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Summary: murderkaleidoscope
Review: Joe Pulver's malicious, long-awaited crime novel is a protracted, gripping duel between a driven detective and Marsh, an equally driven killer without a conscience, whose murders are only the beginning! "Nightmare's Disciple" is replete with Lovecraftian references, but situates itself outside of the mythos looking in, making the facts of Lovecraft's stories and the cults that have sprung up in his wake - real and (one would hope!) unreal - as much the object of investigation as Marsh himself. Readers will thrill to the unostentatious variety of Pulver's tone, the ease with which he slides from crisp, businesslike prose to more delicate, visionary prose-poetry. Although this is a first novel, Pulver writes with all the self-assurance of a seasoned, mature professional. A thumping read!
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Summary: Ideal marriage of genres: Cthulhu Mythos and Serial killers.
Review: Joseph Pulver manages to pull off a fine bit of alchemy in interweaving what seems a this-worldly serial murderer crime novel with the cosmic-scope Lovecraftian epic. So deftly does he balance focal characters and their very different frames of reference that the reader is kept off balance: is the strong, apparent supernaturalism just part of the killer's delusion? Or is it real, and much more terrible than the killer himself? I have never seen anyone maintain the narrative tension of such a juggling act so well. Those familiar with the horror fandom scene will find that this book's many references to it ring true. They will readily see themselves in it. And yet the book never becomes self-indulgent fan-fiction, an excuse for in-jokes. Also noteworthy is Pulver's near-multiple personality syndrome when it comes to literary voices appropriate to a variety of moods and characters. How can he sound like Dashiell Hammett on one page and Thomas Ligotti on the next, and you don't even notice any transition? Pulver is a wonderful writer, and one can only look forward to more of his excellent fiction! (By the way, he is of course not the editor but the author, despite the listing.)
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Summary: I'm a Nightmare's Disciple !
Review: Joseph Pulver's first novel is an epic and encyclopedic romp through the dusty corridors of the "Cthulhu Mythos", providing a fascinating excursion for Lovecraftian scholars and neophytes alike.For those perhaps overly familiar with the sub-genre, Pulver finally buys "the Mythos" a CD player and VCR, supplying tantalizing hints of mind-warping new media, dozens of "modern Necronomicons" which can be used as gateways to Lovecraft's Ancient Gods. For the newcomer, the author skillfully filters the Byzantine relationships and complex history of Lovecraft's Great Old Ones ( or "GOO" as Pulver has ironically dubbed them ) through the eyes of a skeptical detective investigating a series of murders which are tied to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Fact or Fiction? Truth or delusion ? Of course, the reader is kept in suspense. Peopled with vivid, unusual characters, "Nightmare's Disciple" is both a much-needed updating of a nearly exhausted field, as well as an intoxicating blend of dark fantasy and hard-boiled reality
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Summary: Had hopes, was disappointed
Review: Nightmare's Disciple by Joseph S. Pulver was enjoyable and was so creepy, I started seeing things while reading in to wee hours of the morning. Mr. Pulver takes you into the realm of the unbelievable and makes it very very real. The villain is a modern day Jack the Ripper, who sacrifices his victims to the Great Old Ones (GOO). Namely Kassogatha (Cthulhu's consort demon goddess). Pulver's knowledge of Lovecraftian arcania is wide and deep. I particularly enjoyed learning about some of the music associated with the Mythos of Lovecraft. The book would easily make a fantastic movie. The only draw back (a minor one), is that the story could have been edited down by about 100 pages as much of the dialoge was too much fluff to the story but fun to read anyway.
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Summary: A Must for Cthulhu Fans!
Review: Nightmare's Disciple by Joseph S. Pulver was enjoyable and was so creepy, I started seeing things while reading in to wee hours of the morning. Mr. Pulver takes you into the realm of the unbelievable and makes it very very real. The villain is a modern day Jack the Ripper, who sacrifices his victims to the Great Old Ones (GOO). Namely Kassogatha (Cthulhu's consort demon goddess). Pulver's knowledge of Lovecraftian arcania is wide and deep. I particularly enjoyed learning about some of the music associated with the Mythos of Lovecraft. The book would easily make a fantastic movie. The only draw back (a minor one), is that the story could have been edited down by about 100 pages as much of the dialoge was too much fluff to the story but fun to read anyway.
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Summary: A note to readers
Review: NIGHTMARE'S DISCIPLE was written in 1994 and has taken a few years to get from my desk in the Nightmarium to readers. As someone who prefers novels to short stories, and having been a longstanding fan of the Cthulhu Mythos (I discovered HPL as an adolescent in 1970) and having read a few serial killer novels over the years, I decided to inject the Mythos into a serial killer novel with a contemporary setting. While the Mythos does play a major role in my story, readers not familiar with Lovecraft will find the details of his Mythos presented in an instructive fashion, and be brought up to speed along with one of the story's main characters. ND is Chaosium's 1st original novel in it's "Call of Cthulhu" fiction series. It is dedicated to Robert Bloch, Lin Carter, and Brian Lumley, and readers will find their deep-rooted influences on me throughout my tale. Other inspirations which color my character-driven tale are my early love of Marvel Comics, my obsession with music (rock, classical, jazz, you name it), the effects horror film and fiction had on me as both man and boy, and my interest in poetry. Bob Price (who was instrumental in getting my novel published), best-selling author Brian Lumley, Brian McNaughton (The Throne of Bones), and Peter Worthy have read advance copies of my book and all had VERY nice things to say about it, so as you might expect, I'm pleased as all get out! (Anyone interested can read Bob's enthusiastic review of ND in "Crypt of Cthulhu" #100) And Edward P. Berglund has listed my novel as an addition to Bob Price's "A Latter-Day Lovecraftian's Library" on his estimable and highly-informative "The Readers Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos" website. At present I'm working on a new Mythos novel titled, IN THE FIELDS WHERE THE PLAGUE BURNS, and I'm very pleased to say, Bob Price has accepted several of my texts for the upcoming Chaosium CoC fiction collections (THE BOOK OF EIBON, THE TINDALOS CYCLE, and NAMELESS CULTS THE COMPLETE MYTHOS FICTION OF ROBERT E. HOWARD).
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Summary: A solid modern Mythos thriller
Review: Pulver's very modern take on H.P. Lovecraft's sprawling myth-cycle isn't just a reheat of the same old shoggoths. Both diehard Lovecraft readers and _Call of Cthulhu_ gamers will find a lot to like here. Imagine a fast-paced serial killer thriller combined with solidly researched Lovecraft . . . and set to a driving, streetwise cultural beat. A novel for fans, by a fan -- one that delivers what we read the Mythos for.
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Summary: The Stars are Right... for Murder!
Review: So pronounces the cover of the first original novel from Chaosium. Joseph Pulver has created an admirable mix of the Cthulhu Mythos and hard-nosed detective genres, seamlessly integrating them into a highly readable serial murder novel - Thomas Harris meets H. P. Lovecraft. The plotline is kept expertly off-kilter so that the reader doesn't know whether the Lovecraftain pantheon is just part of the serial killer's delusional ego or a terrifyingly real threat until just the right moment. A well written, fluidly moving narrative of the chase to bring down a killer inimical not just to man, but all of mankind. Pulver maintains a keen sense of pace and tension without giving away too much too soon. You will readily follow Detective Christopher James Stewart and the gory trail of bodies to the end. Not just believable, but credible characters in a world at once familiar and then frighteningly alien.
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Summary: Almost a total loss
Review: The idea might have been good, but the execution is staggeringly inept. The entire "novel" consists of conversations between uninteresting characters, and the conversation consists almost entirely of recitations of lists. These lists, which can go on for pages, are lists of mythos- influenced authors and artists (some fictitious), imaginary mythos books, imaginary artworks,etc., etc. And when the author runs out of mythos steam the characters endlessly list pop music groups and their compositions (some fictitious), obscure horror movies (some fictitious), obscure classical works (mainly fictitious), and so on... you get the idea. The author, Pulver, has apparently been a music critic for most of his professional life, and he never leaves the day job far behind. With no characters one can give a dump about, no action, really no plot, and a text consisting almost entirely of irrelevant padding, this is one of the most unrewarding reads I have ever suffered through.
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Summary: Mind twisting and soul assaulting . . .
Review: This book certainly gives a fantastic and quite contemporary view of the mythos through the the viewpoints of its quirky, interesting characters. I will admit that the story line itself carried me along on a real sunami of violence -- keeping me turning the pages and wondering. It was also a great book for someone just getting interested in the Mythos. There were a lot of explanations, etc. . . . Well, Mr. Pulver . . . Dare we expect another? I'm waiting.
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