References abound to things I've heard of before. Arkham. The Necronomicon. The mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. Miskatonic University.

Is the narrator the same man as in The Nameless City? No idea. Feels like not. But it's certainly a shared universe. One with an impressive feeling of size for only a pair of short stories thus far.

Overall, there's a big more character here. The narrator has a sliver of personality. They interact with their surroundings rather than just going on a terrible ride. It makes for a fast stronger story in my opinion.

I see why some people really love the world and extended mythos Lovecrafy begat. ( )

I really need to quit reading Lovecraft at breakfast. A man is somehow called by his forefathers to return to the town of Kingsport (neighbor of Arkham), where things are, well, not right, somehow. A ritual reenacted from the Necronomicon ensues. Lots of rot and decay, and an interesting foregrounding of subterranean fungus. On the whole, pretty meh.

(Moved 2016 review to the individual work Sept. 2017 to make room to review the collection under its own entry.) ( )

The main character (who is nameless) visits Kingsport, New England, to celebrate Yuletide. They feel their forefathers and ancestors have been somehow calling them to come. But when they arrive, they find it isn’t what they expected it to be.

An enjoyable and strange short read with an eerie and sinister atmosphere. ( )