I’ve been a bit busy lately, so I’ve actually managed to finish two other books before even writing about this one… And this one in particular happens to be Chaosium’s “Frontier Cthulhu“. As with most of Chaosium’s short story collections, I really enjoyed this one, although I will say that “Song of Cthulhu” and “Hard Boiled Cthulhu” were more enjoyable for me. Maybe I’m just not all that big of a Westerns fan.
“The Long Road Home” by Paul Melniczek, is a great story to open up with. Following a group of Viking warriors, the story creates a scene filled with the unknown and peril. This one does a great job at not being the standard Lovecraftian story in setting, creating a world, and horror intriguing and new.
“In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep“, by Angeline Hawkes, is a great story stirring up the doomed colony of Roanoke with the Cthulhu Mythos. Good story. I enjoyed this one.
Now, “Where Men Had Seldom Trod“, by Lee Clark Zumpe, is a story of heroes, adventure, and fighting the evils of the horrific old gods. We see this one set in the 1760’s following two members of a secret organization, one the teacher, and one the student.
And the stories just get better with “Something to Hold the Door Closed“, by Lon Prater. This story actually has a good lesson in it. Greed leads to one’s downfall.
Stephen Mark Rainey and Durant Haire’s “Terror from Middle Island” was a good read. Nothing spectacular, but still worth reading.
Stewart Sternberg’s “Children of the Mountain” is another really good story. A fur trapper traps something otherworldly and ends up paying for it. I really enjoyed this one and the mixing of these unique creatures with Native American mythology.
“They Who Dwell Below“, by William Jones is anotherone of the better stories in this compilation. One word, “Rage”.
Scott Lette’s “Wagon Train for the Stars” is a decent story about a wagon train and the odd religious group they’re carrying.
Ron Shiflet created a rather good story with “Incident at Dagon Wells“. Its also fun to see Dagon used somewhere other than on the ocean coast.
Robert J. Santa’s “Ahiga and the Machine” is one of my favorite stories in the collection. Robert does an excellent job writing about a Native American who comes across something from outer space.
And what is any compilation about the New World without a story about a gambler? Jason Andrew’s “The Dead man’s Hand” does an excellent job injecting the Lovecraftian mythos into the old west, gambling, and a deck of cards.
“Jedediah Smith and the Undying Chinaman“, by Charles P. Zaglanis, is rather remeniscent of Robert E. Howard’s “Skull-Face”. This story follows a gun slinging archaeologist who is hot on the heels of a Chinese priest of the dead gods who stole a disc from his museum. The hero is strong and resilient, the Chinese priest dark and evil, and the girl, because what is any Howardesque story without a girl to fall for, is thin and beautiful.
Matthew Baugh’s “Snake Oil” pulls inspiration from the snake people.
Tim Curran’s “Cemetary, Nevada” takes place in… Cemetary, Nevada, a ghost town in 1892. here we see a group of regulators following an outlaw only to find something got to him first. This one is one of the star stories of the collection, and starts and ends in good ol’ Lovecraftian style with a letter written by the protaganist.
And for the last story, we have what has to be the most entertaining story of the bunch. Darrell Schweitzer’s “The Rider of the Dark” takes Lovecraft’s mythos, smacks it across the head, dumps it in a pot, laugh’s at it, then stirs in a drunken aged cow poke, a young college student, Nyarlathotep, and zombie cattle. If you only read one story, this one has to be it.
Over all, I enjoyed “Frontier Cthulhu“, and would recommend it to any fan of weird fiction, especially those with a hankerin’ for some old west stories.
You can find it over at Chaosium with a really decent price.
Originally published in 1943, the book is about a happiness virus that spreads across New York City like a plague. The disease makes the afflicted lose their inhibitions, act like they perpetually have 2-3 drinks under their belt (without slurring or clumsiness, they’re sharper in fact), and extremely resistant to doing anything they don’t want to do.