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Titus Crow #6
Elysia: The Coming of Cthulhu
Elysia is the sixth book in the Titus Crow saga from Brian Lumley, author of the Necroscope series and the Vampire World trilogy.
The Titus Crow novels are full of acts of nobility and heroism. Titus Crow and his faithful companion fight the forces of darkness--the infamous and deadly Elder Gods of H.P. Lovecraft--wherever they arise. The powerful Cthulhu and his dark minions are bent on ruling the earth--or destroying it, yet time after time, Titus Crow drives the monsters back into the dark from whence they came.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Titus Crow novels are full of acts of nobility and heroism. Titus Crow and his faithful companion fight the forces of darkness--the infamous and deadly Elder Gods of H.P. Lovecraft--wherever they arise. The powerful Cthulhu and his dark minions are bent on ruling the earth--or destroying it, yet time after time, Titus Crow drives the monsters back into the dark from whence they came.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
237 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1989
6 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Brian Lumley
444 books1,353 followersBrian Lumley was born near Newcastle. In 22 years as a Military Policeman he served in many of the Cold War hotspots, including Berlin, as well as Cyprus in partition days. He reached the rank of Sergeant-Major before retiring to Devon to write full-time, and his work was first published in 1970. The vampire series, 'Necroscope', has been translated into ten languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 26, 2017
First of all I will make it clear - I love the works of Brian Lumley and ever since I got my hands of a free copy of Necroscope (They were giving it away free with the now defunct magazine FEAR, who remembers that) I cannot fault his work.
That said there are themes that repeat regularly throughout his work so it is best not to read too much of it all in one go. Plus now that his latests books when in physical print seem to end up as limited runs with sky high price tags means my collecting of his work has slowed considerably.
Enough whining now - this is the next instalment of the tales/adventures/legend of Titus Crow. It is based a lot around Lovecraft's Dream Cycle however there are other characters and elements that creep in.
Now it is often quoted that Lumley was a fan of H P Lovecraft and is seen at times to be a modern champion of his work and style often adding new material to established characters. Now some of these stories are true classics in their own right. However here we see them in a different light
You see Lumley has created a character who is a match for those creatures (either directly or through external intervention) - either way the results are the same. You have a hero who can stand against the Mythos - some like it some hate it (read the reviews of this works and you can start to see those camps coming out).
But what of this book, well as the series develops it does feel like its a whirlwind tour of places and deities, a small reference becomes a huge encounter and Elysia is a no exception. However for me I really enjoyed this as regardless of how "true" to Lovecraft this book maybe it gives you a glimpse in to what before was only hinted at.
When I first got hold of this series I read through it in record time, looking back now I realised that I didnt really do it justice and over looked several key episodes. Think its about time I corrected that.
That said there are themes that repeat regularly throughout his work so it is best not to read too much of it all in one go. Plus now that his latests books when in physical print seem to end up as limited runs with sky high price tags means my collecting of his work has slowed considerably.
Enough whining now - this is the next instalment of the tales/adventures/legend of Titus Crow. It is based a lot around Lovecraft's Dream Cycle however there are other characters and elements that creep in.
Now it is often quoted that Lumley was a fan of H P Lovecraft and is seen at times to be a modern champion of his work and style often adding new material to established characters. Now some of these stories are true classics in their own right. However here we see them in a different light
You see Lumley has created a character who is a match for those creatures (either directly or through external intervention) - either way the results are the same. You have a hero who can stand against the Mythos - some like it some hate it (read the reviews of this works and you can start to see those camps coming out).
But what of this book, well as the series develops it does feel like its a whirlwind tour of places and deities, a small reference becomes a huge encounter and Elysia is a no exception. However for me I really enjoyed this as regardless of how "true" to Lovecraft this book maybe it gives you a glimpse in to what before was only hinted at.
When I first got hold of this series I read through it in record time, looking back now I realised that I didnt really do it justice and over looked several key episodes. Think its about time I corrected that.
July 18, 2025
You can tell the Lumley simply loved writing. Happiness is conveyed through his playful, joyous, nigh-purple prose. His skill notably increased since his earliest efforts, which weren't at all bad to start with, too, and he found his voice. It's a flexible voice at this point; he was working on the Necroscope series at the same time as this book, and while both display the same passion, the tone differs significantly. This, to me, is the mark of an accomplished writer.
Elysia: The Coming of Cthulhu caps off multiple already-related series of Lumley's: his ill-named Titus Crow series (which is much more about Henri-Laurent de Marigny; Crow isn't even in two of those five books, and has only a small role in this one too,) his Dreamlands adventures starring Hero of Dreams and Eldin the Wanderer, and The House of Cthulhu. For that last, at the time of Elysia's first publication, it was only available in a small print run from Paul Ganley, the same publisher who first put out the Dreamlands books. (Ganley was a true fan of Lumley's Cthulhu-adjacent work, as excitable and pulpy as it is, and his editions—he was a one-man publishing house) are labors of love—are marvelous labours of love. House of Cthulhu was later reissued by larger publishers for the mass market, although with a different arrangement of stories, but either works as a precursor to this book, for all that it's the least necessary of all the prior works to enjoying this particular adventure.
There's a lot of recapping in this book, but even if you retain all the details of the characters' previous adventures, it's not burdensome to read. They are told in-character and ebulliently, and it's all part of the fun. The book on the whole is a romp. It's not deeply impactful, it's often silly, and damn is it just plain fun, assuming you've taken enjoyment from Lumley's prior novels. The portions involving Hero and Eldin are the highlight of the book; it's with their adventures that I felt Lumley's writing finally fully shined, and they redemonstrate their dreamy banter and sass in the face of crawling horror in this book.
It's definitely a product of its time and place. Aside from Texan character Hank Silberhutte, there's a decidedly British flair throughout. There is definitely some "man writing women" going on, although I believe he meant well ...
Elysia: The Coming of Cthulhu caps off multiple already-related series of Lumley's: his ill-named Titus Crow series (which is much more about Henri-Laurent de Marigny; Crow isn't even in two of those five books, and has only a small role in this one too,) his Dreamlands adventures starring Hero of Dreams and Eldin the Wanderer, and The House of Cthulhu. For that last, at the time of Elysia's first publication, it was only available in a small print run from Paul Ganley, the same publisher who first put out the Dreamlands books. (Ganley was a true fan of Lumley's Cthulhu-adjacent work, as excitable and pulpy as it is, and his editions—he was a one-man publishing house) are labors of love—are marvelous labours of love. House of Cthulhu was later reissued by larger publishers for the mass market, although with a different arrangement of stories, but either works as a precursor to this book, for all that it's the least necessary of all the prior works to enjoying this particular adventure.
There's a lot of recapping in this book, but even if you retain all the details of the characters' previous adventures, it's not burdensome to read. They are told in-character and ebulliently, and it's all part of the fun. The book on the whole is a romp. It's not deeply impactful, it's often silly, and damn is it just plain fun, assuming you've taken enjoyment from Lumley's prior novels. The portions involving Hero and Eldin are the highlight of the book; it's with their adventures that I felt Lumley's writing finally fully shined, and they redemonstrate their dreamy banter and sass in the face of crawling horror in this book.
It's definitely a product of its time and place. Aside from Texan character Hank Silberhutte, there's a decidedly British flair throughout. There is definitely some "man writing women" going on, although I believe he meant well ...
The girl was lithe and supple as a withe, with wide, bright blue eyes and skin like the pale honey of wild bees. She had about her an aura, a warmth she wore like some fine fur; which had only ever been torn aside by Ithaqua, black stalker between the stars. Now, in her brown jacket and trousers of soft leather, she seemed almost boyish, and yet fragile for all that. But her unaffected grace and loveliness, and her youthful litheness, were perhaps set off by a not-quite innocence; for Moreen had seen the Wind-Walker at his worst, and no one could remain wholly innocent after that.Brian Lumley was a lucky man: he got to do what he loved, he found success with it, both financial and fan-based, and he lived a long life. I hope he dwells now in fabled Ulthar surrounded by cats.
[. . .]
Armandra stepped round in front of him. Draped in a deep-pile, white fur smock, still her figure was the answer to any man's dream, the body of an exceedingly beautiful woman. Almost unchanged from the first time Silberhutte had seen her nearly six years ago, Armandra was Complete Woman. Her long, full body was a wonder of half-seen, half-imagined curves growing out of the perfect pillars of her thighs; he neck, framed in the red, flowing silk of her hair, her face was oval as her eyes and classically boned. With her straight nose, delicately rounded at its tip, and her Cupid's bow of a mouth, perfect in shape if perhaps a shade too ample, the Woman of the Winds was a beautiful picture of femininity. But where her flesh was pale as snow, those great eyes of hers were green as the boundless northern oceans of Earth. Yes, and they were just as deep.
May 22, 2020
This book finally brings the series back to what it should have been - a story about Titus Crow and the Great Old Ones.
Simon Vance is, as always, an excellent narrator. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. And if somewhat less (accurate to the text) than I'd like, his inflections are skillful.
In this book we find de Marigny (still/again) scouring the universe in search of Elysia and Titus Crow.
I'm still not clear on this "Riding a Great Thought" business and the idea of it kind of throws me out if the story.
But apart from that and the seeming randomness of this book, I quite enjoyed the directions it went.
I get that Kthonid basically made de Marigny his errand boy with a false promise. That was clear from the start. But the way it was approached seems beneath a god to me.
I just don't see why a god would need him, a being with such power should be able to handle his own affairs.
But I digress.
I enjoyed the interstellar adventure. And although I still was not fond of the dream sequence, at least it was better (and shorter lived) than in previous books.
And we did, at last, get something if the epic battle I was hoping for from the start, if on a smaller scale and with much less time devoted to it than I would have liked.
I think my biggest complaint is the same problem I had with the whole series. They're too short with far to little time devoted to the climax.
Which I believe stems from the fact that Lumley came up as a short story writer. I don't think longer form work comes naturally to him. That's also why, in my opinion, there is such a dramatic shift in tone between his short Mythos stories and this series.
When we come right down to it, the ending was well presented but once again, as in all six of these, I think it would have made for a much better story from Crow's perspective.
The ending does a fantastic job of bringing things full circle and goes a long way toward explaining Lumley's version of the Cthulhu Mythos, for all that parts of it smack of nonsense.
Simon Vance is, as always, an excellent narrator. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. And if somewhat less (accurate to the text) than I'd like, his inflections are skillful.
In this book we find de Marigny (still/again) scouring the universe in search of Elysia and Titus Crow.
I'm still not clear on this "Riding a Great Thought" business and the idea of it kind of throws me out if the story.
But apart from that and the seeming randomness of this book, I quite enjoyed the directions it went.
I get that Kthonid basically made de Marigny his errand boy with a false promise. That was clear from the start. But the way it was approached seems beneath a god to me.
I just don't see why a god would need him, a being with such power should be able to handle his own affairs.
But I digress.
I enjoyed the interstellar adventure. And although I still was not fond of the dream sequence, at least it was better (and shorter lived) than in previous books.
And we did, at last, get something if the epic battle I was hoping for from the start, if on a smaller scale and with much less time devoted to it than I would have liked.
I think my biggest complaint is the same problem I had with the whole series. They're too short with far to little time devoted to the climax.
Which I believe stems from the fact that Lumley came up as a short story writer. I don't think longer form work comes naturally to him. That's also why, in my opinion, there is such a dramatic shift in tone between his short Mythos stories and this series.
When we come right down to it, the ending was well presented but once again, as in all six of these, I think it would have made for a much better story from Crow's perspective.
The ending does a fantastic job of bringing things full circle and goes a long way toward explaining Lumley's version of the Cthulhu Mythos, for all that parts of it smack of nonsense.
September 3, 2016
Brian Lumley's Titus Crow series is one of the first novels I started reviewing here on the United Federation of Charles and with Elysia I finished up the Seventies fantasy/horror/sci-fi series. It was a genre-busting work for its time and managed to take the works of H.P. Lovecraft and put an entirely unique spin on them. That spin isn't something for all Lovecraft fans as Lumley eschewed cosmic horror for tales of daring Pulp heroes finding ways of defeating the Great Old Ones in increasingly outlandish ways.
Elysia wraps up the series which began with The Burrowers Beneath then continued in The Transition of Titus Crow, The Clock of Dreams, Spawn of the Winds, and In the Moons of Borea. Elysia definitively wraps the series up in the only way it possibly could with the awakening of the Great Old Ones and the attempt by our heroes to find some way to put them back down before they destroy both Earth as well as the titular home of the Elder Gods.
The premise is, as stated, the Great Old Ones finally rising from their aeons-long slumber. The stars are right and all of the cosmos is feeling something evil in the wind. Though the Elder Gods defeated them a billion years ago, they have forgotten the secrets for doing so and are helpless with their current rising. Titus Crow is then given the impossible choice to mislead his friend Henri in hopes of using him as bait to lead the monstrous Cthulhu Cycle into a trap.
Henri de Marginy, unaware of this possible betrayal, has returned to Borea in hopes of finding another clue to finding Elysia. Given directions via a psychic message from Crow, he starts on an epic journey across time and space to find the wizard who knows the way to the sacred world. Accompanying Henri on this trip is his new lover Moreen who is perhaps the one person able to pierce the deep malaise which has overcome the Searcher thanks to his longing for the Elder Gods' mythic homeworld.
Elysia ends the series with a bang rather than a whimper, having a catastrophic ending which nicely brings to close Lumley's saga of science-heroes and occultists versus godlike aliens. Unfortunately, the book is not without flaws as an entire section of it is taken up by recounting a story from his Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stand-ins versus the actual heroes. Still, we have a story which consists of visiting a sentient gas cloud, skimming a black hole, visiting a gigantic robot in the Dreamlands, dueling with a wanton airship pirate queen, and finally visiting an ancient Pre-Hyborian Age realm of wizard kings.
Lumley has an imagination he allows to run wild and it works well here with this being, along with Spawn of the Winds and The Burrowers Beneath, one of my three favorite Titus Crow stories. Lovecraft aficionados aren't going to find some last minute, "The Great Old Ones show up and kill everyone" but they're allowed more dignity here than they had in some of the volumes. Whole worlds are destroyed when the wrath of Cthulhu is unleashed and the final confrontation with him is epic in a Jack Kirby-meets-Doctor Who sort of way.
I'm particularly fond of the wizard Exior who shows up only in the last third of the book but who steals the show from the beginning of his appearance to the end. After the somewhat goody-goody Pulp heroes of the previous books, it's interesting to have someone who amounts to a Conan villain allied to our heroes. Exior is an evil wizard who doesn't believe in science but sorcery and stands opposed to all of our heroes values (having made many deals with the Great Old Ones in the past that he only regrets because they got the better of him). Exior, though, is friendly and aligned to our heroes' goals so they more or less let him join in what is probably the best trick of a Lumley villain yet.
The book's ending actually moved me just a wee bit and gives the right sense of sacrifice as well as power for the defeat of the Great Old Ones. While Lovecraft purists will rail at the fact the Great Old Ones can be defeated at all, it isn't the case of Hawkgirl smacking Cthulhu around with her mace either. I felt this was a satisfactory wrap-up to all of the series mysteries and left me feeling like I'd spent my time well traveling with such an eccentric cast of oddballs.
9/10
July 2, 2015
Ehh, I slogged through this one to finish it. I guess it's partially my fault I didn't really get into the story because this copy of Elysia has been sitting around forever and I had never gotten around to reading it. I didn't realize it tied together a bunch of Lumley's other Cthulhu novels featuring Titus Crow and as part of Lovecraft's "Dream Cycle". That said, I jumped into the story blind and was basically lost. (The fact that some of Lovecraft's Dream-related stories were the toughest for me to get through didn't help.)
To sum up, in this one Titus Crow and other heroes from various Mythos tales band together to try and keep newly-risen Cthulhu and other Great Old Ones from destroying the home of the Elder Gods in Elysia. Probably best enjoyed after having read some of Lumley's other Mythos novels.
To sum up, in this one Titus Crow and other heroes from various Mythos tales band together to try and keep newly-risen Cthulhu and other Great Old Ones from destroying the home of the Elder Gods in Elysia. Probably best enjoyed after having read some of Lumley's other Mythos novels.
August 12, 2022
Henri De Marigny and his paramour Moreen have been using the Dream Clock to try to reach Elysia to no avail for three years, so they return to Borea to rest and see their friends and perhaps find a clue as to where to go. Meanwhile, the stars are finally aligning and the Great Old Ones are about to break free form their immemorial imprisonment and pursue their vengeance against the Elder Gods and the rest of the sentient races of the universe. So now De Marigny's quest for Elysia is a race against time to play his part in the Elder God Kthanid's plan to thwart his ancient enemies, which leads Henri and Moreen to the Dream Lands, where they meet David Hero and Eldin the Wanderer and other foes and friends from the Hero of Dreams series, and then to the ancient primal land of Pangea-like Theem'hdra millions of years in the past to talk to the wizard Exior K'Mool, said to have reached Elysia, and who turns out to be De Marigny's ancestor. In the end Cthulhu is foiled and Henri and Moreen, along with Exior the wizard, join Titus Crow in Elysia as Kthanid foretold in a previous volume, bringing three series of stories to a close. Not gonna lie, I hoped to see David Hero and Eldin the Wanderer meet Tarra Khash and the (ex) Lamia Orbiquita, but this was more a Titus Crow novel with some cameos. Liked it for what it is, but I have to admit that the Titus Crow books were the ones I liked least out of the three series.
March 21, 2019
Great escapist fare.
October 27, 2020
Too boring
July 14, 2023
THE STARS WERE RIGHT for sparking imaginations and cosmic views
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews