Book Impressions - The Elder Unearthed: Tales of NasNoroth and the Cult of the Elder by Michael W Garza

I'm a big fan of Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos stories in particular and what we have here is a collection of short stories and poems inspired by that mythos. The stories all involve the Cult of the Elder and with each tale you glimpse a little more of the horror created by this cult. Like many collections of short stories the individual tales are a mixed bag although they all contributed something interesting to the meta story of the cult. I was less enthused about the poems, they worked but I'm quite fussy with poetry so maybe I'm being a little harsh.

The tales are all very dark, there's no room for redemption or hope in these stories, which is fine with me. I do love a dark story! They capture the feel of some of Lovecraft's mood well and they're well written. The style is quite open and easy to read which allows you to consume the horror at some pace.

And at this point we see a flaw in the book. None of the stories are an involved read, the longest being only about 15 minutes to read. The pace is non-stop and you never get the chance to explore some of esoteric horrors on display here. I've no problem with endless horror, however cosmic horror on this sort of scale should include terrible mysteries for the mind to admire amidst the fear. A bit more room in some of the stories could have provided this as well as allowing a change in pace for the reader to comprehend the majesty of the terror being invoked.

In fairness that stops this book from being a top class read rather than merely excellent :-) For these are an enjoyable set of tales, the atmosphere is well done and the brooding menace of once forgotten gods is more than apparent.

Click on image to buy from Amazon

The Elder Unearthed is an H.P. Lovecraft inspired collection of tales and poetry in horror and the macabre. The Cult of the Elder yearns to bring the dark gods through the endless void to wreak havoc on the nonbelievers of this world. You will bear witness to the wicked things that lay claim to those who call on NasNoroth and its Elder kin. Table of Contents The Elder Unearthed The Harvester Teeth of the World The Burning of Legel Manor The Calling Crimson Rising A Rose by Any Other Name The Long Forgotten The Grief That Lingers Drums in the Void A Step through Darkness The Hunger.

Click here to buy The Elder Unearthed from Amazon (and it's a fun read)