Dark Equinox and Other Tales of Lovecraftian Horror

Fans of poet Schwader (The Worms Remember) will welcome her first story collection, though the derivative nature of most of the 16 tales, four of them original to this volume, may disappoint some Lovecraftians. For example, "Custom Order," which recounts the horrifying experiences of a new au pair placed in charge of a precocious toddler, reads like a dozen similar stories by other authors. The brief "Her Beloved Son," a riff on "The Dunwich Horror," is ineffectual even for readers who are familiar with the classic Lovecraft story. Those who haven't read Frank Belknap Long's "The Hounds of Tindalos" won't get the punch line of "Scream Saver." "The Wind-Caller," the best of the lot, features an evocative description of the "storm spirit" Ithaqua, but prosaic prose undercuts the sense of cosmic menace at the end. Attempts at emulating Lovecraft's style can be less than successful ("And there, behind the verdigris doors and poxed marble of your ancestral mausoleum..."). Still, those who recognize the Lovecraft in-jokes will have some fun. (July)