Customer Reviews

Cthulhu Fhtagn, Baby! and Other Cosmic Insolence

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This fantastic collections by a brilliantly twisted author is one of the best anthologies I've read. Highly recommended to any enthusiast of the macabre.

Anomie
An ill-mannered bum gets a comeuppance in the face of a philosophical teenager.
3.5/5

And Justice for Doll
A child's playworld becomes the fertile breeding ground for a court case of her own invention.
4.0/5

Nessmas
A loch ness monster turns up on the lawn of a Scottish couple.
3.5/5

Speaking Mouth Dog
An allegory for modern art, "Seeing Mouth Dog" is the tale of a blind, mute, and deaf man still able to create "literature".
4.0/5

The Trespasser
An old-style autopsy takes a supernatural turn.
4.0/5

Billy
Set in what some animal activists would call the ideal future, a young girl comes to love a -- literal -- mindless hunk of meat.
4.0/5

Cthulhu Fhtagn, Baby!
The book's namesake is a scathing "review" of "musical" Cthulhu Fhtagn, Baby!. One of the most imaginative pieces I have ever read.
5.0/5

Soured
A child's dislike of milk proves to be well-founded.
4.5/5

Portrait of the Horror Artist as a Young Man
An "N" in art goes from worse to better.
3.5/5

Raw Recruits
An early attempt at spirit-channeling goes eerily wrong. This is one of my favorite stories in the volume.
5.0/5

Representational Sample
A collection of many strangely gathered items grows, brought together for a mysterious purpose.
5.0/5

Bingo
A retired, drug-sniffing police dog finds a new home with two apartment-bound college students.
4.5/5

You're Welcome
A childhood romance ends tragically -- or does it?
4.5/5

Solidity
Bums have a special place in the fabric of reality -- do we all?
4.5/5

Exit Laughing
A roadtrip through Florida takes a disastrous turn.
4.0/5

Grandpa, What Happens When We Die?
A final, parting poem reminds readers to live for the day.
3.5/5

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4.5/5

This is a collection of short stories by Will Ludwigsen. There aren't any consistent themes or genres represented here, as the stories touch here and there in terms of subject matter.

There are a couple of clever stories that should elicit a chuckle or even an outright laugh. However, the overall quality of the stories is a bit sketchy. The title is also very misleading, which is probably done on purpose, to market the book to fans of the Cthulhu Mythos. There are a couple of stories that can be described as macabre, but only one of those could really be described as belonging in the Lovecraftian genre.

Cthulhu Fhtagn, Baby and Other Cosmic Insolence by Will Ludwigsen was a diverting collection of short stories. They sort of defy categorization, being sci fi, horror and dark fantasy. I enjoyed it, but in spite of the title (cynically chosen for commercial appeal?) there is nothing specifically to interest the Lovecraftian collector except the rather lame story that gives the book its title, perhaps the worst story in the book. Even the most devout Cthulhu mythos completist can safely pass this by. Unless, of course, they are not so hidebound in their chosen genre that they can't take a walk on the wild side of Mr. Ludwigsen's imagination. The stories are characterized by enjoyable mordant humor and startling imagery, and are worth reading. I think my favorite image was dismembering the corpse of Nessie with a chainsaw.

I was expecting a lot more from this book than the final product I got. While the stories were okay, they weren't as original as I expected. It was probably worth the money, but I wouldn't buy it again.

I've searched desperately for more short stories by Will Ludwigsen ever since reading one of his stories in Weird Tales. I found another in Alfred Hitchcock's Magazine and relished it as well. Now I have 13 tales of... I'm not quite sure I can cover these stories with a one word genre name. And that's what I enjoy most about Will's writing.

Reading the stories is like walking through a darkened hallway in an old abondoned house and not knowing, as one turns the corner, whether one will be torn apart by some loathesome creature or hit over the head by a rubber chicken thrown by a dancing zombie. You can always bet there's something oozing though.

I've read a great many books in my time and my favorites have always been the ones where I'm not sure if I've read western, fantasy, SF, or fiction. I'm really looking forward to Will's next publication, whether it be short stories or a novel.

I'd hate to be the guy at the bookstore that has to put Will's book on the correct shelf. That's going to be one tough job.

Ludwigsen's collection is witty, disturbing, and at times even sweet--just keep an eye out for warm beer bottles. The title story, "And Justice for Doll," and "You're Welcome" are especially good.

So Will Ludwigsen is not the sort of fellow you want leading a troop of Boy Scouts. Or maybe he is, if you are a parent who is open-minded to dark urban (and suburban) fantasy. Care for a cephalopods in your milk? Apparently Will does. According to Wikipedia he has a tattoo of the Yellow Sign on his bicep and can recite the rhyming couplets from The Book of Eibon. He also cares enough to write very witty stories with a dark, fantastical edge. This is his first short story collection. I look forward to reading the next.