Off the Shelf
‘Hardboiled Cthulhu’ overcomes genre-melding monotony
By LEE CLARK ZUMPE
Article published on Wednesday, June 6, 2007  |
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| “Hardboiled Cthulhu,” edited by James Ambuehl, Elder Signs Press. |
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Creating an anthology of tales which fuse elements of the Cthulhu Mythos with the attributes of practically any other genre, an editor runs the risk of amassing a set of stories that all sound a little too similar, a little too repetitive.
Be it the fault of the writers’ limited perception of the genre’s boundaries or the editor’s failure to select contrasting representations of the stated theme, such amalgamations often bank on the genius of one or two tales to conceal the mediocrity of the remainder.
“Hardboiled Cthulhu” beats the odds and delivers 21 “two-fisted tales of tentacled terror” by some of the most competent story-crafters in the field today.
These writers don’t miss a trick, and they’ve generated some new fiction that will placate admirers of H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror while beguiling fans of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.
The truly amazing thing is that while there are clearly some headliners here, there are no weak links in the anthology. Each tale is unique in its approach, each dissimilar from the rest in its balance of Mythos elements and crime fiction factors. Though they all are constructed from the same set of ingredients, both the writers and editor James Ambuehl cleverly ensured that no two dishes left the kitchen looking, smelling or tasting alike.
From the well-developed, strategically-researched 1929 New York City setting of William Jones’ “A Change of Life,” to the hardcore noir pithiness of C.J. Henderson’s “The Questioning of the Azathothian Priest,” “Hardboiled Cthulhu” opens a door that will lead readers into a murky world of celestial suffering inhabited by gangsters, thugs and things which should not be.
Highlights of the anthology include the aforementioned Jones and Henderson contributions; John Sunseri’s “A Little Job in Arkham,” the job being the filching of the “Necronomicon;” Jonathan Sharp’s “The White Mountains,” a wicked little yarn of backwoods bootlegging; and James Chambers’ “The Roaches in the Walls,” revealing more about bugs than anyone really needs to know.
But wait, there’s more ... like Tim Curran’s “Eldritch-Fellas,” a story that unrepentantly perverts both genres to concoct a riotous and innovative look at all those stodgy curmudgeons of Lovecraft’s creation: Here’s Yog-Sothoth, “the boss of bosses,” chatting it up with Nyarlathotep, longing for the old days, complaining about Elder Gods taping his phones and denigrating Derleth for turning their “business” into a “sideshow.”
Simon Bucher-Jones offers “Some Thoughts on the Problem of Order,” a brilliant, table-turning escapade that envisions a world that has embraced a different set of standards but which is still plagued by faith-based disputes, rivalries and extremism.
“Pazuzu’s Children,” by Jeffrey Thomas, is one of those selections which keeps the anthology fresh by placing the action in the midst of Desert Storm, somewhere in the Syrian Desert. Its cryptic cultists and cache of arcane lore make this tale a Lovecraftian goodie bag while its depiction of torture and inquisition lend it a noir vibe.
Rounding out the collection are respectable tales from James Ambuehl, David Witteveen, Eric J. Millar, William Meikle, Robert Price and others. If anything seems out of place, it is Steven L. Shrewsbury’s “Day of Iniquity,” a wonderful tale but one that seems quite disconnected from the anthology’s theme.
“Hardboiled Cthulhu,” edited by James Ambuehl, is available at www.eldersignspress.com and www.shocklines.com.
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Article published on Wednesday, June 6, 2007
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