Book Review: What October Brings edited by Douglas Draa

A collection of Lovecraftian tales in celebration of the spookiest time of the year.

“”Cthulhu fhtagn!”, I shouted, as I hefted the bloodied axe onto one shoulder and disappeared into the darkness.”

Lovecraft fans! Look no further! (Because I know this is exactly what you were trawling through the internet looking for) I have found the perfect Lovecraftian collection for Halloween time.

I would probably label myself a Lovecraft fangirl. I did drag my boyfriend through a cemetery on an incredibly hot day to find his grave in Rhode Island on our recent vacay. So this collection was a whole lot of fun! There are references to and inspiration derived from all the usual Lovecraftian sources: Cthulhu, Innsmouth, the Necronomicon, Yuggoth, Azathoth, the sleeping gods… etc.

I don’t think you need to have read Lovecraft in order to enjoy this collection, but I would hazard a guess that it does make it more enjoyable? My absolute favourite story was That Small, Furry, Sharp-Toothed Thing, which was so awesome. The main character descends into a spiral of paranoia and madness upon seeing these Halloween costumes inspired by a Lovecraft tale everywhere. The ending was brutal and incredibly satisfying. 5 stars for that one.

A minor complaint is that perhaps it does feel repetitive at times? A lot of the stories share the same ideas and settings, but as I stretched it out over a couple of weeks it wasn’t too off-putting! All of the stories were well-written, even those I didn’t enjoy as much. I wouldn’t say any of them are complete stinkers.

Worth adding to next year’s October TBR if it tickles your fancy! I quite enjoyed it. Average story rating of 3.76, so I’ve rounded up to 4 stars because I’m generous ;)

Johann

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