The Book of Eibon (Call of Cthulhu Fiction)

Rating:
Summary: A good pick for fans
Review: Alright, lets be straight from the start. If you are just looking for a good collecton of horror stories you will be disappointed with this. BUT, if you are a big fan of the H.P. Lovecraft mythos I think this is one of the best out of all of the choasm books. I enjoyed the book, except for the bad attempt of adding poems that are supposed to be spells in the second half, but all in all I enjoyed reading this book. One tip, if you want to be surprised by the stories don't read the into of each one until after you have read it.

Rating:
Summary: A For Effort, D For Result
Review: In the Cthulhu Mythos, Clark Ashton Smith's The Book of Eibon ranks up there with Lovecraft's Necronomicon and Derleth's De Vermis Mysteriis; imaginary works of such soul-searing occult horror that readers put their own sanity and salvation at risk to peruse them. They form the basis of several story cycles and Mythos writers "quote" from them regularly. Chaosium's newest book in their Mythos series is an attempt to recreate The Book of Eibon using stories and poems written by Clark Ashton Smith, Lin Carter, Richard L. Tierney and others. At the bottom line, the attempt is courageous, but sadly, a failure for several reasons:

First, trying to create a legendary work of cosmic horror is impossible. Though many of the stories in the book are worthy of the Mythos label, reality cannot compete with the imagination. I wanted a good read to keep me up at night, not just a few hours of amusement.

Second, there is too much of Lin Carter in the book. Like Derleth, Carter was a rabid Mythos fan in love more with the idea than the atmosphere and thought it sufficient to make a story unearthly through simply listing a long litany of Mythos terms and names. Though some of Carter's stories are worth reading, such as From The Archives of the Moon, most are quickly forgettable.

Third, Price, who has edited most of the Chaosium works stumbles for the first time. His introductions to the stories give too much away, the worst example being his introduction to Lin Carter's In the Vale of Pnath where he reveals the ending, ruining what is probably one of the few actually disturbing stories in the collection. Also unnecessary to the point of distraction are the innumerable comparisons of the literary creation of The Book of Eibon to the formation of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Yes, Price is a seminary professor, but not every reader is interested in lectures in the questionable science of Biblical Higher Criticism.

Readers who are collecting the Chaosium Mythos series will want to purchase The Book of Eibon and there are a few gems between its covers,...