — an outsider intrudes on a bunch of creepy, insular seaside villagers (in this case, technically lakeside since it takes place on an island in the Great Lakes) and their arcane rituals, and learns their sinister secret to his sorrow. Yet he put an interesting spin on it and delivered a bleak, nihilistic story in the perfect length.
Speaking of nihilism, Evan Dicken made suburbia the Lovecraftian metaphor in Cul-De-Sac Virus, and I liked the way this story delivered existential gloom and despair with hardly any violence.
Water Main, by S.P. Miskowski, was one of the few stories that didn't stick to the East Coast — instead, we get a creepy, creepy apartment in Seattle, a bit of old-school Lovecraftian horror in the middle of the tech boom.
The Stiles of Palemarsh, on the other hand, took us to Scotland, and like the preceding story, featured someone in the aftermath of an imploding relationship taking a little stroll that goes places he wished he hadn't. Old farmers are never something you want to meet in a horror story.
DST (Full Black) by Robert Levy features gruesome botanical horror and should probably contain a trigger warning for cat lovers.
Anchor, by John Langan, was almost my favorite story (it was one of the longest), but while it delivered horror and ancient evil and some creepiness, it also seemed not quite sure whether it wanted to be an epic fantasy quest or a Lovecraftian horror tale. It was a good story, certainly, but I just felt the tone was a teeny bit askew.
Overall, this collections gets a 4.5 — a few of these stories were 5 stars and I'd rate none of them below a 3. Mike Davis collected some great talent here, including a few names (like Laird Barron and Gemma Files and John Langan) that I definitely want to read more of.
June 21, 2016
In case you fell asleep for the last decade, Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos are ascendant. In this golden age, we've seen some of the best Lovecraftian novels and anthologies ever put to print. But that comes with a problem--oversaturation, a flood of more-of-the-same, cut and paste, drivel designed only to capitalize on a phenomenon and make some money.
Which is why Autumn Cthulhu is such a pleasant surprise and a resounding success.
I'm not going to do that thing where I go through each story and rate them. Some are better than others, but that's always the case. What's not always the case is that every story is good, and many of them are great.
And I think it is the theme, pulled together by Mike Davis, that sets the stage for that level of quality. Every story is infused with the feeling of autumn. On the hottest day you'll feel a chill in the air when you read this book.
It goes without saying--I recommend this book highly and without reservation. You will not be disappointed
Which is why Autumn Cthulhu is such a pleasant surprise and a resounding success.
I'm not going to do that thing where I go through each story and rate them. Some are better than others, but that's always the case. What's not always the case is that every story is good, and many of them are great.
And I think it is the theme, pulled together by Mike Davis, that sets the stage for that level of quality. Every story is infused with the feeling of autumn. On the hottest day you'll feel a chill in the air when you read this book.
It goes without saying--I recommend this book highly and without reservation. You will not be disappointed
May 17, 2016
A superlative collection of autumnal cosmic horror. To say that John Langan's novella "Anchor", intensely weird and moving in the signature Langan style, is worth the price of admission all by itself isn't to disparage any of the other terrific stories here. There's a great diversity of style, mood, and setting, and plenty of surprises. For my part I particularly enjoyed Gemma Files' "Grave Goods", Richard Gavin's "The Stiles of Palemarsh", Orrin Grey's "The Well and the Wheel", S.P. Miskowski's "Water Main", and Jeffrey Thomas' touching "After the Fall". I'd say this is the best weird anthology to drop into my hands since _Aickman's Heirs_.
November 3, 2016
3.5 stars
I think the name of this collection is a bit misleading--it is a Lovecraft-inspired collection (kind of... more on that in a bit) but it is NOT a mythos collection. There is much Lovecraftian inspiration here, but little of it is from his cosmic horror stories. I find it strange that some reviews say that there's almost no Lovecraft here, because many of the connections are crystal clear ("The Night is a Sea" - "The Dreams in the Witch House," "The Black Azalea" - "The Colour out of Space," "End of the Season" - "Shadow over Innsmouth" to name a few).
The main theme here is more so fall horror than Lovecraftian horror. Sure, many of the stories have Lovecraftian themes, but many of them do not. Quite a few feel more Stephen King-esque, or even like they belong in the world of Laird Barron (especially "Cul-De-Sac Virus" and "DST (Fall Back)") than like Lovecraft stories. Then again, both King and Barron are heavily Lovecraft-inspired... so in a roundabout way you could probably argue that most stories here are indeed Lovecraftian.
Funnily enough, the most heavily Lovecraft story ("Trick... or the Other Thing") was my least favorite. In fact, I rarely like to call out stories in a collection, but it was BAD. It's about Nyarlathotep as an agent of vengeance for a spurned love affair. The hell?? Does that sound like the Narlathotep we know and love? No. It was kind of a joke of a story and I didn't even finish it, which is very rare for me. And on the flip side, my favorite story (John Langan's "Anchor") was also not very Lovecraftian. It felt very much like a Langan story and not like anything else--as it should, in my opinion.
This is definitely a mixed bag of a collection. There are lots of gems (other than the ones I have mentioned so far, I really liked "Grave Goods" and of course Laird Barron's contribution), a few middle-of-the-road stories, one that made absolutely no sense, and one absolute stinker. Definitely not the best horror collection I've ever read, but it really invokes the fall spirit and was a perfect seasonal read. Well worth dipping into if you like new weird-style horror and Lovecraftian stories a bit off the beaten path.
I think the name of this collection is a bit misleading--it is a Lovecraft-inspired collection (kind of... more on that in a bit) but it is NOT a mythos collection. There is much Lovecraftian inspiration here, but little of it is from his cosmic horror stories. I find it strange that some reviews say that there's almost no Lovecraft here, because many of the connections are crystal clear ("The Night is a Sea" - "The Dreams in the Witch House," "The Black Azalea" - "The Colour out of Space," "End of the Season" - "Shadow over Innsmouth" to name a few).
The main theme here is more so fall horror than Lovecraftian horror. Sure, many of the stories have Lovecraftian themes, but many of them do not. Quite a few feel more Stephen King-esque, or even like they belong in the world of Laird Barron (especially "Cul-De-Sac Virus" and "DST (Fall Back)") than like Lovecraft stories. Then again, both King and Barron are heavily Lovecraft-inspired... so in a roundabout way you could probably argue that most stories here are indeed Lovecraftian.
Funnily enough, the most heavily Lovecraft story ("Trick... or the Other Thing") was my least favorite. In fact, I rarely like to call out stories in a collection, but it was BAD. It's about Nyarlathotep as an agent of vengeance for a spurned love affair. The hell?? Does that sound like the Narlathotep we know and love? No. It was kind of a joke of a story and I didn't even finish it, which is very rare for me. And on the flip side, my favorite story (John Langan's "Anchor") was also not very Lovecraftian. It felt very much like a Langan story and not like anything else--as it should, in my opinion.
This is definitely a mixed bag of a collection. There are lots of gems (other than the ones I have mentioned so far, I really liked "Grave Goods" and of course Laird Barron's contribution), a few middle-of-the-road stories, one that made absolutely no sense, and one absolute stinker. Definitely not the best horror collection I've ever read, but it really invokes the fall spirit and was a perfect seasonal read. Well worth dipping into if you like new weird-style horror and Lovecraftian stories a bit off the beaten path.
June 6, 2016
Hmmmm... First off, this book has dick-all to do with Lovecraft except for one bizarre story where Nyarlathotep gets revenge for this woman against her rock star ex (I'm serious). Hahaha. Most of the stories in this collection also, for some reason, had something to do with a broken relationship. That's the most un-Lovecraft thing ever. EVER. The description of the book (I guess what's on the back of the book, I don't know, I have the Kindle version) is almost comically dark and serious.
The stories themselves are pretty much divided into things I loved, things I hated, and things I thought were ok, so, three stars.
Here's a few things.
"The Night is a Sea" by Scott Thomas. Don't know thing about this writer, but the story was fucking awesome. A woman dies in a mysterious "explosion" in a room at the top of her house, but there's no charring and the hole in the roof looks to have been made from the outside IN. And no body. It moves on into great sleuthing and some truly horrific imagery in the end involving heads encased in ice. I will say no more. I will look into Scott Thomas after this.
"Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees" by Laird Barron. Laird Barron is about as talented as they come these days, and this story was no exception. The title was very bizarre, especially in a book like this, but the story is just so fucking out there and creepy. I love this guy. He's at the peak of his powers.
"After the Fall" by Jeffrey Thomas. Jeffrey Thomas is my favorite weird fiction writer today, he's just effortlessly (it looks effortless, I'm sure he actually works at it really hard) talented and creative, he's like the Prince of weird fiction, super prolific and almost always the best. This story was aggravatingly short, it starts out GREAT and then goes nowhere. It's like the beginning of a story. I have the e-version so I don't know how many pages it is, but I'm guessing 8 or 10 or so. There's a huge storm around the entire world at the same time, and when it's over, there are these GIGANTIC FUCKING FOSSILS of uber dinosaur/alien/monster things just floating in the sky. That image is just so, FUCK he needs to expand this into a longer story or a novel.
"Anchor" by John Langan. It's called "Anchor" and it's by far the longest story in the book and it's right in the middle, GET IT? John Langan is another of my favorites, and he doesn't disappoint here. John Langan, among current popular weird fiction writers, seems to be the most professional, like technically the best writer. He's so poised and calm and precise, and he tends to write longer stories than average, but everything is in its place and there's no superfluity. This story seems to have a lot of autobiography in it, based on the little I know about his real life, which is kind of fun for readers. This story is so great, and has NOTHING AT ALL to do with Lovecraft by any stretch. Except maybe in the way the story unfolds, through a print source within the story. It's kind of a difficult plot to tell you in a sentence, but it's not really about a giant orange fire bear.
"Grave Goods" by Gemma Files. I know shamefully little about Gemma Files. I know she wrote a few episodes of The Hunger horror show that used to be on tv, and if I remember correctly (I do, I just looked it up), she had this story called "The Emperor's Old Bones" that appeared in some horror compilation or other years ago, that story really really stuck with me, oh my god it's fucking horrific and intense. Anyway, this is only the second story I've read by her, and it's also super badass. It's about some women (one of whom is transgender, I kept thinking that would come up in the story because a little bit of a deal is made about it, but I was wrong. Red herring? Political crap? Who knows?) who are on an archaeological dig and they slowly realize that the bones they are looking at are.... something bad. People who are fucking around in ancient burial grounds in horror stories should know that's never a good idea. Anyway, this story was well-paced, creative, and scary as fuck. Great great great.
"The Well and the Wheel," by Orrin Grey. I only know Orrin Grey from his collection Painted Monsters, which I bought, seriously, because the cover was awesome. I really really like this guy, and I bet I'd become friends with him. Orrin, if you're reading this and you plan on a vacation to Southeast Asia, contact me bro. This story, unlike the other things I've read by him, didn't have a monster in it, but the way the clues are left in the creepy house of the dead (and kind of deadbeat) dad's house, the found photo album/journal, the occult manuals sitting by the chair, the piles of bottled water in the kitchen, THE OLD WELL OUTSIDE, the 28 birthdays, oh man, this was GREAT!!! It was so great!
Those are all 5-star stories. And worth buying the book for, it's not that expensive, and it's good to support these kind of small independent publishers who put out stuff like this today. But be warned, there are some real stinkers in here. I won't say what, other readers can decide that for themselves, but one of them was SO bad I was literally laughing out loud at how pretentious and self-indulgent it was.
The stories themselves are pretty much divided into things I loved, things I hated, and things I thought were ok, so, three stars.
Here's a few things.
"The Night is a Sea" by Scott Thomas. Don't know thing about this writer, but the story was fucking awesome. A woman dies in a mysterious "explosion" in a room at the top of her house, but there's no charring and the hole in the roof looks to have been made from the outside IN. And no body. It moves on into great sleuthing and some truly horrific imagery in the end involving heads encased in ice. I will say no more. I will look into Scott Thomas after this.
"Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees" by Laird Barron. Laird Barron is about as talented as they come these days, and this story was no exception. The title was very bizarre, especially in a book like this, but the story is just so fucking out there and creepy. I love this guy. He's at the peak of his powers.
"After the Fall" by Jeffrey Thomas. Jeffrey Thomas is my favorite weird fiction writer today, he's just effortlessly (it looks effortless, I'm sure he actually works at it really hard) talented and creative, he's like the Prince of weird fiction, super prolific and almost always the best. This story was aggravatingly short, it starts out GREAT and then goes nowhere. It's like the beginning of a story. I have the e-version so I don't know how many pages it is, but I'm guessing 8 or 10 or so. There's a huge storm around the entire world at the same time, and when it's over, there are these GIGANTIC FUCKING FOSSILS of uber dinosaur/alien/monster things just floating in the sky. That image is just so, FUCK he needs to expand this into a longer story or a novel.
"Anchor" by John Langan. It's called "Anchor" and it's by far the longest story in the book and it's right in the middle, GET IT? John Langan is another of my favorites, and he doesn't disappoint here. John Langan, among current popular weird fiction writers, seems to be the most professional, like technically the best writer. He's so poised and calm and precise, and he tends to write longer stories than average, but everything is in its place and there's no superfluity. This story seems to have a lot of autobiography in it, based on the little I know about his real life, which is kind of fun for readers. This story is so great, and has NOTHING AT ALL to do with Lovecraft by any stretch. Except maybe in the way the story unfolds, through a print source within the story. It's kind of a difficult plot to tell you in a sentence, but it's not really about a giant orange fire bear.
"Grave Goods" by Gemma Files. I know shamefully little about Gemma Files. I know she wrote a few episodes of The Hunger horror show that used to be on tv, and if I remember correctly (I do, I just looked it up), she had this story called "The Emperor's Old Bones" that appeared in some horror compilation or other years ago, that story really really stuck with me, oh my god it's fucking horrific and intense. Anyway, this is only the second story I've read by her, and it's also super badass. It's about some women (one of whom is transgender, I kept thinking that would come up in the story because a little bit of a deal is made about it, but I was wrong. Red herring? Political crap? Who knows?) who are on an archaeological dig and they slowly realize that the bones they are looking at are.... something bad. People who are fucking around in ancient burial grounds in horror stories should know that's never a good idea. Anyway, this story was well-paced, creative, and scary as fuck. Great great great.
"The Well and the Wheel," by Orrin Grey. I only know Orrin Grey from his collection Painted Monsters, which I bought, seriously, because the cover was awesome. I really really like this guy, and I bet I'd become friends with him. Orrin, if you're reading this and you plan on a vacation to Southeast Asia, contact me bro. This story, unlike the other things I've read by him, didn't have a monster in it, but the way the clues are left in the creepy house of the dead (and kind of deadbeat) dad's house, the found photo album/journal, the occult manuals sitting by the chair, the piles of bottled water in the kitchen, THE OLD WELL OUTSIDE, the 28 birthdays, oh man, this was GREAT!!! It was so great!
Those are all 5-star stories. And worth buying the book for, it's not that expensive, and it's good to support these kind of small independent publishers who put out stuff like this today. But be warned, there are some real stinkers in here. I won't say what, other readers can decide that for themselves, but one of them was SO bad I was literally laughing out loud at how pretentious and self-indulgent it was.
September 2, 2021
This is a great selection of Lovecraftian tales that just beckons to be read in the halloween month or the later darkening days of late autumn while the chill of the seasonal days carries the scent of drying leaves on the breeze and the light rustle of remaining leaves in the near bare trees.
To even try to relate a brief summery of a few of the stories would be a disservice to the reader.
Its best to just jup in and read.
I Usually take this volume out foor October every year. As i do with several paperbacks of Lovecraft's
stories containing some of my favorite stories.
Anyway, it's worth getting around to enjoying an Autumn Cthulhu.
To even try to relate a brief summery of a few of the stories would be a disservice to the reader.
Its best to just jup in and read.
I Usually take this volume out foor October every year. As i do with several paperbacks of Lovecraft's
stories containing some of my favorite stories.
Anyway, it's worth getting around to enjoying an Autumn Cthulhu.
January 23, 2017
Anthologies are always a mixed bag. I especially enjoyed the stories by Laird Barron, Michael Griffin, John Langan, Trent Kollodge, Richard Gavin, Gemma Files, and Daniel Mills.
July 20, 2017
The title of this book is false advertising. This is not a Cthulhu Mythos anthology. As far as I could see, only one single story in the collection refers to the Cthulhu Mythos. (There were several stories I did not finish, so there might be more references I missed.)
Most of these stories are not very "cosmic" horror. They are "Lovecraftian" only in the broadest, vaguest sense. These stories are mostly about sadness and loss, especially loss of romantic love - which is not a Lovecraftian topic at all, and certainly not a cosmic horror topic. Almost every single main character is moping over the loss of a dead or estranged spouse. Grieving about lost love is not cosmic horror!
Now, I am not saying these stories are "bad". If you like stories about love and grief with a dash of eldritch horror, you might love them. Had this collection been titled "Autumn Horror" and marketed as "tales of love, sadness and horror", I would have happily said "to each his own" and just not bought it.
But that is not how this collection was marketed! It was explicitly marketed as a Cthulhu Mythos collection - it has "Cthulhu" right there in the title. That is false advertising. Of course I am not saying that all Lovecraft-inspired horror must namedrop Yog-Sothoth and the Necronomicon - but if you want to have your own world independent of the Mythos, then don't put "Cthulhu" in the title! If you published a diverse collection of detective stories, you wouldn't put "Sherlock Holmes" in the title. Stop trying to cash in on the popularity of the Cthulhu Mythos when your stories are not Cthulhu Mythos stories.
That said, there were two stories in this collection that I thought were really great. Those were "Cul-de-sac Virus" by Evan Dicken and "After the Fall" by Jeffrey Thomas. Some of the rest were good; others did not appeal to me at all (many I did not finish). I am not in the real target audience. I am a Cthulhu addict. The real target audience is fans of love/grieving/horror stories.
Most of these stories are not very "cosmic" horror. They are "Lovecraftian" only in the broadest, vaguest sense. These stories are mostly about sadness and loss, especially loss of romantic love - which is not a Lovecraftian topic at all, and certainly not a cosmic horror topic. Almost every single main character is moping over the loss of a dead or estranged spouse. Grieving about lost love is not cosmic horror!
Now, I am not saying these stories are "bad". If you like stories about love and grief with a dash of eldritch horror, you might love them. Had this collection been titled "Autumn Horror" and marketed as "tales of love, sadness and horror", I would have happily said "to each his own" and just not bought it.
But that is not how this collection was marketed! It was explicitly marketed as a Cthulhu Mythos collection - it has "Cthulhu" right there in the title. That is false advertising. Of course I am not saying that all Lovecraft-inspired horror must namedrop Yog-Sothoth and the Necronomicon - but if you want to have your own world independent of the Mythos, then don't put "Cthulhu" in the title! If you published a diverse collection of detective stories, you wouldn't put "Sherlock Holmes" in the title. Stop trying to cash in on the popularity of the Cthulhu Mythos when your stories are not Cthulhu Mythos stories.
That said, there were two stories in this collection that I thought were really great. Those were "Cul-de-sac Virus" by Evan Dicken and "After the Fall" by Jeffrey Thomas. Some of the rest were good; others did not appeal to me at all (many I did not finish). I am not in the real target audience. I am a Cthulhu addict. The real target audience is fans of love/grieving/horror stories.
September 18, 2017
The title of this collection is a tad misleading. The only (sort of) appearance of Cthulhu is in the story "End of the Season by Trent Kollodge. Nyarlathotep appears in "Trick...or the Other Thing" by Joseph Pulver, Sr. The Nightgaunts appear in "A Shadow Passing" by Daniel Mills, and "Lavinia in Autumn (Sentinel Hill) is a poem about Lavinia Whately of H.P. Lovecrat's story, "The Dunwich Horror." But, that aside, this is a nice, heavily atmospheric collection of short stories, all set during autumn, so it makes for a great collection to your Halloween reading list.
June 22, 2016
John Langan's novella alone is worth acquiring this collection for. Especially for the subtext of the two authors and what one suspects is a little wink-nod to the real life Langan-Barron connection. But there are a few other stories I wish to mention as particularly standing out to me:
Cul-De-Sac Virus, by Evan Dicken is like a contemporary suburban Ligotti vibe using the prefabricated house as a portal to otherworldly horror.
After the Fall by Jeffrey Thomas has probably the strongest imagery in the collection, which is juxtaposed well with the most quotidian of events.
End of the Season by Trent Kollodge had what I would describe as the best old school Lovecraftian vibe, though it is a very modern story.
Grave Goods, by Gemma Files was, tied with the Langan novella, my personal favorite story in the collection. She has a tendency to always have my favorite or one of my favorite stories in any collection she appears in and I believe soon it will be time to check out her longer and independent work. This story had the best atmosphere, the best use of horror, and the most creative but not overused use of a non-human creature.
Cul-De-Sac Virus, by Evan Dicken is like a contemporary suburban Ligotti vibe using the prefabricated house as a portal to otherworldly horror.
After the Fall by Jeffrey Thomas has probably the strongest imagery in the collection, which is juxtaposed well with the most quotidian of events.
End of the Season by Trent Kollodge had what I would describe as the best old school Lovecraftian vibe, though it is a very modern story.
Grave Goods, by Gemma Files was, tied with the Langan novella, my personal favorite story in the collection. She has a tendency to always have my favorite or one of my favorite stories in any collection she appears in and I believe soon it will be time to check out her longer and independent work. This story had the best atmosphere, the best use of horror, and the most creative but not overused use of a non-human creature.
June 26, 2019
I love a good short story collection. Not only am I huge a Lovecraft fan, but I am also a fan of the contemporary Mythos community. I feel today's Mythos writers are stronger than ever; literary and imaginative while also maintaining all of the Lovecraftian tropes we've come to adore. Fans can always count on the editor, Mike Davis, to empower the Lovecraft community with his excellent podcast. Thanks to the Lovecraft eZine podcast I learned about many of the writers who are featured in this great collection. This book definitely accomplished what it set out to do in giving us eldritch tales with a strong sense of seasonal atmosphere. However, this book could be read year round simply because all of the writers are talented and their stories are fun and original. I particularly enjoyed Damien Angelica Walters's story about the couple struggling with Alzheimer's, Evan Dicken's "Fall Back," and of course, Laird Barron, (probably the best horror writer in this day and age.) Highly recommended for Lovecraft fans and horror fans in general.
March 19, 2017
Most stories were not my style. This does not mean they were bad. But I like vague and abstract stories, with a lot of atmosphere, some metaphysics and logically consistent high-strangeness. That is a lot to ask from an author.
But there were two stories I liked very much, both by authors previously unknown to me:
- After the fall - by Jeffrey Thomas
- End of the season - by Trent Kollodge
So at just 5 dollars it's probably still worth the money. Your mileage may vary ...
But there were two stories I liked very much, both by authors previously unknown to me:
- After the fall - by Jeffrey Thomas
- End of the season - by Trent Kollodge
So at just 5 dollars it's probably still worth the money. Your mileage may vary ...
January 19, 2019
You can definitely see some patterns in the stories of the anthology Autumn Cthulhu (edited by Mike Davis). There’s a certain style of horror story where the end feels vaguely… unfinished. There are some good reasons why many horror stories end this way; ending a story before the final moments allows the reader’s imagination to fill in the gaps, and often that can be more horrifying than anything a writer can come up with. However, it can also be a bit of a cop-out: the writer couldn’t quite figure out how to best end the story, so they just kind of didn’t. Many, if not most, of these stories fall into this pattern. So if that isn’t your favorite type of horror–it depends on the reader–this probably won’t be your favorite anthology.
In Scott Thomas’s “The Night is a Sea”, reporter Emerson checks out a house where a woman mysteriously disappeared (except for one hand) in an explosion that left the house largely unmarked. He ends up caught up in (somewhat random-seeming) events, helping another woman to save the world. Evan Dicken’s “Cul-De-Sac Virus” leaves us contemplating the origin of all of these faceless, nameless inhabitants of suburban developments. In Robert Levy’s “DST (Fall Back)”, a man finds out that his ex-lover, Jasper, is missing, and may have gone mad. This is one of the more successful and self-contained cosmic horror tales in this volume, I think. Richard Gavin’s “The Stiles of Palemarsh” introduces us to Ian. He was supposed to go to Wales on a honeymoon with his wife Cari, but he seems to have gone alone instead. Things unravel quite well from there.
In Damien Angelica Walters’s “In the Spaces Where You Once Lived”, Jack has Alzheimer’s and his wife Helena is determined to care for him throughout it. He keeps talking to something beyond the house they’re living in, something about a doorway. This is a poignant tale that tugs at the heart strings. Wendy N. Wagner’s “The Black Azalea” introduces us to Candace, a widow who’s still mourning her husband’s death. The azalea bush he planted seems to be going black and mildewed, and the blight is spreading. (Trigger warning for a quick-but-nasty animal death.)
Pete Rawlik’s “Memories of the Fall” is a strange little diversion that involves a writer reading a few stories and giving out advice at a school. It’s hard to get into without spoiling anything, so I’ll leave it at that. Another tale about writers is Michael Griffin’s “The Smoke Lodge”. Five writers get together to remember an old friend, and end up confronting his ghost.
Laird Barron’s “Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees” sees a high school cheerleader trying to get tickets to a Tony Clifton show for her father, who’s dying of cancer. The local fixer, Steely J, promises to hook her up with something, but it all goes bizarrely wrong. Most of the stories in this volume have a creepy tone to them; this one is irreverent and weird. It also has one of those mostly-implied endings, to better effect than some of them. Another freaky tale is Nadia Bulkin’s “There Is a Bear in the Woods”. It places us in a bizarre version of America with an ‘Alliance’ and a ‘Church of True Light’. Congressional candidate Rick McFarland gets tricked into getting involved with a weird ritual of some kind. This is another tale with a fairly random ending, but it has its moments.
Jeffrey Thomas’s “After the Fall” sees a worldwide windstorm spring up, followed by the appearance of mysterious, monstrous white fossils in the sky. It’s overly random to my taste, and doesn’t really go much of anywhere. S.P. Miskowski’s “Water Main” introduces us to a woman who’s at the end of her rope with her live-in boyfriend, Jim. She decides to look at another apartment on a whim, and very much regrets setting foot across the threshold. This is another tale that ended just a moment or two too soon, but it really does beautifully convey Nancy’s frustration and annoyance.
John Langan’s “Anchor” is a particularly long tale. The language is somewhat poetic, which is appropriate since two of the characters are poets. Will, the main character, is a fisherman and guide. His father’s friend, Carson, keeps moving around the world, and Will and his father seem to spend a couple of nights standing guard against a bizarre monster that comes looking for Carson. Honestly, I’m not even sure how to put it into words; you’ll just have to read it. It definitely goes on at length, and one story-within-a-story gets a little tedious, but the tale is ultimately beautiful. In Trent Kollodge’s “End of the Season” a seasonal worker on a close-knit island decides to invite himself to the islanders-only shindig going on at a mysterious rumored site. This one feels more satisfying than most of the others, and doesn’t feel unfinished. It goes just as far as it needs to.
Gemma Files’s “Grave Goods” is a fascinating tale of prejudice, culture clash, science, and monsters. Aretha, an archaeology intern, helps out at a dig in Canada on tribal land. Some rather unusual skeletons have been unearthed, and two of the women on the dig are at each other’s throats regarding whether the skeletons must be left in place or taken for study. This was one of my favorite stories in this collection. Another excellent story is Orrin Grey’s “The Well and the Wheel”. Emma must clean out her father’s house after he dies, and she makes some terrifying discoveries. Unfortunately the ending is a bit vague for my taste.
Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.’s “Trick… or the Other Thing” was my least favorite tale in the book. The basic notion–that maybe spilling your angry wish to Nyarlathotep over a drink is a bad idea–is great. But the narrative is choppy, surreal, fractured, and jumbled. I feel like I’m supposed to nod sagely and exclaim how brilliant it is, but really it just gave me a headache.
Daniel Mills’s “A Shadow Passing,” in which a boy’s mother sees things, is okay, but again the ending isn’t satisfying. Ann K. Schwader’s “Lavinia in Autumn (Sentinel Hill)” is a very short poem, which, while good, didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
Ultimately, I felt like too many of these stories went for deliberately bizarre or unfinished endings, sometimes at the expense of the narrative. That said, there are still some creepy and delicious cosmic horror thrills in here, and you may find it worth a read.
Consider my rating a 3.5
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/01/r...
In Scott Thomas’s “The Night is a Sea”, reporter Emerson checks out a house where a woman mysteriously disappeared (except for one hand) in an explosion that left the house largely unmarked. He ends up caught up in (somewhat random-seeming) events, helping another woman to save the world. Evan Dicken’s “Cul-De-Sac Virus” leaves us contemplating the origin of all of these faceless, nameless inhabitants of suburban developments. In Robert Levy’s “DST (Fall Back)”, a man finds out that his ex-lover, Jasper, is missing, and may have gone mad. This is one of the more successful and self-contained cosmic horror tales in this volume, I think. Richard Gavin’s “The Stiles of Palemarsh” introduces us to Ian. He was supposed to go to Wales on a honeymoon with his wife Cari, but he seems to have gone alone instead. Things unravel quite well from there.
In Damien Angelica Walters’s “In the Spaces Where You Once Lived”, Jack has Alzheimer’s and his wife Helena is determined to care for him throughout it. He keeps talking to something beyond the house they’re living in, something about a doorway. This is a poignant tale that tugs at the heart strings. Wendy N. Wagner’s “The Black Azalea” introduces us to Candace, a widow who’s still mourning her husband’s death. The azalea bush he planted seems to be going black and mildewed, and the blight is spreading. (Trigger warning for a quick-but-nasty animal death.)
Pete Rawlik’s “Memories of the Fall” is a strange little diversion that involves a writer reading a few stories and giving out advice at a school. It’s hard to get into without spoiling anything, so I’ll leave it at that. Another tale about writers is Michael Griffin’s “The Smoke Lodge”. Five writers get together to remember an old friend, and end up confronting his ghost.
Laird Barron’s “Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees” sees a high school cheerleader trying to get tickets to a Tony Clifton show for her father, who’s dying of cancer. The local fixer, Steely J, promises to hook her up with something, but it all goes bizarrely wrong. Most of the stories in this volume have a creepy tone to them; this one is irreverent and weird. It also has one of those mostly-implied endings, to better effect than some of them. Another freaky tale is Nadia Bulkin’s “There Is a Bear in the Woods”. It places us in a bizarre version of America with an ‘Alliance’ and a ‘Church of True Light’. Congressional candidate Rick McFarland gets tricked into getting involved with a weird ritual of some kind. This is another tale with a fairly random ending, but it has its moments.
Jeffrey Thomas’s “After the Fall” sees a worldwide windstorm spring up, followed by the appearance of mysterious, monstrous white fossils in the sky. It’s overly random to my taste, and doesn’t really go much of anywhere. S.P. Miskowski’s “Water Main” introduces us to a woman who’s at the end of her rope with her live-in boyfriend, Jim. She decides to look at another apartment on a whim, and very much regrets setting foot across the threshold. This is another tale that ended just a moment or two too soon, but it really does beautifully convey Nancy’s frustration and annoyance.
John Langan’s “Anchor” is a particularly long tale. The language is somewhat poetic, which is appropriate since two of the characters are poets. Will, the main character, is a fisherman and guide. His father’s friend, Carson, keeps moving around the world, and Will and his father seem to spend a couple of nights standing guard against a bizarre monster that comes looking for Carson. Honestly, I’m not even sure how to put it into words; you’ll just have to read it. It definitely goes on at length, and one story-within-a-story gets a little tedious, but the tale is ultimately beautiful. In Trent Kollodge’s “End of the Season” a seasonal worker on a close-knit island decides to invite himself to the islanders-only shindig going on at a mysterious rumored site. This one feels more satisfying than most of the others, and doesn’t feel unfinished. It goes just as far as it needs to.
Gemma Files’s “Grave Goods” is a fascinating tale of prejudice, culture clash, science, and monsters. Aretha, an archaeology intern, helps out at a dig in Canada on tribal land. Some rather unusual skeletons have been unearthed, and two of the women on the dig are at each other’s throats regarding whether the skeletons must be left in place or taken for study. This was one of my favorite stories in this collection. Another excellent story is Orrin Grey’s “The Well and the Wheel”. Emma must clean out her father’s house after he dies, and she makes some terrifying discoveries. Unfortunately the ending is a bit vague for my taste.
Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.’s “Trick… or the Other Thing” was my least favorite tale in the book. The basic notion–that maybe spilling your angry wish to Nyarlathotep over a drink is a bad idea–is great. But the narrative is choppy, surreal, fractured, and jumbled. I feel like I’m supposed to nod sagely and exclaim how brilliant it is, but really it just gave me a headache.
Daniel Mills’s “A Shadow Passing,” in which a boy’s mother sees things, is okay, but again the ending isn’t satisfying. Ann K. Schwader’s “Lavinia in Autumn (Sentinel Hill)” is a very short poem, which, while good, didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
Ultimately, I felt like too many of these stories went for deliberately bizarre or unfinished endings, sometimes at the expense of the narrative. That said, there are still some creepy and delicious cosmic horror thrills in here, and you may find it worth a read.
Consider my rating a 3.5
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/01/r...
October 22, 2022
This collection unfortunately had more misses than hits, and I found myself caring little for most of the stories. The horror in this one felt particularly weak, and I prefer my stories to be less fantastical/fairytale-esque in my collections.
Of the eighteen stories (and one poem) from the collection, only five stood out: ‘Memories of the Fall’, ‘Cul-De-Sac Virus’, ‘After the Fall’, ‘Anchor’, and ‘The Well and the Wheel’.
Of the eighteen stories (and one poem) from the collection, only five stood out: ‘Memories of the Fall’, ‘Cul-De-Sac Virus’, ‘After the Fall’, ‘Anchor’, and ‘The Well and the Wheel’.
Read
July 11, 2016An excellent collection of well executed unsettling tales. There are too many great stories to mention as standouts, and only a couple that fell short of the mark for me. A majority of the stories were subtler and more nuanced than I’d expected or was initially in the mood for, but by the second half of the book I was fully converted. Great storytelling.
June 5, 2016
I have read a lot of lovecraft/cthulhu short stories. This is one of the best I've read in a long time.
August 23, 2016
One of the better Mythos-related anthologies in recent memory.
November 30, 2018
Leído en inglés. Buena colección de relatos. Me gustaron especialmente “After the fall”, “Anchor”, “The well and the wheel” y “Grave goods”.
July 13, 2017
It's often difficult to rate a compilation. It is, obviously, a collection of work by different people and as such can be variable in quality. Fundamentally, this is no exception; different work by different people. And that may be why I've taken nearly seven months to get through this; putting it down, picking it up and wandering off to read a few dozen novels between start and finish. That is no criticism though. Compilations are made for the dip in and dip out I think. It would be easy to state this whole work did not hold my attention, but then there is no continuity of narrative and only a broad theme to bring the separate pieces together. Not all of the works particularly strike me as indicative of the Cthulhu mythos tradition. Some do, indeed, hark back to the style of Lovecraft and all do touch upon the themes of that particular universe. But there are sufficient nods to much more modern horror writers and, as such, with a few name changes some of these stories would sit in any compilation. But, again, that is no criticism; instead maybe a comment on the saccharine or adaptive nature of much modern writing (ironically probably not that far removed from the writing plans of Lovecraft, R.E. Howard, E.R. Burroughs and plenty other writers of the interwar years - and plenty since).
So what of the stories themselves. Well, there is fine range of styles and content. Each has an individual element, and each explores it's own pocket universe. However, I was probably 80% through the compilation before I really woke up to the whole joy of it. Imbibing the tales over time I suddenly found myself viewing the real world around me through a slightly different lens. Buildings with architectural peculiarities suddenly became subtly darker and mysterious. Fellow commuters with unusual mannerisms, gaits, facial features or dress sense suddenly warranted a second closer look. Were they changelings, cultists in hiding, plotters with a grand design or third generation Deep Ones struggling to cast off the family curse? Unseasonable weather suddenly became potential harbingers of doom, plague, famine or all three at once. All in all, the stories have subtly altered my perceptions of the universe for the next few days.
There are a couple of stand out stories for me. Everyone will find their own. My favourite is a tale of Nlyarlathotep in a Grim Reaper style encounter with a couple of aging rock musicians; pure genius. But plenty of the other tales have put hooks into my mind; be it a tale of plumbing, a Welsh squeeze stile or seaside firesetting.
In the round; the chances are you will find several stories here which will take your fancy. You know what, some will take a fancy to you too.
So what of the stories themselves. Well, there is fine range of styles and content. Each has an individual element, and each explores it's own pocket universe. However, I was probably 80% through the compilation before I really woke up to the whole joy of it. Imbibing the tales over time I suddenly found myself viewing the real world around me through a slightly different lens. Buildings with architectural peculiarities suddenly became subtly darker and mysterious. Fellow commuters with unusual mannerisms, gaits, facial features or dress sense suddenly warranted a second closer look. Were they changelings, cultists in hiding, plotters with a grand design or third generation Deep Ones struggling to cast off the family curse? Unseasonable weather suddenly became potential harbingers of doom, plague, famine or all three at once. All in all, the stories have subtly altered my perceptions of the universe for the next few days.
There are a couple of stand out stories for me. Everyone will find their own. My favourite is a tale of Nlyarlathotep in a Grim Reaper style encounter with a couple of aging rock musicians; pure genius. But plenty of the other tales have put hooks into my mind; be it a tale of plumbing, a Welsh squeeze stile or seaside firesetting.
In the round; the chances are you will find several stories here which will take your fancy. You know what, some will take a fancy to you too.
July 19, 2017
I'll admit, at first I was skeptical about the theme of this collection. Autumnal horror is, at heart, about our mortal helplessness to defy the natural rhythms of life and death, whereas I associate Lovecraft with the horror of knowing that the 'natural' world is a tiny, freakish speck adrift in an overwhelmingly alien universe. Yet Mike Davis proved my skepticism unfounded with this well-balanced mix of stories.
Autumn Cthulhu is a horror treat that pulls off the trick of being both pleasingly diverse AND thematically consistent. It helps that the collection is light on Mythos elements, with most of the authors focusing on evoking melancholy and dread of the unknowable. My personal favorites were Damien Angelica Walters' quietly devastating 'In The Spaces Where You Once Lived', Nadia Bulkin's eerie 'There Is A Bear In The Woods', and Gemma Files' vicious, immersive 'Grave Goods.' Highly recommended.
Autumn Cthulhu is a horror treat that pulls off the trick of being both pleasingly diverse AND thematically consistent. It helps that the collection is light on Mythos elements, with most of the authors focusing on evoking melancholy and dread of the unknowable. My personal favorites were Damien Angelica Walters' quietly devastating 'In The Spaces Where You Once Lived', Nadia Bulkin's eerie 'There Is A Bear In The Woods', and Gemma Files' vicious, immersive 'Grave Goods.' Highly recommended.
January 14, 2021
Another coda for this landmark book: a marvellous dream of childhood’s despair, a delightfully poetic rhapsody in prose as well as vision of the monsters on the landing outside a boy’s bedroom disguised, I imagine, as shadows or aunts – a work stemming, for me, from a blend of Truman Capote’s early work and the protagonist Proustian boy’s unrequited love for a mother whom he awaits awake, as if eternally, yearning for an unspoken goodnight kiss to allow him an unbroken circle of sleep. Here that kiss is to be, I infer, a dreadful curse, a fairy-tale betrayal….?
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review,
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review,
September 7, 2018
If I could sum up the book in one word, it would be "meh." Most of the stories are not well written and the authors seemed to enjoy giving a very anticlimactic and unfinished ending, and not in the "oh, I'm going to die" ending of Lovecraft.
I also would've assumed more of the mythos in the stories, but for the most part, they were simply horror.
I would like to point to the few stories I enjoyed, that gave this book its three stars, rather than the two I should've:
The Night is a Sea
In the Spaces Where You Once Lived
Lavinia in Autumn
Also, The Well and the Wheel twasn't horrible.
I also would've assumed more of the mythos in the stories, but for the most part, they were simply horror.
I would like to point to the few stories I enjoyed, that gave this book its three stars, rather than the two I should've:
The Night is a Sea
In the Spaces Where You Once Lived
Lavinia in Autumn
Also, The Well and the Wheel twasn't horrible.
Want to read
January 30, 2021Grave Goods by Gemma Files
Review:
A pit with secrets and a group of women in the course of uncovering the treasure the grave goods within.
Three skeletons they find with trauma to the faces pointing to some past violent incident.
The further they go more becomes uncovered, the tale takes a turn in the Lovecraftian vein of things.
Aretha hits deep and it will hurt.
Excerpts @ https://more2read.com/review/gemma-files-ligotti-cthulhu-carcosa/
Review:
A pit with secrets and a group of women in the course of uncovering the treasure the grave goods within.
Three skeletons they find with trauma to the faces pointing to some past violent incident.
The further they go more becomes uncovered, the tale takes a turn in the Lovecraftian vein of things.
Aretha hits deep and it will hurt.
Excerpts @ https://more2read.com/review/gemma-files-ligotti-cthulhu-carcosa/
September 24, 2017
I have read dozens of Lovecraftian collections, and this was one of my favorites. What you find from this book, and from the Lovecraft Ezine publications in general, is a certain non-pretentious storytelling that is really easy to jump into. When going through the book, there were more stories I thoroughly enjoyed than I didn't, which is honestly a rarety.
Highlights were Black Azalea, There is a Bear in the Woods, and Andy Kaufman Creeping Through the Trees.
Highlights were Black Azalea, There is a Bear in the Woods, and Andy Kaufman Creeping Through the Trees.
January 15, 2018
Since I read this over the span of 4 months I fail to remember specifics about the early stories. The collection as a whole is good. As many have pointed out, it’s shaded w/ Cthulhu but not completely drawn in his image and tied together by w/ the passing of summer and fading glory that is autumn. There are tales of the weird, magic, demons, and Nyarlathotep. It was an enjoyable read.
March 13, 2019
This is a just-okay anthology of (vaguely) Lovecraftian stories with a (vaguely) autumnal or melancholic mood. Good stories from reliable weird fiction standbys Laird Barron, John Langan, and Gemma Files, as well as highlights from new-to-me writers Orrin Grey and Daniel Mills, but with a lot of middling stuff filling in the gaps.
August 31, 2020
A cracking mix of autumn terror from the The Lovecraft Ezine and a gathering of genre stalwarts. This is the perfect read for the end of this long summer.
My three favorite stories are Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees by Laird Barron, The Night is a Sea by Scott Thomas, and Water Main by S.P. Miskowski.
When can we get an Autumn Cthulhu 2!?
My three favorite stories are Andy Kaufman Creeping through the Trees by Laird Barron, The Night is a Sea by Scott Thomas, and Water Main by S.P. Miskowski.
When can we get an Autumn Cthulhu 2!?
November 21, 2016
Effectively expands the Lovecraftian universe by setting most of the stories beyond New England and including other myths from the U.K., Canada, and other parts of the U.SA. Favorite story was "Grave Goods" which details unintended consequences of an archeological dig.
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