Book Review: The Idolaters of Cthulhu Edited by H. David Blalock

Title: The Idolaters of Cthulhu

Authors/Creators: H. P. Lovecraft, DJ Tyrer, Amanda Hard, Matthew Wilson, James Victor, Herika R. Raymer, Shenoa Carroll-Bradd, Robert J. Krog, E. dane Anderson, Gregory L. Norris, Michael Krog, H. David Blalock, Jonathan Dubey, Robin Wyatt Dunn, Ben STeward, Tyree Campbell, Harding McFadden, Brian Fatah Steele, Clark Ashton Smith. Edited by H. David Blalock

Format: Trade Paperback, Alban Lake Publishing

Published: 2015

This…will be an odd review to read, probably. So, with that in mind, read this in its entirety.

This is a book I will never read again.  It left me with intense emotional feelings, even though the intent was simply to tell stories out of a popular mythos, and the feelings it left me with weren’t ones that I’d want to revisit. And that has nothing to do with the fact that this mythos isn’t one I tend to read anyway, at least tales written so true to the mythos as these were.

Having said that, this is a book any fan of genre fiction, horror tales, intense emotional rollercoasters through reading, and particularly ALL Lovecraft fans should read.  At least once.  Guaranteed.

The tentpole of the anthology, created by editor H. David Blalock, is captured in the title. Although a ton of work exists set in the world of Cthulhu, both written by Lovecraft and countless others, very few pieces are written solely from the perspective of those who might worship the giant bipedal squid and the other Ancient Ones in his gruesome pantheon.   Blalock, using both historical pieces by Lovecraft and Smith, as well as utilizing brand new tales from a plethora of authors, puts together a collection that not only takes readers deep into the twisted minds of those who pledge their life and fealty to monstrous gods, but also connects readers to these poor souls.  Several stories in the book will cause readers to see people they know in the doomed lead characters, and scarily enough, even see themselves.

There are several very strong tales in this book and only one or two that I feel could have been better.  The strongest by far for me was Sentry by Herika R. Raymer.  Now, I’ll admit, this is probably because it is the one story in the book that leans more to what I prefer to read, which is a hero attempting to stand against the unstoppable foe.  But there’s more to why this one is the best in the book.  Raymer presents a character who has given his life to his mission and even before the conclusion of the story, the reader understands just how much of a sacrifice, how much loss this individual has experienced.  This tale is very intense on an emotional level and perhaps is the best mirror in the entire collection for readers to look into.

This book is definitely a Five for me on the Book In The Bag scale.  Anytime a written work can elicit a variety of strong responses, from revelation to revulsion, in a reader, then it is something everyone should read. Even if I will only ever read it once.