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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Private Life of Elder Things in Books

Aug 18, 2019 (Updated Aug 18, 2019)  
The Private Life of Elder Things
The Private Life of Elder Things
Adrian Tchaikovsky, Adam Gauntlett, Keris McDonald | 2016 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
4.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Short story collection consisting of various riffs on elements from HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos; you probably have to be fairly familiar with Lovecraft and his acolytes to get the full effect, as this does almost turn into a game of Spot-the-Yithian in places. All the usual suspects appear, along with excursions into more obscure areas (there's some excellent Hastur-related wordplay in the story featuring that part of the mythos).

Of the three authors, Tchaikovsky is probably the best stylist, McDonald manages to find some humanity and depth in fairly unlikely places, while Gauntlett is the pulpiest. None of them attempt to actually copy Lovecraft's idiosyncratic prose style, which is probably a blessing. None of the stories are genuinely inspired, but they're usually very readable even if they sometimes get a touch bizarre.