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Rating: 
Summary: A Must Own for all Mythos fans
Review: Chaosium prides itself on its ability to uncover and deliver rare stories, poems, and other such works of the Cthulhu Mythos. Their 6th book of the Cthulhu Cycle Books, The Azathoth Cycle, is no exception to this rule. Robert Price, the series editor, presents a clear and entertaining introduction that has the good fortune to be easily understood by those unfamiliar to the Mythos, as well as providing valuable insights to Mythos veterans. This book is wisely based around the first passage, Edward Pickman Derby's poem 'Azathoth,' a must read for any aspiring Lovecraftian. Many of the stories, by both obscure and known contributers to the Mythos, deal with the subjects presented in 'Azathoth,' thus allowing the reader to gain a better understanding of the work at large. For a fan to own all the stories presented in this book, they would have had to have begun their Mythos collection years ago, collecting obscure fan-zines and short story publications. 'The Azathoth Cycle' presents an excellent starting point for the newer generation of Lovecraft fanatics, giving them a pointer towards Mythos authors such as Campbell, Carter, Price, and Derby. All in all, Chaosium has done it again, presenting a valuable Mythos work (though, after reading it, one is inclined to say 'tome') for both those new to the worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, and those who have dwelled in those darker recesses of the human soul for years.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Collection
Review: If the goal of Chaosium was to collect some of the best stories about Azathoth in one place for our consumption, then GREAT JOB.
Many of these stories seemed entirely original from a Mythos standpoint. THE SPACE OF MADNESS was intriguing from the standpoint of space exploration, and the plot device in THE PLAGUE JAR was interesting. The poem AZATHOTH and THE INSECTS FROM SHAGGAI were good classics. A few stories, such as THE PIT OF THE SHOGGOTHS and THE THRONE OF ACHAMOTH simply interested me. And then there's the pulp filler that's thematic. Very good overall. My only problem was that the spine was not sturdy. Some of the other books from the same series have held up better. It's not important to everyone, but I like my purchased books to remain in good condition.
Rating:
Summary: chaosium's best?
Review: well, it's hard to find a collection with one theme, where you like most of the stories. the writers here have obviously been into the theme, and the stories are amazingly well written. actually, the anthology starts off with very boring stories, but picks up. Kuttner and Campbell delivers good stories. Campbell's could have been really great if he hadn't ended up with a lot of info about these aliens existence, that were pretty uninteresting. Reiney has a great story. but the two who really impressed me were Glasby and Mackey. amazingly well written stories, challenging even HPL. very interesting. many fine details. the suspence in them is great. among the very best in pulp.
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