I cannot say it any more simply, Cthulhu’s Reign is the darkest book I’ve read in a long while. Thing is, it was wonderfully dark.
Cthulhu’s Reign is like bathing your brain in hot black octopus ink.
Fifteen stories, of differing lengths and quality, are united by a single dark thread- Cthulhu. In H.P. Lovecraft these talented writers pull from the void sometimes blasphemous inspirations. Old Ones, Shoggoths and Yog-Sothoth equip the panoply of authors with rich material.
If you are a fantasy/horror/science-fiction novice, weened on FPS video games, or the work of JJ Abrams, Joss Whedon or JK Rowling, the world of H.P. Lovecraft might seem antiquated or even silly. Admittedly, a squid headed demon god with vestigial wings looks silly, when it’s a plush toy. Or if you grew up devouring Star Wars novels and watching masochistic torture-porn bad-guys, then Cthulhu’s Reign probably isn’t for you.
But if you understand Cthulhu’s Reign grabs henotheism with both hands and rides it out- One God among many, but One uncompassionate god to reign supreme- you will love the Cthulhu out of it!
Some of the stories are mind bending, experimental prose that bounce about like a horrific ping-pong ball. Yet others are those smash mouth tales of the pulp-era, straight forward and simple. Of the many offerings, all may not measure up, but as a whole they achieve an unquestioned success.
By far, the strongest stories in Cthulhu’s Reign are Ken Asamatsu’s Spherical Trigonometry which conjures occult millionaires and how the affluent perceive the survival of man, What Brings the Void from Will Murray is a nice blend of science fiction and horror and Ian Watson’s The Walker in the Cemetery sets the dark, desperate tone as the first story out of the chute. If I were to peg my favorite, I would have to say The New Pauline Corpus perfectly blends the end-of-the-world with the deepest introspection that would come when weighing the dogma of light against the horrors oozing down from the night sky.
Cthulhu’s Reign reminds us that horror stories should be inexplicable. We as humans, religious or not, try to rationalize our existence. We explain, pick apart and document every waking moment of our lives on Facebook or Twitter.
Yet what if every single thing you know, have learned, come to rely upon to get you through the day, was going to fail at THAT moment. No God, no liquor nor drug is going to see you through that moment. Everything you know wasn’t a lie, but a giant delusion based on an inexplicable predetermined end.
Scary. And that’s why Cthulhu’s Reign works so well. It says to you, prepare for Armageddon (global or personal,) because when it comes, it’s going to be unfathomably ugly, dark and painful. And the end will be orchestrated by a force indecipherable to even the highest of rationales.
No smiley face button nor religious talisman will spare you; you sentient microbe.
Conclusion: BUY IT!
Cthulhu’s Reign was received as a free review copy from publisher DAW Books/Penguin.
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