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Arkham County
Welcome to Arkham County. Population: 749,824. But that number’s dropping all of the time....
Lying northeast of Massachusetts, just south of Hell, Arkham County is somewhere you find yourself, not somewhere you ever mean to go. Once you do find it though, you'd better get used to living there, as you may be there for however long you have left to live.
From within the walls of Arkham’s asylum, reclusive writer Randolph Carter tells the story of orphan Violet Flintock, who arrives in Arkham County in search of her own history only to be instantly greeted by the bloody realities of this small town, whose foundations are built from the lore and mythology of HP Lovecraft.
In this Audible Original production, Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada, Fortitude) leads a cast to introduce you to the horrific, bizarre and just plain weird world of Arkham County. This HP Lovecraft-inspired tale will delight fans and those unfamiliar with his wild, surreal and terrifying horror stories.
Starring;
Stanley Tucci as Randolph Carter
With:
David Annen as Vincent Matravers
Emily Barber as Violet Flintlock
Dakota Blue Richards as Morrigan
Burn Gorman as Wilbur
John Heffernan as Walter Gilman
Alex Kingston as Henrietta
Laurel Lefkow as Keziah Mason
Stuart Milligan as Marsh
Carlyss Peer as Chloe
Blake Ritson as Herbert West
Dan Starkey as Dean Halsey
Shane Taylor as Detective Lewis
Becky Wright as Lavinia
Directed by Simon Barnard
Lying northeast of Massachusetts, just south of Hell, Arkham County is somewhere you find yourself, not somewhere you ever mean to go. Once you do find it though, you'd better get used to living there, as you may be there for however long you have left to live.
From within the walls of Arkham’s asylum, reclusive writer Randolph Carter tells the story of orphan Violet Flintock, who arrives in Arkham County in search of her own history only to be instantly greeted by the bloody realities of this small town, whose foundations are built from the lore and mythology of HP Lovecraft.
In this Audible Original production, Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada, Fortitude) leads a cast to introduce you to the horrific, bizarre and just plain weird world of Arkham County. This HP Lovecraft-inspired tale will delight fans and those unfamiliar with his wild, surreal and terrifying horror stories.
Starring;
Stanley Tucci as Randolph Carter
With:
David Annen as Vincent Matravers
Emily Barber as Violet Flintlock
Dakota Blue Richards as Morrigan
Burn Gorman as Wilbur
John Heffernan as Walter Gilman
Alex Kingston as Henrietta
Laurel Lefkow as Keziah Mason
Stuart Milligan as Marsh
Carlyss Peer as Chloe
Blake Ritson as Herbert West
Dan Starkey as Dean Halsey
Shane Taylor as Detective Lewis
Becky Wright as Lavinia
Directed by Simon Barnard
Audible Audio
First published October 15, 2020
17 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
February 23, 2021
Wow. And not in a good way. Not even in a bad way. Wow in the kind of way that aspires to be bad.
This just had next to nothing going for it and it made little attempt to hide the fact. Any time it seemed to be losing itself (most of the time) it would try and distract the listener by a lengthy period of groans, sound effects and just downright odd noises. I thought that Lovecraft was the absolute worst person to write Lovecraft. Turns out I was wrong.
The characters (99%) of them were an extreme of some sort. If you pointed one out and asked me to rate their level of being over the top/pointless/so false that even fiction should be ashamed/ I would say either 1 or 10. There was no middle ground. A character was either quiet and unobtrusive whilst appearing to be relevant in a larger way (but never actually proving to be so), or they were just loud and obnoxious to the point it felt like they were competing with each other to be the most hate-inspiring character.
Another massive drawback for both characters and story (I THINK there was a story in there somewhere rather than the horrendously disjointed mess it was masquerading as) is that the characters all talk in ways no human being would ever talk. Have you ever read dialogue in a book that sounds like an author took every word out of a thesaurus in an attempt to sound clever? That's how all dialogue in this sounds. One great line of dialogue includes someone describing a scent as 'like the scent of bone marrow'. Who knows what bone marrow smells like and why is that the first thought that pops into your head ahead of countless easier descriptions?
Overall it was just one long inane ramble of noise, sound effects, bad characters and horrendous dialogue.
This just had next to nothing going for it and it made little attempt to hide the fact. Any time it seemed to be losing itself (most of the time) it would try and distract the listener by a lengthy period of groans, sound effects and just downright odd noises. I thought that Lovecraft was the absolute worst person to write Lovecraft. Turns out I was wrong.
The characters (99%) of them were an extreme of some sort. If you pointed one out and asked me to rate their level of being over the top/pointless/so false that even fiction should be ashamed/ I would say either 1 or 10. There was no middle ground. A character was either quiet and unobtrusive whilst appearing to be relevant in a larger way (but never actually proving to be so), or they were just loud and obnoxious to the point it felt like they were competing with each other to be the most hate-inspiring character.
Another massive drawback for both characters and story (I THINK there was a story in there somewhere rather than the horrendously disjointed mess it was masquerading as) is that the characters all talk in ways no human being would ever talk. Have you ever read dialogue in a book that sounds like an author took every word out of a thesaurus in an attempt to sound clever? That's how all dialogue in this sounds. One great line of dialogue includes someone describing a scent as 'like the scent of bone marrow'. Who knows what bone marrow smells like and why is that the first thought that pops into your head ahead of countless easier descriptions?
Overall it was just one long inane ramble of noise, sound effects, bad characters and horrendous dialogue.
January 3, 2021
Liked this - it was elevated by the actor playing West really channeling the Coombs
March 8, 2022
Loved this audiobook. Had a lot of fun listening to it on my drive to and from work and finished it up today after binging it a little Over the weekend. I look forward to hearing more. Superb narration and sound, really gave my ears a fun ride.
April 23, 2024
This audio play purports to be an homage to the works of HP Lovecraft and is essentially three interwoven stories that are either a reimagining of one of his tales (The Dunwich Horror, Reanimator) or a sequel (Dreams in the Witch House), set in the modern era, with the figure of Randolph Carter, voiced by no less than Stanley Tucci, serving as narrator and Greek chorus.
Well...ostensibly, that is what's going on. In reality, there's little evidence that the scriptwriter so much read a word of Lovecraft as he reviewed Stuart Gordon's 1980s films adaptation of Reanimator, Richard Corben's 1960s Dunwich (with Sandra Dee!), borrowed his ideas of what to do with a witch from Agatha Harkness, and his Randolph Carter from, of all things, Hannibal Lector. The end result feels a lot like the various Lovecraft adaptations of the 80s and 90s: you hear the various locales and gods name-dropped, but it never feels very Lovecraftian or scary.
In fairness, there's some moments here, and the Dunwich twist might have worked if the Witch House story hadn't featured such horrid over-acting by the protagonist, constant yelling and screeching in place of anything resembling *acting*; only to have the storyline *abruptly end with no impact on the results of the larger plot. The end result is something like a quarter of the listener's time is spent being truly tormented, not by eldritch horrors, just by wretched acting and poor sound-editing, for no thematic reason whatsoever. Add to this that the main story resolves rather shortly with a very Millennial "girl-power and found family can overcome all ills" and you're left wondering if it can overcome the 8 hrs of your life that have been sucked out of your ears.
Listeners who want a feminist Lovecraft take that also plays with a sympathetic Deep One PoV might try Ruthanne Emrys or Dreams in the Witch House by Lynne Jamnek; those who want one that has people fighting back against the Mythos in modern settings might try David Conyers "Cthulhu Reloaded". Or if you want something campier, just find a dusty VHS of REANIMATOR or FROM BEYOND and enjoy: for all their liberties, those films knew their source and lovingly took their left-turns. This is just bad.
Well...ostensibly, that is what's going on. In reality, there's little evidence that the scriptwriter so much read a word of Lovecraft as he reviewed Stuart Gordon's 1980s films adaptation of Reanimator, Richard Corben's 1960s Dunwich (with Sandra Dee!), borrowed his ideas of what to do with a witch from Agatha Harkness, and his Randolph Carter from, of all things, Hannibal Lector. The end result feels a lot like the various Lovecraft adaptations of the 80s and 90s: you hear the various locales and gods name-dropped, but it never feels very Lovecraftian or scary.
In fairness, there's some moments here, and the Dunwich twist might have worked if the Witch House story hadn't featured such horrid over-acting by the protagonist, constant yelling and screeching in place of anything resembling *acting*; only to have the storyline *abruptly end with no impact on the results of the larger plot. The end result is something like a quarter of the listener's time is spent being truly tormented, not by eldritch horrors, just by wretched acting and poor sound-editing, for no thematic reason whatsoever. Add to this that the main story resolves rather shortly with a very Millennial "girl-power and found family can overcome all ills" and you're left wondering if it can overcome the 8 hrs of your life that have been sucked out of your ears.
Listeners who want a feminist Lovecraft take that also plays with a sympathetic Deep One PoV might try Ruthanne Emrys or Dreams in the Witch House by Lynne Jamnek; those who want one that has people fighting back against the Mythos in modern settings might try David Conyers "Cthulhu Reloaded". Or if you want something campier, just find a dusty VHS of REANIMATOR or FROM BEYOND and enjoy: for all their liberties, those films knew their source and lovingly took their left-turns. This is just bad.
April 4, 2021
Generally enjoyable , occasionally too meandering but overall well done and well performed . Similar in some ways to the recent Sandman adaption, not quite the same standard but still fun horror
August 20, 2023
What the hell was that?
March 3, 2021
Everything great about this production is what’s great about Lovecraft: twisted characters, macabre plot twists, the grotesque and the elegant effortlessly balanced with one another. Everything I can’t stand about Lovecraft, however, is also everything wrong with this play: bad dialogue, incoherent mythos, at times incomprehensible exposition. At crucial scenes, all you hear is a monster slobbering over something without any real idea what’s going on until you piece it together or, even worse, another character fills you in. Overall, this piece demonstrates the allure of the Lovecraft ouevre, and also why it’s so damned difficult to dramatize.
May 4, 2022
This story, like many of the Audible originals suffers from over enthusiastic Foley work. At several points I was unable to understand the dialogue because the Foley work was just too loud.
I am by no means an authority on H.P. Lovecraft but I was able to recognize "The Dunwich Horror," "The Dreams in the Witch House," "Dagon," and "Herbert West–Reanimator." There were probably others, but those are the ones I recognized. I liked the story overall and wish that it had been produced as a traditional audiobook, but oh, well.
I am by no means an authority on H.P. Lovecraft but I was able to recognize "The Dunwich Horror," "The Dreams in the Witch House," "Dagon," and "Herbert West–Reanimator." There were probably others, but those are the ones I recognized. I liked the story overall and wish that it had been produced as a traditional audiobook, but oh, well.
July 21, 2022
Don't waste your time
November 28, 2022
Welcome to Arkham County
Arkham County by Guy Adma and AK Benedict is a set in Lovecraft’s Mythos. We follow a host of different character as they try to navigate their lives in the very strange county of Arkham. We have everything from Lovecraft here. Everything from old ones to mentions of all of his popular works. I mean Randolph Carter is one of the main people in the story.
So as a Lovecraft fan what did I think of it? It was. . . Ok. There was nothing spectacular, other than Stanley Tucci who was easily the best part. This story would have worked well as like an 8 episode show, but as an audiobook, not so much. There are times where nothing is being described it’s just noises and you can’t quite figure out what’s going on, but they actually expect you to understand or picture something for the noises. On top of that half the POVs I didn’t care about. Violet’s story had some of the best payoff. I already forgot what happened to Walter. Herbert West, who could have been a very good character just missed the mark.
All in all it was a fun quick listen. If you’re a fan of Lovecraft and just want a story set in the Mythos with returning characters, you will probably enjoy this.
Arkham County by Guy Adma and AK Benedict is a set in Lovecraft’s Mythos. We follow a host of different character as they try to navigate their lives in the very strange county of Arkham. We have everything from Lovecraft here. Everything from old ones to mentions of all of his popular works. I mean Randolph Carter is one of the main people in the story.
So as a Lovecraft fan what did I think of it? It was. . . Ok. There was nothing spectacular, other than Stanley Tucci who was easily the best part. This story would have worked well as like an 8 episode show, but as an audiobook, not so much. There are times where nothing is being described it’s just noises and you can’t quite figure out what’s going on, but they actually expect you to understand or picture something for the noises. On top of that half the POVs I didn’t care about. Violet’s story had some of the best payoff. I already forgot what happened to Walter. Herbert West, who could have been a very good character just missed the mark.
All in all it was a fun quick listen. If you’re a fan of Lovecraft and just want a story set in the Mythos with returning characters, you will probably enjoy this.
September 4, 2022
This was entertaining, and that's about all it can be said about it. It doesn't have a great story or great characters. And, in what seems to be a permanent (and annoying) characteristic in these Audible Original audiobooks, the sound effects are extremely loud and distracting and, at points, even interfering with the dialogue.
So... nothing special, but not outright bad. *shrugs*
So... nothing special, but not outright bad. *shrugs*
April 22, 2023
Audible did an outstanding job with this, the cast was amazing as were the sound effects. Lovecraftian horror at its finest.
April 10, 2024
Started decent then it wend down the drain. I am not a fan of audiodrama’s needs to be said too.
May 16, 2025
This was okay. I think that if you're not an H.P. Lovecraft reader, you'll be confused by the intertwined stories.
July 28, 2024
It is more a 4.5. I enjoyed it and when it ended I wanted more.
December 7, 2020
Hard to believe you can get two audio dramas mixing and modernising elements of Lovecraftian lore so close to gether and they'd both be different emough to be distinctive and good enough to be excellent. But here we are. I particularly liked the multiple narrative threads that you don't often get in audio drama. Anyway - madness and horror and conspiracies and prophecies and the cthonic smorgasbord of Innsmouth, Dunwich, Miskatonic, Herbert West and Randolph Carter all play out in a drippy, squelchy, crunchy, screamy, weirdy soundscape from hell.
June 11, 2021
This is something I should have enjoyed more than I did. But at times it felt like it was written by someone that that read Lovecraft without realizing what makes those stories work. As a result it turns into a mythos hoedown. Let's just throw everything together and see what works! If you are at all familiar with Lovecraft's work you'll know exactly where this story is going about a quarter in and honestly it's not really worth it.
August 24, 2022
I don’t know how to feel about this Audible exclusive. I know I’ve read most of the Lovecraft stories that make up the basis of the events. Though even if you haven’t the stories may be too intertwined for anyone other than a hardcore Lovecraft fan to fully understand as you have events from Dreams in the Witch House, Hebert West - Reanimator and a splash of The Shadow Over Innsmouth taking place in one main story while Randolph Carter steers one character through the events of The Dunwich Horror.
However, when the story decided to focus on one set of characters it was tolerable. The main problem I had was that I usually found myself waiting for the Reanimator segments to take the reigns as that was the story that seemed to grab my attention the most. And during the retelling of The Dunwich Horror the medium it was telling the story in seemed to work the most due to the unnatural elements of that story.
The cast was significantly better than I expected though considering they push Stanley Tucci as the lead he’s far from the most important character. In my opinion the actor who played Herbert West (Blake Ritson) had one of the best performances in the cast (channeling a portrayal very close to Jeffrey Combs) and any scene they shared with the character of Morrigan (Dakota Blue Richards) was fun to listen to and imagine the events of.
Another notable casting for me was Laurel Lefkow as Keziah Mason. She brought just the right amount of anger and energy I’ve imagined that character to have.
However, I can fully understand why someone would not like this audio drama. Like I said at the start of this review, the stories it tells are winding around each other in strange paths. Lovecraftian stories can be hard to follow one at a time, let alone when four (at least) are taking place at once. Honestly there are times this feels more like a missing issue from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with the character crossovers and the drama having a “all Lovecraft takes place at once” feeling to it.
The ending also felt very abrupt. Especially since the last few chapter just build and build in tension until the world is about to break then it just… doesn’t. Bit of a disappointment to be honest. I was waiting for the proverbial Shit to hit the Fan considering how other chapters had gone.
So I liked but felt like I needed to do some homework to fully understand some of the motives of characters, catch some of the Easter eggs and in some cases just understand what was supposed to be happening. And I can also understand why some people would be put off from this being an Audio Drama as opposed to an Audiobook.
However, when the story decided to focus on one set of characters it was tolerable. The main problem I had was that I usually found myself waiting for the Reanimator segments to take the reigns as that was the story that seemed to grab my attention the most. And during the retelling of The Dunwich Horror the medium it was telling the story in seemed to work the most due to the unnatural elements of that story.
The cast was significantly better than I expected though considering they push Stanley Tucci as the lead he’s far from the most important character. In my opinion the actor who played Herbert West (Blake Ritson) had one of the best performances in the cast (channeling a portrayal very close to Jeffrey Combs) and any scene they shared with the character of Morrigan (Dakota Blue Richards) was fun to listen to and imagine the events of.
Another notable casting for me was Laurel Lefkow as Keziah Mason. She brought just the right amount of anger and energy I’ve imagined that character to have.
However, I can fully understand why someone would not like this audio drama. Like I said at the start of this review, the stories it tells are winding around each other in strange paths. Lovecraftian stories can be hard to follow one at a time, let alone when four (at least) are taking place at once. Honestly there are times this feels more like a missing issue from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with the character crossovers and the drama having a “all Lovecraft takes place at once” feeling to it.
The ending also felt very abrupt. Especially since the last few chapter just build and build in tension until the world is about to break then it just… doesn’t. Bit of a disappointment to be honest. I was waiting for the proverbial Shit to hit the Fan considering how other chapters had gone.
So I liked but felt like I needed to do some homework to fully understand some of the motives of characters, catch some of the Easter eggs and in some cases just understand what was supposed to be happening. And I can also understand why some people would be put off from this being an Audio Drama as opposed to an Audiobook.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2021
This happened to be a free listen with my Audible subscription, so, as a fan of Lovecraft, I decided to give it a try. And it's good -- 3.5 stars good. My only caveat is that I suspect that if you are not steeped in Lovecraft's Mythos, you will be lost faster than Randolph Carter being sucked into another dimension. Basically, all your favorite characters from Lovecraft's stories come together in this ... and if you don't know who they are, well, good luck.
But as it happened, I did know the source material, so I enjoyed this and appreciate the skill it took to knit these many, many storylines together. Some work better than others, and I suspect it could have been simplified at the writing stage, but that ship has sailed. As a whole, after a great beginning, it lags a bit in the middle before ramping up again at the end. Great voice acting throughout. On a technical side, I think it could have benefited from some sound design additions to better distinguish scene changes. When the plot moves from people talking in a room to different people talking to another room without any change in background ambiance or a music cue to tell the listener that the scene has, indeed, changed, this can be a source of confusion--and it's so easy to fix. But so it goes.
Overall, a fun listen for the Lovecraft fan, if you're not a stickler for having the original stories/characters followed to the letter.
But as it happened, I did know the source material, so I enjoyed this and appreciate the skill it took to knit these many, many storylines together. Some work better than others, and I suspect it could have been simplified at the writing stage, but that ship has sailed. As a whole, after a great beginning, it lags a bit in the middle before ramping up again at the end. Great voice acting throughout. On a technical side, I think it could have benefited from some sound design additions to better distinguish scene changes. When the plot moves from people talking in a room to different people talking to another room without any change in background ambiance or a music cue to tell the listener that the scene has, indeed, changed, this can be a source of confusion--and it's so easy to fix. But so it goes.
Overall, a fun listen for the Lovecraft fan, if you're not a stickler for having the original stories/characters followed to the letter.
May 27, 2024
Wow, I’m not even sure where to begin with this. Well, for starters, don’t go into it thinking you’ll get a complete story. Despite not being advertised as such, it’s clearly angling to become a series, and virtually nothing gets resolved.
As for the story itself? The writers decided to try and shoehorn as many of H. P. Lovecraft's characters into one book as possible, merging several of his short stories into a shambolic mess, then shoving them into a contemporary setting while also trying to keep the feel of the originals. There are a lot of things which just happen for no particular reason and the characters motivations all seem very cliched, with most of them being extremely dislikable and/or annoying to boot. Why on Earth they turned Randolph Carter into some mystical murderhobo is beyond me.
The audio drama aspect here is also below par, and not even Stanley Tucci is able to save it. The sound effects themselves are for the most part okay, but the decision to go with "1970s Doctor Who monsters" as the theme for the non-human characters is just baffling.
The only bright spot was a chapter on some of the characters childhoods in Dunwich, which was actually quite sad and sweet. Unfortunately, it’s such a short segment that it doesn’t do anything to lift the book as a whole.
Overall, I’d avoid it. I certainly won’t be returning to see how any of the many plot elements gets resolved.
As for the story itself? The writers decided to try and shoehorn as many of H. P. Lovecraft's characters into one book as possible, merging several of his short stories into a shambolic mess, then shoving them into a contemporary setting while also trying to keep the feel of the originals. There are a lot of things which just happen for no particular reason and the characters motivations all seem very cliched, with most of them being extremely dislikable and/or annoying to boot. Why on Earth they turned Randolph Carter into some mystical murderhobo is beyond me.
The audio drama aspect here is also below par, and not even Stanley Tucci is able to save it. The sound effects themselves are for the most part okay, but the decision to go with "1970s Doctor Who monsters" as the theme for the non-human characters is just baffling.
The only bright spot was a chapter on some of the characters childhoods in Dunwich, which was actually quite sad and sweet. Unfortunately, it’s such a short segment that it doesn’t do anything to lift the book as a whole.
Overall, I’d avoid it. I certainly won’t be returning to see how any of the many plot elements gets resolved.
November 8, 2021
Normally, I'd jump at the chance to listen to anything Lovecraft-related, especially after adoring The Lovecraft Investigations podcast from BBC Sounds. (Check it out, if you get the chance. You won't be disappointed.
The added bonus was finding out that not only Stanley Tucci was involved, but so were two actors from Doctor Who-related projects. Where could this go wrong?
Well... while some of the acting, Tucci's in particular, was on point, others fell, well, flat. Some of the voices were so similar, it was tough to tell which plotline we were going to follow for the next "scene" until there was somewhat of a giveaway.
Basically, I think this story held too much and pushed through everything too quickly. There was not a lot of room for development and growth. This would have done better as a podcast that could be drawn out to more than just twelve episodes, I think.
If there is a sequel coming, I'm hoping that it will have better production, direction, and even writing behind it. I'm not sure if I would spend a whole credit on it (I'd wait for a sale or to see if it's one of the "free" items for my plan), but it might be worth giving this a second chance.
The added bonus was finding out that not only Stanley Tucci was involved, but so were two actors from Doctor Who-related projects. Where could this go wrong?
Well... while some of the acting, Tucci's in particular, was on point, others fell, well, flat. Some of the voices were so similar, it was tough to tell which plotline we were going to follow for the next "scene" until there was somewhat of a giveaway.
Basically, I think this story held too much and pushed through everything too quickly. There was not a lot of room for development and growth. This would have done better as a podcast that could be drawn out to more than just twelve episodes, I think.
If there is a sequel coming, I'm hoping that it will have better production, direction, and even writing behind it. I'm not sure if I would spend a whole credit on it (I'd wait for a sale or to see if it's one of the "free" items for my plan), but it might be worth giving this a second chance.
January 23, 2023
Audible Freebie. Highly recommend for a spooky story.
This is what I had hoped and imagined that Lovecraft Country would have been. A modernized reinvention of the world and characters from Lovecraft's work. It felt true to the spirit of the original, and very much an homage, even taking passages directly from the original works.
Very spooky with graphic scenes enhanced with unsettling sound FX. Perfectly eerie for listening alone in the dark.
While I loved it and would recommend it wasn't perfect. Some of it felt slow. And it's hard to have this type of story without narration to describe the scenes or reference who was speaking. At times I would find it hard to know who was talking and often had to listen to important action scenes without a clear understanding of what really happened. Part of the allure of Lovecraft's work was in his power to describe the indescribable. That is noticeably missing a lot of the time here.
Overall it could be better but I liked it so much more than the Netflix Lovecraft Country that I will round up to encourage everyone to give this a try instead.
This is what I had hoped and imagined that Lovecraft Country would have been. A modernized reinvention of the world and characters from Lovecraft's work. It felt true to the spirit of the original, and very much an homage, even taking passages directly from the original works.
Very spooky with graphic scenes enhanced with unsettling sound FX. Perfectly eerie for listening alone in the dark.
While I loved it and would recommend it wasn't perfect. Some of it felt slow. And it's hard to have this type of story without narration to describe the scenes or reference who was speaking. At times I would find it hard to know who was talking and often had to listen to important action scenes without a clear understanding of what really happened. Part of the allure of Lovecraft's work was in his power to describe the indescribable. That is noticeably missing a lot of the time here.
Overall it could be better but I liked it so much more than the Netflix Lovecraft Country that I will round up to encourage everyone to give this a try instead.
February 9, 2024
As a fan of the works of H.P. Lovecraft, I had so much fun listening to this audiobook. The story melds together some of the classic stories, characters, and Lovecraftian horrors - but if my tattoos are any indication, then I think you know the scenes featuring Herbert West are my favourites. And the cherry on top was that the actor (Blake Ritson) performed the role in such a way that he sounded just like Jeffrey Combs in the Re-Animator movie.
That being said, Stanley Tucci and Alex Kingston stole the show for me. Not only am I a fan of their work, but their performances were delightful. And as a horror author and avid reader, many of their lines might have been directed right at me. I felt seen.
My only complaint was that sometimes the sound effects - although well done - overpowered the dialogue. In a couple of scenes, it was hard for me to hear everything the characters were saying. And sometimes, the overabundance of sound effects meant it took me a little longer to figure out exactly who was speaking.
I would love for Audible to come out with a sequel.
That being said, Stanley Tucci and Alex Kingston stole the show for me. Not only am I a fan of their work, but their performances were delightful. And as a horror author and avid reader, many of their lines might have been directed right at me. I felt seen.
My only complaint was that sometimes the sound effects - although well done - overpowered the dialogue. In a couple of scenes, it was hard for me to hear everything the characters were saying. And sometimes, the overabundance of sound effects meant it took me a little longer to figure out exactly who was speaking.
I would love for Audible to come out with a sequel.
February 8, 2021
I'll open by saying, Stanley Tucci is a beautiful gift to the world, and was phenomenal in this audible production.
Also, I think there were some really great ideas in the story, but the presentation fell a bit flat. I had a very hard time distinguishing some of the characters (especially the female voices), and spent a lot of the time a bit lost in regards to the story. There were many times when the background sound, special effects and music were outrageously loud, forcing me to turn the audio down, just to have to crank it back up again because I couldn't hear the speaking parts. I also didn't understand a word of what Brown Jenkins said. Many times, the background audio was louder than the voices, which made it impossible to hear.
All that said, I believe the story was great, I just really wish more thought would have been put into the sound mixing for the final product. I love audio plays, this one just had a lot of problems.
Also, I think there were some really great ideas in the story, but the presentation fell a bit flat. I had a very hard time distinguishing some of the characters (especially the female voices), and spent a lot of the time a bit lost in regards to the story. There were many times when the background sound, special effects and music were outrageously loud, forcing me to turn the audio down, just to have to crank it back up again because I couldn't hear the speaking parts. I also didn't understand a word of what Brown Jenkins said. Many times, the background audio was louder than the voices, which made it impossible to hear.
All that said, I believe the story was great, I just really wish more thought would have been put into the sound mixing for the final product. I love audio plays, this one just had a lot of problems.
April 11, 2021
Imagine all of the most well known Lovecraft stories happening at the same time, perhaps but not necessarily being brought to life by the writings of Randolph Carter and you have the beginnings of what it is like to listen to Arkham County, an Audible Original drama. The story weaves portions of the Mythos while changing some aspects and inventing new pieces. Some purists might find this difficult to deal with, but I found it extremely well done. It is fun to see the characters which we are familiar with given new life in a more recent setting. While I enjoyed the drama, I did find the ending a bit abrupt. Also, be careful if you are the type to listen to your audiobooks with headphones. Arkham County is very similar to a radio drama and does include sound effects. Sometimes these effects and the voices become loud and difficult to listen to. While this does set the mood properly, it might be a problem if one is listening too closely.
January 30, 2024
Book 152 - Guy Adams & AK Benedict - Arkham County
An intriguing synopsis unfortunately turned into something that could have aided the most ardent of insomniacs.
A town with hidden depths… supernatural families that live just below the surface and a 6’5 and a bit woman returning to a town to study at the local university and try and find her family tree history.
So much potential…so many times it seemed to be going somewhere but sadly by the end it felt like a dozen ideas were thrown at the page and not one of them stuck. These included bringing the dead back to life…murders most horrid…a gateway for creatures to take over and destroy the world…all of this embedded in a tale told by a prisoner and his typewriter who could keep up with events in Arkham because of his links to a bird he could speak to.
I won���t even mention the mess of an ending that again couldn’t make up its mind what it wanted to do…have a proper climax or set up a sequel that no one would want.
Sigh…
An intriguing synopsis unfortunately turned into something that could have aided the most ardent of insomniacs.
A town with hidden depths… supernatural families that live just below the surface and a 6’5 and a bit woman returning to a town to study at the local university and try and find her family tree history.
So much potential…so many times it seemed to be going somewhere but sadly by the end it felt like a dozen ideas were thrown at the page and not one of them stuck. These included bringing the dead back to life…murders most horrid…a gateway for creatures to take over and destroy the world…all of this embedded in a tale told by a prisoner and his typewriter who could keep up with events in Arkham because of his links to a bird he could speak to.
I won���t even mention the mess of an ending that again couldn’t make up its mind what it wanted to do…have a proper climax or set up a sequel that no one would want.
Sigh…
September 2, 2025
The voice acting is good, I appreciate the concept behind this, but the net of it all is just not good at all.
The story and plot are barely there, and what is there just isn't all that interesting. I can appreciate taking a number of Lovecraft themes, names, and locations, and mixing them into one county and updating them to a more modern time (even though they make some mistakes with the names and places). Except for that, though, there just isn't much going on.
Any time things drag, the actors begin emoting excessively, and sound effects are played far too loud (compared to what came before), to sort of fill a narrative void.
Overall, sadly a waste of time. The actors do fine with what they are given, but I think this drama could have used a narrator, which might have exposed many of the flaws during writing.
The story and plot are barely there, and what is there just isn't all that interesting. I can appreciate taking a number of Lovecraft themes, names, and locations, and mixing them into one county and updating them to a more modern time (even though they make some mistakes with the names and places). Except for that, though, there just isn't much going on.
Any time things drag, the actors begin emoting excessively, and sound effects are played far too loud (compared to what came before), to sort of fill a narrative void.
Overall, sadly a waste of time. The actors do fine with what they are given, but I think this drama could have used a narrator, which might have exposed many of the flaws during writing.
November 27, 2025
H.P. Lovecraft is an author who I have never read, but whose works are so influential that I know at least the mood of what he wrote, the atmosphere and the general gist. So, when I saw this on the list of Audible included titles I thought I'd give it a listen.
This, as far as I can tell, tries to weave together three (four?) Lovecraft stories into one whole. Its been updated, set in the modern age, but tries to hold on to all the old gaslight atmosphere that pervades the Lovecraftian mood.
And, well, I was not gripped by this. The stories seemed to drag, and I kept forgetting about one of the plots until it showed up again. Also, the horror is a lot of the crunching, squelching, muttering kind, which looses its force pretty quickly.
However, Stanley Tucci remains a remarkable actor. His bits we clearly the best.
This, as far as I can tell, tries to weave together three (four?) Lovecraft stories into one whole. Its been updated, set in the modern age, but tries to hold on to all the old gaslight atmosphere that pervades the Lovecraftian mood.
And, well, I was not gripped by this. The stories seemed to drag, and I kept forgetting about one of the plots until it showed up again. Also, the horror is a lot of the crunching, squelching, muttering kind, which looses its force pretty quickly.
However, Stanley Tucci remains a remarkable actor. His bits we clearly the best.
August 31, 2021
The audio drama and especially the performances from all the actors are not bad in the slightest and if this were any other story I would probably give the entire thing a five star rating. Unfortunately, nothing in the story stood out to me. The great thing about the Lovecraft Universe is that you have the ability to mold it into pretty much anything you see fit. This unfortunately felt like the authors tried to cram all the big hitters and most popular tales from Lovecraft into one story just to see what stuck and what didn't. It was a great idea, but the exacution left several things lacking.
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