That Which Should Not Be

By: Brett J. Talley

Narrated by: David Stifel

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Miskatonic University has a long-whispered reputation of being strongly connected to all things occult and supernatural. From the faculty to the students, the fascination with other-worldly legends and objects runs rampant. So, when Carter Weston's professor Dr. Thayerson asks him to search a nearby village for a book that is believed to control the inhuman forces that rule the Earth, Incendium Maleficarum, the student doesn't hesitate to begin the quest.

Weston's journey takes an unexpected turn, however, when he ventures into a tavern in the small town of Anchorhead. Rather than passing the evening as a solitary patron, Weston joins four men who regale him with stories of their personal experiences with forces both preternatural and damned. Two stories hit close to home as they tie the tellers directly to Weston's current mission.

His unanticipated role as passive listener proves fortuitous, and Weston fulfills his goal. Bringing the book back to Miskatonic, though, proves to be a grave mistake. Quickly, Weston realizes he has played a role in potentially opening the gate between the netherworld and the world of man. Reversing the course of events means forgetting all he thought he knew about Miskatonic and his professor and embracing an unknown beyond his wildest imagination.

©2011 Journalstone Publishing (P)2016 Journalstone Publishing

great storytelling

The ever enjoyable David Stifle really adds to the ambiance of this story. It reads like a Hammer movie. I highly recommend. Great mood and stories in a story.

surprisingly good

Great. reminds me of Lovecraft and makes me want to hear more. highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read an interesting Lovecraft style tale.

I want more books like this

Im a bit new to the H.P. Lovecraft stuff and im not sure how this fits into that seeing as hes not the author but this book is awesome and i want more fantasy/sci-fi/whatever you want to call it books like this. definite recommendation for anyone who has any interest in super natural or ancient human type stories.

Great Read

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, big fan of the Cthulu mythos, and this was quite entertaining.

Mediocre Lovecraftian Storytelling

Not an entirely terrible book, but not truly horror either. Basic Lovecraftian plot you've probably read in any of the many thematically similar stories out there, and it's very predictable. I personally didn't like the narration, his accents were terrible and he reads at a slow pace, over-enunciating words on occasion to the point that you'd believe he was reading you the mentally impaired. Not a great book, but not entirely terrible either, I'd give it 3.5 stars if it was possible, but resisted rounding up to a 4 in the fear that someone would look at the score and blow their credit on it before reading the review.

Engaging collection of Cthulhu stories

Great collection of tales based around the Cthulhu mythos. As I am not a Lovecraft expert, I don't know if these stories just draw from the Lovecraft Cthulhu collection, or are a re-telling. Never the less, it was a fun listen.

I really enjoyed the format of people telling the tales in a tavern to connect the story. The author did a great job making you feel like you were sitting there having an ale on a stormy night, absorbing each story from the men who told them.

It somehow reminded me of the older horror movies I loved as a kid. I wouldn't categorize it as scary, but well told, not corny.

Pure Lovecraftian Art

I found this particular book to be riveting. The narrator expertly conveyed the distinct nuances of each character, and the stories told by each man in the tavern with our skeptical protagonist were as enthralling as they were connected to the overall story. I would certainly recommend it, but perhaps not for people who live alone in dark and remote houses where things go bump in the night.

TWSNB is a Lovecraftian Masterpiece!!

I have read (listened) to very few books that have made me want to actually study some of the history, myths and legends contained within (alongside reading the work itself) and it made the read all the more deep and engaging. I have never been a huge Mythos fan…until now with TWSNB. With his deeply dark and atmospheric prose, Brett takes us through a series of stories, each of them rich and unique in their own right which ultimately leads us to the very gates of the netherworld. Excellent. Highly Recommended!

David Stifel really nails the narration for this one with what must have been a rather difficult job of keeping the characters straight and the plot moving without losing any of the books dark atmosphere. Very well done. I look forward to more of David's work.

Fine, I Give In

When I was younger I enjoyed Lovecraft, read a lot of his stories and thought they were great. Thought I would give it a shot for these types of stories that draw from the mythos. Oddly, I find them boring. Then again going back over the old Lovecraft stories are getting to be boring.

Superb Cosmic Horror

I didn't know what to expect from this book, I selected it because of the narrator. But I was almost instantly hooked. The book is a frame story with a triptych of shorter narratives within. These brought in elements from history (which were accurate) and spun them in original ways. For example the second story the one that takes place in eastern Europe, the Scholomance figures. I remember reading Dracula, and the Scholomance is mentioned twice in Bram Stoker's book, but I remembered it only from World of Warcraft. There's quite a bit about it on the internet and I was delighted to learn something about the folklore the author borrowed for his story. I love little bits of historical accuracy in period books, and this had plenty. In the third story, the whole history of Danvers State Hospital is detailed. All of it was historically accurate and also fit nicely into the narrative. This doesn't do justice to the little bits of history and literature. Like Dan Brown, the author is a polymath. It's like the Call of Cthulhu meets The DaVinci Code.

The book is a winner. I don't tend to like Lovecraft pastiche because nobody can even hold a candle to the master (except for Robert Bloch, perhaps), but Talley comes close enough for horseshoes. The idiom is antiquated, which is to say, it sounds like it might have been written in the 19th or early 20th Centuries. So it's not the kind of modern language you find in most books. That won't appeal to everyone, but I liked it; it gave a sense of mood and set the action firmly in time.

David Stifel's narration is excellent, his accents have authenticity and his characters are multidimensional. I always understood what the characters were feeling even if it wasn't explicit in the words. He knows the secret of how to make characters live.

The frame story borrows heavily on the classic Call of Cthulhu, and I resisted that for a bit until the author AGAIN put a new spin on it. Impressive writing indeed.

The horror is cosmic and I felt that several times during the book--especially during the Captain's story--being lost in a cosmic sea. This book really cooks and I'm going to listen to it again I'm sure. I'm also going to get the sequel. If you like Lovecraftian horror you will love this book--I think if you're a Lovecraft purist you might not; maybe not right away, but there's a lot here that transcends the Mythos, that draws on threads of ancient world history. It's extremely satisfying.