Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird

by Scott Gable (Editor), Caroline Dombrowski (Editor), Nadia Bulkin

Space madness! Fly away with us to the deeps of space for action and adventure, alien intrigue and bloody surprises. Join us out here where all things alien and weird flow freely. Dive headlong into spaceships and monsters, tentacles and insanity, determined struggle and starborne terror. Whether sprawling across civilizations or tightly focused and personal, these tales paint a psychedelic vision of strange proportions and wondrous possibility.

Where space opera meets the weird. An anthology of 29 illustrated short stories that blend the weird cosmic horror of the Cthulhu Mythos with the star-spanning vistas of space opera by a diverse array of all-star authors...

Remy Nakamura • Lucy A. Snyder • J.E. Bates • Gord Sellar • Brian Evenson • Heather Hatch • Desirina Boskovich • DaVaun Sanders • D.W. Baldwin • J. Edward Tremlett • D.A. Xiaolin Spires • Tom Dullemond • Premee Mohamed • Wendy N. Wagner • Kara Dennison • Brandon O'Brien • Heather Terry • Wendy Nikel • Robert White • Ingrid Garcia • Richard Lee Byers • Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. • Tim Curran • Angus McIntyre • Ada Hoffmann • Bogi Takács • Wendi Dunlap • Cody Goodfellow • Nadia Bulkin

You'll meet soldiers and scientists, starship captains and intrepid explorers, each with secrets to hide and a story to tell. And then there's the aliens. So many aliens. Some friendly, some monstrous, but all of them exciting.

Engines full. Course set. We're going in.

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Anthologies, Lovecraftian, Short Stories

460 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2017

About the author

Editing and publishing speculative fiction gives me all the fuel I need. Keep an eye out for new and weird releases from Broken Eye Books!

Reviews

[Tori (InToriLex) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find this and other Reviews at In Tori Lex

This collection of short stories ranges from humans turned inhuman to fight alien invaders, to the plights of clones attacked on a ship controlled by Artificial Intelligence. I loved the range of topics and issues covered as well as the expansion of the Cthulhu Mythos. The Cythulhu Mythos has a history of being sexist and racist. This collection of stories expands the mythos and embraces diverse genders, nationality's and sentience. Diversity should be celebrated in any version of our future because we know the results of it being vilified in our past. I was horrified but completely engaged with the monsters of the stars. The stories were horrifying but not all were gory, instead some cracked open topics we like to dismiss.

"It feels like a dare to the infinite and indifferent universe, whose snarled edges extend far beyond anything we've seen or known."

I was caught off guard at the ability of authors to unnerve and delight me in the same paragraph. These stories are worth reading because contemplating what could be should be a daily exercise. Character development was excellent throughout the planets and stars. I found myself looking up authors other works because I was that impressed by their stories. Some of the weirdness included immortal jarred heads, flesh made ships fighting a space virus, and thought invading planets. I would recommend this to sci-fi fans who appreciate an appropriate amount of gore and existential angst. This was a great collection and I only disliked one story, but that story may be loved by many readers.

I received a copy of this book from the editor in exchange for an honest review.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time of skinturning is at hand, may God help us all.

I stumbled across this collection while lurking around the Lovecraft ezine site and was immediately drawn to the concept......Cthulhu, weird mythos(even a Yellow King appearance) all set in space. I couldn't think of any Lovecraft story I had read like that, much less a whole collection. And this has it all, military sci/fi, space exploration, first contact, starships, aliens- pretty much the gamut of science fiction. As with most collections there are some great stories and some that didn't work for me but overall it was a solid collection.

Some of my favorites

Blossoms Blackened Like Dead Stars- Lucy A. Snyder
Vol de Nuit- Gord Sellar
Lord of the Vats- Brian Evenson
Be On Your Way- Heather Hatch
Cargo- Desirina Boskovich
The Blood Will Come Later- DaVaun Sanders
Starship in the Night Sky- D. W. Baldwin
Departure Beach- Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
When Yiggrath Comes- Tim Curran
and ending with a bang
A Dream, and a Monster at the End Of It- Nadia Bulkin

Well worth the time

7/10

The skull was dead, of course, but the feeling he got was that it was not dead enough.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The derelict starship floats far from any sun—no lights, engines off, barely detectable against the fuliginous nebula that surrounds it. The scavengers' vessel nearly passed it by. The derelict's once-streamlined shape is distorted, bulging in odd places, with declivities here and there harboring even deeper shadows. A forlorn cloud of ejecta orbits the vessel—spacesuit gloves, boots, helmets. Some of them are still occupied. At first, as the scavenger matches vectors with the derelict, no one notices the puckered orifices dilating in the misshapen hull, appendages oozing from within to meet the scavenger's docking tunnel. Soon enough, though, the questions will begin. How could the dead ship come back to life? What killed it to start with? And are those... could those be... tentacles?


There has been a flowering—an efflorescence, even—of H.P. Lovecraft-related fiction in recent years. There's an entire Goodreads genre page dedicated to such Lovecraftian works, in fact. Remixes and reimaginings like Caitlín R. Kiernan's Agents of Dreamland and Kij Johnson's The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, both of which I've read and really liked, or The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle and Matt Ruff's Lovecraft Country, which I just haven't read yet, all build on the elements and especially the tone of Lovecraft's oeuvre.

Scott Gable and C. Dombrowski's Ride the Star Wind fits right in with this new tradition.

I thought Dombrowski and Gable's second anthology of Cthulhu-in-spaaace stories was pretty good, actually, although hard to take in concentrated doses. These often unsettling tales (like my attempt at pastiche above) blend hard-edged science fiction (or at least space opera) with the vertiginous, eldritch horrors of Lovecraft's work. They're not Lovecraft fan fiction, though, not really... they're more like unwillingly-fascinated-victim fiction. Or something. If you're looking for a visual touchstone, check out H.R. Giger's aesthetic. I had to (heh) space these out, rather than reading them back-to-back.

There's a plan. There was always a plan.
—Introduction, p.1

The Lovecraftian stories in Ride the Star Wind, whatever their details, all reinforce one consistent realization: that neither Lovecraft's racism nor his insufferably purple prose were at all necessary—that those characteristics aren't just wrong-headed, but turn out to be irrelevant to the lasting influence and appeal of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Or, to put it another way: as Lovecraft should have known all along, beneath the unblinking gaze of the Great Old Ones, all our petty differences of skin color and shape become as naught.


The motto of Broken Eye Books, as it appears in the endpapers of Ride the Star Wind, is this brief instruction set:

Stay weird.
Read books.
Repeat.

You will note that this is a never-ending loop... and somehow I don't think they're kidding.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to do justice to a book such as Ride the Star Wind: Cthulhu, Space Opera, and the Cosmic Weird within the space of a single book review. Weighing in at 450 pages and containing twenty-nine stories, it's an expansive tome to say the least. And if the sheer breadth of the thing weren't enough, it's one of those rare anthologies wherein every single tale deserves an individual review of its own, so it's difficult to determine which to include and which to leave out. Each entry in the book is so much of a standout that if you were to ask me to name the one that most deserves your attention, I would simply say, "yes."

You can read Shane's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Christopher Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been a little skeptical of anthologies. I did a convention this week and my table mate sold out of his anthology while I nearly sold out of mine. With the quality of production and content on the rise, it’s easy to see how anthologies like Ride the Star Wind are changing opinions.

Ride the Star Wind is definitely the best anthology I’ve reviewed (and I’m very picky with anthologies over here at Inside the Inkwell.) I don’t say that lightly. I haven’t yet read every story, but that’s because I’m savoring it. These guys at Broken Eye Books nailed everything about the Lovecraftian mythos and it feels amazing.

I was a little concerned at first when I saw a preview of the cover art. A lot of great popmetal and metalcore bands were doing art like this (it’s almost a nu-ratfink) ten years ago and it exploded. The problem was that so many artists were merely doing copycat pieces to make a few bucks without really embracing the weirdness of it. By this I mean that it fits a certain mold and when you look at it up close it loses something. But not this one. This art is amazing! Everything on the cover is spot-on (I recommend getting the paperback for sure, everything from the finish and feel of the book to the fonts and color.) Seriously, I’d hang this as a poster in my mancave next to my Imax floor to ceiling Logan movie poster. The interior illustrations are also right on the money, even in black and white and the little touches like the Elder Sign paragraph breaks and the story title blocks preserves the feel of the book.

As far as stories and content, the feel is awesome. There are good stories in here! (I’m not going into specifics because it is an anthology and it will vary from piece to piece.) H.P. Lovecraft didn’t write novels; a huge swath of his work was limited in word count and wouldn’t even be considered a novelette. That said, those who really know Lovecraft will feel like this book is a big heaping pile of authentic cosmic horror, and in all the best ways possible.

I know the paperback looks a little expensive if you’ve bought anthologies before—but don’t let that fool you… this isn’t like others. It’s roughly two and a half times the size of the last antho I picked up, so you’re getting at least an equal value on it (and this comes from a guy who hates spending more than twenty bucks on a book.)

I did receive my copy for free in exchange for an honest review. You’ll have to pay for yours, but if you’re into the genre, I have a feeling that you won’t regret it.

[Ozsaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took my time reading this anthology, dipping in and out as I read other books. I'd read a few stories then take a break. Most of the individual stories are intense, so for me, small doses worked best.

I rarely read anthologies because the writing is usually so uneven - a few good stories, a couple of bad ones, and one or two reaaaaly bad ones.

Not here. Almost every story was well written. Each writer took the theme (Cthulhu/Lovecraft in SPAAAACE) and went in very different directions with it. Yes, all of the stories are futuristic and Lovecraftian, but every writer came up with a unique and creative story. The very first story let me know I was in for a treat. The rest of the book didn't let me down.

I admit, there were a couple of stories that weren't to my taste, but only one that I had to skip.

It's an excellent anthology. Highly recommended overall, but mostly for those who are intrigued by the theme.

[Claus Appel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the following stories:

* “Behold, a White Ship”
* “When Yiggrath Comes” by Tim Curran (the best one)
* “The Immortals”
* “A Dream, and a Monster at the End of It”

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I'm an editor of this space opera-meets-Lovecraft anthology.

Which is fantastic. If you've ever turned away from Lovecraft because of its exclusionary, racist authors of the past, this anthology will help you overcome that. There's stories by a wide range of authors, with a wide range of characters, and plenty of omnipresent dread and terribly scary big bads.

[jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid clever collection

Highly enjoyable collection mixing cosmic horror and more optimistic sci-fi to a fascinatingly varied effect. Leaves the reader guessing far more than is usual for anthologies of this sort.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mythos and space opera. What's not to love?

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid. Very dark; darker than most space opera because cosmic horror. But I really enjoyed it. Some great, interesting perspectives and stories.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure when or how I ended up with a copy of this, but it's been sitting on my shelves for some time. An interesting theme for the collection: combining eldritch horror (aka the Cthulhu mythos) with space opera. The combination holds up! Out of twenty-nine stories, each by a different author, I'd say only a couple were stinkers, and there are several real gems (Lucy A. Snyder!). One or two could have used a bit more editorial attention, because a passage that is—or at least reads like—a mistake is an easy way to jolt the reader out of the fiction. Each story is accompanied by an illustration; these vary in technical skill, but many of them are quite evocative of their corresponding tales. All in all, well worth reading, although perhaps only once.