This is definitely an above average Cthulhu mythos collection. Most importantly, it’s not just within the mythos but Lovecraftian as well, that is to say you won’t be seeing Cthulhu playing the part of a grizzled detective on the streets of New York getting up to all kinds of Scooby-Dooesque adventures (not in most of the stories at least). These are legitimate mythos stories but what made this volume special was the follow-up analysis of each entity. If you’re an information vampire, you’re going to love these sections. Narration wasn’t particularly good.

1. Call the Name (Adam Nevill) (Cthulhu): Great in concept but overall it was far too slow paced and underwhelming. Did they put this one first because it was Cthulhu themed? This was a rough start to the collection.

2. The Dark Gates: This was a poor choice for second story. It does a great job of setting a tone for the collection, but that tone is a bit wonky and incompatible with most of the rest of the stories here. It appears to be an excerpt from the author’s own series which results in an uncomfortable familiarity with its characters. To its credit, it is a full story but not a particularly good one and its more in the category of action than Lovecraftian.

3. We Smoke the Northern Lights (Azathoth): Was this another excerpt? This one was considerably more interesting than the first two but confusing and goes in two directions, corporate dystopia and Lovecraftian science fiction. This makes me suspect that this is some kind of side adventure for another series, which really doesn’t belong in a short story collection. What’s worse is that it’s not even a proper mythos story, the entity involved just reminds the protagonist of Azathoth because he read H.P. Lovecraft. I have to give this a thumbs down despite its interesting elements.

4. Tetotalrayne? (Bentley Little) (Nyarlethotep): After the first three, this was a major spike in quality. It is an exceptional tale of Nyarlathotep written in true Lovecraftian fashion that directly expands upon the mythos. You may want to skip the first three and start here.

5. The Doors that Never Close and the Doors that Are Always Open (David Liss) (Shub-Niggorath): This one was good, the author managed to keep me entertained despite the lack of excitement in the events of the story, a credit to good writing.

6. The Apotheosis of a Rodeo Clown (Tsathoggua) (Brett Talley): Great atmosphere and very entertaining but the issue of morality is frustrating. As far as I’m concerned the protagonist is the most malign individual in a story of murderous cultists and man-eating monsters. This is despite the clown’s insinuation that he is a hero, whether or not the author failed to fully evaluate the character’s actions or intended his champion to be misaligned, is unknown to me. Also, I can’t call this a true mythos story because the god behaves like one of traditional mythology, appearing and speaking directly to (and coherently with) the protagonist.

7. Rattled (Douglas Wayne) (Yig): Another great mythos story. Like most (all?) good mythos stories the deity does not make a direct appearance but is felt through his influence on humanity.

8. In Their Presence (James A Moore, Christopher Golden) (Migo): Very good but I don’t have anything to say about it that I haven’t said earlier.

9. Dream a Little Dream of Me (Jonathan Maberry) (Night Gaunts): This story is misplaced in this collection. I enjoyed it well enough. Well written and entertaining, it is an excerpt from a series featuring a werewolf detective. It is set firmly in the Cthulhu mythos but not Lovecraftian. I understand why the editor went for it. The story prominently features the night gaunt species and is written by a famous author, real shiny bait.

10. In the Mad Mountains (Joe Landsdale) (Elder Things): Probably my favorite of the lot. Not only is this one exciting and fascinating but it successfully expands upon the original while maintaining quality and continuity. Author probably could have come up with a better title though…

11. A Dying of the Light (Rachel Caine) (The Great Race): This one slightly recasts the Great Race from their mostly neutral morality into that of either benign or malign (I won’t tell you which because that may be a spoiler) but is otherwise a true quality mythos story.

12. Down, Deep Down, Below the Waves (Seanan McGuire) (Dagon): McGuire perfectly captures the essence of Insmouth and expands upon it in a unique and intriguing storyline. I’m always worried about a story featuring Insmouth, the millennials have a habit of perverting the Deep Ones into innocent victims to spite Lovecraft’s xenophobia – To them: A misunderstood victimized people is great subject matter – write your own mythos.