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Arkham Horror #10
La ira de N'kai
Alessandra Zorzi, una condesa aventurera y ladrona de guante blanco, llega a Arkham en busca de un cuerpo ancestral de curioso origen y peculiares características recién exhumado en un montículo de Oklahoma. ¡Pero antes de que pueda robarlo alguien se le adelanta!
Durante el tiroteo que estalla en el museo Miskatonic la condesa hace contacto visual con el cadáver, lo que desencadena una serie de descubrimientos que superarán con creces sus expectativas más salvajes.
Durante el tiroteo que estalla en el museo Miskatonic la condesa hace contacto visual con el cadáver, lo que desencadena una serie de descubrimientos que superarán con creces sus expectativas más salvajes.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
61 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Reynolds
313 books337 followersJosh Reynolds’ work has previously appeared in such anthologies as Historical Lovecraft from Innsmouth Free Press and Horror for the Holidays from Miskatonic River Press, and his novel, Knight of the Blazing Sun, is currently available from Black Library. He can be found at: http://joshuamreynolds.wordpress.com
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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November 15, 2022
Sebbene alcune parti della città risalissero al secolo scorso, le altre abbracciavano allegramente la modernità: gli edifici di mattoni di epoca rivoluzionaria si alternavano all'architettura ugonotta francese, mentre facciate art déco facevano capolino tra le strutture più antiche. Come le vecchie città europee, Arkham viveva all'ombra del suo passato.
Arkham Horror è un franchise di giochi da tavolo e carte cooperativi, pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1987 e basato sul popolare gioco di ruolo cartaceo della Chaosium Il Richiamo di Cthulhu, basato sull’omonimo racconto di Howard Phillips Lovecraft e tutto il resto dell’universo letterario fittizio e condiviso a cui ha dato origine conosciuto come i Miti di Cthulhu.
«Il meteorite Gardner» confermò Milo, facendo capolino dall'ufficio. Era un ragazzo dalla faccia pulita che indossava una divisa da fattorino stirata a puntino. «Cadde sulla fattoria Gardner, a meno di due chilometri dalla città. Il nome viene da lì.»
«Davvero affascinante» disse Alessandra, accettando la chiave che le stava porgendo il concierge, «e cosa ne è stato?»
In Arkham Horror i giocatori interpretano il ruolo di investigatori e collaborano insieme per impedire esplorando la cittadina di Arkham nel Massachusetts durante i ruggenti anni venti, agendo in gruppo per salvare l’umanità da un orrore indescrivibile.
«Cerca di abbassare il volume, Tad.» Alessandra mimò in maniera plateale l'atto di guardarsi attorno. «Non sai mai chi potrebbe sentirti.»
Il sorriso dell'uomo si fece astuto. «Hai gloriosi propositi, quindi?» bisbigliò. «Sei venuta al museo per sgraffignare un antico tesoro wampanoag? O forse un po' di quell'oro di Innsmouth di cui ho sentito parlare...»
«No e no. Sono qui per vedere la mummia, a dire il vero.»
Ho letto le storie e i racconti di H.P. Lovecraft per la prima volta quando ero ragazzino, troppo giovane ed ingenuo per capire il più che disprezzabile razzismo che permea le sue opere, ma allora come adesso, dopo l’ennesima rilettura nel corso degli anni, ho semplicemente adorato i lavori e lo stile del padre dell’orrore letterario moderno, colui che ha ispirato film, musica, giochi e scrittori degni di nota che annoverano tra loro Alan Moore, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Robert E. Howard e Stephen King, oppure artisti visionari come H.R. Giger giusto per nominarne alcuni.
Un uomo alto, dai capelli grigio ferro e con un abito su misura, uscì dalla stanza e colpì ripetutamente un bicchiere da champagne con un cucchiaino, chiedendo silenzio. La folla si acquietò. L'uomo sorrise e si schiarì la gola.
«Signore e signori, il mio nome è Matthew Orne ed è con mio sommo piacere che vi do il
benvenuto al Museo della Miskatonic.»
Detto ciò, ho giocato in passato con i miei amici alle edizioni del gioco da tavolo di Arkham Horror pubblicate dalla Chaosium e dalla Fantasy Flight Games originariamente nel 1987 e 2005, e che mi hanno regalato svariate ore di intrattenimento e divertimento.
Il tempo si allungò, distendendosi e avviluppando Alessandra, così com'era accaduto al museo. In quell'istante lei fu da un'altra parte, circondata da ombre e roccia bagnata. Un'aspra radiosità azzurrina penetrò il buio e lei si ritrasse di scatto. Sentì delle urla in una lingua che non poteva conoscere, ma che in qualche modo conosceva.
Tsathoggua en y'n an ya phtaggn N'kai!
Purtroppo ho venduto la mia preziosa copia del gioco originale in un momento di follia, per poi pentirmene quasi subito dopo, ma fortunatamente la scatola della seconda edizione insieme a tutte le sue successive espansioni aspetta impacchettata in soffitta che mia figlia sia grande abbastanza per giocarci prima o poi insieme al suo papà... sempre se prima non compreremo la terza edizione uscita nel 2018, oppure il gioco di carte la cui scatola base continua a fissarmi ammiccando invitante dallo scaffale della Feltrinelli vicino casa.
«Che fosse o meno quello il mio obiettivo, ormai la mummia è andata.»
«Scommetto che la potremmo ritrovare.»
«Noi?»
«Beh, tu.»
«E dimmi, come potremmo riuscirci?»
«Conosco dei tizi. Tizi che conoscono il genere di tizi che ruba mummie.»
Alessandra sbuffò. «Stai dicendo che è una cosa che ad Arkham capita spesso?»
«Signora mia, non è nemmeno la cosa più strana che è successa 'sta settimana.»
Ma ormai sto divagando a ruota libera, iniziamo quindi a parlare di questo libro prima di annoiare a morte i lettori di questa tortuosa recensione.
Poi, dal buio giunse un rumore... sommesso, ma insistente; come un gocciolio d'acqua, ma amplificato. Veniva da ogni direzione attorno a lei, tutto in una volta. Le sembrava di percepire dei movimenti tra gli edifici, come serpenti che si preparavano a colpire. Qualcosa stava arrivando, e veniva per lei. Riusciva a sentirlo, anche se non sapeva dargli un nome.
Tsathoggua en y'n an ya phtaggn N'kai.
La Collera di N'Kai di Josh Reynolds, autore di cui avevo letto ed apprezzato in precedenza alcuni romanzi e racconti brevi di Warhammer e Warhammer 40000, è il primo di una nuova serie di romanzi d’avventura arcana e orrore, tratti dal summenzionato celebre gioco Arkham Horror e pubblicati qui da noi da Asmodee Italia in collaborazione con Aconyte Books; la serie di romanzi precedenti in inglese della Fantasy Flight, uscita anni prima e che fortunatamente ho reperito su internet prima che andasse fuori catalogo, non è mai stata invece tradotta e pubblicata qui da noi.
«Quella cosa ha del sangue sulle mani!» esclamò Gomes sottovoce.
«Prima era raggomitolata.»
«Già» disse distrattamente Phipps. «I legacci sulle braccia e le gambe hanno ceduto. Dev'essergli... caduta addosso o qualcosa del genere. Un incidente.» L'unica cosa che Gomes sapeva era che non credeva a una sola parola. «Aiutami a rimetterla nella cassa.»
La contessa Alessandra Zorzi, avventuriera con il furto nel sangue, arriva ad Arkham per impossessarsi su commissione di un'antica mummia, riesumata da un tumulo durante una spedizione universitaria in Oklahoma. Ma prima che riesca a rubarlo, viene battuta sul tempo da una banda di malfattori che fa irruzione armata nel Museo della Miskatonic. Durante lo scontro a fuoco che ne consegue, la contessa incontra lo sguardo della mummia dando il via a tutta una serie di eventi inquietanti che andranno oltre le sue più bizzarre esperienze. Alessandra, presa nel mezzo fra il suo enigmatico e misterioso cliente, la polizia di Arkham ed una setta di cultisti necrofagi, si ritroverà ad inseguire, con l’aiuto della tassista Pepper, una mummia rediviva ed a confrontarsi infine con l’oscuro ed atavico terrore di cui essa è portatrice.
Quando lei tirò fuori la pistola, Gomes si irrigidì e la musica inciampo. Si senti addosso numerose paia di occhi, ma non distolse lo sguardo dalla sua preda. «Lascia che ti spieghi chi sono» disse. «Sono una donna che ha bisogno di risposte e tu sei il fortunato bastardo che me le darà. Ciò dovrebbe rientrare ampiamente nelle tue capacità, per quanto limitate possano essere.»
Ho più che apprezzato questo primo romanzo della serie, quasi un giallo storico o poliziesco di cui già si conosce il colpevole, raccontato quasi completamente dalla prospettiva della contessa Alessandra Zorzi, ladra e avventuriera al soldo di collezionisti con un debole morboso verso reperti macabri ed occulti, con l’aggiunta di elementi soprannaturali ed orrorifici che fanno capolino di tanto in tanto per poi aumentare pagina dopo pagina ed infine esplodere letteralmente in un apocalittico, ma non troppo, finale.
Sussultò lievemente, quando Alessandra scivolò sul sedile posteriore.
«Allora?» chiese.
«Sta nascondendo qualcosa.»
«E quindi?»
«Quindi dovremo tornare. Più tardi, però. Per adesso, meglio andare.»
«Hai in mente qualche posto in particolare?»
Alessandra estrasse la pistola. L'aprì e controllò il caricatore, poi la richiuse con uno scatto del polso.
«Alla Loggia del Crepuscolo d'Argento.»
L’autore ha svolto inoltre un lavoro eccellente nello scrivere una storia accessibile a chi non abbia mai letto Lovecraft in vita sua, e riempiendola allo stesso tempo di riferimenti e ammiccamenti a luoghi, creature e personaggi familiari a chiunque abbia letto in passato qualcosa dei Miti di Cthulhu oppure giocato ad Arkham Horror ed altri suoi epigoni come Le Case della Follia e Il Segno degli Antichi.
Peccato per alcuni personaggi secondari e antagonisti a dir poco blandi per i miei gusti, ma la cittadina di Arkham, cittadina degli anni ‘20 all’apparenza ordinaria, ma che cela al suo interno, al di sotto e nei suoi dintorni, segreti raccapriccianti, descritta in maniera efficace dall’autore, si è rivelata essere fortunatamente una ambientazione più che all’altezza, quasi un comprimario che si affianca alla protagonista ed agli altri personaggi, non limitandosi a fare da sfondo ma sembrare quasi una vera e propria entità pulsante e viva… o morta a seconda dei casi.
Qualcosa in quella frase le diede un brivido e un'immagine del tutto inconsapevole le riempì la mente. Una sagoma massiccia accovacciata su un piedistallo grande come una montagna di pietra crepata; obesa e mostruosa, con la faccia larga come la luna. Una faccia come quella di un rospo, o un pipistrello, o una rivoltante mescolanza di entrambi.
Alessandra scosse la testa.
Magari non sarà il migliore pastiche di orrori lovecraftiani in circolazione, e non aspettatevi assolutamente un capolavoro letterario, ma se invece cercate una lettura leggera d’avventura e pulp con un pizzico di sovrannaturale, una protagonista affascinante a metà tra Lara Croft, Indiana Jones e Fujiko Mine, una trama interessante che si lascia leggere fino alla fine, e soprattutto se avete giocato almeno una volta ad uno dei giochi citati sopra, dategli pure una possibilità.
Per quanto mi riguarda, un perfetto e più che godibile prodotto di intrattenimento di cui, visto il mio amore sviscerato per il gioco che l’ha ispirato, e avendoli già comprati sia in italiano che in inglese a causa del mio deprecabile e maniacale collezionismo ossessivo compulsivo, leggerò prima o poi anche gli altri volumi della serie, inclusi quelli precedenti mai arrivati in Italia ed ormai fuori catalogo, di cui sono un fortunato possessore e dai quali difficilmente mai mi separerò, memore del terribile sbaglio commesso in precedenza quando vendetti la mia preziosa, ed ormai perduta per sempre, copia inestimabile della prima edizione del gioco da tavolo.
Tre stelline e mezzo limacciose e tentacolari.
February 3, 2023
https://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/2...
WRATH OF N'KAI by Josh Reynolds is a licensed game tie-in novel, specifically for Arkham Horror. I don't play Arkham Horror but a friend of mine does and it basically seems to be a boardgame version of Chaosiums' Call of Cthulhu, except published by Fantasy Flight Games. I have an interesting relationship with game tie-in fiction. Basically, it's what made me the reader I am today.
I was a fanatical consumer of Dungeons and Dragons fiction from around thirteen to nineteen with perhaps two hundred or so books under my belt. All of them five-dollar paperbacks from my local Waldenbooks: Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and so on. Technically, my love of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was the same as I devoured the books chiefly because of my love of Star Wars D6 by West End Games. Later, I'd read a large chunk of Dan Abnett and William King's work in Warhammer and Warhammer 40K.
Even as a teenager, I felt they were essentially like fast food. They were filling, what I wanted, and not at all "good" for me. Some of them were things that stayed with me for decades, though, like Dragonlance Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I always felt Chaosium missed the boat by not churning out Call of Cthulhu books the same way TSR did. Perhaps it was a fear that they would dilute the brand by having investigators fighting against the Mythos versus going insane or dying horribly as the stereotype of Lovecraft protagonists was.
Which is a very long winded introduction into saying that Wrath of N'Kai is book I wish I'd read twenty years ago and was a trilogy rather than a standalone. It's exactly what I want from a Cthulhu Mythos themed adventure novel and a Pulpy throwback that hits the spot perfectly. No one will ever accuse me of having refined tastes but I read a lot (350 Goodreads ratings last year) and this is on track to being my favorite read of 2023. There's a beauty to sincere use of adventure and classic horror movie tropes that jumps off the page.
The premise is a beautiful female cat burglar, Countess Alessandra Zorzi, has been hired to steal a mummy found by archaeologists working in Oklahoma. Existing in the world of Call of Cthulhu/Arkham Horror, a lot of her clients are occultist weirdos so this doesn't strike her as too strange. Befriending a young cabbie named Pepper who becomes her sidekick, stalked by an insurance investigator PI out to see her jailed, and dealing with old enemies who want to see her dead--she would be an interesting protagonist even without the Cthulhu Mythos elements.
But the use of Cthulhu Mythos elements are well done and Arkham is brought to life in a rich not-entirely-realistic way that makes me feel the city is a Waterdeep or Mos Eisley I'd love to visit. I admit part of the fun is picking out all the references I get. The Order of the Silver Twilght? I remember those guys! They were the villains of The Shadows of Yog Sothoth! Is that a reference to HP Lovecraft's The Mound? Why, yes, it is.
The Countess is really the best reason to enjoy this book, though, as she has a kind of Phryne Fisher 1920s style free spirited energy and enjoyment factor that makes her a tremendous read. She's not a real countess, she drove an ambulance in WW1, and keeps a pistol for dealing with disgruntled clients as well as victims both. It says what I think best needs to be said about this book that I really wish I had more books about her and Pepper robbing evil wizards across Europe or the Americas. Kudos also to the cover artist for successfully evoking what sort of book this is by the art style.
WRATH OF N'KAI by Josh Reynolds is a licensed game tie-in novel, specifically for Arkham Horror. I don't play Arkham Horror but a friend of mine does and it basically seems to be a boardgame version of Chaosiums' Call of Cthulhu, except published by Fantasy Flight Games. I have an interesting relationship with game tie-in fiction. Basically, it's what made me the reader I am today.
I was a fanatical consumer of Dungeons and Dragons fiction from around thirteen to nineteen with perhaps two hundred or so books under my belt. All of them five-dollar paperbacks from my local Waldenbooks: Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and so on. Technically, my love of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was the same as I devoured the books chiefly because of my love of Star Wars D6 by West End Games. Later, I'd read a large chunk of Dan Abnett and William King's work in Warhammer and Warhammer 40K.
Even as a teenager, I felt they were essentially like fast food. They were filling, what I wanted, and not at all "good" for me. Some of them were things that stayed with me for decades, though, like Dragonlance Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I always felt Chaosium missed the boat by not churning out Call of Cthulhu books the same way TSR did. Perhaps it was a fear that they would dilute the brand by having investigators fighting against the Mythos versus going insane or dying horribly as the stereotype of Lovecraft protagonists was.
Which is a very long winded introduction into saying that Wrath of N'Kai is book I wish I'd read twenty years ago and was a trilogy rather than a standalone. It's exactly what I want from a Cthulhu Mythos themed adventure novel and a Pulpy throwback that hits the spot perfectly. No one will ever accuse me of having refined tastes but I read a lot (350 Goodreads ratings last year) and this is on track to being my favorite read of 2023. There's a beauty to sincere use of adventure and classic horror movie tropes that jumps off the page.
The premise is a beautiful female cat burglar, Countess Alessandra Zorzi, has been hired to steal a mummy found by archaeologists working in Oklahoma. Existing in the world of Call of Cthulhu/Arkham Horror, a lot of her clients are occultist weirdos so this doesn't strike her as too strange. Befriending a young cabbie named Pepper who becomes her sidekick, stalked by an insurance investigator PI out to see her jailed, and dealing with old enemies who want to see her dead--she would be an interesting protagonist even without the Cthulhu Mythos elements.
But the use of Cthulhu Mythos elements are well done and Arkham is brought to life in a rich not-entirely-realistic way that makes me feel the city is a Waterdeep or Mos Eisley I'd love to visit. I admit part of the fun is picking out all the references I get. The Order of the Silver Twilght? I remember those guys! They were the villains of The Shadows of Yog Sothoth! Is that a reference to HP Lovecraft's The Mound? Why, yes, it is.
The Countess is really the best reason to enjoy this book, though, as she has a kind of Phryne Fisher 1920s style free spirited energy and enjoyment factor that makes her a tremendous read. She's not a real countess, she drove an ambulance in WW1, and keeps a pistol for dealing with disgruntled clients as well as victims both. It says what I think best needs to be said about this book that I really wish I had more books about her and Pepper robbing evil wizards across Europe or the Americas. Kudos also to the cover artist for successfully evoking what sort of book this is by the art style.
February 3, 2023
https://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/2...
WRATH OF N'KAI by Josh Reynolds is a licensed game tie-in novel, specifically for Arkham Horror. I don't play Arkham Horror but a friend of mine does and it basically seems to be a boardgame version of Chaosiums' Call of Cthulhu, except published by Fantasy Flight Games. I have an interesting relationship with game tie-in fiction. Basically, it's what made me the reader I am today.
I was a fanatical consumer of Dungeons and Dragons fiction from around thirteen to nineteen with perhaps two hundred or so books under my belt. All of them five-dollar paperbacks from my local Waldenbooks: Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and so on. Technically, my love of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was the same as I devoured the books chiefly because of my love of Star Wars D6 by West End Games. Later, I'd read a large chunk of Dan Abnett and William King's work in Warhammer and Warhammer 40K.
Even as a teenager, I felt they were essentially like fast food. They were filling, what I wanted, and not at all "good" for me. Some of them were things that stayed with me for decades, though, like Dragonlance Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I always felt Chaosium missed the boat by not churning out Call of Cthulhu books the same way TSR did. Perhaps it was a fear that they would dilute the brand by having investigators fighting against the Mythos versus going insane or dying horribly as the stereotype of Lovecraft protagonists was.
Which is a very long winded introduction into saying that Wrath of N'Kai is book I wish I'd read twenty years ago and was a trilogy rather than a standalone. It's exactly what I want from a Cthulhu Mythos themed adventure novel and a Pulpy throwback that hits the spot perfectly. No one will ever accuse me of having refined tastes but I read a lot (350 Goodreads ratings last year) and this is on track to being my favorite read of 2023. There's a beauty to sincere use of adventure and classic horror movie tropes that jumps off the page.
The premise is a beautiful female cat burglar, Countess Alessandra Zorzi, has been hired to steal a mummy found by archaeologists working in Oklahoma. Existing in the world of Call of Cthulhu/Arkham Horror, a lot of her clients are occultist weirdos so this doesn't strike her as too strange. Befriending a young cabbie named Pepper who becomes her sidekick, stalked by an insurance investigator PI out to see her jailed, and dealing with old enemies who want to see her dead--she would be an interesting protagonist even without the Cthulhu Mythos elements.
But the use of Cthulhu Mythos elements are well done and Arkham is brought to life in a rich not-entirely-realistic way that makes me feel the city is a Waterdeep or Mos Eisley I'd love to visit. I admit part of the fun is picking out all the references I get. The Order of the Silver Twilght? I remember those guys! They were the villains of The Shadows of Yog Sothoth! Is that a reference to HP Lovecraft's The Mound? Why, yes, it is.
The Countess is really the best reason to enjoy this book, though, as she has a kind of Phryne Fisher 1920s style free spirited energy and enjoyment factor that makes her a tremendous read. She's not a real countess, she drove an ambulance in WW1, and keeps a pistol for dealing with disgruntled clients as well as victims both. It says what I think best needs to be said about this book that I really wish I had more books about her and Pepper robbing evil wizards across Europe or the Americas. Kudos also to the cover artist for successfully evoking what sort of book this is by the art style.
WRATH OF N'KAI by Josh Reynolds is a licensed game tie-in novel, specifically for Arkham Horror. I don't play Arkham Horror but a friend of mine does and it basically seems to be a boardgame version of Chaosiums' Call of Cthulhu, except published by Fantasy Flight Games. I have an interesting relationship with game tie-in fiction. Basically, it's what made me the reader I am today.
I was a fanatical consumer of Dungeons and Dragons fiction from around thirteen to nineteen with perhaps two hundred or so books under my belt. All of them five-dollar paperbacks from my local Waldenbooks: Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and so on. Technically, my love of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was the same as I devoured the books chiefly because of my love of Star Wars D6 by West End Games. Later, I'd read a large chunk of Dan Abnett and William King's work in Warhammer and Warhammer 40K.
Even as a teenager, I felt they were essentially like fast food. They were filling, what I wanted, and not at all "good" for me. Some of them were things that stayed with me for decades, though, like Dragonlance Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I always felt Chaosium missed the boat by not churning out Call of Cthulhu books the same way TSR did. Perhaps it was a fear that they would dilute the brand by having investigators fighting against the Mythos versus going insane or dying horribly as the stereotype of Lovecraft protagonists was.
Which is a very long winded introduction into saying that Wrath of N'Kai is book I wish I'd read twenty years ago and was a trilogy rather than a standalone. It's exactly what I want from a Cthulhu Mythos themed adventure novel and a Pulpy throwback that hits the spot perfectly. No one will ever accuse me of having refined tastes but I read a lot (350 Goodreads ratings last year) and this is on track to being my favorite read of 2023. There's a beauty to sincere use of adventure and classic horror movie tropes that jumps off the page.
The premise is a beautiful female cat burglar, Countess Alessandra Zorzi, has been hired to steal a mummy found by archaeologists working in Oklahoma. Existing in the world of Call of Cthulhu/Arkham Horror, a lot of her clients are occultist weirdos so this doesn't strike her as too strange. Befriending a young cabbie named Pepper who becomes her sidekick, stalked by an insurance investigator PI out to see her jailed, and dealing with old enemies who want to see her dead--she would be an interesting protagonist even without the Cthulhu Mythos elements.
But the use of Cthulhu Mythos elements are well done and Arkham is brought to life in a rich not-entirely-realistic way that makes me feel the city is a Waterdeep or Mos Eisley I'd love to visit. I admit part of the fun is picking out all the references I get. The Order of the Silver Twilght? I remember those guys! They were the villains of The Shadows of Yog Sothoth! Is that a reference to HP Lovecraft's The Mound? Why, yes, it is.
The Countess is really the best reason to enjoy this book, though, as she has a kind of Phryne Fisher 1920s style free spirited energy and enjoyment factor that makes her a tremendous read. She's not a real countess, she drove an ambulance in WW1, and keeps a pistol for dealing with disgruntled clients as well as victims both. It says what I think best needs to be said about this book that I really wish I had more books about her and Pepper robbing evil wizards across Europe or the Americas. Kudos also to the cover artist for successfully evoking what sort of book this is by the art style.
May 18, 2020
After my review of Tales from The Crucible, Aconyte reached out to set me up with a new copy of Wrath if N’Kai by Josh Reynolds.
So here are some disclaimers which are always important to put out there first. I am a friend of Josh on Facebook, and whilst we aren’t beat buds, we do interact with each other and I consider him a class person, and I have very much enjoyed his work with Black Library.
Secondly I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So Arkham Horror is not a game I have actually played, I fancy it, but me and the Cthulhu mythos have never been quite on the same wavelength.
I have never read any H.P. Lovecraft books, my first exposure to them was at a small convention in London when I was about 12, it was actually a convention for Corps of Drums, not even speculative fiction.
Basically an older chap was reading a book and it lead into a discussion lead by a BAME person about the issues of racism in his work, and even the chap reading the book was pretty clear that there was some nasty racism in some of his work.
As I said I have never read any, that discussion put me off, but I have read stuff by other authors, never a novel, usually short stories and played games set in the mythos. I have so many Cthulhu expansions for games that one would think I am a huge fan.
I can play all of Munchkin Cthulhu, get all the references and jokes, but as I said never read a single Lovecraft story.
It’s a gap in my knowledge that I am actually going to try and fill, I was recently gifted an audiobook of the complete fiction of Lovecraft, so am considering giving that a listen, but I will admit the racism is something that I will be on edge about.
What is Arkham Horror
Anyway that put to one side, let’s look at this book, by first looking at the game Arkham Horror which is a cooperative game, originally designed by Richard Launius, and is now in its third edition which was released in 2019.
It’s published by Fantasy Flight Games, a subsidiary of Asmodee, and is set in 1926 in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Each player takes on the role of an investigator, who are working to stop the Ancient Ones, eldritch horrors which lurk in the void beyond space and time.
It’s a 1-6 player game and you work together to gather clues and defeat the evil of the Ancient Ones and save the world.
As I said I haven’t actually played Arkham Horror but I do own its spin off Elder Sign the cooperative dice game.
The Story
It’s a 1920 whodunit told mostly from the perspective of master thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi who arrives in the town of Arkham, hired by a mysterious cabal to steal a newly discovered mummy.
The eldritch prologue sets you up for some occult horror, but the book largely steered clear of that, which given that the protagonist is not that familiar with the intricacies of the occult makes sense.
The setting is deep and rich, with gangsters and bootleggers, all speaking with 1920s US slang. It’s a real atmospheric period piece that evokes the days of prohibition, with just a hint of eldritch terror and added tommy guns.
Alessandra herself is a very three dimensional character and extremely well developed beyond the trope of the aristocratic thief. We see her backstory teased out over the book, learning more about her as we go though, and as I said, she is more than just the trope.
Her driver Pepper was actually my favourite character in the story, they have their own secret, although this is revealed early on. They are full of spunk and as mentioned by a gangster they deal with, moxie.
It’s a really fast paced book, that I literally devoured over two sittings, one that got me 20% of the way in and the rest in an evening that kept me reading until 3am! I was just utterly drawn in by the story with its twists and turns.
As I said I haven’t played Arkham Horror, but I have played Elder Sign and I recognised lots of elements of that games story mechanics in this book.
And given my surface knowledge of Lovecrafts work, I did recognise a few little nods to those within the story that will please those who are more familiar.
There is a bit of a creep factor in there, and there were certainly bits that had my skin crawling just a little, but not so much to put me off. It’s very light in terms of horror, which makes it very accessible.
Conclusion
Personally I loved this book, it was a throughly enjoyable story which whilst grounded in the Cthulhu mythos, did not delve into it too deeply, nor did it require me to have more than passing knowledge.
In fact I think if a layperson was to pick up this book and read it, they would get on with it perfectly fine without knowing a thing about the mythos.
This book was great and for me it was a fantastic read. I particularly enjoyed a strong female protagonist who at no point needed any romantic entanglements, and the pulpy 1920s nature of the story was just delightful.
I really hope that the countess and Pepper return to Arkham for some more adventures, this is kind of hinted at, but please Josh, do it!
So here are some disclaimers which are always important to put out there first. I am a friend of Josh on Facebook, and whilst we aren’t beat buds, we do interact with each other and I consider him a class person, and I have very much enjoyed his work with Black Library.
Secondly I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So Arkham Horror is not a game I have actually played, I fancy it, but me and the Cthulhu mythos have never been quite on the same wavelength.
I have never read any H.P. Lovecraft books, my first exposure to them was at a small convention in London when I was about 12, it was actually a convention for Corps of Drums, not even speculative fiction.
Basically an older chap was reading a book and it lead into a discussion lead by a BAME person about the issues of racism in his work, and even the chap reading the book was pretty clear that there was some nasty racism in some of his work.
As I said I have never read any, that discussion put me off, but I have read stuff by other authors, never a novel, usually short stories and played games set in the mythos. I have so many Cthulhu expansions for games that one would think I am a huge fan.
I can play all of Munchkin Cthulhu, get all the references and jokes, but as I said never read a single Lovecraft story.
It’s a gap in my knowledge that I am actually going to try and fill, I was recently gifted an audiobook of the complete fiction of Lovecraft, so am considering giving that a listen, but I will admit the racism is something that I will be on edge about.
What is Arkham Horror
Anyway that put to one side, let’s look at this book, by first looking at the game Arkham Horror which is a cooperative game, originally designed by Richard Launius, and is now in its third edition which was released in 2019.
It’s published by Fantasy Flight Games, a subsidiary of Asmodee, and is set in 1926 in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Each player takes on the role of an investigator, who are working to stop the Ancient Ones, eldritch horrors which lurk in the void beyond space and time.
It’s a 1-6 player game and you work together to gather clues and defeat the evil of the Ancient Ones and save the world.
As I said I haven’t actually played Arkham Horror but I do own its spin off Elder Sign the cooperative dice game.
The Story
It’s a 1920 whodunit told mostly from the perspective of master thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi who arrives in the town of Arkham, hired by a mysterious cabal to steal a newly discovered mummy.
The eldritch prologue sets you up for some occult horror, but the book largely steered clear of that, which given that the protagonist is not that familiar with the intricacies of the occult makes sense.
The setting is deep and rich, with gangsters and bootleggers, all speaking with 1920s US slang. It’s a real atmospheric period piece that evokes the days of prohibition, with just a hint of eldritch terror and added tommy guns.
Alessandra herself is a very three dimensional character and extremely well developed beyond the trope of the aristocratic thief. We see her backstory teased out over the book, learning more about her as we go though, and as I said, she is more than just the trope.
Her driver Pepper was actually my favourite character in the story, they have their own secret, although this is revealed early on. They are full of spunk and as mentioned by a gangster they deal with, moxie.
It’s a really fast paced book, that I literally devoured over two sittings, one that got me 20% of the way in and the rest in an evening that kept me reading until 3am! I was just utterly drawn in by the story with its twists and turns.
As I said I haven’t played Arkham Horror, but I have played Elder Sign and I recognised lots of elements of that games story mechanics in this book.
And given my surface knowledge of Lovecrafts work, I did recognise a few little nods to those within the story that will please those who are more familiar.
There is a bit of a creep factor in there, and there were certainly bits that had my skin crawling just a little, but not so much to put me off. It’s very light in terms of horror, which makes it very accessible.
Conclusion
Personally I loved this book, it was a throughly enjoyable story which whilst grounded in the Cthulhu mythos, did not delve into it too deeply, nor did it require me to have more than passing knowledge.
In fact I think if a layperson was to pick up this book and read it, they would get on with it perfectly fine without knowing a thing about the mythos.
This book was great and for me it was a fantastic read. I particularly enjoyed a strong female protagonist who at no point needed any romantic entanglements, and the pulpy 1920s nature of the story was just delightful.
I really hope that the countess and Pepper return to Arkham for some more adventures, this is kind of hinted at, but please Josh, do it!
March 15, 2021
Well, this was a fast read (to me) only a 4 sips and that was it. What to tell abou this...
In this story we follow Alessandra (the countess thief) as she is in her new quest to steal a mummy. Yeah.
After the first 40 or 50 pages this novel turns more mystery focus and only at some parts (very brief) it has something akin to Lovecraftian horror. I have to mention that the last 40 pages of the book are the real Lovecraftian lore (although a bit underachieve to be honest).
Of course there are mentions of the boardgames all over the place... be that be Silver Twilight Lodge; O'Bannon; same places in Arkham and several characters. The only one that really had any impact was Muldoon. (The police officer).
If you didn't play any kind of boardgames like Arkham Horror; Elder Sign, Eldritch Horror; New Arkham Horror 3edition; Arkham Horror LCG or Mansion of Madness (in all of these games the characters are the same - I cannot confirm in 100% for Mansion since it's the only one I didn't play) you will not be at lost. They don't focus heavily on those but give us hints to us that play like the beforementioned Muldoon; Harvey; Daisy Walker and small others that appear also in Lovecraft like Armitage.
It was not fast paced, bear in mind that this is more on board with Arkham Horror 3dition OR more LCG because Eldritch you go all over the world; Mansion of Madness it's always inside a mansion(or adjacents parts) and Elder Sign it's just a lite version with no plot. Just dice rolling.
Overall I enjoy it and will buy the next ones; to new people it would be a good read; but it's not the best lovecraftian horror story more... Whodunit? It's the term I believe for this....
In this story we follow Alessandra (the countess thief) as she is in her new quest to steal a mummy. Yeah.
After the first 40 or 50 pages this novel turns more mystery focus and only at some parts (very brief) it has something akin to Lovecraftian horror. I have to mention that the last 40 pages of the book are the real Lovecraftian lore (although a bit underachieve to be honest).
Of course there are mentions of the boardgames all over the place... be that be Silver Twilight Lodge; O'Bannon; same places in Arkham and several characters. The only one that really had any impact was Muldoon. (The police officer).
If you didn't play any kind of boardgames like Arkham Horror; Elder Sign, Eldritch Horror; New Arkham Horror 3edition; Arkham Horror LCG or Mansion of Madness (in all of these games the characters are the same - I cannot confirm in 100% for Mansion since it's the only one I didn't play) you will not be at lost. They don't focus heavily on those but give us hints to us that play like the beforementioned Muldoon; Harvey; Daisy Walker and small others that appear also in Lovecraft like Armitage.
It was not fast paced, bear in mind that this is more on board with Arkham Horror 3dition OR more LCG because Eldritch you go all over the world; Mansion of Madness it's always inside a mansion(or adjacents parts) and Elder Sign it's just a lite version with no plot. Just dice rolling.
Overall I enjoy it and will buy the next ones; to new people it would be a good read; but it's not the best lovecraftian horror story more... Whodunit? It's the term I believe for this....
August 12, 2024
A typical Arkham Horror book. It felt a tad long.
March 27, 2023
Wrath of N'kai (Arkham Horror #10) by Joshua Reynolds is another great installment of this series. I've never played any of the games, but I have been enjoying the Arkham Horror tie-in novels that I've read so far. While I wouldn't say that this isn't the best one, it's still worth a read. I love how atmospheric it is. I really liked getting to know Countess Alessandra Zorzi in this story.
June 24, 2022
The Wrath of N’kai is good tie-in fiction. Honestly, the bar is lower for tie-in fiction as opposed to other narratives, because oftentimes the narrative is constrained by what the primary medium is. I talked about this when I reviewed Twilight Imperium: The Fractured Void (both Twilight Imperium and Arkham Horror are board game franchise owned by Fantasy Flight Games). Since the primary medium is a game, and all the characters/factions/groups/ect. need to start at an established status quo, there is not much that can be resolved when using characters/locations/events in a secondary medium.
Thankfully, Wrath of N’kai sidesteps this by making its protagonist, and primary supporting cast, characters that exist in the world, but are not preestablished characters. The primary point of view character is Countess Alessandra Zorzi, an acquirer of macabre and occult things; see also: thief. She comes to Arkham, Massachusetts, to steal a macabre and occult thing, as is her passion and profession. Alessandra is allowed to breath and is an enjoyable character to view the story with. One of the aspects I enjoyed most is her grasp of the English language. I was never sure if she don’t understand idioms, or pretended not to to keep others off balance. I tend to lean more so towards the latter. I do have one quibble with the character, and it is the choice to have her afflicted with visions/nightmares midway through the book. The nightmares are a bit to sparse to make me think she is losing her sanity. The author didn’t commit to the bit, and I did not enjoy the half-attempt.
As for the other two Romany POV characters Penny, a woman-masquerading-as-a-man cab driver, is the first. She is fine. If there is social commentary about the role of women in the 1920s, it is as surface level as possible. Penny dressing as a man does not really affect the story all that much, but also isn’t a distraction. It’s a choice that could have benefited from more commentary. The other character is Whitlock, an insurance agent/investigator who, wouldn’t you know it, has only ever failed one case, one associated with the Countess herself. Unfortunately, it is almost preordained that Whitlock would fail again when it comes to the Countess. I never seriously considered Whitlock to be effective throughout the novel. He wasn’t wasted perse but establishing him as bland in the very first chapter, and then immediately revealing that he has only failed when the Countess is around removes him as a major threat in my mind, and turns him more into a minor roadblock.
One of the bigger flaws is the inclusion of 3 (maybe 4?) chapters from Gomes. There is not enough time spent with him to get to know him before he leaves the narrative. He has a dame, and that’s it. I think a more effective method of presenting this POV would have been to shorten his segment to one interstitial chapter and use the chapter spaces to add other one-chapter interstitial chapters from other points of view.
The Arkham Horror franchise is set in the world created by HP Lovecraft, where dread Cthulhu lies both dead and dreaming in his sunken city of R’lyeh, where the great race of Yith catalogs information across ages, where cultists perform arcane and profane rites, amongst other horrors. While the board games use metrics of horror and health to create tension, HP Lovecraft wrote short fiction with a cosmological, supernatural, sense of persistent dread. Personally, I feel that HP Lovecraft can only be truly captured in short fiction and novellas. The mastery to create the tension in The Shadow out of Time, or the Dunwich Horror, over a long form novel is few and far in between. Thankfully, HP Lovecraft was writing in the 1910-1930s. Looking back, we also have the rich playground of the that time period to play with.
The smartest aspect of the Wrath of N’Kai is that it is pulp first, with dashes of cosmic horror here and there. In true Lovecraft fashion that author goes full into the occult in the last segment of the novel. Where HP Lovecraft would use the proceeding pages to build tension, the Arkham Horror franchise opts to a more pulpy approach with an occult climax.
The mystery aspect of the Wrath of N’Kai is bog standard. Sherlock Holmes would roll his eyes at the case. Any above average gumshoe would find little mysterious about the theft featured in this story. Thankfully, as mentioned previously, the Countess is an enjoyable enough character to experience the events through.
One of the greatest sins of tie-in fiction is the sheer eyestrain of winking at the reader that can occur. This was a problem with the two Twilight imperium novels as well (though worse in the first one). Arkham Horror isn’t as bogged down with unnecessary references as Twilight Imperium is thankfully. The difference is a matter of scale. The references from the game fit in the narrative. The cop character, the librarian character, both appear, and the cop is doing cop things, and the librarian is doing librarian things. The other characters that appear from the games are doing role and time period appropriate things.
Before I finish, I want to point out one character. HP Lovecraft created Dr. Henry Armitage, one of the few protagonists to defeat the occult, arcane monstrosity featured in one of the short stories. As one of the few survivors (and from one of the most popular stories), the Arkham Horror setting uses him on more than one occasion. Seeing as he is the principal librarian at Miskatonic University (located in Arkham) it feels that Dr. Armitage is going to be the Nick Fury character of these Arkham novels. He is a character primed to be the connective tissue between potentially dozens of characters, and, honestly, I wouldn’t be opposed to the occasional investigator team-up at the behest of Dr. Armitage.
I have the next Arkham Horror novels, and plan to read them throughout the rest of the year. One thing I hope they do is not take the Arkham aspect of Arkham Horror to seriously. There is a whole wide world to explore, and confining future novels to Arkham will quickly grow old. As the characters frequently point out in the novel, Arkham is only so big. Let’s see the rest of the world.
The Wrath of N’Kai is a good pulp adventure, with a good number of references to the source material. I applaud the initiative to create new characters. This is a great first step for the revamped Arkham Horror novel series. I know the authors change from book to book, so I hope the quality at least remains consistent with this novel. 3/5.
Thankfully, Wrath of N’kai sidesteps this by making its protagonist, and primary supporting cast, characters that exist in the world, but are not preestablished characters. The primary point of view character is Countess Alessandra Zorzi, an acquirer of macabre and occult things; see also: thief. She comes to Arkham, Massachusetts, to steal a macabre and occult thing, as is her passion and profession. Alessandra is allowed to breath and is an enjoyable character to view the story with. One of the aspects I enjoyed most is her grasp of the English language. I was never sure if she don’t understand idioms, or pretended not to to keep others off balance. I tend to lean more so towards the latter. I do have one quibble with the character, and it is the choice to have her afflicted with visions/nightmares midway through the book. The nightmares are a bit to sparse to make me think she is losing her sanity. The author didn’t commit to the bit, and I did not enjoy the half-attempt.
As for the other two Romany POV characters Penny, a woman-masquerading-as-a-man cab driver, is the first. She is fine. If there is social commentary about the role of women in the 1920s, it is as surface level as possible. Penny dressing as a man does not really affect the story all that much, but also isn’t a distraction. It’s a choice that could have benefited from more commentary. The other character is Whitlock, an insurance agent/investigator who, wouldn’t you know it, has only ever failed one case, one associated with the Countess herself. Unfortunately, it is almost preordained that Whitlock would fail again when it comes to the Countess. I never seriously considered Whitlock to be effective throughout the novel. He wasn’t wasted perse but establishing him as bland in the very first chapter, and then immediately revealing that he has only failed when the Countess is around removes him as a major threat in my mind, and turns him more into a minor roadblock.
One of the bigger flaws is the inclusion of 3 (maybe 4?) chapters from Gomes. There is not enough time spent with him to get to know him before he leaves the narrative. He has a dame, and that’s it. I think a more effective method of presenting this POV would have been to shorten his segment to one interstitial chapter and use the chapter spaces to add other one-chapter interstitial chapters from other points of view.
The Arkham Horror franchise is set in the world created by HP Lovecraft, where dread Cthulhu lies both dead and dreaming in his sunken city of R’lyeh, where the great race of Yith catalogs information across ages, where cultists perform arcane and profane rites, amongst other horrors. While the board games use metrics of horror and health to create tension, HP Lovecraft wrote short fiction with a cosmological, supernatural, sense of persistent dread. Personally, I feel that HP Lovecraft can only be truly captured in short fiction and novellas. The mastery to create the tension in The Shadow out of Time, or the Dunwich Horror, over a long form novel is few and far in between. Thankfully, HP Lovecraft was writing in the 1910-1930s. Looking back, we also have the rich playground of the that time period to play with.
The smartest aspect of the Wrath of N’Kai is that it is pulp first, with dashes of cosmic horror here and there. In true Lovecraft fashion that author goes full into the occult in the last segment of the novel. Where HP Lovecraft would use the proceeding pages to build tension, the Arkham Horror franchise opts to a more pulpy approach with an occult climax.
The mystery aspect of the Wrath of N’Kai is bog standard. Sherlock Holmes would roll his eyes at the case. Any above average gumshoe would find little mysterious about the theft featured in this story. Thankfully, as mentioned previously, the Countess is an enjoyable enough character to experience the events through.
One of the greatest sins of tie-in fiction is the sheer eyestrain of winking at the reader that can occur. This was a problem with the two Twilight imperium novels as well (though worse in the first one). Arkham Horror isn’t as bogged down with unnecessary references as Twilight Imperium is thankfully. The difference is a matter of scale. The references from the game fit in the narrative. The cop character, the librarian character, both appear, and the cop is doing cop things, and the librarian is doing librarian things. The other characters that appear from the games are doing role and time period appropriate things.
Before I finish, I want to point out one character. HP Lovecraft created Dr. Henry Armitage, one of the few protagonists to defeat the occult, arcane monstrosity featured in one of the short stories. As one of the few survivors (and from one of the most popular stories), the Arkham Horror setting uses him on more than one occasion. Seeing as he is the principal librarian at Miskatonic University (located in Arkham) it feels that Dr. Armitage is going to be the Nick Fury character of these Arkham novels. He is a character primed to be the connective tissue between potentially dozens of characters, and, honestly, I wouldn’t be opposed to the occasional investigator team-up at the behest of Dr. Armitage.
I have the next Arkham Horror novels, and plan to read them throughout the rest of the year. One thing I hope they do is not take the Arkham aspect of Arkham Horror to seriously. There is a whole wide world to explore, and confining future novels to Arkham will quickly grow old. As the characters frequently point out in the novel, Arkham is only so big. Let’s see the rest of the world.
The Wrath of N’Kai is a good pulp adventure, with a good number of references to the source material. I applaud the initiative to create new characters. This is a great first step for the revamped Arkham Horror novel series. I know the authors change from book to book, so I hope the quality at least remains consistent with this novel. 3/5.
June 3, 2022
I’ve played Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu for a few years now, along with Arkham Horror & Mansions of Madness. I’ve read the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. So I’m well versed in the world/mythos of where this book takes place. I found this story adequate, but found a certain charm in it. I did enjoy the being introduced to some of Investigators from the Mansions of Madness/Arkham Horror games (Preston Fairmont (Millionaire), Harvey Walters (Professor) & Tommy Muldoon (Rookie Cop)). The one issue I had with this book was it felt more like a mystery novel with splashes of horror. A lot of repeated running around to the same places asking questions to the same people.
This might not be a book for everyone.
This might not be a book for everyone.
December 18, 2020
The right amount of pulp with known actors from the lovecraftian mythos (Dr. Armitage etc). Very interesting but it's being marketed as a novel of the Arkham Horror series of board games, while in truth it's just a lovecraftian story. Anyone who has read anything regarding Arkham will find familiar references, places and people.Really enjoyable, nothing too special.
November 16, 2020
Fun and pulpy read. Not great but good. It's more of a mystery story than eldritch, Lovecraftian terror but if you know that going in, it's fine. The ending is pretty gruesome but it's like the last 50 pages. Overall a serviceable story but I would have preferred more horror.
January 26, 2023
Decent Lovecraft inspired book.
I didn't like the first half that much. Besides the main character and her sidekick, all the characters were very similar and confused me.
The second half was fantastic and I think the ending is on-par if not better than any of Lovecraft's endings I've read.
I didn't like the first half that much. Besides the main character and her sidekick, all the characters were very similar and confused me.
The second half was fantastic and I think the ending is on-par if not better than any of Lovecraft's endings I've read.
February 5, 2023
I love playing the Arkham Horror LCG, and to get to explore Arkham more in depth in this adventure was really fun. The locations and a few familiar characters really made the world bigger.
Alessandra is a thief and the writing likes to constantly remind us that she is, with out of context items she's stolen or locations that she's been to - but ends it at that. It never elaborates on those jobs or why they're brought up leaving you knowing very little and then moving on. So those parts got a bit repetitive whilst always been left in the dark about the full history.
Apart from this quarry, it was an easy read, an interesting plot, and I'm keen for the sequel "Shadows of Pnath".
Alessandra is a thief and the writing likes to constantly remind us that she is, with out of context items she's stolen or locations that she's been to - but ends it at that. It never elaborates on those jobs or why they're brought up leaving you knowing very little and then moving on. So those parts got a bit repetitive whilst always been left in the dark about the full history.
Apart from this quarry, it was an easy read, an interesting plot, and I'm keen for the sequel "Shadows of Pnath".
June 3, 2024
A fun horror adaptation of the lovecraftian source material. It requires some knowledge of either the board game it's based on or other mythos knowledge, but is well written and explains what it needs to without being too long winded. It moves beyond the confines of its references and creates a full story out of the borrowed characters and themes. It has a dark, twisting mystery and enough intrigue to keep one interested all the way through.
October 25, 2021
This was a very entertaining horror set in 1920's. Was intrigued by the cover and wasn't disappointed
August 10, 2025
kul story med bra worldbuilding i arkham horror universumet, en spännande inblick i kultister och uråldriga krafter
September 13, 2024
I've enjoyed the other handful of Arkham Horror novels that I've tried, but this one felt much more like the tie-in novels of other franchises that have been something of a guilty displeasure for me. There's a safety in knowing that you're going to get exactly what you expect when you dive into one of these, and I think there's a place for these in a literary diet, but I this one was a case of wrong-place-wrong-time for me. Not enough to sink my teeth into.
September 10, 2020
Turns out Josh can write Lovecraftian horror for FFG’s Arkham Horror franchise just as well as he can handle his Warhammer fiction. Smart, detailed, and immersive pulp horror fun.
September 7, 2020
Review copy provided by the publisher.
I'm familiar with Josh's work for Black Library but this is the first book I've read of his outside that range, and the first under the Arkham Horror banner.
Wrath of N'Kai is a pulp adventure/thriller set in the titular American town of Arkham between the wars, starring gentlewoman-thief Alessandra Zorzi and a supporting cast of expected and unexpected characters. Bootleggers, detectives, professors, hoodlums, cultists and cabbies all make an appearance, but the passages from the perspective of a being beyond mortal understanding are highlights.
There are echoes of Indiana Jones here, both in the time period as well as the occult-archaeology of the piece's villains. Zorzi is more Belloq than Jones, however, as she is in the hunt for the artifact in question for mercenary motives only. She is a specialised thief servicing a high-class clientele of dabblers in historical curiosities. In Arkham to obtain a recently unearthed mummy, she quickly finds herself up against rivals willing to kill to secure it themselves, and with an employer positively eager to kill her if she should fail.
While Zorzi's line of work makes her an ideal candidate to star in a potential series of pulp adventures, I found her sidekick Pepper to be the most compelling character. A recent arrival to Arkham who disguises her gender to work as a cab driver, she's well out of her depth both socially and esoterically but makes a great foil for our protagonist, and the character I most wanted to know more about after finishing.
While there is a supernatural mystery for Zorzi to unravel and some unnerving moments, this was never a particularly horrifying tale. It plays into the tropes you might expect, but with just enough twists on them to keep things interesting. I felt a bit more could have been done to describe Arkham to me, if it's to be the setting of a series of books, though that may not be what's intended. As it is the Arkham of Arkham Horror feels a bit bare-bones.
Overall I enjoyed it, particularly the character Pepper and seeing the point of view of a gribbly horror. I would have appreciated some more detail in the setting, but this did allow the plot to keep up a rollicking pace. If "Gentlewoman-thief and plucky cab driver plot to steal a mummy amongst a between-the-wars cast of socialites, gangsters, academics and cultists" sounds like a good time then I heartily recommend Wrath of N'Kai.
I'm familiar with Josh's work for Black Library but this is the first book I've read of his outside that range, and the first under the Arkham Horror banner.
Wrath of N'Kai is a pulp adventure/thriller set in the titular American town of Arkham between the wars, starring gentlewoman-thief Alessandra Zorzi and a supporting cast of expected and unexpected characters. Bootleggers, detectives, professors, hoodlums, cultists and cabbies all make an appearance, but the passages from the perspective of a being beyond mortal understanding are highlights.
There are echoes of Indiana Jones here, both in the time period as well as the occult-archaeology of the piece's villains. Zorzi is more Belloq than Jones, however, as she is in the hunt for the artifact in question for mercenary motives only. She is a specialised thief servicing a high-class clientele of dabblers in historical curiosities. In Arkham to obtain a recently unearthed mummy, she quickly finds herself up against rivals willing to kill to secure it themselves, and with an employer positively eager to kill her if she should fail.
While Zorzi's line of work makes her an ideal candidate to star in a potential series of pulp adventures, I found her sidekick Pepper to be the most compelling character. A recent arrival to Arkham who disguises her gender to work as a cab driver, she's well out of her depth both socially and esoterically but makes a great foil for our protagonist, and the character I most wanted to know more about after finishing.
While there is a supernatural mystery for Zorzi to unravel and some unnerving moments, this was never a particularly horrifying tale. It plays into the tropes you might expect, but with just enough twists on them to keep things interesting. I felt a bit more could have been done to describe Arkham to me, if it's to be the setting of a series of books, though that may not be what's intended. As it is the Arkham of Arkham Horror feels a bit bare-bones.
Overall I enjoyed it, particularly the character Pepper and seeing the point of view of a gribbly horror. I would have appreciated some more detail in the setting, but this did allow the plot to keep up a rollicking pace. If "Gentlewoman-thief and plucky cab driver plot to steal a mummy amongst a between-the-wars cast of socialites, gangsters, academics and cultists" sounds like a good time then I heartily recommend Wrath of N'Kai.
June 19, 2020
Aconyte Books’ exploration of the world of Arkham Horror begins in fine style with Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai, an entertainingly dark tale of a gentlewoman thief getting more than she bargained for. Countess Alessandra Zorzi has been commissioned to travel to Arkham, where a recently-discovered ancient American mummy is to be displayed, and steal it. What sounds like a relatively simple job, however, is complicated by the presence of an investigator from the insurance company underwriting the exhibition, and the dawning realisation that there’s more going on than meets the eye in both Arkham’s criminal underworld and its wealthy upper class.
What seems at first to be building up to a heist story quickly turns into much more of a mystery, as Alessandra’s plans are scuppered by the arrival of others who whisk the mummy away before she has the chance to make her move. Despite the Arkham Horror label this is more occult fantasy than outright horror, its pulp stylings perfectly suited to the 1920s America in which it takes place. The setting is heavily built upon the Lovecraftian mythos, but here that provides the backdrop to an evocative, entertaining mystery/adventure which stands on its own whether or not the reader is aware of Lovecraft or Arkham Horror already. Take away the monster(s), however, and you’d still be left with an enjoyable mystery to untangle, the sort of enjoyable, character-driven, personal-stakes story that Reynolds writes consistently well. It’s great fun, and hopefully not the last we’ve seen of Countess Alessandra Zorzi.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/06/...
What seems at first to be building up to a heist story quickly turns into much more of a mystery, as Alessandra’s plans are scuppered by the arrival of others who whisk the mummy away before she has the chance to make her move. Despite the Arkham Horror label this is more occult fantasy than outright horror, its pulp stylings perfectly suited to the 1920s America in which it takes place. The setting is heavily built upon the Lovecraftian mythos, but here that provides the backdrop to an evocative, entertaining mystery/adventure which stands on its own whether or not the reader is aware of Lovecraft or Arkham Horror already. Take away the monster(s), however, and you’d still be left with an enjoyable mystery to untangle, the sort of enjoyable, character-driven, personal-stakes story that Reynolds writes consistently well. It’s great fun, and hopefully not the last we’ve seen of Countess Alessandra Zorzi.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/06/...
July 25, 2020
What a fun ride this book was! It has everything I could personally want in a Cthulhu Mythos adventure story - copious references to Lovecraft’s stories, a grisly mystery, the occult, evil sorcerers, and a healthy sprinkling of nasty Mythos monsters. It’s enough to make a girl like me swoon. And to top it all off it has a mummy!
The Arkham Horror fiction line does a wonderful job walking the fine line where Lovecraft fans like me can appreciate all of their references to his Mythos while not excluding those who are new to Lovecraft’s world. The liberal use of Arkham Horror’s game characters work the same way - fun usage of characters that fans of the game will enjoy while being just characters that fit into the narrative for those who aren’t familiar. The references don’t distract and won’t confuse those who haven’t read the stories, but rather just give you a sense of a larger universe that has many stories to tell.
I loved all of the callbacks to Lovecraft’s The Mound. If you’ve read that story there are names and characters that will be very familiar, and I enjoyed every moment a certain recurring character would show up. I feel The Mound is a very underrated Lovecraft story and I’m glad to see it get some love here. You can really tell the author Josh Reynolds has a love for the source material.
Wrath of N’kai has been one of my favorite reads of the year so far, and an excellent start to Arkham Horror’s new trilogy. I eagerly look forward to the next two books!
My thanks to Netgalley for a review copy.
The Arkham Horror fiction line does a wonderful job walking the fine line where Lovecraft fans like me can appreciate all of their references to his Mythos while not excluding those who are new to Lovecraft’s world. The liberal use of Arkham Horror’s game characters work the same way - fun usage of characters that fans of the game will enjoy while being just characters that fit into the narrative for those who aren’t familiar. The references don’t distract and won’t confuse those who haven’t read the stories, but rather just give you a sense of a larger universe that has many stories to tell.
I loved all of the callbacks to Lovecraft’s The Mound. If you’ve read that story there are names and characters that will be very familiar, and I enjoyed every moment a certain recurring character would show up. I feel The Mound is a very underrated Lovecraft story and I’m glad to see it get some love here. You can really tell the author Josh Reynolds has a love for the source material.
Wrath of N’kai has been one of my favorite reads of the year so far, and an excellent start to Arkham Horror’s new trilogy. I eagerly look forward to the next two books!
My thanks to Netgalley for a review copy.
March 2, 2021
Advance e-copy provided free by the publisher.
An enjoyable and effective mix of horror and whodunnit, although the former elements are better-written than the latter. There's a refreshingly light touch with the Lovecraftian take on terror, making it all the more effective when it rears its amorphous, squishy head.
The mystery elements work less well, involving a confusing plethora of minor characters and a clunky lull in the middle of the plot. It feels like it might have benefitted from being slightly shorter and some tighter editing.
Major characters are handled well, particularly the protagonist and her sidekick and the book evokes the atmosphere and history of the 1920's. Some nice metaphors worked in, too. It all helps to make this an enjoyable read that makes good, sparing use of the Cthulhu mythos rather than wallowing in its tired stereotypes.
An enjoyable and effective mix of horror and whodunnit, although the former elements are better-written than the latter. There's a refreshingly light touch with the Lovecraftian take on terror, making it all the more effective when it rears its amorphous, squishy head.
The mystery elements work less well, involving a confusing plethora of minor characters and a clunky lull in the middle of the plot. It feels like it might have benefitted from being slightly shorter and some tighter editing.
Major characters are handled well, particularly the protagonist and her sidekick and the book evokes the atmosphere and history of the 1920's. Some nice metaphors worked in, too. It all helps to make this an enjoyable read that makes good, sparing use of the Cthulhu mythos rather than wallowing in its tired stereotypes.
February 3, 2021
After my review of Tales from The Crucible, Aconyte reached out to set me up with a new copy of Wrath if N’Kai by Josh Reynolds.
So here are some disclaimers which are always important to put out there first. I am a friend of Josh on Facebook, and whilst we aren’t beat buds, we do interact with each other and I consider him a class person, and I have very much enjoyed his work with Black Library.
Secondly I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So Arkham Horror is not a game I have actually played, I fancy it, but me and the Cthulhu mythos have never been quite on the same wavelength.
I have never read any H.P. Lovecraft books, my first exposure to them was at a small convention in London when I was about 12, it was actually a convention for Corps of Drums, not even speculative fiction.
Basically an older chap was reading a book and it lead into a discussion lead by a BAME person about the issues of racism in his work, and even the chap reading the book was pretty clear that there was some nasty racism in some of his work.
As I said I have never read any, that discussion put me off, but I have read stuff by other authors, never a novel, usually short stories and played games set in the mythos. I have so many Cthulhu expansions for games that one would think I am a huge fan.
I can play all of Munchkin Cthulhu, get all the references and jokes, but as I said never read a single Lovecraft story.
It’s a gap in my knowledge that I am actually going to try and fill, I was recently gifted an audiobook of the complete fiction of Lovecraft, so am considering giving that a listen, but I will admit the racism is something that I will be on edge about.
What is Arkham Horror
Anyway that put to one side, let’s look at this book, by first looking at the game Arkham Horror which is a cooperative game, originally designed by Richard Launius, and is now in its third edition which was released in 2019.
It’s published by Fantasy Flight Games, a subsidiary of Asmodee, and is set in 1926 in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Each player takes on the role of an investigator, who are working to stop the Ancient Ones, eldritch horrors which lurk in the void beyond space and time.
It’s a 1-6 player game and you work together to gather clues and defeat the evil of the Ancient Ones and save the world.
As I said I haven’t actually played Arkham Horror but I do own its spin off Elder Sign the cooperative dice game.
The Story
It’s a 1920 whodunit told mostly from the perspective of master thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi who arrives in the town of Arkham, hired by a mysterious cabal to steal a newly discovered mummy.
The eldritch prologue sets you up for some occult horror, but the book largely steered clear of that, which given that the protagonist is not that familiar with the intricacies of the occult makes sense.
The setting is deep and rich, with gangsters and bootleggers, all speaking with 1920s US slang. It’s a real atmospheric period piece that evokes the days of prohibition, with just a hint of eldritch terror and added tommy guns.
Alessandra herself is a very three dimensional character and extremely well developed beyond the trope of the aristocratic thief. We see her backstory teased out over the book, learning more about her as we go though, and as I said, she is more than just the trope.
Her driver Pepper was actually my favourite character in the story, they have their own secret, although this is revealed early on. They are full of spunk and as mentioned by a gangster they deal with, moxie.
It’s a really fast paced book, that I literally devoured over two sittings, one that got me 20% of the way in and the rest in an evening that kept me reading until 3am! I was just utterly drawn in by the story with its twists and turns.
As I said I haven’t played Arkham Horror, but I have played Elder Sign and I recognised lots of elements of that games story mechanics in this book.
And given my surface knowledge of Lovecrafts work, I did recognise a few little nods to those within the story that will please those who are more familiar.
There is a bit of a creep factor in there, and there were certainly bits that had my skin crawling just a little, but not so much to put me off. It’s very light in terms of horror, which makes it very accessible.
Conclusion
Personally I loved this book, it was a throughly enjoyable story which whilst grounded in the Cthulhu mythos, did not delve into it too deeply, nor did it require me to have more than passing knowledge.
In fact I think if a layperson was to pick up this book and read it, they would get on with it perfectly fine without knowing a thing about the mythos.
This book was great and for me it was a fantastic read. I particularly enjoyed a strong female protagonist who at no point needed any romantic entanglements, and the pulpy 1920s nature of the story was just delightful.
I really hope that the countess and Pepper return to Arkham for some more adventures, this is kind of hinted at, but please Josh, do it!
http://biggeordiegeek.uk/2020/05/15/w...
So here are some disclaimers which are always important to put out there first. I am a friend of Josh on Facebook, and whilst we aren’t beat buds, we do interact with each other and I consider him a class person, and I have very much enjoyed his work with Black Library.
Secondly I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So Arkham Horror is not a game I have actually played, I fancy it, but me and the Cthulhu mythos have never been quite on the same wavelength.
I have never read any H.P. Lovecraft books, my first exposure to them was at a small convention in London when I was about 12, it was actually a convention for Corps of Drums, not even speculative fiction.
Basically an older chap was reading a book and it lead into a discussion lead by a BAME person about the issues of racism in his work, and even the chap reading the book was pretty clear that there was some nasty racism in some of his work.
As I said I have never read any, that discussion put me off, but I have read stuff by other authors, never a novel, usually short stories and played games set in the mythos. I have so many Cthulhu expansions for games that one would think I am a huge fan.
I can play all of Munchkin Cthulhu, get all the references and jokes, but as I said never read a single Lovecraft story.
It’s a gap in my knowledge that I am actually going to try and fill, I was recently gifted an audiobook of the complete fiction of Lovecraft, so am considering giving that a listen, but I will admit the racism is something that I will be on edge about.
What is Arkham Horror
Anyway that put to one side, let’s look at this book, by first looking at the game Arkham Horror which is a cooperative game, originally designed by Richard Launius, and is now in its third edition which was released in 2019.
It’s published by Fantasy Flight Games, a subsidiary of Asmodee, and is set in 1926 in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Each player takes on the role of an investigator, who are working to stop the Ancient Ones, eldritch horrors which lurk in the void beyond space and time.
It’s a 1-6 player game and you work together to gather clues and defeat the evil of the Ancient Ones and save the world.
As I said I haven’t actually played Arkham Horror but I do own its spin off Elder Sign the cooperative dice game.
The Story
It’s a 1920 whodunit told mostly from the perspective of master thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi who arrives in the town of Arkham, hired by a mysterious cabal to steal a newly discovered mummy.
The eldritch prologue sets you up for some occult horror, but the book largely steered clear of that, which given that the protagonist is not that familiar with the intricacies of the occult makes sense.
The setting is deep and rich, with gangsters and bootleggers, all speaking with 1920s US slang. It’s a real atmospheric period piece that evokes the days of prohibition, with just a hint of eldritch terror and added tommy guns.
Alessandra herself is a very three dimensional character and extremely well developed beyond the trope of the aristocratic thief. We see her backstory teased out over the book, learning more about her as we go though, and as I said, she is more than just the trope.
Her driver Pepper was actually my favourite character in the story, they have their own secret, although this is revealed early on. They are full of spunk and as mentioned by a gangster they deal with, moxie.
It’s a really fast paced book, that I literally devoured over two sittings, one that got me 20% of the way in and the rest in an evening that kept me reading until 3am! I was just utterly drawn in by the story with its twists and turns.
As I said I haven’t played Arkham Horror, but I have played Elder Sign and I recognised lots of elements of that games story mechanics in this book.
And given my surface knowledge of Lovecrafts work, I did recognise a few little nods to those within the story that will please those who are more familiar.
There is a bit of a creep factor in there, and there were certainly bits that had my skin crawling just a little, but not so much to put me off. It’s very light in terms of horror, which makes it very accessible.
Conclusion
Personally I loved this book, it was a throughly enjoyable story which whilst grounded in the Cthulhu mythos, did not delve into it too deeply, nor did it require me to have more than passing knowledge.
In fact I think if a layperson was to pick up this book and read it, they would get on with it perfectly fine without knowing a thing about the mythos.
This book was great and for me it was a fantastic read. I particularly enjoyed a strong female protagonist who at no point needed any romantic entanglements, and the pulpy 1920s nature of the story was just delightful.
I really hope that the countess and Pepper return to Arkham for some more adventures, this is kind of hinted at, but please Josh, do it!
http://biggeordiegeek.uk/2020/05/15/w...
April 28, 2020
I could write a long paper about this book, full of blah blah but I want to be short: I loved this story and it was a lot of fun to read.
Horror, action, adventure and great characters.
I can only strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Horror, action, adventure and great characters.
I can only strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
July 11, 2021
A fun, Lovecraftesque tale with a noir vibe - https://www.alwroteabook.com/2021/07/...
In a fit of whimsy, I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars, but the reviews may not reflect it.
In a fit of whimsy, I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars, but the reviews may not reflect it.
July 28, 2021
Wrath of the N'Kai is one of my all time favorite books. Fast paced and fun narration, vibrant main characters, and some of the best dialogue I've ever read in ANY book. Reynolds does a masterful job at constructing organic, witty dialogue.
Highly recommend!
Highly recommend!
July 9, 2024
Pretty dumb and low effort. Characters are boring and and simple, even for a book that's clearly a hired job rather than something the author wanted to write. Really not worth reading, and I gave up about 40 minutes into the audio book.
March 17, 2020
Wrath of N’kai
Josh Reynolds
Aconyte Books
In the current climate, reading and reviewing horror titles really isn't doing it for me, if I'm being completely honest - I think I need to do some reading (and reviewing) of titles that aren't completely bound up in doom and gloom, and go for things that are at least slightly more upbeat in nature. A good way to start along that journey is to read the second Advanced Review Copy (ARC) I received from new publisher Aconyte Books: Wrath of N'Kai by Josh Reynolds, the first title in a new Arkham Horror series. This feels like it's going to act a sort of 'bridge' for me, a stepping-stone from the horror genre staples that are my bread and butter on this blog, to some science-fiction and perhaps even fantasy titles.
I was a huge fan of the old Arkham Horror novels that came out about a decade or so ago, and was sad to see them go out of print and the brand seemingly go into retirement, so you can probably imagine just how excited I was to see that Aconyte Books had the license to start up a whole new series of Arkham Horror titles, starting with Wrath of N'Kai. The title is intriguing and suitably Lovecraftian in nature, and that gorgeous noirish front cover artwork, evoking the old 1930s and 1940s black and white films, is superlative work by illustrator Daniel Strange. In addition, Josh Reynolds is a brilliant writer who can twist and meld the occult detective genre to do weird and wonderful things, so I couldn't wait to get reading and see what this new iteration of Arkham Horror had to offer me as a reader. Just who - or more likely what - is N'Kai; and what form will their wrath take?
After an unsettling, eldritch-drenched prologue that deftly sets up the background to the novel, and hints at some of the occult action to come in future chapters, we are introduced to our protagonist, Countess
Alessandra Zorzi, international adventurer and thief. She's one of those occult detective characters that Reynolds is just so good at creating and then imbuing with unique and engaging attributes. Cool, calm and collected on the surface, but with her own fears and worries lurking just below it, she breezes through life as an aristocratic thief, stealing occult objects to the order of various clients. As the book opens, she's on the way to a new job - stealing a strange preserved body recently unearthed in Oklahoma, and to be presented at the Miskatonic Museum in the infamous town of Arkham. It's an unusual commission, especially as she's uncertain how he actually got in contact with her to deliver the request, but money is money and she has little choice but to travel to provincial Arkham, Massachusetts.
Reynolds delivers a truly masterful depiction of Arkham and its ancient and often archaic architecture, as well as the constant, sinister air of wrongness that wreaths everything - the buildings, the weather, and most especially the people. He deftly builds up a picture of a slowly-expanding town in which modernity and antiquity clash, where everyone is hiding some sort of secret and no action, no matter how petty, is entirely innocent. There's a great Prohibition-era atmosphere that runs throughout the entire book that helps to underpin the plot and draws you into the mystery and the action, with the plot flowing smoothly between formal locations like museums and hotels, and dingy hideaway bars and even less salubrious (and far more dangerous) places. It's all artfully blended together to make something that is almost compulsively-readable.
The truth of Arkham and its unique nature is slowly but surely revealed to Zorzi, as it becomes obvious that the strange figure she is meant to steal is an unusual presence, even in her line of work. The mummy and its bejeweled mask has a strange presence, an eerie atmosphere to it, which is perhaps why she has been hired to steal it for a group of interested observers. However before she can do much more than reconnoitre the museum, a gunfight breaks out as a group of robbers attempt to steal the mummy; in the process Zorzi makes the mistake of looking into the mummy's eyes, resulting in an unwanted, Lovecraftian-style look into the stygian depths of its memories. That results in a quick exit from the museum, but fleeing Arkham is impossible; she is pursued not just by the authorities, but also a strange, crooked creature swathed in a trench coat and possessing a terrifying face. Lacking options, Zorzi finds herself forced into pursuing the robbers and locating the mummy and its ancient secret.
As well as a fast-paced plot that twists and turns and keeps you on your toes, there's also a nicely varied cast of characters that play with the tropes and stereotypes of the genre, and also the Arkham Horror game, while never being constrained by them. Reynolds successfully humanizes them, and as a result makes them interesting for the reader to follow along with. Zorzi is a enjoyable protagonist with a great suite of dry observations about American behaviours and attitudes, and surprising skills as a thief and investigator. She also has a fascinating backstory that's revealed in dribs and drabs by Reynolds, one that takes the usual genre cliche, being scarred by wartime service and twists into something fresh and unsettling. Then there's the dogged Abner Whitlock, investigator and 'fixer' for Argus Insurance, a blandly-titled company that has serious interests in occult items and occurrences. He's a dogged investigator who has a grudge against Zorzi and won't let her forget it, which adds an extra element of tension. Perhaps my favourite, however, was cab driver Pepper, someone with a deeply-hidden secret who becomes Zorzi's guide and side-kick throughout the novel, as well as another perspective to the occultism on display in Arkham. They have an invaluable knowledge of Arkham and its surroundings, as well as a good heart despite often being out of their depth; Reynolds himself perfectly describes then when he writes that they were "at once naive and hardboiled" and that duality comes through as the plot darkens. There are also a brace of antagonists who I won't go into to avoid any spoilers, but suffice to say they are highly competent, dangerous and terrifying in both their nature and the powers they wield, particularly the utterly inhuman N'Kai.
Wrath of N'Kai is the brilliant result of the new partnership between Aconyte Books and Josh Reynolds, and it has all the hallmarks of a classic occult detective horror title. There's a cast of engaging, three-dimensional characters who belong to the genre tropes without being constrained by them; a deeply atmospheric setting in Arkham and its surroundings that Reynolds has skilfully developed; heaps of fist-swinging, gun-blazing action against human and inhuman foes alike; and finally, crucially, that stubborn, frantic and all too-human refusal to believe, truly believe, in the occult and supernatural until it is almost too late. But it's not just all of that which makes Wrath of N'Kai such an enjoyable novel: it's also that Reynolds obviously enjoyed writing it, and in doing so created an original title that feels like a game of Arkham Horror brought to life, while avoiding the common genre pitfalls of becoming predictable, or a mere pastiche of something greater. Ultimately, Wrath of N'Kai is yet more evidence, were it needed, that Reynolds is the reigning master of the occult detective genre. There is no-one who does it better, and Wrath of N'Kai should take pride of place in anyone's occult horror collection.
Josh Reynolds
Aconyte Books
In the current climate, reading and reviewing horror titles really isn't doing it for me, if I'm being completely honest - I think I need to do some reading (and reviewing) of titles that aren't completely bound up in doom and gloom, and go for things that are at least slightly more upbeat in nature. A good way to start along that journey is to read the second Advanced Review Copy (ARC) I received from new publisher Aconyte Books: Wrath of N'Kai by Josh Reynolds, the first title in a new Arkham Horror series. This feels like it's going to act a sort of 'bridge' for me, a stepping-stone from the horror genre staples that are my bread and butter on this blog, to some science-fiction and perhaps even fantasy titles.
I was a huge fan of the old Arkham Horror novels that came out about a decade or so ago, and was sad to see them go out of print and the brand seemingly go into retirement, so you can probably imagine just how excited I was to see that Aconyte Books had the license to start up a whole new series of Arkham Horror titles, starting with Wrath of N'Kai. The title is intriguing and suitably Lovecraftian in nature, and that gorgeous noirish front cover artwork, evoking the old 1930s and 1940s black and white films, is superlative work by illustrator Daniel Strange. In addition, Josh Reynolds is a brilliant writer who can twist and meld the occult detective genre to do weird and wonderful things, so I couldn't wait to get reading and see what this new iteration of Arkham Horror had to offer me as a reader. Just who - or more likely what - is N'Kai; and what form will their wrath take?
After an unsettling, eldritch-drenched prologue that deftly sets up the background to the novel, and hints at some of the occult action to come in future chapters, we are introduced to our protagonist, Countess
Alessandra Zorzi, international adventurer and thief. She's one of those occult detective characters that Reynolds is just so good at creating and then imbuing with unique and engaging attributes. Cool, calm and collected on the surface, but with her own fears and worries lurking just below it, she breezes through life as an aristocratic thief, stealing occult objects to the order of various clients. As the book opens, she's on the way to a new job - stealing a strange preserved body recently unearthed in Oklahoma, and to be presented at the Miskatonic Museum in the infamous town of Arkham. It's an unusual commission, especially as she's uncertain how he actually got in contact with her to deliver the request, but money is money and she has little choice but to travel to provincial Arkham, Massachusetts.
Reynolds delivers a truly masterful depiction of Arkham and its ancient and often archaic architecture, as well as the constant, sinister air of wrongness that wreaths everything - the buildings, the weather, and most especially the people. He deftly builds up a picture of a slowly-expanding town in which modernity and antiquity clash, where everyone is hiding some sort of secret and no action, no matter how petty, is entirely innocent. There's a great Prohibition-era atmosphere that runs throughout the entire book that helps to underpin the plot and draws you into the mystery and the action, with the plot flowing smoothly between formal locations like museums and hotels, and dingy hideaway bars and even less salubrious (and far more dangerous) places. It's all artfully blended together to make something that is almost compulsively-readable.
The truth of Arkham and its unique nature is slowly but surely revealed to Zorzi, as it becomes obvious that the strange figure she is meant to steal is an unusual presence, even in her line of work. The mummy and its bejeweled mask has a strange presence, an eerie atmosphere to it, which is perhaps why she has been hired to steal it for a group of interested observers. However before she can do much more than reconnoitre the museum, a gunfight breaks out as a group of robbers attempt to steal the mummy; in the process Zorzi makes the mistake of looking into the mummy's eyes, resulting in an unwanted, Lovecraftian-style look into the stygian depths of its memories. That results in a quick exit from the museum, but fleeing Arkham is impossible; she is pursued not just by the authorities, but also a strange, crooked creature swathed in a trench coat and possessing a terrifying face. Lacking options, Zorzi finds herself forced into pursuing the robbers and locating the mummy and its ancient secret.
As well as a fast-paced plot that twists and turns and keeps you on your toes, there's also a nicely varied cast of characters that play with the tropes and stereotypes of the genre, and also the Arkham Horror game, while never being constrained by them. Reynolds successfully humanizes them, and as a result makes them interesting for the reader to follow along with. Zorzi is a enjoyable protagonist with a great suite of dry observations about American behaviours and attitudes, and surprising skills as a thief and investigator. She also has a fascinating backstory that's revealed in dribs and drabs by Reynolds, one that takes the usual genre cliche, being scarred by wartime service and twists into something fresh and unsettling. Then there's the dogged Abner Whitlock, investigator and 'fixer' for Argus Insurance, a blandly-titled company that has serious interests in occult items and occurrences. He's a dogged investigator who has a grudge against Zorzi and won't let her forget it, which adds an extra element of tension. Perhaps my favourite, however, was cab driver Pepper, someone with a deeply-hidden secret who becomes Zorzi's guide and side-kick throughout the novel, as well as another perspective to the occultism on display in Arkham. They have an invaluable knowledge of Arkham and its surroundings, as well as a good heart despite often being out of their depth; Reynolds himself perfectly describes then when he writes that they were "at once naive and hardboiled" and that duality comes through as the plot darkens. There are also a brace of antagonists who I won't go into to avoid any spoilers, but suffice to say they are highly competent, dangerous and terrifying in both their nature and the powers they wield, particularly the utterly inhuman N'Kai.
Wrath of N'Kai is the brilliant result of the new partnership between Aconyte Books and Josh Reynolds, and it has all the hallmarks of a classic occult detective horror title. There's a cast of engaging, three-dimensional characters who belong to the genre tropes without being constrained by them; a deeply atmospheric setting in Arkham and its surroundings that Reynolds has skilfully developed; heaps of fist-swinging, gun-blazing action against human and inhuman foes alike; and finally, crucially, that stubborn, frantic and all too-human refusal to believe, truly believe, in the occult and supernatural until it is almost too late. But it's not just all of that which makes Wrath of N'Kai such an enjoyable novel: it's also that Reynolds obviously enjoyed writing it, and in doing so created an original title that feels like a game of Arkham Horror brought to life, while avoiding the common genre pitfalls of becoming predictable, or a mere pastiche of something greater. Ultimately, Wrath of N'Kai is yet more evidence, were it needed, that Reynolds is the reigning master of the occult detective genre. There is no-one who does it better, and Wrath of N'Kai should take pride of place in anyone's occult horror collection.
October 8, 2020
A mummy, bound and folded in on itself, its face covered with a mask like a cross between a bat and a toad, was discovered in a mound in Oklahoma and brought back to Arkham to be displayed , shown off. Taking a brief trip away from Europe to lie low after a job that nearly went wrong, Countess Alessandra Zorzi finds herself hired to acquire this most strange artifact from its display at Miskatonic Museum. She never has believed in any of the stories her clients have about the artifacts they send her after. As she finds herself haunted by night terrors of deep darkness and the things within it and her client’s ever more violent insistence that she recover the mummy, learning the truth might be her only chance at survival.
Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai is a book that I found myself simultaneously wanting to devour all at once and that I kept putting off finishing because I wanted it to keep going. The prose was just really tasty in a way that I leaves me still wanting more of it even after having waited a little while to write this because I wanted to write something other than just a bunch of fangirling.
I adored Alessandra Zorzi as a protagonist. She hit just that right spot of being charming and treating the people around her well while also doing that because treating people well allows her a degree of social invisibility. She’s entirely delightful, in the way that protagonists who are distinctly morally grey can be and it’s a lot of fun to see this very Lovecraftian setting through the eyes of a character who does not believe in any of it. This extends to all of the notable characters. They’re all well written and feel really well thought out. Pepper, the cabbie turned a major source of assistance for Alessandra, was a stand out for me. The insurance guy, Whitlock, was also a solid inclusion adding a much more mundane concern than the mummy eating cultists.
In addition to the present of the story, the reader is given enough about Alessandra’s past exploits to know that Alessandra is extremely capable, that she is good at being a thief of the strange with wide reaching contacts and years of experience. The writing shows her being confident and competent and that makes any moment where something puts her in danger feel properly dangerous. I never found myself thinking that a threat felt less because it was directed at the protagonist rather than a side character. The use of nightmares and physical revulsion to boost the tension added an almost visceral element to the danger. Like something lurking all around waiting for Alessandra to stumble across it, not a physical danger like the cultists or her mysterious client, but a complement to it from within. The setting work and the moments where things go just a bit wrong with swimming shadows and Alessandra being thrown off balance are fantastic.
All of that leads to a novel with prose that I found absolutely delicious. I found myself going back over passages just because of how well they landed for me. I started reading Wrath of N’Kai with certain genre based expectations of how things would play out. Those expectations rubbed up against the nature of the book as a tie in to the Arkham Horror games in a way that felt fun and left me wanting several more books with these characters and more from the franchise as a whole. I found myself not only wanting to read more of Reynolds’ work but also wanting to dig into the table top game and pull my friends along for the ride. For me, Wrath of N’Kai earns a five out of five.
I was given an ebook copy of Wrath of N'kai through netGalley for honest review. This has not effected my review in any way.
Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai is a book that I found myself simultaneously wanting to devour all at once and that I kept putting off finishing because I wanted it to keep going. The prose was just really tasty in a way that I leaves me still wanting more of it even after having waited a little while to write this because I wanted to write something other than just a bunch of fangirling.
I adored Alessandra Zorzi as a protagonist. She hit just that right spot of being charming and treating the people around her well while also doing that because treating people well allows her a degree of social invisibility. She’s entirely delightful, in the way that protagonists who are distinctly morally grey can be and it’s a lot of fun to see this very Lovecraftian setting through the eyes of a character who does not believe in any of it. This extends to all of the notable characters. They’re all well written and feel really well thought out. Pepper, the cabbie turned a major source of assistance for Alessandra, was a stand out for me. The insurance guy, Whitlock, was also a solid inclusion adding a much more mundane concern than the mummy eating cultists.
In addition to the present of the story, the reader is given enough about Alessandra’s past exploits to know that Alessandra is extremely capable, that she is good at being a thief of the strange with wide reaching contacts and years of experience. The writing shows her being confident and competent and that makes any moment where something puts her in danger feel properly dangerous. I never found myself thinking that a threat felt less because it was directed at the protagonist rather than a side character. The use of nightmares and physical revulsion to boost the tension added an almost visceral element to the danger. Like something lurking all around waiting for Alessandra to stumble across it, not a physical danger like the cultists or her mysterious client, but a complement to it from within. The setting work and the moments where things go just a bit wrong with swimming shadows and Alessandra being thrown off balance are fantastic.
All of that leads to a novel with prose that I found absolutely delicious. I found myself going back over passages just because of how well they landed for me. I started reading Wrath of N’Kai with certain genre based expectations of how things would play out. Those expectations rubbed up against the nature of the book as a tie in to the Arkham Horror games in a way that felt fun and left me wanting several more books with these characters and more from the franchise as a whole. I found myself not only wanting to read more of Reynolds’ work but also wanting to dig into the table top game and pull my friends along for the ride. For me, Wrath of N’Kai earns a five out of five.
I was given an ebook copy of Wrath of N'kai through netGalley for honest review. This has not effected my review in any way.
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