Hardboiled Cthulhu: Two-Fisted Tales of Tentacled Terror [Paperback]

James Ambuehl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2006

Hard-hitting and hard-edged, these stories take Lovecraftian Mythos to places where only the toughest P.I.s, gangsters, and creatures dwell. Venturing into the urban sprawl and the dark places of the world, this anthology of more than 20 tales blends the hardboiled genre with the Lovecraftian.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Ambuehl is the author of numerous fiction collections, including Correlated Contents and From Between the Star-Spaces. He lives in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Elder Signs Press, Inc.; 1st edition (July 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975922971
• ISBN-13: 978-0975922972
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,150,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant! This book is terrific fun for fans of Lovecraft's mythos., August 4, 2006

By 

Matthew T. Carpenter (Peoria, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hardboiled Cthulhu: Two-Fisted Tales of Tentacled Terror (Paperback)

Hardboiled Cthulhu is the latest jewel in Elder Sign Press' splendored crown. I wish there was an editor's introduction explaining the history of this title, who thought of it, how the stories were selected and the publication history, because this book is fabulous. So many mythos collections have workman-like slogs through common mythos tropes that are really burdensome to read. I bought a very expensive copy of Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth and I am still working my way through it months later. Working is the operative word. I devoured Hardboiled Cthulhu in two sleep deprived evenings, chortling to myself the whole time. Dang it, this collection was just plain fun to read! In just about every title I can almost feel the author's sheer enjoyment writing their story, how much they relished the concept and how they probably typed with break neck enthusiasm. Although most of the critters, creatures and books are tried and true for the mythos, these authors are all confident and brimming with talent; the stories are marvelously original.

Some housekeeping: The book is a handsome trade paperback, well up to Elder Sign Press' usual excellent standards. No autographed collector edition signed by the authors, more's the pity! The wonderfully evocative cover art is by David Senecal and is perfectly in tune with the collection's theme: world weary private eyes and HPL's mythos, kind of Raymond Chandler and extradimensional tentacles. Price is $11.67 at Amazon, with free shipping available if you buy at least $25 worth of stuff. This is heavily discounted from list $17.95. Page count is a generous 330, just about all devoted to the stories and counting a few pages of mini-bios of the authors at the end. Production qualities are high; I can't recall any typos. Only five of the stories were published in any forum prior to this book, mostly obscure mythos magazines that only the most assiduous collector would have. The exception is Jeffery Thomas' Pazuzu's Children that was just released in Unholy Dimensions by Mythos Books. Heck, it was a great story in that book and it's still a great story. Many kudos to James Ambuehl, the editor. I think this was his first solo editing effort and it is a smashing triumph. OK, so there are a few things that did not win me over, but they were all minor!

Here are the contents:

Sleeping with the Fishes (Poem) -- James Ambuehl
The Pisces Club -- James Ambuehl
A Change of Life -- William Jones
Ache -- David Witteveen
A Dangerous High -- E. P. Berglund
A Little Job in Arkham -- John Sunseri
Day of Iniquity -- Steven L. Shrewbury
Eldritch Fellas -- Tim Curran
Outside Looking In -- David Conyers
Pazuzu's Children -- Jeffrey Thomas
The Devil In You -- Eric J. Millar
The Mouth -- William Meikle
The Questioning of the Azathonthian Priest -- C. J. Henderson
Some Thought on the Problem of Order -- Simon Bucher-Jones
The White Mountains -- Jonathan Sharp
The Terror Came -- Patrick Thomas
The Prying Investigations of Edwin M. Lillibridge -- Robert M. Price
The Roaches in the Walls -- James Chambers
To Skin a Dead Man -- Cody Goodfellow
Unfinished Business -- Ron Shiflet
The Watcher From the Grave -- J. F. Gonzalez
Dreams.biz -- Richard A. Lupoff

Spoilers may follow so stop reading now if that bothers you*******

Sleeping with the Fishes (Poem) -- James Ambuehl - You know, I just never much enjoy mythos poetry. I think really fine poetry is incredibly difficult to write.

The Pisces Club -- James Ambuehl - Mr. Ambuehl's writing career is a long love letter to HPL, so thoroughly does he delight in the mythos and his own contributions to it. Much of his stories are pastiches in the best sense. But The Pisces Club is his highest achievement and his best prose. It is savory detective story laced equally with horror and humor. The name Professor Phil Craft is probably a tip of the hat to the master. I kept laughing out loud as I read it.

A Change of Life -- William Jones - William Jones is a bigwig at Elder Signs Press, where his editorial skills are very much in evidence. This prose shows a deft touch also. The Great Race? Bah! The Noir Race!

Ache -- David Witteveen - This is my first encounter with Mr. Witteveen, another writer in a wave of Australian talent cresting on our shores. This hardbitten tale features a mob enforcer who brushes up against the wearer of the Pallid Mask.

A Dangerous High -- E. P. Berglund - Mr. Berglund has done many great things for the mythos as an editor, a compiler and an author. Alas, out of all the stories in this book, A Dangerous High was the one that did not really grab me. I don't know why. I like Berglund's style and it was a good concept of illicit narcotics associated with the Hounds of Tindalos tracked down by a PI. Maybe it was just the prose.

A Little Job in Arkham -- John Sunseri - I don't recall reading anything by Mr. Sunseri before. I hope he is writing more mythos stories. If you want to steal and ancient tome from good ole Miskatonic U, hire a pack of thieves.

Day of Iniquity -- Steven L. Shrewbury - Mr. Shrewbury (who should change his middle name to Laban...) is becoming more overtly active on the mythos writing scene, which is our good fortune. The thing is, this story, while a great read, seemed out of place. It was like a good Sword & Sorcery yarn, not really a detective type story. Maybe it was meant for Eldritch Steel? A barbarian follower of Wotan leads his tribe to achieve vengeance on a dark cult.

Eldritch Fellas -- Tim Curran - Tim Curran is a terrific writer, widely published. This story was a hoot! I think diet coke came out of my nose while I was trying to read it. The title says it all.

Outside Looking In -- David Conyers - I have sung the praises of Mr. Conyers, another gifted Aussie, before. This story was great! Like in Dark City, the world is not what it seems. Do you really want to know the truth?

Pazuzu's Children -- Jeffrey Thomas - Not really a noir story, but a terrific read. A pilot in Desert Storm is captured after a bombing run by followers of an unspeakable cult.

The Devil In You -- Eric J. Millar - A no good drunk in a bar tries to do a good deed by helping a pretty girl in a gin joint. Complications ensue. Mr. Millar is a young author, new to me and he can write a mean mythos tale. I hope to see more of his stories in the future.

The Mouth -- William Meikle - Willie Meikle established his noir credentials in The Midnight Eye Files. Alas this is not a new Derek Adams story. No matter, this is a tightly written page turner about a cop who employs a medium to track a vicious murderer.

The Questioning of the Azathonthian Priest -- C. J. Henderson - You can't have a noir mythos collection about hardened PIs without having a CJ Henderson story! This one is an all new great Anton Zarnack yarn.

Some Thought on the Problem of Order -- Simon Bucher-Jones - Mr. Bucher-Jones is famous for his Dr. Who work. Can we have some more mythos please? Gosh, this was nifty story, turning things around sort of like Gaimen in A Study In Emerald.

The White Mountains -- Jonathan Sharp - This is Mr. Sharp's first published story. Great! Keep `em coming. If you can help it, never help someone go buy bootleg moonshine. If you go to buy bootleg moonshine, do not make eyes at the misshapen entrepreneur's wife.

The Terror Came -- Patrick Thomas - Eldritch detectives detect better when they are eldritch themselves.

The Prying Investigations of Edwin M. Lillibridge -- Robert M. Price - I confess it. I am not a Price fan. Usually his prose is leaden and derivative. But this was a nice conventional mythos story about a nosy reporter trying to solve some kidnappings.

The Roaches in the Walls -- James Chambers - I previously read The Tale of the Spanish Prisoner by Mr. Chambers in Warfear. It was OK. This one blew me away! It was brilliant. What a concept! What an ending! Man those Elder Gods are crafty.

To Skin a Dead Man -- Cody Goodfellow - Whatever else Mr. Goodfellow does I will be forever in his debt for his novel Radiant Dawn, an absolute bravura performance. This ghoulish story of love and betrayal and zombies and stuff defies ready description. I loved it!

Unfinished Business -- Ron Shiflet - Mr. Shiflet moves from strength to strength as a mythos writer. Pickman's ghouls are, um, alive and, um, well. You can hire a big mook to guard your highly collectible art but art groupies live in a dog eat dog world. Nicely done, Mr. Shiflet!

The Watcher From the Grave -- J. F. Gonzalez - I never read anything by Mr. Gonzalez before. I will have to remedy that soon! Literary estate executor is not a healthy profession in a Lovecraftian collection.

Dreams.biz -- Richard A. Lupoff - And finally, hats off to the accomplished Mr. Lupoff. I wish he would write more mythos. This is a cross between Total Recall and Netflix. Gosh it was good!

So in summary, a masterful collection. Bargain priced, bristling with vitality, most of the big names in mythos fiction. What else do you need? Urgently recommend!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gats & Gun-molls, February 7, 2007

By 

Kathleen C. Griffin (Bronx NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hardboiled Cthulhu: Two-Fisted Tales of Tentacled Terror (Paperback)

The concept is brilliant, though drawing from the film _Cast a Deadly Spell_ in the idea of 1930s detectives and Cthulhu Mythos. Some of the stories work well, others are forced. I do hope others write more stories in this vein! Especially set in NYC. (Recently I stopped by HPL's old residence at 169 Clinton St., Brooklyn.)

5.0 out of 5 stars My first Mythos anthology,and it was great!, November 26, 2011

By 

Eitan Mizrahi - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hardboiled Cthulhu: Two-Fisted Tales of Tentacled Terror (Paperback)

I purchased this anthology in the Hodges Figgis during a vacation in Ireland.I decided to buy the majority of the anthologies in the horror section of the store (i visited the store three times and purchased five anthologies in total at the cost of 60-75 euros: This anthology,the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20,the Mammoth Book of Best Nedw Horror 21 (i so loved it that i just purchased vol 19 and the Best of the Best),the Walking Dead and the Walking Dead 2).

The stories in this anthologies are thrilling and almost all of them stayed with me long after i finished reading the book.I really loved the story by Tim Lebbon and may seek out Zombie Zoology where he published a zombie story that got really favored reviews and Dead Bait for the same reason.I also liked the first stroy by James Ambuehl but i don't know where i can find other stories by this gifted author.