Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Madness of Cthulhu Anthology (Volume One)

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If you liked "Mts. of Madness" then read this one

September 17, 2015

Been reading HPL &co. for about 60 years; a LOT of more recent tales by others seem to be coattail-ridings. NOT so here ! The theme is based on "At the Mountains of Madness"; if you haven't read that great tale by HPL, do so before opening this book.
There are 18 items (16 stories, a Foreword and an Introduction). MY ratings include A+ for 4 stories and the Foreword, 2 stories at A and one A- (just a minor thing or two that I feel is 'off'), 5 in the B-range and 3 Cs. There are, unfortunately a pair of F ratings IMHO. Reasonably readers may differ!
Bottom Line: stays in my collection, as above average but not 'perfect'

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Tries to crowd in too many pages with forced small font.

March 9, 2016

Real writers, not a fanzine anthology, edited by a pro. Downgraded because of small typefont making it hard to read. Thus not ordering the second volume.

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GeoffK

If you liked "Mts. of Madness" then read this one

September 17, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

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Jay49265

excellent condition

July 17, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Some of these short stories are really great but I just can't get over how dumb this one story is with two women and a man on a boat in Antartica and there's scary creatures all over the place. Just try not to laugh at the word colossal too many times in it's very brief storyline.

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Pepper

Yes, madness

December 23, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

These are short stories for folks who really like "At the Mountains of Madness." The stories are all (some vaguely) based upon that story; but, from different points of view. Some interesting ideas here.

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Vathek Books

Excellent anthology !

February 4, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Joshi can do no wrong !

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Tries to crowd in too many pages with forced small font.

March 9, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Real writers, not a fanzine anthology, edited by a pro. Downgraded because of small typefont making it hard to read. Thus not ordering the second volume.

2 people found this helpful

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W. H. Pugmire, Esq.

Joshi continues his excellent work as editor of Lovecraftian-themed books (the most impressive ...

October 19, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is the first of two volumes of THE MADNESS OF CTHULHU, the second of which will be published late next year. The Contents to this first volume:
Forward by Jonathan Maberry
Introduction by S. T. Joshi
At the Mountains of Murkiness by Arthur C. Clarke
The Fillmore Shoggoth by Harry Turtledove
Devil's Bathtub by Lois Gresh
The Witness in Darkness by John Shirley
How the Gods Bargain by William Browning Spencer
A Mountain Walked by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Diana of a Hundred Breasts by Robert Silverberg
Under the Shelf by Michael Shea
Cantata by Melanie Tem
Cthulhu Rising by Heather Graham
The Warm by Darrell Schweitzer
Last Rites by K. M. Tonso
Little Lady by J. C. Koch
White Fire by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
A Quirk of the Mistral by Jonathan Thomas
The Dog-Handler's Tale by Donald Tyson

S. T. Joshi continues his excellent work as editor of Lovecraftian-themed books (the most impressive of which is the amazing A MOUNTAIN WALKED hardcover from Centipede Press). With the exception of two reprints, this new anthology consists of new original tales. It is a sign of Mr Joshi's esteemed reputation that he is able to procure stories from a wide variety of highll-skilled professional writers, some who are new to the writing of Lovecraftian weird fiction. My favorite story in the book is by Mr Pulver. I love the peculiar poetic beauty of his highly individual style. I find his style very American and modern, , and it conveys potently the horror of his brutal situations. Mr Pulver has the ability to weave a combination of hallucinative strangeness with stark reality, and it is used with extreme effective in this disquieting tale. John Shirley's style is, on the other hand, straightforward, and very effective. His superb story delighted me from the very first page, because it is so absolutely Lovecraftian. On the first page we find mention of "Mountains of Madness," "Elder One," and "Elder Thing, a.k.a. a 'Great Old One'." This story is a perfect expression of the editor's aim, to create an anthology of tales inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. One of the book's most entertaining and rewarding stories is by Robert Silverberg. He writes so well, and his characters and setting are especially fine. There is a moment, when the brothers discover the hidden tomb, when I was reminded of Lovecraft's "The Statement of Randolph Carter." The historical nature of this superb story is deftly conveyed, adding to interest and atmosphere. Brilliant.

Mr Joshi is aware of a seeming dearth of women writers in the Cthulhu Mythos scene, and has included a number of women in this book. (The gender of K. M. Tonso remains enigmatic in the author's biographical note.) Mr Joshi has hailed Caitlin R. Kiernan as perhaps the finest writer of weird fiction today, and her story in this anthology helps to confirm this belief. She is magnificent in portrayal of character, and her Lovecraftian work possesses a genuineness that confirms her standing as one who has carefully read H. P. Lovecraft. Lois H. Gresh tells a captivating story with a precise prose style that flows smoothly across the page, and then erupts with moments of shocking violence. I love especially the opening paragraphs, which capture the sense of the outre, the Outside, with delicious detail such as having a dog sense a smell that is completely alien to anything it has hitherto experienced. J. C. Koch's tale is my introduction to this writer, and I am impressed by her easy handling of dialogue and solid characters. She is good as conjuring a sense of place.

Not all the tales in this first volume follow the editor's theme, as Mr Joshi explains in his Introduction: "This volume is not restricted to imaginative riffs on Lovecraft's Antarctic novella; other Lovecraftian themes and tales are used as springboards for ventures into the weird." One of our finest writers of modern Cthulhu Mythos stories was the late Michael Shea, who passed away unexpectedly this year. He was a brilliant writer, with a fine sense of the Lovecraftian tone. Mr Shea was a conjurer, who uses the magick of language to cast a spell upon his readers. He is, like Mr Pulver, a very modern voice, but the darkness he evokes is timeless, terrifying and beautiful.

These are just a few of my favorites in this wonderful anthology. The writing in each story is extremely good--there is not one poor story in the book. I was enchanted and entertained throughout my reading of the book. A special note of admiration goes to the wonderful cover illustration by John Jude Palencar--one wishes that he could have been listed with more prominence, and on the copyright page, instead of the very tiny print his name achieved on the back cover.

Alas that we have to wait until late 2015 for the second volume. It's Contents will include "Tsathoggua's Breath," by Brian Stableford (a brilliant author of modern Mythos fiction; his book, THE LEGACY OF ERICH ZANN may be ordered here at Amazon); "The Door Benneath," by Alan Dean Foster; "Dead Man Walking," by William F. Nolan; "A Crazy Mistake," by Nancy Kilpatrick; "The Hollow Sky," by Jason C. Eckhardt (who is also an exceptional artist, his work recently included in THE NEW ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT); "Deep Fracture," by Steve Rasnic Tem; "The Dream Stones," by Donald Tyson; "The Blood in My Mouth," by Laird Barron; "On the Shores of Destruvtion," by Karen Haber; and many more stories.

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G. A. Kathryns

Pass by on the other side, O traveler!

October 17, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

On the whole, I'd have to write this anthology off as a failure. Despite one or two notable exceptions, the stories range from the confused and uninteresting to the out-and-out disgusting. The writing quality is, in general, poor, sometimes even falling well below that of the blatantly histrionic pulps of the early 20th century. Indeed, having just recently re-watched Twohy's "Below", I was strongly reminded of the bearded pulp-geek's melodramatic reading about the "malediction". Which was, all in all, better than a lot of the stories in this book. Even the reprints of Clarke's ham-handed parody and Silverberg's angst-ridden preachiness, while being perhaps of some historic value, are not enough to make this volume a worthwhile purchase.

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Moderan

Getting Even

December 24, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

Lovecraftian anthologies tend to be uneven, especially earlier ones, where the stable of writers was fuller.
This is a later and smoother version, albeit with the work of some older and/or completely unexpected scribes. The level of craftsmanship is very high, and everyone clearly knows the material, which is another common issue.
I enjoyed it. Caitlin Kiernan's story was the best, I thought (and think).

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November 24, 2014

If you are looking for a collection of stories that resemble those of Lovecraft, skip on this book. The first three stories are absolutely cringe worthy and it is tough to imagine why an editor didn't send them to the waste basket where they belong. After finishing the book, it is fair to say that there were a couple of well written stories that really just needed some polish to bring them to a conclusion that fits the genre. These hidden gems are the exception and they are buried among feckless attempts at Lovecraftian lore.

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