The Weird Company: The Secret History of H.P. Lovecraft’s Twentieth Century

Endless references to the characters and settings of famed horror writer H.P. Lovecraft can’t save this muddled novel. Shoggoths are stirring in Antarctica, and the universe is endangered by the possible advent of demonic Yog-Sothoth. Robert Olm­stead, who has betrayed his Innsmouth kin, joins the Weird Company in an attempt to save the world. This leads to startling encounters with rat people, a mysterious alien swami, and the dead Ephraim Waite brought back to life in the body of his daughter, Asenath. Once the company reaches Antarctica, sorting out friendly and unfriendly entities becomes ever more complicated. Readers who share Rawlik’s devotion to Lovecraft may enjoy the abundant allusions to his novels, stories, and poetry; those with less comprehensive knowledge of the canon will find no thread to lead them through this maze of jarring elements. (Sept.)