While I acquired and read this book due to being a fan of Edward Lee, it would have been more appropriate for me to do so as a fan of H.P. Lovecraft instead. The book has more in common with Lovecraft than with Lee. It is a quasi-sequel from Lovecraft's THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH, very similar in idea to when Robert McCammon wrote USHER'S PASSING as a sequel/continuation from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher".

The story takes place in 1939 and follows Foster Morley, a rich and bored young man who is a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft. Morley wants to follow Lovecraft's footsteps, literally: going where Lovecraft went, seeing what Lovecraft saw. Along this journey, Morley finds a town that Lovecraft visited and which turns out to be the basis for THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH. Morley stays in town and explores. During this time he discovers a town filled with numerous beautiful and pregnant women. With his sense of adventure and mystery piqued, Morley stays to determine what is truly happening in this town.

I found the story entertaining and enjoyable; unfortunately I did not find it quite as engaging as I would like. The only reason that I could think of as to why not would be that the story is very much in the Lovecraftian style. Although I enjoy Lovecraft and the mythos he created, I'm also not a huge fan of him. And Lee did an incredible job of writing THE INNSWICH HORROR in the Lovecraft style. It's obvious that Lee has done his resource or is a big Lovecraft fan. Or even both! Bottom line, if you are a fan of Lovecraft, you should read this book. If you are a fan of Lee, this book is good and shows his abilities but it is not over-the-top violent or sexy. It instead displays his dedication as a H.P. Lovecraft fan. ( )

Der ersten Hälfte des Buches würde ich 5 Sterne geben - eher subtiler Horror. Die zweite Hälfte verdient sich auch noch 4 Sterne. Aber der letzte Absatz hat für mich wieder alles zunichte gemacht - mehr möchte ich aber nicht verraten. Deshalb bleiben nur 3 Sterne über. Wer sich Gemetzel a la Bighead erwartet, wird sicher enttäuscht sein. ( )

Edward Lee has become well known for his extreme and disturbing writings and if that is what your looking for in this book you may be disappointed even thought it is still a good read.

The story follows a gentleman called Foster Morley who is a big H.P.Lovecraft fan and visits the town of Innswich whilst in search for the inspiration behind Lovecraft's "The Shadow over Innsmouth". But the deeper that Foster investigates behind the town and Lovecraft's visit the more dark secret he starts to uncover...

The book is well paced with plenty of suspense and is easy to get into even if you've never read a Lovecraft book (I havn't). If you are a Lovecraft fan then you will enjoy this although will find more sex and gore than Lovecraft's work although not enough to ruin a brilliant tale.

4/5 ( )

Author Edward Lee has achieved a loyal following among horror fans that like over the top gore, depravity and perverse sexuality in their recipe for chills. Like all writers of the macabre and weird fiction, he read Lovecraft in his formative years, and appears to have enjoyed him. For whatever reason (I suspect brisk sales in the specialist market), Lee’s books are often initially presented in very expensive, beautifully bound editions worthy of a connoisseur’s library (except perhaps the actual content of said books, which is after all schlocky gore and porn). Recently Lee has come back to his interest in HPL and has been writing allegedly Lovecraftian tales. Again I wonder if the market for all things Cthulhu plays a role. Here are some examples I know about:

The Innswich Horror was released by Cemetery Dance as a limited edition and a lettered tray cased edition. The tray cased edition sold for $150; the cover is lovely:
http://www.cemeterydance.com/sh/lee10.html. Alas this edition has not shipped yet, so I was forced to buy the soft cover before I ever got my collector’s copy.

The Haunter of the Threshold is a sequel of sorts to The Haunter of the Dark. Produced by specialist press Bloodletting Books it was bound partly in snakeskin and sells for $1250! Man I wish some rich benefactor would buy me a copy. http://www.horror-mall.com/THE-HAUNTER-OF-THE-THRESHOLD-by-Edward-Lee-Lettered-E.... Deadite Press recently released an affordable edition.

Pages Torn from a Travel Journal is not yet released; limited numbered and lettered editions are planned from Bloodletting Books. HPL visits some traveling carny. http://horrorgy.com/bloodlettingbooks/2010/07/26/pages-torn-from-a-travel-journa.... Respectively the editions are $55 and $250.

Trolley 1852 uses HPL’s dream fragment The Thing in the Moonlight to form the basis for a novella. Bloodletting Books produced a $50 limited edition and now Deadite Press is releasing a trade soft cover. I wonder if they will also give us the other Lovecraftian titles in this series.

Anyway, Deadite Press is an imprint of Eraserhead press (remember the old art house flick?) specializes in the self-described genre, bizarro fiction. Anything goes, the more outrageous and provocative the better, even if it means suspension of narrative coherence, character development or readability. I partook of Squid Pulp Blues from 2008 due to the cool cover. I was more bored and annoyed than provoked. Reviews at Amazon are remarkably favorable, showing how the genre’s fans will not be denied their fix. Deadite Press has given Mr. Lee’s book a lovely edition, a 165 page, well edited paperback with a gorgeous cover by Alan Clark. http://www.alanmclark.com. He is quite gifted, and his gallery is worth a look. With the short page count and the layout, The Innswich Horror is a super fast read.

What about the content? Mr. Lee has read Lovecraft. I think he must also read Robert Price’s introductions to the Chaosium cycle series, as the protagonist is very familiar with information presented at the beginning of The Innsmouth Cycle. Foster Morley is a wealthy man of leisure in 1939 New England who worships his favorite author, the recently deceased HP Lovecraft. As a niggling point, I found this obsession a trifle anachronistic, as at this time, beyond the immediate Lovecraft Circle, HPL was not at all well known and his works were not easily collectable. Anyway, Morley travels around in his idol’s footsteps, trying to experience the environs where HPL got his inspiration. While taking a bus ride to explore HPL’s antecedents for The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Morley chances on the tiny town of Olmestead, MA. The name, same as HPL’s main character, piques his interest. Soon he finds more similarities: Holman House for a hotel, not Gilman House. Adock Zalen for a name, not Zadock Allen, etc. Swept away with his discovery, Morley realizes HPL took many ideas directly from Olmstead, or should we say Innswich Point? There is also something peculiar going on. Every woman in town is pregnant and has been pregnant multiple times. Many young men who pass through the town end up disappearing. The townsfolk are unfriendly and secretive. Before long, Morley is caught up in figuring out the town’s dark secrets, the truths and misdirection of HPL’s story and he is also fighting for his life. Lee being who he is, there are some grisly scenes and perverse sexuality, but this tendency is actually rather muted in The Innswich Horror. I was entertained well enough and zipped through the undemanding book in a few days.

Where the book falls down is its lack of originality. Essentially HPL was telling a fictionalized version of the truth (a plot device not near or dear to my heart) and it is up to Morley to figure out what the real truth is. Also HPL makes an appearance as a reincarnated zombie (reincarnated scientifically not supernaturally, FWIW), a deus ex machina twist that fell flatter than a pancake for me. Finally, I just don’t think Lee is that good at prose. I miss the flair of Brian McNaughton, John Tynes or Cody Goodfellow. None of the revelations or major plot events raised my eyebrows very much. What the hey, I still think it’s a decent read.

Lovecraftians who get this won’t see much that is new but should be reasonably diverted for a few nights. You don’t lose much for the $10.95 cover price. In the pantheon of novels/novellas I guess I rate it about the level of Tide of Desire (McNaughton’s never rewritten romance) or Windwalker’s Mate, perhaps the same as Hive or Servants of Chaos. It is better than dross such as Cthulhu’s Chosen or The Dark Destroyer if not nearly as good as Where Goeth Nyarlathotep. If you decide not to buy it, you can rest easy that you are not missing a masterpiece. It’s not even Lee’s best. ( )