• The Weird Company

  • The Secret History of H. P. Lovecraft’s Twentieth Century
  • By: Peter Rawlik
  • Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
  • Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (139 ratings)

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The Weird Company  By  cover art

The Weird Company

By: Peter Rawlik
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
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Publisher's summary

Shoggoths attack in this adrenaline-pumping novel set in the world of H. P. Lovecraft, where the horrors of the cosmos know no limits.… It was in a way humanoid, as it stood on two legs and possessed two arms that ended in delicate digits that I would dare to call hands. Its skin was a pale blue, like the eggs of a robin, and curiously dry looking. The head was massive with a huge bulbous cranium, a large lipless mouth, and three blood red eyes that stared out at the world with nothing but hate. When it opened its mouth to speak it issued forth the most horrendous of sounds, something empty and hollow, like the wind blowing through a dead tree, and it made me cringe to hear it.… The story of Dr. Hartwell (Reanimators) continues, but now he has company. Weird company: a witch, a changeling, a mad scientist, and a poet trapped in the form of a beast. These are not heroes but monsters… monsters to fight monsters. Their adventures rage across the globe, from the mountains and long-forgotten caves of Antarctica to the dimly lit backstreets of Innsmouth that still hold terrifying secrets. The unholy creatures released upon the world via the ill-fated Lake expedition to Antarctica must be stopped. And only the weird company stands in their way. Continuing in the fashion of Reanimators, The Weird Company finds Lovecraft expert Pete Rawlik taking some of the most well-known of H. P. Lovecraft’s creations and creating a true Frankenstein monster of a story - a tale more horrific than anything Lovecraft could have imagined…

©2014 Peter Rawlik (P)2014 Audible Inc.

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What listeners say about The Weird Company

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book. PHENOMENAL NARRATOR.

Where does The Weird Company rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's in there with Brian Sanderson's Steelheart and any of the Dresden books. Warning: There is heavy reference to the Cthulhu Mythos. I've been a fan most of my life, and I had to look stuff up! It's festooned with references and callbacks.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Weird Company?

The retelling of some of Lovecraft's most famous works. I had some Lovecraft nerd moments where I would get a reference and high five myself. Seriously.

Have you listened to any of Oliver Wyman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but damn if I don't plan to. He is simply the best audiobook narrator I have ever heard. I had to look at the credits again just to make sure that there was only one narrator. Oliver Wyman has got the acting chops to make this seem like a movie. He gets the candor and cadence just right on the characters. I mean, wow. I will seek audiobooks that are narrated by him just for HIM.

If you could take any character from The Weird Company out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Probably Chandra Putra. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the man has seen his share of crazy.

Any additional comments?

Peter Rawlik delights with a "fill in the blanks" book that takes place in Lovecraft's carefully constructed, but often ambiguous Cthulhu mythos. It reads much like Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Imagine Weird Company is the Avengers to the League's X-men. Same ingredients, similar universe, all the fun. Come for the story and stay for Oliver Wyman's jaw dropping performance. This guy can ACT!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An interesting interpretation of Lovecraft

I started this story just after finishing up on Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell and I was immediately pleased I bought this book, thinking it was all a collection of Lovecraft stories from a different perspective, as the first story has to do with the events that happened in The Mountains of Madness.

But, as it turned out the whole book is a novel that takes different characters from Lovecraft's stories and brings them together on a mission to stop something from coming through.

Overall, I enjoyed the story although the choice that Oliver Wyman made for the main character, Robert Olmstead was both appropriate yet grating and while I do not fault him for his choice, I did mark the story down by one star. All of the characters are distinct and it is even masterful.

In my mind, though, Olmstead's voice would have changed as he gained more confidence.

The story itself will be familiar to any fan of Lovecraft. While not an expert on all of Lovecraft's writing, I was able to identify the majority of characters and their situations and I especially liked the bits that expanded on the Mountains of Madness

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story, Horrible Narration

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. The narrator's whiny, irritating voice was very distracting. This made it very difficult to focus on the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Weird Company?

The most memorable moments were the ones when that whiny narrator opened his mouth. Believe it or not, this is what I remember most

How did the narrator detract from the book?

See above comments

Could you see The Weird Company being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Definitely

Any additional comments?

This book should be reperformed minus Mr. Whiny Man. That way we're able to enjoy the story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A very fun ride.

Rawlik's "Weird Company" is an excellent follow-up to his first book "Reanimators". Imagine a cross between Alan Moore's "A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and John Carpenter's "The Thing" and you have a good starting reference for what you're getting into. Rawlik does a seamless job of bringing together the people, places, and mythos of H.P. Lovecraft and tying them together in a way that creates a storyline that has both adventure and horror in equal parts. While I enjoyed "Reanimators" a great deal, I have to say that I think Rawlik really found a superior pace with "Weird Company". Excellent work.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story BUT painful narration in parts

What did you like best about The Weird Company? What did you like least?

Love the story. Too bad the narrator decided to use a painfully whiny and breathless "voice" to read the Robert Olmstead portions and too bad no one forced him to re-do those portions. As they are, they are too irritating to listen to, so I ended up missing a decent portion of the story. To sum up, great story, but Robert Olmstead's voice ruins the experience. Nice job, dummy.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

H.P. Lovecraft's Villains Band Together - genius!

Great idea, and a wonderful explanation of Lovecraft's mythos.
The best Lovecraft inspired book I've read yet.

An explanation of the villains motives. We hear the "other-side" of the story. We get to Learn the truth… the whole story of the cosmos revealed… (you might go insane)

The major problem is Oliver Wyman’s Annoying, Whiny, Horrible, protagonist's voice!
The sound editor should have been fired for letting him read the whole dang book in that stupid false/strained uncomfortable voice.
Who are these idiots?

We are shown some of the horrible secrets behind the mountains of madness from the original tale by Lovecraft.
Awesome work. Some frightening stuff!

I really wish the reader had not used such an annoying "character-voice" as his main narration.
It made me stop listening several times. I stuck it out because the story is so good.
This made the audio-book so unpleasant I'll have to go purchase a hard copy to enjoy.

Recommended... (IF you can stand the reader using that terrible false voice for the entire book.)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Really better than expected. Great read!

What did you love best about The Weird Company?

I bought this while splurging on a bunch of Lovecraftian fiction. From the description, I expected it to be the low point of the group. When I got around to listening to it I found that it was enthralling. The premise, the character development, the story, and especially the narrative performance were all top notch. I especially enjoyed the detailed explanations of different aspects of Lovecraftian mythos that were previously only hinted at outside of role playing rule books.To say this is a book about shoggoths would be accurate yet it would exclude the entire pantheon which it touches upon. There's a lot to enjoy here and, at its heart, this is an adventure story in the spirit of the Dream Cycle. The only criticism I'd offer, and this is just nit picking, is that the ending was a little weak. However, the epilogue left me wishing I could download the next book in the series. I sincerely hope Rawlik continues to add to these stories and that Audible keeps distributing them.

What does Oliver Wyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

No doubt, this guy is a pro. Some narrators simply read the text and some perform it. Wyman is a performer. Listen to the sample. Each character here is clearly defined and easily recognizable.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Holy Hell this is the book I have been looking for

If you could sum up The Weird Company in three words, what would they be?

Damn Fine Storytelling

What does Oliver Wyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice acting was spellbinding. In no other audio book have I found someone who brinsg so much life to the words on the page.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Story Masterfully Read!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Weird Company to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version, but considering the print version does not come with Oliver Wyman, I will go out on a limb and say yes.

What did you like best about this story?

Wyman!

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

The diversity of character voices, the dramatic pace, the perfectness of everything.....!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I want more!

Any additional comments?

Wyman for President! :-)

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Nothing like Lovecraft

This book managed a few Lovecraftian trappings, but not the spirit. I frequently found myself roIling my eyes as the author recapped or retold classic stories to suit his purpose. I realize that there is a long tradition of authors reusing and expanding the mythos to suit themselves, but I don't care for this flavor of reinterpretation.

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