This particular book made a valiant effort to magnify the detail of the Lovecraftian universe while maintaining the “collection of short stories” feel of Lovecraft himself. I say “valiant effort” simply because there are some aspects of this particular story that feel somewhat lazy; for example, (without hopefully giving too much away) the reliance on Christian imagery as both panacea and poison – as it were – within the vessel of the story in addition to somewhat ham-fisted plot devices delivered by cursory characters. The somewhat dry performance of Mr Stifel was not always an asset despite this story being composed in a manner and with characters akin to that/those of the veritable Arid Prince H.P.L. himself, however (in my humble opinion) in the end this did not handicap the overall story.
This book did managed to do what Brian Lumley’s Titus Crow series does not, which is maintain the constant pressure of the cosmos upon the fragile minds of a sullen few characters (and by extension the reader) and all the while spawn adventure where one might feel there is none: in Mr Talley’s universe, Cosmic Horror and The Hero’s Journey can coexist without one sacrificing too many requisite aspects of the other.
While I personally believe neither the book nor the performance to be genre-defining or earth-shattering, I do believe it to be a fun and functional romp through the Lovecraftian Cosmos and a perfectly acceptable and appreciated addition to the contemporary offerings of the genre of Cosmic Horror.