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 )!

1 person found this helpful

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.

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.

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.

Great for fans of Arkham horror or HPL Mythos

This was pretty good. I am a big fan of anything Arkham horror & HPL mythos related so it was either I listen to it or buy the book to read. This is a collection of the 1st 4 novellas focused on Arkham investigators & their experiences with mythos related occurrences. Some of the stories are better then others, but all of them fit very well in relation to the games & goings-on in Lovecraft country. The narration was good- there were quite a few accents that were done & most were alright. Although when voicing a German in one story I heard slips of Scottish & Irish as well.
Overall a good choice if you're in to this kind of thing!