The Statement of Andrew Doran

By: Matthew Davenport

Narrated by: Patrick Harvey

Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Dr. Andrew Doran has been out of touch with the major civilizations for quite a while. When an emissary from his Alma Mater demands his assistance, Andrew is in such a state that he has no choice but to help. The Nazis have taken the Necronomicon from Miskatonic University's library. With it they could call upon every form of darkness and use the powers of the void to destroy all who stand in their way of unlimited power.

For years, Doran has been at odds with Miskatonic University.

Putting his negative feelings aside, Andrew takes charge and heads straight into the Nazi-controlled territories of Europe. Along his journey from America and into the heart of Berlin, the dark Traum Kult, or Dream Cult, has sent beasts from the void between worlds to slow his progress.

This is adventure and monsters unlike anything the anthropologist has ever experienced, and only with the assistance of the trigger-happy Leo and the beautiful Olivia, both members of the French Resistance, does Dr. Doran have any chance of success.

A sane man would flinch.

Dr. Andrew Doran charges in.

©2013 Matthew Davenport (P)2022 David N. Wilson

Nazi ass-kicking, Lovecraftian-style

Mathew Davenport’s The Statement of Andrew Doran is the first installment of an occult historical fiction trilogy that takes on a Lovecraftian horror twist. Found in a Nazi-occupied Europe pre-World War II setting, readers are introduced to the dynamic protagonist, Dr. Andrew Doran. Easily seen as a magic-wielding Indiana Jones homage character, Andrew’s exploits are entertaining, though his character is more somber and lacks Dr. Jone’s witty charm.

The narrative and plot are among the best aspects of The Statement of Andrew Doran. The plot rapidly engrosses readers, urging them to continue reading to keep track of the numerous twists and turns that the story takes throughout. The integration of Lovecraftian horror within the narrative was another notable aspect woven expertly into the plot by an author that is clearly a fan and student of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Undoubtedly, the novel shines primarily for its outstanding plot, but it is not without its flaws. The quality of writing was average, and the interplay dialogue between characters could have been more substantial and convincing. Additionally, the narrative seemed to jump between different scenes, making it challenging to follow and connect. This could be attributed to the fact that the book was initially published as an episodic serial adventure and later compiled into its current form as a novel.
Despite these minor shortcomings, the book's strengths easily outweigh its flaws, making it an enjoyable read. The Statement of Andrew Doran is a must-read for those who love occult historical fiction and Lovecraftian horror, offering a unique and entertaining narrative.

The narration of the audiobook is adequate but not outstanding. Patrick Harvey’s even tone lends an air of confidence to Andrew Doran but is too calm to bring much excitement to action-filled or stressful moments. But characters are voiced well, with various accents and inflections, but overall the narration doesn’t particularly add to or detract from the enjoyability of the novel.

Special thanks to Mathew Davenport, who provided me with this book at my request.

Brilliant! fast and fun

Nazi zombies, Insane driven monsters, Elder Gods, and magical weapons, a gun and sword.

Fast, detailed, and a lot of fun, this book has it all. Definitely a winner.

Enjoyable! Lots of great creatures!

The Statement of Andrew Doran
By Matthew Davenport
This was an interesting story of Dr Doran. He was summoned, and spirited away by creatures that can do that sort of thing, to be told the Necronomicon has been stolen and now thought to be in the hands of Nazis. He knows how deadly this book could be in the wrong hands and reluctantly to go retrieve it.
Along the way he meets two French resistors and they band together. It's a very exciting journey with danger and surprises everywhere!

Indiana Jones vs. Cthulhu and Nazis!

THE STATEMENT OF ANDREW DORAN is a Indiana Jones versus H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos novel with the titular character standing in for Doctor Jones. Andrew Doran is an adventurer archaeologist who was fired from Miskatonic University for suggesting they should maybe not openly share the supernatural books that have the power to destroy the world. Also, the fact he's a smug git. Unfortunately, Andrew Doran is needed because the Nazis have stolen the Necronomicon and plan to use its power to win the war.

I'm no stranger to unconventional tellings of H.P. Lovecraft, being the author of post-apocalypse Western Cthulhu Armageddon, but I have to say this is one of my favorites. It by no means is an attempt to tell a traditional horror tale with the Cthulhu Mythos but instead replicate the classic Pulp stories of good versus evil. That means Andrew Doran is against both the Mythos' many supernatural beasties as well as the Third Reich.

I do have some criticisms of this. The Cthulhu Mythos and its monsters are portrayed as monstrously corrupt entities versus alien ones and this is a missed opportunity. I, personally, would have loved to have seen the Mythos used against the Nazis rather than allied with them since they tend to represent the "Other" and it would have been fascinating seeing the two fight. No matter who wins, humanity loses.

The book is broken up into a series of vignettes which basically amount to issues of a Pulp magazine or their successors in the comic book. Andrew Doran goes to site A and encounters something nasty, deals with it, and gets gradually one step closer to Berlin where he can fight the Thule Society for ultimate power. He befriends a pair of French Resistance fighters in the process and even falls in love with one of them--an element which I was surprised by the end results of. It was the biggest twist in the novel and one I should have seen coming.

Andrew Doran, himself, is a two-fisted genius monster hunter who is thankfully flawed enough to be an interesting character. Andrew believes he's the best (and perhaps only) person in the world who can stop the Cthulhu Mythos from destroying the world but his arrogance is off-putting as well as mistaken. He alienates his allies and we soon discover the only person who might be capable of loving him is himself.

My second favorite character in the novel, after Andrew himself, is the beautiful Olivia who makes a nice foil to him. Her romance with Andrew seems a little out of the blue and unbelievable at times but there's reasons for that. I don't know how the story will go on with her after the finale but picked up the sequel just to find out, so I think Matthew Davenport did a good job developing her.

There's a lot of really entertaining moments and shout-outs for HPL fans. Andrew Doran going through the Miskatonic armory has him see numerous relics from the Mythos' various "heroes", he has a chance encounter with some Innsmouth refugees, and there's also a cool scene where he flees into the Paris catacombs only to find it full of Nazi-eating undead. It's hard to say what my favorite scene in the book is but, overall, it was always entertaining and never boring.

The narrator is a bit subdued but does a great job realizing the characters and their non-stop action. Poor Andrew can't journey anywhere without tripping over a Nazi plot or Dream Lands monstrosity.

So, do I recommend this book? Basically, if you're in the mood for a heroic genius bruiser like Doc Savage (but with the personality of Gregory House M.D.) then I think you'll enjoy this book a great deal. It reminds me a bit of the Titus Crow novels by Brian Lumley, though doesn't get anywhere near as silly. Matthew Davenport clearly knows his HPL and while his monsters are overtly evil than surreal, that's clearly a deliberate artistic choice. I've already read the sequel, ANDREW DORAN AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS as well as Matthew Davenports' superhero novel BROKEN NIGHTS.

An action packed adventure

I’m not a fan of horror so I was a little hesitant going into this book, but it surprised me. It’s an enjoyable fictional WWII era story starring a famous archaeologist, no not that one. While Dr Doran might remind you of other adventuring archaeologists, he is very much his own distinct character, with an interesting side job and perspective on the world.
While Cthulhu is a central theme, and I believed the monsters were scary if you were there, the descriptions had the right balance of convincing me they were scary without scaring ME. Which, I appreciated.

There’s some sound editing glitches, that happened often enough to start to annoy me but otherwise the performance was better than expected. I don’t think the sample really gives Patrick Harvey’s acting range justice. While his female voices weren’t the best, it’s largely a male dominated book so it doesn’t come up often. And his monster voices are excellent.