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Where The Deep Ones Are *NOP
"The Deep Ones croaked their terrible croaks and smacked their terrible lips and rolled their terrible eyes and waved their terrible flippers" Renowned Mythos aficionado Ken Hite retells H P Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" in this parody of classic children's literature. After greedily yelling for more fish, young Bobby is sent to his bedroom without any supper at all. But Bobby escapes when the Manuxet River runs right through his room, carrying an old boat that takes him to a magical town full of fish and slimier things ... the town of Innsmouth. Will Bobby join the wild rumpus under the sea, and be crowned the most Deep One of all? Where the Deep Ones Are features 32 pages of full-color illustration by Andy Hopp, and is sure to be a hit with the newest generation of Lovecraft fans and their parents. The first in the Mini Mythos series.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 7, 2008
74 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Hite
128 books114 followersKenneth Hite (born September 15, 1965) is a writer and role-playing game designer. Author of Trail of Cthulhu and Night's Black Agents role-playing games, Hite has been announced as the lead designer of the upcoming 5th edition of Vampire: the Masquerade.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 14, 2009
This review originally appeared on Flamesrising.com on May 6, 2009.
Written by Kenneth Hite
Illustrated by Andy Hopp
Published by Atlas Games
The classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak has been parodied before, but rarely as successfully as in Ken Hite’s Where the Deep Ones Are. Ostensibly a childrens’ book, Deep Ones is a story of a boy who rebels and is banished to his room in punishment, subsequently discovering a hidden world that calls to him enchantingly.
Instead of Max, we now have Bobby, a boy who loves to eat fish. He also wears a frog-like costume with several tentacles dangling from the face, and it’s mentioned more than once in the text that he has a cousin named Larry Marsh. This boy is well on his way to becoming a Deep One himself, which parallels the story of Shadow Over Innsmouth, on which the actual tale of Where the Deep Ones Are is partly based.
Max travels in a boat on a magical river to Innsmouth, where he meets an old drunk that tries to warn him off. When Bobby mentions his cousin Larry Marsh the old man leaves, having “got skeert.” Bobby turns to the hotel for a meal that consists of bad bread, bad soup and even bad water – but lots and lots of fish. Bobby grows sleepy thanks to his full belly, and it’s then that the Deep Ones come for him.
The illustrations by Andy Hopp are perfect; they pay clear, loving homage to Maurice Sendak’s original work from WTWTA, while at the same time maintaining their own squamous integrity. Hopp was an excellent choice as illustrator for this book. After the first pass, go back again and study each picture more carefully; the level of small detail is impressive, and Hopp manages to sneak a number of Lovecraftian in-jokes into the backgrounds. Be sure to keep an eye out for the Cthulhoid salt and pepper shakers.
Where the Deep Ones Are is an amusing book that will comfort the soul of any true Lovecraft devotee. Perhaps a bit frightening for younger kids, (although the same was said of Where the Wild Things Are in its day) Where the Deep Ones Are is a loving tribute, both to Howard Phillips Lovecraft and to Maurice Sendak and his best-known work. Kenneth Hite and Andy Hopp are to be commended for producing such a delightful tome. Now in its second printing, Where the Deep Ones Are is a must-read.
Bill Bodden
Written by Kenneth Hite
Illustrated by Andy Hopp
Published by Atlas Games
The classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak has been parodied before, but rarely as successfully as in Ken Hite’s Where the Deep Ones Are. Ostensibly a childrens’ book, Deep Ones is a story of a boy who rebels and is banished to his room in punishment, subsequently discovering a hidden world that calls to him enchantingly.
Instead of Max, we now have Bobby, a boy who loves to eat fish. He also wears a frog-like costume with several tentacles dangling from the face, and it’s mentioned more than once in the text that he has a cousin named Larry Marsh. This boy is well on his way to becoming a Deep One himself, which parallels the story of Shadow Over Innsmouth, on which the actual tale of Where the Deep Ones Are is partly based.
Max travels in a boat on a magical river to Innsmouth, where he meets an old drunk that tries to warn him off. When Bobby mentions his cousin Larry Marsh the old man leaves, having “got skeert.” Bobby turns to the hotel for a meal that consists of bad bread, bad soup and even bad water – but lots and lots of fish. Bobby grows sleepy thanks to his full belly, and it’s then that the Deep Ones come for him.
The illustrations by Andy Hopp are perfect; they pay clear, loving homage to Maurice Sendak’s original work from WTWTA, while at the same time maintaining their own squamous integrity. Hopp was an excellent choice as illustrator for this book. After the first pass, go back again and study each picture more carefully; the level of small detail is impressive, and Hopp manages to sneak a number of Lovecraftian in-jokes into the backgrounds. Be sure to keep an eye out for the Cthulhoid salt and pepper shakers.
Where the Deep Ones Are is an amusing book that will comfort the soul of any true Lovecraft devotee. Perhaps a bit frightening for younger kids, (although the same was said of Where the Wild Things Are in its day) Where the Deep Ones Are is a loving tribute, both to Howard Phillips Lovecraft and to Maurice Sendak and his best-known work. Kenneth Hite and Andy Hopp are to be commended for producing such a delightful tome. Now in its second printing, Where the Deep Ones Are is a must-read.
Bill Bodden
August 15, 2008
This is one of the funniest and sweetest books I've read in a while. Yes, it is a retelling of H. P. Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" through a parody of Maurice Sendak's _Where the Wild Things Are_. If that doesn't sell you right there, I don't know what will. Fans of Lovecraft or Sendak should enjoy it.
It's aimed at adults only in the sense that it is aimed largely at Lovecraft fans, and they frequently are at least 12+. But you don't need to have ever read Lovecraft to laugh at Bobby's rebellious search to get extra helpings of fish, and there's nothing I found in it that would make it inappropriate to give to a child (unless that child's is being raised by those rare but scary people who hate Cthulhu or Sendak).
It's aimed at adults only in the sense that it is aimed largely at Lovecraft fans, and they frequently are at least 12+. But you don't need to have ever read Lovecraft to laugh at Bobby's rebellious search to get extra helpings of fish, and there's nothing I found in it that would make it inappropriate to give to a child (unless that child's is being raised by those rare but scary people who hate Cthulhu or Sendak).
August 29, 2010
Another Lovecraftian children's book by Kenneth Hite. This time he explores "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by way of Where the Wild Things Are. The illustrations in "Deep Ones" are much brighter and I think more appealing to children. The prose is also more in line with what is expected from a children's book. The story in interesting and entertaining, but not quite as entertaining as the original. It may not be fair to make this comparison.
January 1, 2018
Ein sehr skurriles durchaus erheiterndes Bilderbuch über die Tiefen Wesen(+kurz Zusammenfassung, wer wichtig war und was geschah). Einen Zeitsprung innerhalb der kurzen Handlung habe ich nicht begriffen, deshalb ein kleiner Abzug an dieser Stelle. Sonst eine Schöne kurze Geschichte für Sammler mit detailreichen bunten Zeichnung, die mir gut gefallen haben.
October 25, 2020
A terribly written children's book. My toddler would always pull this nightmare from the shelf to torment me. The sentences were a mishmash of oddly placed words with an even stranger word choices. (ex. "...He was 'skurt' so he ran away")
The art was decent, playing parody to the original well, but the rest of the book was such an unreadable mess that I feel it deserves the lone star rating.
The art was decent, playing parody to the original well, but the rest of the book was such an unreadable mess that I feel it deserves the lone star rating.
May 18, 2022
This was a cute parody/re-imagining of Where the Wild Things Are and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. However, even though the edition itself is well designed and printed, the color crayon drawings themselves are charming but very, very crude when compared to the original style which was a bit disappointing.
January 21, 2021
Very odd riff on one of my favorite books, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
June 13, 2013
Kenneth Hite cut his teeth on desiging role playing games and comic books. That explains the tie in; the publisher is Atlas Games, not a noted purveyor of childrens' books. Mr. Hite is actually quite knowledgable about Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos, as a glance at his book Tour de Lovecraft will show.
Where the Deep Ones Are must, of course, be considered in context. It is a parody or send up of Maurice Sendak's revered classic, Where the Wild Things Are. The book's size, page count and artistic style are deliberately similar to Sendak's work. The difference is the little boy, Bobby (not Max), in this book is related to the Marsh family and his journey takes him to Innsmouth. Boy, do I have comments!
First of all, the art by Andy Hopp is beautiful. You can look at his galleries on his website. I am not clever enough to tell what his medium was for this, inks vs painting, but he manages to give due homage to Sendak and create delightful monsters of his own.
This will be a confusing read for anyone not familiar with the story by HPL, The Shadow Over Innsmouth. To those in the know, the oblique (or not so oblique) references to the Esoteric Order of Dagon and interbreeding of humans and Deep Ones will be obvious. These readers will probably be amused by the story.
As far as I can tell, Atlas Games does not intend this as a children's book. Where the Deep Ones Are notes the church has a fish on it. It also refers to the Deep Ones taking away the pretty girls from Innsmouth under the sea for a rumpus. My kids see the covers of my books with Cthulhu on them, and know he is a giant monster, but I don't expect them to even consider exploring HPL until they are in middle school. Sendak's book is a timeless tribute to a child's imagination. Hite has produced a parody that retells a favorite story of HPL, with all the rape and human insignificance peeping around the corners. Coonsidered on its own merits, it is mildly amusing and a clever idea, but the story is a two way rehash rather than original
Who might be interested? Fans of Lovecraftian art of all types should not hesitate. Andy Hopp did great work. Mythos collectors and completists will need a copy, or adults who may want to be amused. At the price it is not for the idly curious. And it is definitely not a book for a young child. I imagine I will think the same about the upcoming parody of At the Mountains of Madness/The Polar Express, The Antarctic Express.
Where the Deep Ones Are must, of course, be considered in context. It is a parody or send up of Maurice Sendak's revered classic, Where the Wild Things Are. The book's size, page count and artistic style are deliberately similar to Sendak's work. The difference is the little boy, Bobby (not Max), in this book is related to the Marsh family and his journey takes him to Innsmouth. Boy, do I have comments!
First of all, the art by Andy Hopp is beautiful. You can look at his galleries on his website. I am not clever enough to tell what his medium was for this, inks vs painting, but he manages to give due homage to Sendak and create delightful monsters of his own.
This will be a confusing read for anyone not familiar with the story by HPL, The Shadow Over Innsmouth. To those in the know, the oblique (or not so oblique) references to the Esoteric Order of Dagon and interbreeding of humans and Deep Ones will be obvious. These readers will probably be amused by the story.
As far as I can tell, Atlas Games does not intend this as a children's book. Where the Deep Ones Are notes the church has a fish on it. It also refers to the Deep Ones taking away the pretty girls from Innsmouth under the sea for a rumpus. My kids see the covers of my books with Cthulhu on them, and know he is a giant monster, but I don't expect them to even consider exploring HPL until they are in middle school. Sendak's book is a timeless tribute to a child's imagination. Hite has produced a parody that retells a favorite story of HPL, with all the rape and human insignificance peeping around the corners. Coonsidered on its own merits, it is mildly amusing and a clever idea, but the story is a two way rehash rather than original
Who might be interested? Fans of Lovecraftian art of all types should not hesitate. Andy Hopp did great work. Mythos collectors and completists will need a copy, or adults who may want to be amused. At the price it is not for the idly curious. And it is definitely not a book for a young child. I imagine I will think the same about the upcoming parody of At the Mountains of Madness/The Polar Express, The Antarctic Express.
March 31, 2015
Knowledge of the pop culture items "Where the wild things are" (Maurice Sendak) and the Cthulu Mythos of HP Lovecraft probably a plus for reading this, although my nine year old, who has only experience of the first, was reading this with some amount of enjoyment (and possibly perplexity). Quirky mixing of canons, manages to be a slightly horrific and light-hearted romp. The 'plot' seemed a little forced, although not necessarily in a 'fitting to the original' way - more in the sections that digressed from Sendak' story.
Not recommended unless you are an aficionado of Lovecraft's work.
Not recommended unless you are an aficionado of Lovecraft's work.
September 15, 2008
Written by roleplaying game designer Kenneth Hite and illustrated by Andy Hopp, Where the Deep Ones Are combines the Cthulhu Mythos with classic children's literature, retellingWhere the Wild Things Are through the twisted lens of H.P. Lovecraft. The result is a surprisingly kid-friendly take on unspeakable horror.
December 20, 2010
A brilliant parody of Where the Wild Things Are! This book really appeals to my wit, and it is a great whimsical gift for the creepy cultist in your life! A cute retelling of The Shadow over Innsmouth, though not necessarily a kids' book. If you like the Cthulhu mythos, take a look at this. You'll love it!
March 5, 2016
Of all the Hite children’s books, this is probably the one I find most appealing and effective. Part of it comes from enjoying the chaos of the Sendak book. Part of it comes from the effective translation of Shadow over Innsmouth to fit within the space granted by Where the Wild Things Are.
October 6, 2008
A cthulhu mythos children's book. Hah!
January 28, 2015
I figured this would be a nice choice for my 2011 "goal reached" book.
July 28, 2012
I great Lovecraftian parody of the classic children's book. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Ken Hite's writing or of Lovecraftian humor.
July 6, 2013
Yeah, it's pretty good and the art is spectacular but Bobby really should behave better. I missed his mom in this one.
August 29, 2015
I really liked this, but it is hard to say why. Let's just say that I really enjoy Lovecraftian parodies and move along.
July 20, 2016
The illustrations were fun, but I didn't love the story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews