The Tower of Zhaal

Cthulhu Armageddon, Book 2

By: C. T. Phipps

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's summary

It has been a year since John Henry Booth's exile from New America and the fall of the Black Cathedral. Cursed with a slow transformation into a monster, he has begun a doomed relationship with fellow escapee Mercury Halsey as they seek some way to arrest his transformation.

Dubious hope arrives in the form of the University, the deranged scientists and cultists descended from the staff of Miskatonic University. Except their offer of help comes at a price. Having sold themselves to ancient aliens called the Yith, they wish John and Mercury to join a group of rogues in hunting down a wayward member of their faculty: a man who intends to release the last of the sleeping Great Old Ones on an already ravaged planet. If they're telling the truth, John and Mercury will be heroes. If.

The Tower of Zhaal is the second novel of the Cthulhu Armageddon series, a post-apocalyptic continuation of H.P. Lovecraft's popular Cthulhu Mythos.

©2017 Charles Phipps (P)2017 David N. Wilson

As usual, Phipps does not disappoint

In an apocalyptic world where humans are nearly extinct, John Henry Booth finds himself knee-deep in monsters, black magic, and choices – none of them good.  He is hired, along with Mercury (his girlfriend and fellow survivor) to hunt down a member of the faculty from Miskatonic University who wants to release a sleeping and the most powerful Great Old One.  Time travel and dimensional skipping enables Booth to do his worst but will it be enough?  It’s bad enough he’s turning into a monster himself but to have Cthulhu recognize him???

Once again C. T. Phipps gives his listeners a frightening roller coaster ride deep into the darkness and evil world inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.  Combined with horror and science fiction, Phipps entertains as well as scares.

As usual, Phipps does not disappoint.  He raises the bar in this second installment of John Henry Booth’s world and delivers an entertaining story.  There are moments where clarity is not present, but when dealing with time and dimensional jumping, confusion is a by-product.  Overall, Phipps does an excellent job of moving the story along and keeping things clear.

Jeffrey Kafer narrates the tale with a deep resonating voice that captures the essence of Booth well.  He keeps the story flowing with a steady voice and gives a calming presence even in the most terrifying scenes.  I enjoy listening to Kafer narrate; his performances are always top-notch.

This series is perfect for horror and science fiction fans alike.

There were no issues in the audible part or quality of this audiobook.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Excellent and legitimate

As a fan of the Lovecraftian Cthulhu, and all of the mythos and pantheon that entails, I was surprised by the level of dedication here. Not only did Phipps capitalize on the pre-existing characters, but he created plausible NEW Elder Gods, which made me question whether or not they were also pre-existing! Kafer is, as always, an awesome voice-actor, so there was no problem with listening vs. reading. I'll actually admit, I trust his pronunciations more than the ones my brain conjures up (not a hardship, though, as my brain tends toward pronouncing words phonetically, like: epitome...) Anyway, this was a very enjoyable read, with a really good balance of history, fiction, and fantasy!

Buckle Your Seatbelts, This Is Action Packed

I don't know why I didn't see a sequel coming from the first book, but I'm really glad that Phipps wrote one. The benefit of a sequel is that you've already had time to explain out certain characters and their characteristics, but it also allows you to explain the world a little bit allowing you to jump right into the continuation of a story.

Well, Phipps did that for sure. I thought that Cthulhu Armageddon was non-stop action. I would be wrong compared to Tower of Zhaal. Holy cow, I need to catch my breath from this one. Another thing that I really enjoyed was the addition of new characters. Phipps was able to weave new people into the story without them feeling like complete outsiders.

The story itself from the first book wasn't normally my cup of tea, but darn it did I still enjoy it. The Tower of Zhaal was the same way. I went into it with an open mind and having read the first book. I wasn't sure what was going to happen in this book, but I was bucked up for the ride. I'm glad that I was buckled up though because this one too me for a ride.

Anytime you can get the amazing Jeffrey Kafer to narrator your books, you already have an edge up on the competition. But when you combine Kafer's great narration of this book with Phipps great writing you have a winner.

The Tower of Zhaal was even more enjoyable than Cthulhu Armageddon and took me on a roller coaster ride that I wasn't sure I was coming back from. a

I was given a free copy of this audiobook, it has not affected my review in any way.

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book Amazing

This is the second in a continuing series I Hope. It is the BEST HP Lovecraft themed book that I've read. It is OUTSTANDING and exceptionally EXCELLENT. I really liked Jeffrey Kafer as narrator. He was the right person for this story. Just because someone can read doesn't they are the correct person.. I will be looking to find other books that he has narrated. HP Lovecraft would be proud of this and I'm thankful to have found it on Audible. I will see if I can find this book to add to my collection. I love books and I need to have this in print. I have limited space so I have to pick which books are worth being in my home. P.S., I would give it more star's but there are only 5 stars available.

The return of John Henry Booth

Booth returns and is again trying to save the world. Trying to cope with his changing body, he is recruited to try and stop an unimaginable evil being released. Constantly double crossed, Booth & his team race into certain death. This book moves at a fast pace, with good characters.

Well read as ever by Jeffery Kafer, he keeps the story moving nicely, giving each character a distinct voice.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Great sequel to the Cthulhu Armageddon Series

John Henry Booth is one bad A$$ Futuristic Cowboy, with way too many problems on his hands. First he can't fully trust anyone, his current girlfriend is scared of him, his former best friend tried to kill him, his ex wife is both crazy and a super-genius, his body is changing, and oh yeah Demigods, cultists, demons and undead hordes are attacking and killing everyone around him. Non stop action with a great story and performance from the Author (C.T Phipps) and Narrator (Jeffrey Kafer).

When you thought things could not get worse...

The second volume of this series happens some time after the end of the first book. It builds on the Cthulhu Armageddon world adding more action and higher stakes to the mix.

This book also takes us to some of the most iconic locales in Lovecraft's work: Arkham (including the Miskatonic University) and Insmouth. The world building is very solid and it was very interesting to see how Mr. Phipps imagined life in these places after the Old Ones took over.

I also enjoyed the new characters that were introduced in the story and how they interacted with the survivors from the events in the Black Cathedral. And of course I am a big fan of the West Boys!

One of my favorite things from this book is how Booth reacts to what is happening to him and around him. Listening to his thoughts is very enlightening and makes you think about how his morals work in that world that is doomed.

The book is full of struggles and when you thought things could not get worse... something else happens that takes to even higher stakes up to the epic final confrontation. Trust me, you don't want to miss it.

I liked this book more than the first one on the series and I am eager to enjoy the last one.

A Decent Cthulhu Mythos Yarn

Zhaal was pretty darn good and it reminded me that I definitely need to dig deeper into the Cthulhu Mythos (is there even an official canon?). I definitely feel that I would have been better served if I'd read/listened to the first book of this series, although the recap at the beginning kind of brought me up to speed.

Wow. Just wow. Phipps does a pretty darn good job describing the indescribable horrors of Lovecraft's world. I've had trouble picturing the assorted old ones, shoggoths, et al, in the past, but I was drawn into this world I'd never want to wake up in.

Narrator Jeffrey Kafer is very well suited for the role. I've enjoyed his performances of the D-List Supervillain books as well as Phipps' own Saga of Supervillainy. He brings his trademark level of snark and believability to his reading--although this time around he's definitely much more ominous sounding.

While I enjoyed The Tower of Zhaal I can't recommend it for everyone. It's dark, gory, and messes with your mind. If you're a fan of Lovecraftian horror or post-apocalyptic novels then it might just be up your alley.

***Full Disclosure: I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Better than the first!

The first book was a very unique take on the Cthulhu mythos and this one just builds on it in a very imaginative way. The ending battle is one of the coolest things I’ve ever read. If you like the first book, give this one a read!

Even better the tge first one

Story: Perfect
Narration :Awsome

This story had more depth and world building than the first one. I can't wait to see what book three will bring.

This book improves on the first one

Once again the breath of CT Phipps genres impressed me. In the majority of his other books there is a strong comedic slant but this series is a dark. It’s post apocalyptic western with ancient space gods, and while that sounds preposterous it works well.

This book follows on from the original Cthulhu Armageddon. John Henry Booth gets dragged into a new confrontation that could lead to the end of humanity. However, humans aren’t the only race on earth, and they weren’t there first either. There’s a constant interplay between the different species and in my opinion humans aren’t a shining example. Humans, even on the precipice of extinction exhibit a frustrating amount of jingoism against their fellow man. While this is a fantasy story, this underlying attitude in the characters around Booth makes it feel real (and a little sad about the nature of humanity).

The narrator is great as always.

Absolutely Epic

Damn I thought the first book was very dark, but author C.T. Phipps was only easing us in and getting us ready for this horrorfest sequel, wow and what a superb sequel it was to Cthulhu Armageddon. The Towel Of Zhaal, finds our John Henry Booth (science fiction and fantasy's Clint Eastwood) his girlfriend Mercury and gang of misfits battling to save the world against alien gods. Appearances by a Hound of Tindalos, The Unimaginable Horror of Animated Ghouls and the legend that is the Cthulhu finally makes an appearance. John Henry Booth and Mercury's quest is to rid the planet of a destructive force that has been imprisoned for millennia and, if released, could destroy all life on the planet. But will they and their band survive the horrors they face in getting there. Absolutely brilliantly fast paced, action packed, gore ridden and just a good oul fantastic read, I really hope there is a third book. The narration by Jeffrey Kafer is excellent and I couldn't imagine anyone else narrating, I highly recommend...😁🐙🔥

Another Glorious Post-Apocalyptic Cthulhu Tale

I downloaded C. T. Phipps' The Tower of Zhaal as soon as I finished the previous book, Cthulhu Armageddon. Phipps has created such a brilliant world with these two books. There are loads of great characters and situations and a welcome mix of humour. The two Cthulhu Armageddon novels are my favourite Lovecraft inspired works since Brian Lumley's Titus Crow series.
Jeffrey Kafer's narration is one again absolutely brilliant. His delivery is perfect for the main character.
Another glorious Crossroad Press release.
Highly recommended.

“I’m not afraid you’ll go crazy, I’m afraid you’ll go sane!”

With Mr Phipps at the helm you can’t go wrong! He’s such a great writer, coming up with stuff that you’d just never dream of and when he adds in his flavour of wit and sarcasm, you know it’s going to be good!
He also has great taste in his narrators and Jeffrey does a brilliant job telling his story. Is he an actor with unique accents and voices for every character; no, but what he does bring to the table is even better. He’s got an amazing storytelling voice that pulls you into the story with great pacing for the different levels of drama Charles throws at you.
If you liked this, then you’ll simply LOVE Charles’ Supervilliany series. Go buy it!!
This is my honest opinion on a free review copy.