Lovecraft's Legacy: An Anthology of Original Horror Tales in Honor of Lovecraft's Centennial

No works by the eponymous legator himself are included in this tribute to the master of horror in his centennial year. His ``legacy'' is the theme around which these 14 stories are assembled, with an introduction by Robert Bloch, who acknowledges his personal debt to Lovecraft, and afterwords to each of the tales by such authors as Gene Wolfe, Hugh B. Cave and Ed Gorman. Gahan Wilson's ``H.P.L.'' manages to sustain Lovecraft's antiquated and baroque style. F. Paul Wilson invokes the concept of ``cosmic horror'' in the afterword to final story, ``The Barrens . '' Indeed, the progression of the stories suggests that they were arranged to lead up to this ``concept of another reality impinging on ours,'' giving rise to an all-encompassing fear that lies beyond humanity's comprehension. These tales feature, among other things, maggots eating the eyes of dead bodies, cancerous monsters consuming the world, aristocratic schemers in pursuit of immortality, out-of-body travel, demons resurrected, murderous lizards, voodoo, ghouls and soulsuckers. Of generally high caliber, this homage itals as per intro to the master is an imaginative collection. (Nov.)