Lovecraft and Mythos anthologies? There's so many.

[symbolique]

nil

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

It's got to be the best way to discover new authors.

[frenchphenom]

I will say, that on a whim I purchased "The Weird Company" by Peter Rawlik, and it is the other side of "At the Mountains of Madness," in the sense that it talks about what went on at the camp sites and stuff. It's not that bad, and it's an entertaining approach to "At the Mountains of Madness." I would actually recommend it.

As I have now caught up on practically all the acknowledged great 'weird fiction' authors past and present, I plan on spending much of my reading next year branching out in to other areas, particularly in terms of foreign or experimental writers, as I'm worried making weird fiction my primary (frankly sole for the last 5 months) literary interest is having an insular effect on my artistic approach or view of the world in general.

As such, I shan't be purchasing any Cthulhu Mythos anthologies for a long time. I'm not sure I'd even identify as a Mythos fan, as most of the Mythos tales I rate highly have such minimal ties to the mythology. The same goes for my favourite Lovecraft tales, really. I'm a weird fiction fan and many Mythos anthologies look like decent weird fiction collections so are of interest, but the fan culture bothers me more than it attracts me these days and I am suffering from major Cthulhu fatigue, which is my own fault more than anybody else's.

The day I realised that I prefer Cthulhu Mythos stories which subvert the sub-genre was the day I realised that I actually just prefer reading other stuff. I'm sure there are great Mythos anthologies being published and perhaps I'll even write my own Mythos stories some day, but overall it's not something that grabs me like it does 90% of Lovecraft fanatics. I barely even noticed them for the most part when I was reading his fiction for the first time, yet his gods are all people ever talk about. I don't get it.

On another level, I have realised that I generally prefer supernatural horror or psychological ghost stories of the uncanny to science-fiction alien invasion stories and that much of the Mythos is too concerned with 'plausibility' to interest me as much as Aickman/de la Mare/Grabinski/Poe/Kafka stuff.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

I mostly agree. What I hope to find when I pick up these anthologies is a similar flavour and sensibility to Lovecraft. I really don't know why anyone wants to have his specific monsters in new stories. Again, I will reserve judgement but it seems like having a celebrity guest star. But anthologies often do have a way of delivering things more scattered and unexpected than the title and cover would suggest, for both good and ill.

I feel a bit differently about some of the art. Ian Miller, John Coulthart, Dave Carson and Bob Eggleton and some sculptors whose names I don't recall have all done great images of the monsters that seem to me worthy additions. If people aren't attempting that level, I don't see the point.
Alan Moore's poems about the monsters (in Coulthart's Haunter Of The Dark comic collection) are really unusual evocations of their qualities.

[Fenris Technique]

Quote Originally Posted by Robert Adam Gilmour

Anyone heard of the writer M. Amanuensis Sharkchild? Not in anthologies, but he or she has a Lovecraftian series of 3 collections called Dark Verse. Quite nicely designed and generally has good reviews.

I have the first 2 of his books. I prefer his earlier works. He actually podcasts his stories (the same ones you'll find in the books) on the Dark Verse Podcast:

http://thedarkverse.sharkchild.com/episodes-stories/

Always liked What The Flesh Cannot Keep (#3), for the weirdness factor.

[frenchphenom]

James, I'd recommend reading up on surrealism, specifically the Surrealist Manifesto written by Andre Breton. Being a weird fiction scholar, I think that Surrealism offers an interesting means of interpretation. In my dissertation I argue that the initial image of Lovecraft in France was that he was a surrealist. Long story short, it was two surrealists who introduced Lovecraft in France in ~1951.

I'd also recommend reading Michel Houellebecq, pretty much anything will do. In particular, however, I would suggest Whatever (his first book) or Elementary Particles. His stuff is pretty good and offers a great critique of contemporary society, etc. His books usually revolve around commercial/sexual alienation and the ensuing existential crisis when one is no longer in their prime (whether it is sexual, commercial, etc.).

I do see what you mean by being too focused on WF. It definitely helps to branch out now and then to get a deeper appreciation for WF.

Also, while you say you aren't really big into sci-fi, I'd highly recommend reading The Wastelands anthology, it's a collection of stories surrounding apocalyptic events. For the most part there are some very good stories.

I do enjoy sci-fi and in some ways it was my first love when it comes to fiction. I just prefer my inexplicable tales to be inexplicable and sci-fi as a genre tends to veer away from ambiguity more than tales which deal with the supernatural. Obviously there are many wonderful exceptions (such as the Evangelion anime) and many supernatural stories which are as as prosaic as can be in execution.

With the exception of Aickman, Ligotti and de la Mare, I don't plan on reading any writers from the 'weird fiction/supernatural horror' genre for a while now. I shall do a Nabokov novel, a Burroughs novel, and then veer off in to somewhere unplanned. A lot of 'weird fiction' isn't really all that weird and is concerned with pastiching the same few authors over and over, whereas I'm now interested in finding some intensely strange fiction that doesn't have its roots in a cycle of fiction I am now oh-so-familiar with. I need to starve myself of cosmic horror for a while, so I can find it fresh again. Right now nothing seems less appealing to me than a story which features overt Mythos elements. I'm full.

[hopfrog]

I've just been rereading BLACK WINGS IV and really enjoying the wide array of ideas and approaches to Lovecraftian horror from so many writers who are not associated with the genre. This is the great thing about modern "Mythos" anthologies--especially those edited by S. T. Joshi and Ellen Datlow--in that they bring in such fresh voices and new visions to this kind of fiction. Of course, they are some few who are indeed identified with ye Lovecraftian weird fiction scene and yet whose work is so innovative and brilliant that they, too, inject a startling vitality into such work. Caitlin R. Kiernan's short Lovecraftian stories are shockingly marvelous, deeply rooted to H. P. Lovecraft's oeuvre and yet transcending ye Mythos genre. Cody Goodfellow and Michael Shea bring a very modern approach to the Mythos, with fiction that is also grounded in the traditional work by the Master of Providence. In BLACK WINGS IV we have a superb sonnet sequence by Charles Lovecraft, "Fear Lurks Atop Tempest Mount," in which the author re-envisions Lovecraft's original story in poetic form, and it is an astounding piece of writing. Yes, there are many Mythos anthologies out there--but moft of yem are excellent, & we cannot have too much of a great thing. Ia!

[luciferfell]

James.. I really really recommend Caitlin Kiernan's work. Try the collections: A Is For Alien, The Ammonite Violin, or To Charles Fort With Love.