Customer Reviews

Resume with Monsters

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4 star:		(6)
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H.P. Lovecraft always intended his Cthulu mythos to live through other authors' pens. If Lovecraft were alive today he would certainly find William Spencer Browning's treatment most entertaining. In "Resume with Monsters," Browning artfully welds together the infinite horrors of Lovecraft's Old Ones with the modern banalities of life in the corporate world. The result is a book loaded with hilarious dialogue, humorous scenes, and a good deal of light horror.

Philip has a big problem. He sees monsters at work, behind every filing cabinet, around every corner, in the eyes of his fellow co-workers, and in motivational pamphlets handed out in his paycheck envelope. In order to maintain his slipping sanity, Philip spends his free time constantly rewriting his sprawling 2000 page book called "The Despicable Quest," a Lovecraftian tome full of references to Azathoth, Yog-Sathoth, and other unpleasant beings from beyond space and time. Philip is aware that spouting off about monsters from dimensions beyond our own tends to alarm people, which brings in Lily, an aging psychologist who promises Philip she can help him through his troubles.

Philip probably would not have many problems with his demons if he gave up trying to save his ex-girlfriend Amelia. Philip's relentless quest to expose the monsters coupled with the undying devotion to his book infuriated Amelia, spurring a rancorous split. When she moves to Texas Philip follows her, desperate to convince Amelia that he once saved her from eternal doom when the two worked at MicroMeg, a giant international corporation (the details of which can be found in the section of the book hilariously entitled, "The Doom that Came to MicroMeg). Philip drifts from one low paying job to another, always on the lookout for the reemergence of the evil ones. Not only does Philip see potential evil at his own jobs, there seems to be something seriously astray at Pelidyne, a big company where Amelia just started a new job. It looks like Philip will have to return once again into the belly of the beast.

Spencer really has a grasp of Lovecraft's horrific intentions. His style does not reflect Lovecraft's ornate use of the English language, but many of the adventures Philip embarks on mirror a trip through a Lovecraft novel: the weird bending of time and space, the strange rituals of the Old Ones, and the feeling of helplessness one gets when confronting an evil beyond the comprehension of the human mind.

I suspect there is a lot of the author in this story. My copy has a painting on the front cover of a man who looks suspiciously like the picture of Browning on the back cover. The detailed descriptions of corporate stupidity and the shrieking mindlessness of working a low paying job tell me that the author spent many years working in the same type of jobs as Philip does in the novel. Anyone who has ever worked in a boring job with high pressure jerks as bosses will recognize and sympathize with Philip's plight. Ultimately, that is the greatest horror in "Resume with Monsters": the pressures of a job in today's world are worse than seeing monsters with dripping scales falling out of a time rip in the ceiling.

The comical aspects of the book abound throughout the story. Everything from Philip's confessions about the evil ones to the motivational pamphlets is gut bustingly funny. Be sure and pay attention to the group sessions during Philip's stay in the mental hospital. These scenes are some of the funniest in the book.

"Resume with Monsters" is essential reading for Lovecraft fans. Those who are unfamiliar with Lovecraft may want to read at least one collection of his stories before settling into this book because the references to particular entities are meaningless unless you understand the mythos. I am placing Spencer's book in my top five list of books read this year, and I hope you will too.

This wry satire is definately worth a read. Throughout the story you're strung along a surreal journey that has you wondering if the main character is insane or enlightened, and keeps you laughing all the delightful way to an astonishing and funny conclusion. If you haven't, reading Lovecraft and becoming familiar with the Cthulhu mythos will enhance this book.

Anyone who has read much of Lovecraft and his "family" of writers (August Derleth, Lin CArter, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch, etc.) is very familiar with the formulaic plot of "inherit/discover something, cross-reference with Abbie Hazred's 'Who's Who of Bad-Moods-With-Tentacles', and end by going mad and die gibbering in an asylum or becoming 'liquiescent horror,'" to the point that it becomes very difficult to surprise the reader any more with the denoument. Mr Spencer, though, has taken the familiar concepts and beasties of the vaunted Cthulhu mythos and woven them into an engaging, truly enjoyable tale. And he does an excellant job of utilizing the old mainstays, such as Yog-Sothoth and ghouls among others, in a way that re-introduces them, rather than re-hashes them. He also does quite well in showing interaction between society at large and one who has come to accept the "truth" of the Old Ones. And while the reading is light, even campy at times (especially the epilogue), it is one of the most intriguing mythos tales I have read. It is this type of writing that is going to keep the mythos fresh and alive.

William Browning Spencer is one of names I constantly look for at bookstores. If your lucky enough to stumble accross one of his books, grab it up quickly and begin the reading feast. With RESUME WITH MONSTERS, you will find yourself swept away in a fantasticly clever story. Its such a good read you will have it done in one or two nights. He writes the type of books where you think "Oh I'll read just a few pages before bed", and you end up reading till 4a.m. I strongly recommend all of his books.

This achingly funny book introduces the idea that America's corporations are actually run by H.P. Lovecraft monsters...it makes perfect sense to me. The author's view of corporate culture is dead-on accurate, and behind the laughs, there is real anger at the utter dehumanization of the contemporary workplace, and at the weakness of American workers who have allowed themselves to be turned into corporate fodder. In its own nutty way, this is a very important book.

William Browning Spencer writes the type of book, that you pick up for some "light reading before you go to bed" and end up reading till 4a.m. Much like its predecessor Zod Wallop it is a very easy read. I found myself dissapointed when I finished because its so hard to find a writer that is so hypnotic so enjoyable. I swear you will read this book in one or two nights. I just wish there were more works by Specer. If your looking for a new author, look no further. Enjoy!

I appreciate the Lovecraft references, being a fan, but "Resume with Monsters" transcends the usual Ia! Ia! pastiche...Spencer's use of the Lovecraft mythology, and the humor is fine (if occasionally forced). But what drew me in was the sadness, the poignance, the sense of yearning and loss. The writing veers from silly to suspenseful to flat-out lovely; Philip's recollection of his wedding and married life is especially heartbreaking, for reasons wholly unrelated to Cthulhu or Azathoth. (You could, in fact, argue that all of the monsters are in the narrator's mind, which is a common thread through Spencer's fiction.) I have recommended it to several non-Lovecraft fans, and their uniform response has been, Wow, what else has he written?

The writing is humorous and dry. It's the best modern version of Howard Lovecraft's mythology yet. W.B. Spencer has released the entire pantheon of Lovecraft's interdimensional monsters into a hilariously absurd group of company shills, with cosmically comical results. It reads very much like one of those darkly humorous rock & roll style zombie flicks that one might see in such horror films as the "Return of the Living Dead" series. You really do sympathize with the character, who is a loser, yet has certain redeeming qualities about him that allow the author to make him win in the end, and have everyone applauding the character at the same time. The watchwords here are dry and funny -- extremely funny!

When I lived in Austin, I was a member of a writers' group called the SlugTribe. Bill was also a member, and he read this work to us over the course of several meetings. I wish I'd taken a tape recorder. Bill's delivery is just as entertaining as the words themselves. I seem to recall that the title was slightly different, though. I guess that's par for the course with publisher types.

Between finding time to fill in your timesheets with colored pencils and attending a late night AA meeting that's not overflowing with zombies and ghouls, read Spencer's "Résumé With Monsters." What Dilbert did for corporate America in the funny pages, Résumé does with Lovecraft's pantheon of nasties.

Though the troubled protagonist is defeatist enough that you don't necessarily care if he wins or loses, the way Spencer slips in the scalpel and peels back the nightmarish absurdity of "working for the man" in a world gone crazy is a delight.