This is not a collection of Mythos stories, or even stories necessarily set in Lovecraft's world. It seems the idea was to collect stories inspired by the tone in much of Lovecraft's work. Bleak hopelessness, psychological strain, that sort of thing. Oh, there are indeed things recognizable as Old Ones, but none of the familiar ones. So if you're a fan of Lovecraft, you're likely to enjoy the style the authors were aiming for, but feel somewhat mislead with what you get. Be forewarned.Anthologie...

An all original themed anthology without a significant share of clunkers and/or telegraphed stories (telegraphed to fit the theme) is a rarity. Each author’s take on the Lovecraft’s cosmic horror obsession is varied, and yes, creepy as hell.

Usually when I tackle a short story collections there will be at least one or two duds from my point of view, but while there were a few here that I didn't like as much as others they were all rather inventive and there wasn't a one that I felt like saying "Why did they include THAT in here?" over.My without-a-doubt favourite is Mongoose. It's pretty much straight-out sci-fi with a Lovecraft bent, I can honestly say I was sad when it finished. Looking up Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette's work I...

This is not the collection of Lovecraftian tales that I necessarily expected, based on the title, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Most of the authors take a step back from Lovecraft and incorporate his themes and mood - creepiness, despair, dangerous knowledge, dangerous explorations - more than the substance of his works, although there are definite hints of the be-tentacled that lurk. I enjoyed all of the stories and appreciated that the authors took the Lovecraftian themes in different d...

I am rating this one at 3.5, the highest rating I've given an Ellen Datlow collection so far. Having just finished four other books she's edited, I have to say that this one has a wider range of good stories than the previous four volumes of The Best Horror of the Year do individually. It's still a mixed bag though, with some stories much better than the rest, some following under the category of "good and I'd probably look for more by their authors," and some that just didn't do it for me. In s...

A most excellent anthology despite Michael Chabon's one weak entry. Everything else does swimmingly well or at least is not drowning in silliness and mediocrityEarlier I commented about this ill advised submission or solicitation by Chabon. Datlow should have sent it back just my teachers said I'm about a third of the way through this now and I was pretty much enjoying this until I came to the Michael Chabon story. This has to be the worst "Lovecraftian" story ever written, it's not even tongue

I thought about rating this one 4 stars, because of a number of really fine stories. However, there are at least a 100 pages wasted on pretty lame material. I think when you get to a 100, the sin for an anthology becomes unforgivable. I have notes for the individual stories, but I left them elsewhere. Maybe I'll put them up later. In the mean time, the good stuff:The Crevasse, by Dale Bailey and Nathan BallingrudCold Water Survival, by Holly PhillipsHouses under the Sea, by Caitlan Kiernan (Best...

This is a collection of "Lovecraft inspired" works of short fiction by various authors. I was dubious going in because the introduction from the editor states up front that she refused to put any stories in that have direct references to famous Lovecraft stories. Great, no Lovecraft in a Lovecraft anthology, I thought.Not to worry, the editor only half followed through on her threat. I think the added challenge of having to do Lovecraft stories without relying on his famous stories improved the

"I found Lovecraft in graduate school and fell instantly in love," writes Sarah Monette, coauthor of one of the stories included in this anthology, "not only with his darkly elaborate cosmology... but also with his own love affair with the English language. And somehow, for Lovecraft and for me, the two things go together...."Monette's point is well taken. It wasn't until I started reading Lovecraft Unbound that the following fact, obvious in retrospect, washed over me: the author that made me c...

Video-review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eYeo...A collection of Lovecraftian stories that are often not really Lovecraftian, and that are sometimes not that great even when they are. It's not actively bad (except in a few cases), but as douchy as that sounds, you're probably better off re-reading the actual thing, or why not, McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories.Joyce Carol Oates' and Michael Chabon's stories are still both masterpieces.

Probably this year's most praised book already. So far I am very impressed by this anthology! The authors have really managed to take inspiration from HPL without stripping away their own, unique voice and approach to storytelling, and--bless the Old Ones!--without descending at all into pastiches.OCTOBER 28:"That of Which We Speak When We Speak of the Unspeakable" by Nick Mamatas:At first it is a little unclear what is going on, besides the three characters being in some cave, sort of hiding an...

I'm neither a Lovecraft fan nor a horror fan, so possibly my opinion on this book is not of much value to anybody. However, I'm going to give it anyway.There are twenty stories in this book. I abandoned fourteen for being either boring (you have to get my attention with human desires; life-or-death adventures on the ice don't cut it), amateurish (starting way too early, thunking into the dreaded past perfect for a nice long slog through the backstory, awkwardly lurching from emotion to emotion),...

An excellent new-Lovecraftian anthology. Each of the tales is unique; none of them lean too heavily on a mythos pastiche, instead largely paying hommage to Lovecraft in the form of evocative squirmy things and an enormous and mindlessly carnivorous universe. Highlights come from Laird Barron, Caitlin Kiernan, Michael Chabon, and Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear.

I was disappointed with this collection, but then that was partly my fault as my expectations were askew. If I'm honest I didn’t read the introduction until I’d read all of the tales. (It sounds perverse, but I never read introductions until I’ve finished reading the rest of the book. Primarily because, if you have a piece of classic fiction you’ve never encountered before, the introduction is often quite happy to ruin the entire plot). And the thing is, the introduction does make it entirely cl...

After I read Ellen Datlow's 'Poe' collection, I have been looking forward to picking up this book, and I have to say it didn't disappoint.I see it's got a few low stars, but I do wonder if some people were expecting a more straight-forward collection of pastiches. The stories here are inspired by Lovecraft, but mostly not Mythos stories themselves. It is the themes of cosmic horror, the indifference of the universe to humanity and our beliefs and science, and intrusion of the unexplained and unk...

All short story anthologies are doomed to ups and downs; this is no exception. Lovecraft provides wide but often transparent (more often in theme than in mythos) and occasionally repetitive inspiration, especially in the stories written expressly for this collection, a problem exacerbated by post-story blurbs where authors provide two-penny insights into Lovecraft's work. But Datlow is an accomplished collator: the selection is broad, the variety of styles--sometimes ranging too far: there's a f...

I have to admit that I'm a huge fan of reading works based on Lovecraft's or influenced by him and I tend to really enjoy Ellen Datlow as she draws typically wonderful pieces together from all over the place. This, in that regard, wasn't an exception to the rule. Nearly all of the stories were well done and the influence of HP could truly be found. Oddly for me the ones that I liked best (with the exception of Mongoose which took place in space) were set in Antarctica and Lovecraft's own Mountai...

I love the horror genre, especially in short story form, to which I think it’s ideally suited, but I’m not as well read in the classics as I’d like. I haven’t read any Lovecraft stories until recently: when I checked out this book, I checked out a book of Lovecraft stories to read first, so I could experience what I’d heard about his writing style and his themes firsthand. I read (more like skimmed, to be honest) five stories before giving up entirely. I hate to admit it, but even though I find

I really wanted to like this book, and I usually love Mythos stories by other writers. The Mythos is so badass that it's kind of hard to fuck it up. But these stories, mostly they had nothing at all to do with Lovecraft. I know that one of the stated aims of the editor in the introduction was to, you know, see how far they could go with Lovecraft, but after a certain point it just becomes supernatural fiction, and you get the feeling that this book was named Lovecraft Unbound to get it to sell.

Lovecraft Unbound, edited by Ellen Datlow, is just what it says it is - an anthology of horror stories inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Some of the stories are originals and some are reprints, the oldest being Michael Chabon's "In the Black Mill," originally published in 1997. As with any anthology, there are some stories here that work for me, and some that don't; no doubt other readers will respond to stories that don't appeal to me and vice versa. In particular, I loved Richard Bowes'