Category Archives: retro book reviews

The Rats In the Walls: The Complete Lovecraft #38

Posted on November 22, 2017 by Mark Hayes

The first Lovecraft story I ever read was ‘The Rats In The Walls’. I always have, and will always, looked upon it fondly, for all its flaws. It remains the tale I am most likely to recommend as a starting … Continue reading →

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The Lurking Fear: The Complete Lovecraft #37

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Old tentacle hugger has inspired a lot of writers over the years. He’s also inspired an awful lot of bands. There is definitely something about Lovecraft and musicians. Not that I can claim to be above the occasional musical reference in these blog posts, … Continue reading →

Posted in horror, Lovecraft, music, mythos, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What The Moon Brings: The Complete Lovecraft #36

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Mark Hayes

ales …the spectral summer when the moon shone down on the old garden where I wandered; the spectral summer of narcotic flowers and humid seas of foliage that bring wild and many-coloured dreams… Lovecraft at his best is a master … Continue reading →

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Hypnos: The Complete Lovecraft #35

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Mark Hayes

“…Young with the youth that is outside time, and with beauteous bearded face, curved, smiling lips, Olympian brow, and dense locks waving and poppy-crowned.” As gods go in Lovecraft’s fiction, the Greek god of sleep is probably one of the least … Continue reading →

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The Other Gods: The complete Lovecraft #32

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Pantheonic gods are cooler than monotheistic ones. I say this not to denigrate anyone’s faith. Somethings just are… A cigarette smoking teenage Marlon Brando in black leather in ‘Rebel without a cause’.  Leaning against a Harley Daverson answering the onerous question “What … Continue reading →

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The Outsider: The Complete Lovecraft#30

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Every writer will on occasion be influenced in style and subject by those whose writing he admires. That’s why they are called influences after all. Sometimes this is deliberate, sometimes not so much, and on occasion sometimes the writer doesn’t realise … Continue reading →

Posted in cthulhu, horror, mythos, Nyarlathotep, reads, retro book reviews, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Nameless City: The Complete Lovecraft #29

Posted on September 9, 2017 by Mark Hayes

“That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons, even death may die.” ~Abdul Alhazred There can be few tales of tales more Lovecraftian than ‘The Nameless City‘. A tale rejected by ‘Wierd Tales‘ twice and a succession … Continue reading →

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Sweet Ermengarde: The Complete Lovecraftian #28

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Some collections of Lovecraft which claim to be complete utterly ignore ‘Sweet Ermengarde’, thus expunge it from their pages. There are reasons to do so, not necessarily good reasons, but reasons all the same. I know this because of the two … Continue reading →

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The Quest of Iranon: The Complete Lovecraft#25

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Some tales are more interesting in the abstract than in the telling. Sad though that may be, ‘The Quest of Iranon‘ is one such tale. While it’s a pleasant enough read, it does not really have anything that grips you … Continue reading →

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Nyarlathotep: The Complete Lovecraftian#24

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Mark Hayes

Nyarlathotep . . . the crawling chaos . . . I am the last . . . I will tell the audient void. . .  Of all the pantheonic creatures of mythos created by Lovecraft, Nyarlathotep is perhaps second only to old tentacle face himself in its impact upon popular culture. I … Continue reading →

Posted in cthulhu, horror, Lovecraft, mythos, Nyarlathotep, reads, retro book reviews, sci-fi | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments