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The Barest Branch
Publisher: Gonzo History Project
by Luke S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/27/2017 03:52:54

James Holloway draws on an extensive knowledge of both history and Yogsothothery to craft a tale of alienation and monstrous revelation set amid as bleak and miserable a coast as Lovecraft ever penned. Having read quite a lot of post-Lovecraftian fiction, I'm definitely coming around to the opinion that the best of the bunch is that in which the author makes a new fist of the themes rather than aping the man himself, and despite some clear and openly owned parallels to 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth', Holloway's use of a historical setting and historical characters - although he writes in profane modern vernacular, the opinions of the narrator and his fellow Vikings are grounded in the sensibilities of a more personally violent age - set him apart from Lovecraft's primarily contemporary milieu, without sacrificing the crucial sense of helplessness before the cosmic that other 'muscular mythos' writers often eschew.

If I have a criticism, it's that the more overtly Lovecraftian final act of the story is less effective than Dagfinn's creeping sense of isolation when surrounded by the architecture of the Romans and the alien faith of the Christians, but at worst I'd knock it down half a star for that and in the absence of half stars I'm more than happy to round up.

As a caution, this is a book about Vikings and Lovecraftian monsters, so there's a fair amount of horrible murder and reference to rape.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Barest Branch
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