2016 Lovecraftian fantasy/horror anthology by three authors.
"Donald" (Tchaikovsky): the old hand will quickly be able to work
out what's going on here, but as with many of these stories the basic
concept doesn't stop with "oh noes race-mixing" but carries on to look
at some of the implications.
"Pitter Patter" (Gauntlett) has a unit of policemen keeping
observation from an abandoned Territorial Army base. But not as
abandoned as they might like.
"Special Needs Child" (McDonald) is barely Lovecraftian at all; it's a
fairly effective horror piece, apart from doing a terrible job of
addressing the protagonist's motivations, but doesn't really fit here.
"Irrational Numbers" (Tchaikovsky) deals with a mathematician, and one
of the best accounts of mathematical discovery and disappointment that
I've seen in fiction. That alone would make it worth reading, I think.
"New Build" (Gauntlett) shows an old city pub being converted into a
new pub (obviously implausible, as these days it would be converted
into overpriced poky flats instead) and what you can do in the moments
between the pulling of the metaphorical tripwire and the explosion.
"The Branch Line Repairman" (Tchaikovsky) is a love story to the
London Underground of the sort that I bet Ben Aaronovitch wishes he
could write. Actual research meets politics meets the Elder Things.
Superb.
"Devo Nodenti" (McDonald) is mostly in flashback, but looks at Nodens,
archaeology, the Dreamlands, and the real price of power. Rather
effective.
"Season of Sacrifice and Resurrection" (Tchaikovsky) is a museum
story, surprisingly weak, perhaps because its protagonist is much more
an observer then an actor in the narrative.
"Prospero and Caliban" (Gauntlett) is a phantasmagorical excursion
into the Bermuda Triangle, let down slightly by its suddenly-mundane
conclusion.
"Moving Targets" (Tchaikovsky) takes a Lovecraftian idea into modern
politics, and then sets two luckless policemen to investigate. Works
very well.
"The Play's the Thing" (McDonald) has a lovely impossible house, and
makes sense out of what is said about a certain play.
Some of these stories explicitly re-use particular ideas and threats
from Lovecraft, and the experienced reader can have fun saying "ah,
right, that'll be Mi-Go/Deep Ones/etc. then". But they're good in
themselves too, and I think that a reader unable to spot the
references could also get a lot of enjoyment out of these.
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