my Goodreads review of The Book of Cthulhu 2

The Book of Cthulhu 2 by Ross E. Lockhart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Disclaimer: I have a story in The Book of Cthulhu 2.

My rating isn't based on that fact, however, but on the rich diversity of this new box of Arkham chocolates. There's something here for every Lovecraftian, & some of the items are rather difficult to find elsewhere. Michael Chabon's story, for example, first appeared in The New Yorker back in 2001. I don't recall seeing Karl Edward Wagner's chilling "Sticks" anywhere else lately, either.

The variety of this anthology can't be overstated. Fans of the classic tale will discover (or rediscover) Fritz Leiber's "Terror from the Depths" (a personal favorite), and Neil Gaiman's "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar." There are elegant Caitlin R. Kiernan and W.H. Pugmire tales for literary types, and A. Scott Glancy's Delta Green thriller "Once More from the Top" for the military-minded. Crave action? Try Jonathan Wood's "The Nyarlathotep Event." SF fans are well served, too, with such offerings as Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette's "Boojum."

Editor Ross E. Lockhart has even added four previously unpublished stories to the mix, including tales by Molly Tanzer and Laird Barron. I particularly enjoyed the Barron story, though it didn't seem as overly Mythos as most in this anthology.

This is a good-sized, chewy volume -- 24 stories -- at a fair price for both print & Kindle editions. Though long-time collectors are likely to have at least a couple of the stories already, it's still a worthwhile acquisition for most eldritch bookshelves.







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