The gods of H.P. Lovecraft

*Starred Review* H. P. Lovecraft and his Mythos have seen a resurgence in popularity in the last 10 years, in both popular and scholarly circles, but this collection stands out among the crowd. Editor French selected 12 of the key deities from Lovecraft's universe and handed them to some of today's best and most popular dark-fiction writers, including Jonathan Maberry, Bentley Little, David Liss, Joe Lansdale, Christopher Golden, and Seanan McGuire, with the direction that they should craft a story from their own imagination, in their own voice, but featuring their assigned Lovecraftian god and paying homage to that character's origin. The result is a book that serves as an excellent introduction to the Mythos for novices but that also will be grabbed up by Lovecraft enthusiasts, who will love seeing their beloved cosmic horror deities of the past being reinterpreted by some of their favorite writers of today. Even taken out of the Lovecraftian frame, all 12 stories are scary and well crafted with plenty to offer readers looking for a post-Halloween fix. Take, for example, horror up-and-comer Douglas Wynne's Rattled, a terrifying story featuring Yig, Father of Serpents, that also works as a moving coming-of-age tale. This volume also contains original artwork and a commentary on each deity by Lovecraft scholar Donald Tyson. These essays are particularly compelling as readers encounter them immediately after being immersed in each God's terrifying world. This is must for all horror collections.--Spratford, Becky Copyright 2015 Booklist

French's concept-12 stories, each focusing on a different horrific god-is an original one, but there isn't much here to justify yet another anthology of cosmic horror inspired by Lovecraft's fiction. Despite an impressive roster of contributors, none of the entries is likely to become a classic, or even to resonate for more than a brief time. David Liss demonstrates what a gifted writer can do with a formulaic plot (a man lured into taking a job that seems too good to be true) in the evocative "The Doors That Never Close and the Doors That Are Always Open." Adam Nevill's talent for creating atmosphere is manifest from the opening lines of "Call the Name," as the lead encounters a mysterious "grey mass of lifeless flesh" on a beach, embedded "haphazardly" with "scores of milky eyes that stared at nothing." But some of the stories are too derivative of the originals, even riffing unsuccessfully on some of Lovecraft's most memorable lines. Each story is followed by Donald Tyson's commentary on the deity featured in that work, and his explicit taxonomies undo whatever subtleties the authors employed. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.