Lovecraft in a Time of Madness

Write Like Hell, Book 4

By: C. L. Werner, Thomas Parrot, Mark Wheaton, David F. Gray, Scotty Milder

Narrated by: Scott Miller, Anna Capraro

Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Lovecraft in a Time of Madness is a collection of 21 horrifying tales, inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Featuring stories from across the globe, this anthology unveils a universe of macabre ritual, terrifying creatures, and those brave souls who dare challenge the nature of the unknown!

From Arthurian legends to the very depths of the Mariana Trench and the darkest corners of the human mind, Lovecraft in a Time of Madness oozes with unique takes on some of Lovecraft’s most formidable creations. Featuring stories from C.L. Werner, Thomas Parrott, Mark Wheaton, David F. Gray, Scotty Milder, and other new and established authors. Join us as we descend into madness!

"Includes the theatrical adaptations of Madison Kilian's "The King in Binary", Erica Schaef's "Esca", and Mitchell Luthi's "Cthulhu vs. Kaiju", as well as the "Lovecraft Triptych"; three immersive audio readings of H. P. Lovecraft's "Dagon", "The Cats of Ulthar", and "The Doom That Came To Sarnath".

©2021 Sentinel Creatives (P)2021 Sentinel Creatives

Hit or miss and very short - some good tho

Several of the stories in here were good. At least two of them were so good, apparently, that the editors decided to put them in twice (or maybe it was to pad the length, but no, who would do such a thing?)

Then there are some stories that are very mid.

Then there are some classic Lovecraft stories. This feels especially galling, bcz we've already HAD those for about 80 years now - I bought this volume to hear MODERN stories INSPIRED by Lovecraft, not actual Lovecraft I can get from five other readings any time I want.

Feel like I was cheated, but the good stories were good enough that I don't feel like returning the book

not every short story is a winner

I enjoyed this book very much! Not every story was excellent, but the ones that are, I absolutely loved. The king in binary was my favorite. There are a couple of stories that are done twice.. one "acted", the other read.. which might be a little unnecessary.. And at the end a couple of actual lovecraft stories.

A great mythos collection.

Overall, I definitely recommend this one to Lovecraft fans. Most collections have a focus on one aspect of the mythos and this is no exception. Lovecraft, In a Time of Madness finds its niche in doom and damnation. It maintains the spirit of the mythos while being entirely independent and unbound by the path of direct sequels.
For me, the biggest detractor of the audiobook is the narrator. The narrator's endogenous voice fits well for several of the stories and there is nothing innately wrong with the narration, however it just doesn't fit with most of the stories, A bit of vocal variety would have been welcome.
The strangest part is that two of the stories are repeated but with full cast dramatization. These are certainly the best part of the audiobook but having already experienced them within the same volume, there placement is poor to say the least.

The King in Binary by Madison (Killeon?): I thought the King in Yellow was lackluster but it did inspire a great deal of exceptional sequels; such is the case here. A fascinating blend of AI existentialism and true Lovecraftian Horror, this is both unique and good. I recommend skipping the first iteration and waiting for the full cast version later in the book.

In the Flat Field by Scotty Milder: This was fine but it was leaning a little more on the gruesome side of horror than I enjoy.

The Azimuth Pilot by C.R. (Tyroke?): The author wrote very elegantly, I honestly could have been convinced that it was written by Lovecraft himself. Still, it bored me a quite a bit.

Kept in Shadow by Mark Wheaton; This is probably my favorite. A story of ghosts and ghost hunters but not the banal kind that America is in love with. These are ghosts of an eldritch and strange nature.

Knights of the Non-Euclidian Table by Mitchell (Newtie?): A Sequel to the legends of King Arthur with Eldritch abominations. Pretty good though this is one that should have been read by a different narrator.

The Gulf Breach by Jack Faircloth: A lonely musician is looking for companionship for the last night on Earth. This one would have been a lot better with a deeper voice narrator.

Zodiac Harvest by Jennifer Jean: One of those friendly hipster alien stories. No good.

Chum by Patrick (Mooley?): A tale of sacrifice and the horrors of the sea. The plot is nothing special but it was certainly entertaining.

The Roof of the World by C. L. Werner: Scientists set forth to find the elusive yeti but find something far more terrifying. This one's very good.

The Obsession of Dr. Pulk by Keneth Bikirk: Now, I would have greatly enjoyed this story if not for the (a)moral at the heart. This idiotic veneration for homeopathy over modern medicine is as damaging as it is baseless. Evil doctors and mad science are great but only when the author conveys that their existence is for entertainment purposes only.

Where Spirits Tread by Thomas Parrot: A tale of memory loss and dark places beneath the tides. This one was dead center, not bad but not great.

The Valley of Kings by Scott Miller: This one is not, strictly speaking, Lovecraftian. Instead it's a character driven fantasy horror. Pretty good.

A Summoning on Saint Ann by Justin Fillmore: A dinner party for the islands elite takes an unexpected turn. Certainly one of the better stories of the collection.

Passing Through by Erick (Handy?): Not even remotely Lovecraftian but it did have some vaguely interesting science fiction concepts.

The Eye of the Sahara by Adam Grey : Extremely formulaic and adds little to the mythos but is nonetheless a fine and entertaining tale.

Savage Road by David F. Grey: Great story but the narrator does attrocious voices for the characters.

Kit and Howard by Andres (Es?): A Fascinating Doctor Who style tale of young Lovecraft.

Down the Drain by Donovan McDowell: A nice bit of character driven sci fi horror.

Old Dogs by Felix Flin: Not at all Lovecraftian but pretty good all the same.

The Key, the Gate, His Peacock Tongue: Unique but stupid, very stupid. Just a bunch of disjointed nonsense meant to come together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Esca by Erica Schaaf: Pretty good, go directly to the theatrical version at the end.

Cthulhu vs. Kaiju - Mitchell Luthi: Another great theatrical presentation. Everyone's thought about it; Cthulhu in a giant monster battle. Gotta love it.

one of the best anthologies out there

I really, really enjoyed this one. It's great because almost all of the stories at 4s or 5s, instead of the usual smattering of 2s and 3s with maybe two 4s and one 5, and the 5 is always the first or second story, to get you hooked. I like they had some dramatized to listen to as well as another track with just narration. "The King in Binary" is tops in this one, and it's also, I think, one of the best stories in the genre in the last year or three. -- Can't go wrong with this one, folks. 4.75/5

an antholgy antique... a bunch of stories

I very much enjoyed it. an anthology of reasonably long fun stories. space the final frontier.

Repeats

A good collection of stories. The downside is that three of the stories are repeated throughout this volume.

Great stories dampened by mid-narrated dialogue

Awesome short stories; absolutely loved those.

Problem was with the woman narrator, and she narrates the bulk of the stories. My main issue is her character voices. She loses track, or didn’t pre-read or something. She often accidentally switches the voices so they belong to the wrong speaker. It makes lengthy dialogues difficult to follow.

She’s an excellent narrator, in every other respect. Sound engineering is top notch too. Just wish she didn’t mess up all that dialogue. ☹️