Dark Origins

The Collected Novellas, Volume I (Arkham Horror Series)

By: Dave Gross, Graeme Davis, Richard Lee Byers, Chris A. Jackson

Narrated by: Todd Menesses

The Ancient Ones are coming to consume our world, and only the bold investigators of Arkham Horror stand in their way in this chilling collection of eldritch novellas.

Hour of the Huntress by Dave Gross - The mysterious disappearance of dilettante Jenny Barnes's beloved sister triggers a frantic search through Arkham's darkest shadows.

The Dirge of Reason by Graeme Davis - For federal agent Roland Banks, investigating a bizarre incident exposes him to the supernatural horrors of Arkham.

Ire of the Void by Richard Lee Byers - The astronomer and professor Norman Withers finds himself the subject of a strange creature's gaze when he agrees to assist in a fellow scientist's weird experiment.

The Deep Gate by Chris A Jackson - Sailor Silas Marsh must return to Innsmouth and confront his harrowing nightmares when he stumbles on a tome foretelling the end of the world.

©2021 Fantasy Flight Games (P)2022 Tantor

A Visit to Arkham

Things that man was not meant to know... The home of all such lore is in the New England town of Arkham and in these four novellas, the reader gets to experience what it might be like to visit one of H.P. Lovecraft's most famous creations. Each story has a different feel and was a lot of fun. They involve crazy cults and things passing between the worlds to haunt this one. They also give the reader that touch of craziness that personifies so many of Lovecraft's stories. And, they show how those not "in the know" like the FBI deal with these situations when they come across them.

If you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft's or enjoy the works of people playing in his Cthulhu mythos, you're going to enjoy these stories.

Meh.

it's very PG, alot of plot armor, and too much character development. the. characters in short cosmic horror stories like this are not supposed to be important, what happens to them, what they see and experience is the story.....all that classic cosmic horror short story style is trying to be there but missing the mark. these stories are not bad objectively but they are a little too soft for me. people escaping from some pretty insane situations that none of Lovecrafts protagonists would have even attempted let alone survived. if you absolutely love the cthulu mythos I think you may enjoy these, like I said they are not bad, they just don't seem to take themselves seriously. not my cup of tea.

Brings me back

I loved playing Call of Cthulhu in high school…. in the 80s. This was so reminiscent of that game that I truly enjoyed the trip. For something that I’m pretty sure is based on a role playing game, and written by people who starred out around a table with their friends, I’m very impressed with how it was written, edited, and performed. I am very happy they decided to elevate those experiences into something we could all enjoy.

Looking for another one from the series right now.

A fun ride into the Lovecraftian world for all

Arkham Horror Dark Origins is an easy to read, fun, and clean book to read. It's simple writing and prose style makes for an easy read for any age. It's toned down language and violence makes this a great anthology for anyone.

couldn't finish last story

The narrator did such a horrible job on the accent for the last story I couldn't even finish it. He changed between Irish, Boston, Jersey, Australian and who the heck knows what else between sentences and it absolutely destroyed the immersion. It's supposed to be a Maine accent which isn't necessarily an easy accent to replicate (I live in Maine, so I understand its... oddity) but it was like the narrator was just trying out different things and none of them stuck. It was terrible.

Refreshingly LOVECRAFT!

DARK ORIGINS

I wish all Cthulhu mythos compilations were this good.

I’M SO TIRED!
I can’t believe what melodramatic drivel passes for most collections of ‘Mythos stories’ these days involving none of the creatures haunting Lovecraft’s mythos. A large pie-slice of “NEW Mythos Tales" push pointless scribblings of unlikable people going aimlessly insane. I mean, do any of these supposedly 'neo-lovecraftian writers' actually READ Lovecraft?

I'M HAPPY!
However, this collection, DARK ORIGINS, is all about Lovecraft’s literature.

WHERE?
Each tale is directly related to Lovecraft’s world - actually taking place in towns / universities from Lovecraft’s fiction.

WHEN?
The stories all take place in the time when Lovecraft wrote his work - 1920 or so.

WHAT?
In these tales Lovecraft’s things-that-cannot-be are physically, NOT symbolically, invading our time/space seeking to work their alien actions.

WHO?
Characters here are interesting & become involved in mysterious situations the solving of which brings them face to nameless-face with one, or more, of Lovecraft’s indescribable horrors. Yet,THESE authors do their best to actually describe what-should-not-be, so there’s no absence of shuddering scenes that will keep you up.

WHY?
As far as I can tell, these are written to give you a thrill like you got reading Lovecraft for the first time. They go THERE and show you THAT. Worth listening to.

NARRATION:
Narrated by Todd Menesses - Great professional story reading without over-acting & never "gettin' in da' way of da' tale."


Oh, what a refreshing change from all those “New Cthulhu Tales” ( without any Cthulhu )!

Interesting takes on the Lovecraft mythos, but a shame about the narrator

I’ll never understand why male angels can’t take a little time to research the books they are going to perform. This narrator butchers French, he butchers the names of the books love craft created And his accents on laughable. It’s really a shame because the stories are great. Luckily the stories are good enough but the bad narration doesn’t attract so much, at least this reader, to give up on the stories.

Interesting stories

Enjoyed the stories and the way they linked together. It reminded me of Lovecraft. Would recommend it to others.

Fun tales in the Lovecraft mythos

I enjoyed these stories and it was a good spot to give the world and stories a try in a few small doses. The stories vary and give a good sampling. I found them all enjoyable, not expecting a genre defining experience, but stories in the vein of the pulp era that they are set in. There are pacing issues in all three stories, but it is a fair trade in that world building that is done. The narrator is good, though his accents have a tendency to get confuses. It is especially noticeable in the first story when both a French and German accented characters are talking in the same scene. Even later a German might sound more French or even Russian at times. It was noticeable enough but it didn't take me out of the story as you suspend disbelief to be able to enjoy stories like this. If you are interested in the Arkham Horror series this is a good place to get a taste of the world and a good way to spend some time.

Wonderful background stories to lovable characters.

I’ve played a lot of fantasy flight games over the years, so I’m familiar with these characters. It’s nice to listen to different stories that have a feel that transport you to the 1920s, set the scene, and you can see how these ordinary characters are able to get lucky and thwart evil plans. It’s awesome. These feel like origin stories for how the characters ended up stationed in or around Arkham. If you’re familiar with fantasy flight Arkham horror characters, and you love that series, these are worth a listen.