The Abyssal Plain: The R'lyeh Cycle - Required Reading for Lovecraft Geeks
The Abyssal Plain: The R'lyeh Cycle
Edited by William Holloway and Brett J Talley
This book is a collection of four pieces by four different authors. Normally the quality of anthology books is uneven. This book, however, is the exception. Every one of the four was excellent, leaving me panting and wanting more.
Ammonia by William Holloway sets the stage for an “event” which has occurred in Antarctica, splitting the Ross Ice Shelf. It is the story of the beginning of an apocalypse. It sets the ground rules for the stories that follow, opens the mysteries which will be unveiled in the following tales, and establishes the tone of bleak nihilism which is the hallmark of all great Lovecraftian storytelling.
Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason’s The Sunken Desert introduces us to life in the new world order created by “the event“. It is almost something of an adventure caper, fun and thrilling. Criminals, cops, and tough minded women together to make their way in a new world where the rules are only just beginning to be understood. At the same time it introduces us to the a world of squid beasts, insane cultists, and survivors doing their best.
Brett J Talley’s Rise and Fall brings us to a world where the apocalypse has been settled. People finally understand what’s going on, more or less. We experience organized human resistance, communities trying to rebuild themselves, and a culture in radical flux. Talley explores the different ways in which humans and our communities break under unbelievable strain. He does it to great effect. I have long maintained that Talley is one of the best modern practitioners of Lovecraftian tales. This story shows him in his full glory, weaving issues of interpersonal relationships, religion, culture, survival, and family and exploring them within a world gone as mad and brutal as possible.
Rich Hawkin’s work The Great Beast is the perfect companion piece to Talley’s. Talley looks at the larger social effects of a Lovecraftian nightmare world come to be. Hawkins leaves behind the communal exploration for the individual. He gives us a protagonist somehow left behind in a dead world now ruled by horrific beasts. We see the effects and strain of this world. Slowly, as a few new characters are introduced, we see what this world has made of them.
This work is a first class exploration of humanity confronted with the unknown, the horrific, and the insanity inducing. It’s well worth the time of horror nerds. It should be required readings for any Lovecraft geeks.
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