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Reimagining Lovecraft: Four Tor.com Novellas:
Four new Lovecraftian tales told by four amazing talents.
Government agents, monstrous P.I.s, walkers of dreams and magical hustlers meet in the pages of this astonishing anthology of four novellas.
The Ballad of Black Tom — the Nebula Award-nominated novella from Victor LaValle.
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe — the Nebula Award-nominated novella from Kij Johnson.
Hammers on Bone — from Cassandra Khaw, an amazing new voice on the dark fiction scene.
Agents of Dreamland — from the multi award-winning Caitlín R. Kiernan.
342 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2017
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425 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 22, 2022
3.75/5
October 19, 2020
5 stars - no, 5,000 stars for The Ballad of Black Tom. A must-read for any horror fan.
4 stars for The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, a sweet and clever play on The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Unfortunately, it really only works if you've read the original.
Both Hammers on Bone and Agents of Dreamland are decent, but get bogged down by 1) overly complicated prose, and 2) attempts to be mysterious at the expense of a coherent plot. I'd probably give them both 2.5 stars.
4 stars for The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, a sweet and clever play on The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Unfortunately, it really only works if you've read the original.
Both Hammers on Bone and Agents of Dreamland are decent, but get bogged down by 1) overly complicated prose, and 2) attempts to be mysterious at the expense of a coherent plot. I'd probably give them both 2.5 stars.
November 7, 2021
A great collection of great novellas. Though they're all good, my favourites are definitely The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle and Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw, though the other two also were good, solid reads.
It's exciting that even Lovecraft's legacy is marred by his prejudiced and awful views, authors such as these can reinvent the horrors of his world in a new light while cutting out the bad.
It's exciting that even Lovecraft's legacy is marred by his prejudiced and awful views, authors such as these can reinvent the horrors of his world in a new light while cutting out the bad.
November 8, 2020
I enjoy stories that incorporate H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, but some of Lovecraft’s stories can be cringe-inducing for the wrong reasons. The man was virulently xenophobic, racist, etc. (I would say well beyond the “product of his era” racism/sexism that you would expect in many older authors), and his prejudices made their way into much of what he wrote.
The Four novels in this collection skillfully riff on Lovecraft’s mythos while avoiding (or even subverting) his bigotry. A general knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos will make these more interesting, but isn’t strictly necessary. Here is a quick mini-review (and individual rating) for each one:
The Ballad of Black Tom: (4.5 out of 5)
This story follows a young hustler from Harlem who gets involved in the events described in Lovecraft’s The Horror at Red Hook. Having a relatively sympathetic black protagonist showing us “what really happened” turns a lot of the story’s racism and xenophobia on its head. This is the only straight-up retelling in this collection, and a knowledge of the Lovecraft original definitely gives it some extra punch.
The Dream Quest of Vellit Boe: (3.5 out of 5)
I find Lovecraft’s “dreamland” stories to be his least interesting (preferring his alien god-monsters), so this novella set in the world of The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath wasn’t my favorite. That said, it was clever to reverse the story by featuring a resident of dreamland on a quest to the waking world rather than the other way around. At times the author seems to be more interested in making a point (“patriarchy & theism bad”) than telling a story, but overall this tale of a middle-aged woman on a reverse dream quest was a more interesting than the original.
Hammers on Bone: (4.5 out of 5)
This novella fuses hardboiled detective fiction with the Cthulhu mythos and places it in a more-or-less modern setting. The author doesn’t follow any particular Lovecraft story, but rather pulls elements from all over the mythos. It’s really weird (and gross), but it definitely works.
Agents of Dreamland: (4 out of 5)
This first installment in the aptly named Tinfoil Dossier combines Area 51/tinfoil hat/black helicopters style conspiracy theories with Lovecraftian horror (especially The Whisperer in Darkness). It’s trippy, disturbing, and pretty open-ended. It was a bit more profanity-laced than I usually like to read, but another well-thought out reimagining of the mythos.
The Four novels in this collection skillfully riff on Lovecraft’s mythos while avoiding (or even subverting) his bigotry. A general knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos will make these more interesting, but isn’t strictly necessary. Here is a quick mini-review (and individual rating) for each one:
The Ballad of Black Tom: (4.5 out of 5)
This story follows a young hustler from Harlem who gets involved in the events described in Lovecraft’s The Horror at Red Hook. Having a relatively sympathetic black protagonist showing us “what really happened” turns a lot of the story’s racism and xenophobia on its head. This is the only straight-up retelling in this collection, and a knowledge of the Lovecraft original definitely gives it some extra punch.
The Dream Quest of Vellit Boe: (3.5 out of 5)
I find Lovecraft’s “dreamland” stories to be his least interesting (preferring his alien god-monsters), so this novella set in the world of The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath wasn’t my favorite. That said, it was clever to reverse the story by featuring a resident of dreamland on a quest to the waking world rather than the other way around. At times the author seems to be more interested in making a point (“patriarchy & theism bad”) than telling a story, but overall this tale of a middle-aged woman on a reverse dream quest was a more interesting than the original.
Hammers on Bone: (4.5 out of 5)
This novella fuses hardboiled detective fiction with the Cthulhu mythos and places it in a more-or-less modern setting. The author doesn’t follow any particular Lovecraft story, but rather pulls elements from all over the mythos. It’s really weird (and gross), but it definitely works.
Agents of Dreamland: (4 out of 5)
This first installment in the aptly named Tinfoil Dossier combines Area 51/tinfoil hat/black helicopters style conspiracy theories with Lovecraftian horror (especially The Whisperer in Darkness). It’s trippy, disturbing, and pretty open-ended. It was a bit more profanity-laced than I usually like to read, but another well-thought out reimagining of the mythos.
February 13, 2021
Black Tom and three more.
I had kept seeing Black Tom in my recommended feed. So, I decided that this budget priced collection was a good way to get the novella. It's not a bad read at all. The writer tells a good Cthulhu story while also writing as a black author. It manages to convey the story without being preachy or yelling "woke" every five minutes. yet it still portrays the casual nastiness of racism without losing the plot and horror of the Cthulhu mythos that Lovecraft created back in the early 20th century . it has a little of an early Clive Barker feel and that ain't bad. I will visit the other stories at some point. But, for the price of one novella you get four and I can at least say the first one is worth the price of admission.
I had kept seeing Black Tom in my recommended feed. So, I decided that this budget priced collection was a good way to get the novella. It's not a bad read at all. The writer tells a good Cthulhu story while also writing as a black author. It manages to convey the story without being preachy or yelling "woke" every five minutes. yet it still portrays the casual nastiness of racism without losing the plot and horror of the Cthulhu mythos that Lovecraft created back in the early 20th century . it has a little of an early Clive Barker feel and that ain't bad. I will visit the other stories at some point. But, for the price of one novella you get four and I can at least say the first one is worth the price of admission.
November 30, 2017
(I've only read The Dream Quest of Vellit Boe)
October 24, 2021
Well. I only read hammers to the bone and it was weird and good
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews