annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
In the Mad Mountains is a collection of short fiction by Joe R. Lansdale inspired by/homage to H.P. Lovecraft. Released 15th Oct 2024 by Tachyon, it's 256 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
Most of the stories contained in the collection have been previously published between 2009-2015 in other publications, but they're collected her for the first time (conveniently packaged for consumption). The author notes and commentary are new, and as always, worth reading. It's nice to get some background history from the author about the works.
Lansdale is a prodigious talent. These stories are cherry picked from his massive oeuvre and complement one another well thematically. It's not -all- body horror and squishy stuff, there are some which would be equally at home in a Bradbury homage ( “Starlight, Eyes Bright” ), but there is also adventure horror aplenty for the straight-up Lovecraftians in the room.
Four and a half stars. It's a perfect spooky season/Hallowe'en read, even better with a buddy. The cover art by Mike Mignola is a nice bonus and suits the book perfectly.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.