Cthulhu's Daughter and Other Horror Tales

by Rhiannon Frater

[inlibrisveritas]

Rhiannon does it again! This is a really amazing collection of horror stories told in a way that only Rhiannon can acomplish. I’ll go over each story in this review.

Cthulhu’s Daughter was absolutely amazing and definitely a fantastic opening story. Lulu is a young woman who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic but believes she is the daughter of the Old God, Cthulhu. This one is a fantastic spiral of madness and darkness, and I love that it never gives you a defined “yes” or “no” when it comes to Lulu. I loved the imagery and the descriptions that gives this one a true gothic horror feel. If you are a fan of Lovecraft then definitely check this out.

Flesh and Circuits is a horror story of a different nature. It focuses on a nanny android that is woefully out of date and risks deletion, and is charged with taking care of a little boy while his alcoholic and abusive mother works. This is not a tradition horror story, but is chilling nonetheless.

The Two Mothers does have horror elements but I found it to be the most heartwarming of the stories included in this anthology. Elise is a vampire who has grown bored with her long life and longs to have a child of her own, but faced with her own sterility she decides to seek out someone else’s child to fill this void.

Fleeing, is a werewolf short story and one of the shortest in the collection. I love the amount of emotion that Rhiannon packs into this one.

Amunet, is a story that focuses on a mummy in the possession of an Egyptologist and affect it has on his family. This has a very Twilight Zone feel to it and the ending is definitely creepy.

Stop Requested is a zombie novella that matches up with the story in The Living Dead Boy anthology and is told from the point of view of a guide dog who is desperate to lead her owner away from harm. Loved this.

The Key is a delightfully twisted story about a woman terrified of the things living inside of the mirrors of the world. Definitely a great way to end the collection.

Overall this is a great anthology of horror stories that have a variety of feels to them. The horror of each story is different and does not always manifest in the obvious ways.