# Best Lovecraft tribute story/book you've read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648 "2014-10-18T02:18:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/1 "2014-10-18T02:18:20Z")
Please be gentle with me, this is my first new thread in this forum. I’m a big Lovecraft fan, I collect pulp books and some of them are so old that they are yellow and falling apart. I can bore a speed freak to sleep whilst discussing the influence that Lovecraft had and has on fiction. Today, I got a Tim Curran book…The Hive and holy cow!!! Its even better than that Stephen King story. The Hive has everything, a Dr. West leading the expedition, talk about the Mountains of Madness, the Miscotonic (spelling might be bad there…but Lovecraft fans know what I’m trying to say), and its just wonderful. I’m going to buy a dead-tree copy to put in my collection. What say you folks? What else should I add to my permanent collection? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/2 "2014-10-18T02:23:43Z")
I’m fond of Neil Gaiman’s [A Study In Emerald](http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) and Alan Moore’s [What Ho, Gods of the Abyss](http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/447926.html). ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/3 "2014-10-18T03:37:36Z")
“The Litany of Earth” by Ruthanna Emrys, which I read at Tor’s website ([link](http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/the-litany-of-earth-ruthanna-emrys)). I’m not a big Lovecraft fan but this story is poignant and haunting. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/4 "2014-10-18T04:36:59Z")
> [@plankter](#): > > “The Litany of Earth” by Ruthanna Emrys, which I read at Tor’s website ([link](http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/the-litany-of-earth-ruthanna-emrys)). I’m not a big Lovecraft fan but this story is poignant and haunting. I was going to suggest “Litany of Earth” a well. It’s an interesting take on the aftermath of the events in “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” Litany’s narrator is ambiguous enough to make you sympathize with her while at the same time asking yourself “Yeah, but what about…?” from the original story. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/5 "2014-10-18T05:21:55Z")
You might enjoy Charles Stross’ _Laundry Files_ series. I’ve only read the first two, but they’re a playful take on Lovecraftian themes. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/6 "2014-10-18T05:26:24Z")
Thank you everyone! This is so important that I’m actually taking notes with pen and paper. Electronics can die un-expectantly, the stars might be right tomorrow night, but paper lasts forever. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/7 "2014-10-18T06:10:24Z")
I know you asked for books, but you can not go wrong if you visit [Lovecraft is Missing](http://lovecraftismissing.com). That webcomic has had me on the edge of my seat since 2008 (admittedly, the author has gone on hiatus a couple of times. He’s back now though, and better than ever). ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/8 "2014-10-18T07:03:10Z")
Oh, another popped into my head: [14](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15062217-14) by Peter Clines. Another decent read. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/9 "2014-10-18T12:09:22Z")
The final story in Michael Chabon’s first collection of short stories, “In the Black Mills” in _Werewolves in Their Youth_, is the best Lovecraft-homage story I’ve read, though I’ll admit I’m not a collector. It’s brillance to my mind comes from both its superb channeling of Lovecraft and the recognition that this is Michael Chabon writing–one of the most inventive writers writing today, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/10 "2014-10-18T14:12:45Z")
Let me echo the suggestion of Stross’s Laundry series. I think “Jennifer Morgue” was the most obvopisly Lovecraftian but they all have such features. There are links to a couple of his short stories free on his web site, so you can sample for free. Although I don’t know how you might react if you’ve not mer Bob before. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/11 "2014-10-18T20:37:16Z")
For a slightly different tone than the Laundry books, there’s also Stross’ _Colder War_ > **[A Colder War - a novelette by Charles Stross](http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm)** > > Roger isn't a soldier. He's not much of a patriot, either. He's just scared when 20 pages of sheer terror land on his CIA desk. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/12 "2014-10-19T02:28:59Z")
> [@plankter](#): > > “The Litany of Earth” by Ruthanna Emrys, which I read at Tor’s website ([link](http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/the-litany-of-earth-ruthanna-emrys)). I’m not a big Lovecraft fan but this story is poignant and haunting. Thank you so much for this. I am going to keep my eye on this writer. ---
**Author:** ![MsKaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@MsKaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsKaren)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/13 "2014-10-19T02:55:58Z")
Oh, I love Mr. X by the wonderful Peter Straub. It is a modern retelling of The Dunwich Horror. I loved it and have read both novels more than once in alternate fashion for the sheer pleasure of his writing, plot and subtle inversion of the story.“Discerning readers will recognize this surprise-filled tale of tortuous family relationships as a modern variation on Lovecraft’s classic shocker “The Dunwich Horror.” But Straub turns his pulp model inside out, transforming its vast cosmic mystery into an ingrown odyssey of self-discovery and a probing study of human nature.” from [http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-679-40138-4](http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-679-40138-4). ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/14 "2014-10-19T08:33:35Z")
Alan Moore’s The Courtyard and Neonomicon. Details here: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonomicon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonomicon). Genuinely disturbing stuff - and for all the right reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/15 "2014-10-19T10:54:19Z")
[Baby’s First Mythos](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193174825X/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) > [@](#): > > I is for INNSMOUTH, a hell of a town, Where the people wear gold, and are quite hard to drown. > > Learn your ABCs and 123s - Mythos style! In the tradition of Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies, comes a children’s book based on H.P. Lovecraft’s writings. Blast your child’s soul as they learn their letters and numbers. I gave one as a Xmas present. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/16 "2014-10-19T13:58:55Z")
There have been no end of collections of Lovecraft pastiches – _Shadows over Innsmouth_ and its sequel, _Cthulhu 2000_, _Shadows over Baker Street_ (Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft crossovers). There are quite a few good stories in the Shadows over Innsmouth and Cthulhu 200 books (I think mixing Holmes and Cthulhu is pushing it, gaiman’s “A Study in Emerald” notwiothstanding) The things I’ve liked have been the books that more fully inform. I highly recommend S.T. Joshi’s _Annotated Lovecraft_ and I]More Annotated Lovecraft\*, as well as the separately-published-by-a-small-press _Annotated Shadow over Innsmouth_. I also see that Leslie S. Klinger, the reigning revised of annotated editions\*, has just published _The New Anotated LOvecraft_, a hefty hardcover volume running $40. I’ll undoubtedly get it, anyway. \*He released _The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes_, updating William S. Baring-Gould’s Annotated Sherlock Holmes, and _The New Annotated Dracula_, updating Leonard Wolf’s Annotated Dracula and Essential Dracula. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_Carlson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc79bd/32.png) [@Not\_Carlson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_Carlson)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/17 "2014-10-19T14:20:27Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > I’m fond of Neil Gaiman’s [A Study In Emerald](http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) and Alan Moore’s [What Ho, Gods of the Abyss](http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/447926.html). I’ll second A Study In Emerald, and not just because it’s about the only tribute I’m familiar with. The story really is engrossing, and the old-time newspaper format creates an imersion effect that enhances the story. A clever, creeepy tale in its own right, and a successful merging of the two worlds of Lovecraft’s monsters and Shelock Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/18 "2014-10-19T15:33:48Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > I’m fond of Neil Gaiman’s [A Study In Emerald](http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) and Alan Moore’s [What Ho, Gods of the Abyss](http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/447926.html). Another vote for “Study in Emerald” (and for the Charles Stross works mentioned downthread) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/19 "2014-10-20T01:46:48Z")
As long as people are heaping praise upon the Gaiman work cited, I’m going to say that while they’re not wrong, the Wodehouse pastiche by Moore is an even more enjoyable read, at least for me. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648/20 "2014-10-20T03:38:22Z")
Thank you again, everyone. If you are wondering why I haven’t been back to this thread…its because was busy reading **kaylasdad99** ’s link. Dude, you need to warn people that they will be totally hooked before sharing that. 'specially when that person is planning on spending a week with a bunch of little old ladies at a needlework convention. (I did meet another cultist which was fun. She hobbled over to ask me where I had gotten my Cluthlu fish shirt.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-lovecraft-tribute-story-book-youve-read/701648.md?page=2)