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Title: The Black Wings of Cthulhu Vol 1
Series: Cthulhu Anthology #7
Editor: S.T. Joshi
Rating: 3.0 of 5 Stars
Genre: Cosmic Horror
Pages: 385
Words: 141K
TOC
Introduction
S. T. Joshi
Pickman’s Other Model (1929)
Caitlín R. Kiernan
Desert Dreams
Donald R. Burleson
Engravings
Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
Copping Squid
Michael Shea
Passing Spirits
Sam Gafford
The Broadsword
Laird Barron
Usurped
William Browning Spencer
Denker’s Book
David J. Schow
Inhabitants of Wraithwood
W. H. Pugmire
The Dome
Mollie L. Burleson
Rotterdam
Nicholas Royle
Tempting Providence
Jonathan Thomas
Howling in the Dark
Darrell Schweitzer
The Truth about Pickman
Brian Stableford
Tunnels
Philip Haldeman
The Correspondence of Cameron Thaddeus Nash
Annotated by Ramsey Campbell
Violence, Child of Trust
Michael Cisco
Lesser Demons
Norman Partridge
An Eldritch Matter
Adam Niswander
Substitution
Michael Marshall Smith
Susie
Jason Van Hollander
There was a distinct lack of Cthulhu in this collection. A VERY distinct lack. It would have been better to call this a collection of stories about authors navel gazing as cockroaches ate their belly buttons. At least I would have been prepared for the completely self-absorbed narcissists who wrote these stories. They weren’t all necessarily bad, but without a direct tie to Cthulhu or some of his equally evil and cosmic brethren, they just came across as authors spouting nonsense about nonsense. I confirmed that Joseph Pulver Sr is a blithering idiot and has the skill of an epileptic caught in the throws of a fentanyl withdrawal while falling off of Nakatomi Towers.
I still gave this 3stars because of the ones that did tie directly into the Mythos. And I really enjoyed them. But 3 or 4 stories out of a collection of 21 is not a very good track record. Joshi (the editor of this collection) and I have a very mixed track record. Sometimes I really enjoy what he’s put together and other times I think he’s on drugs and his selections are crap. He is definitely one of those people who think Lovecraft’s mythology deserves “special attention” instead of just playing in the sandbox.
I just looked on Devilreads and there are FIVE more collections of this series. That’s rubbish. I am “almost” tempted to sample them to see if they too are Cthulhu’less, but I’ve got 6 other anthologies to investigate first. Maybe when I run out and am desperate for a Cthulhu fix (as I take a swan dive off of Nakatomi Tower, hehehehe).
★★★☆☆
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