The Man who Never was

The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5| Grade C+; When your baby daddy is way, way out of town The Dunwich Horror is not one of those stories which doesn't gets better on rereading. The Patriarch of the Whateley family, who dabbled in the occult, wants to herald the arrival of an old god onto our plain. And in doing so, tear down everything man has built and replace it with a new world order, where he and his family would be the nobility. For this purpose, he used the age old trick that all dark magicians have been using since time immemorial. To have his daughter sacrificed to serve as the surrogate for an unholy conception of its heralds. Wilber Whateley is born premature & deformed, and none in town known of his birth father. What they know is that the boy seems more beast than man, and is growing at an unnatural pace. At 12 years old, he is already a grown man in body & mind. And after the passi

The Color Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rating 4 out of 5| Grade B+; Thalassophobia & ichthyophobia at its glorious worst Enough with the 'Fishy Smell' for Shaggoth's Sake ! When one treads through the vast collection of Lovecraftian literature, a disturbing picture begins to emerge. One in regards to its sheltered & neurotic author. One who was afraid of, pretty much everything. From racist fears like fear of other ethnicities & race-mixing, to frankly hilarious ones, such as fear of non-Euclidian geometry, gelatinous structures & the color gray. Nowhere is this more apparent, than in one of the author's more enduring tales, 'The Shadow over Innsmouth'. The premise of the story is, as usual, a gaunt depressed white guy, a stand in for the author, living in Arkham (God's gift to the world), who goes searching for his roots in the mysterious town of Innsmouth, filled with its dist

Dark Side of the Moon by Blutch My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5| Grade: C+; Bizarre, Arthouse, Hard to comprehend. It seems that years upon years of consuming mainstream comic titles, particularly those rooted in the superhero mythos or the action genre, have left us as readers incapable of venturing out, and exploring the lesser known 'out there' stories in the medium. We almost forget that Graphical novels, such as Maus & A Contract with God , had at one time, elevated the medium to more than just entertainment & pulp, to genuine reflections of the human conditions. I say this, not because I think Dark Side of the Moon, by French author Blutch, was able to emanate the same feelings in me. Frankly, I don't know that exactly to make of, in this story with apparently no rhyme and reason. Just when you think you've gotten a hang of the narrative, it throws, not a curveball, but a mallet or a Mallard at you, for no

The Lovecraft Anthology, Volume 1 by H.P. Lovecraft My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rating 4 out of 5 | Grade A; Scary things which go bump in the night Warning: Graphical Violence, Blood, Gore, Body Horror & much more; Reader Discretion advised I chanced upon a series of Graphical novels, adaptations of well known Lovecraftian tales, and I thought, Great. Now I get a chance to revisit those tales of eldritch horrors, without having to wade through the doom and nihilistic gloom of the written form, which would give Edar Allan Poe the chills. And I’ve to say, Lovecraft’s short stories lend themselves quite well to illustrated mediums. There is so much to explore, and present, and the artists can go wild coming up with all manner of horrifying illustrations & landscapes, the types of which only a troubled mind such as Lovecraft was capable of conjuring up. For those whose first foray this is unto the writer’s body of work, bewarned. This is one of those, ‘you hav

Daivathinte Charanmar - You Could Be One by Joseph Annamkutty Jose My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5| Grade C; Simple things, Not so complex, Some enlightening, mostly mundane The Good: The Book is filled with snippets & anecdotes from the life of the author, which he presents to the audience in forms of parables & observations. Some of his stories & viewpoints does give you new perspective on things which you'd taken for granted in life. The Bad: Perhaps it is because of his rooted religious background, or because he was for a time enrolled in a Seminary Jose's words can at times come across as preachy, and dare I say patronizing. In some topics, such as racism, Sex education, Assault, Addictions and religion, he makes some observations which, in all honesty might've been quite enlightening in his own life. But in Recounting them to the audience, he comes across in the same way as that one youtuber, who 'saw'

American Gods, Vol. 3: The Moment of the Storm by Neil Gaiman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Rating 5 out of 5 |Grade A+; Hypnotic, Liberating, Final Last on American Gods, the spark for the battle between the Old Gods & New Gods was ignited, with the very public execution of Odin. A recently escaped Shadow, alongside Mr. Nancy & Chernobog must rally what remains of their forces for the inevitable confrontation. But what secrets & mysteries lie behind the veil; which tree was Shadow missing, hidden amongst the forest. That, and more on the concluding Volume of Gaiman’s American Gods. It still amazes me, how Gaiman is able to extrapolate the origin myths of Ancient gods and apply them to the magical realism like world of this story. At one point, somewhere in the middle, Shadow, after retrieving Wednesday’s body, is resolved to hold vigil over it, as per the dead god’s request. What does that entail one might ask. Well, it involves being t

American Gods, Vol. 2: My Ainsel by Neil Gaiman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rating 4 out 5| A Grade; An Acid trip down dark alleyways The bizarre yet phantasmal trip road trip with Shadow Moon & Mr. Wednesday continues. Having got a glimpse of the otherworld & beings which hide beneath the veneer of reality, Shadow finds himself further embroiled in the impending war between the Old Gods & New Ones. Having found himself in a spot of trouble, Odin has his handyman spirited off to the innermost reaches of America, where hopefully he will be safe from prying eyes. But outside our perception, the shadow conflict continues, as the first casualties of war begin to surface. Shadow is plagued by mysterious visions, about his destiny, past & not so dead wife, Lauren. Leading him to contemplate what his role is, in this whole kerfuffle. We are right there with him, riding along. Volume 2, takes a breather after the events of the first Volume. W

American Gods, Vol. 1: Shadows by Neil Gaiman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rating: 4 out of 5 | A Grade; Fantastic, awe inducing, psychedelic Gods are great, but people are greater. For it is in their hearts that gods are born, and to their hearts that they return. I had Neil Gaiman's works on my radar for quite a long time; ever since I heard of his fantastic Graphic novel Preludes & Nocturnes , as well as perhaps his most well known work American Gods . I have to thank the Stars TV adaptation of the series, starring the ever engaging Ian McShane for that one. Still, it kept gathering dust on my TBR list, until a pandemic which shall not be named forced us all in the confines of our homes. Then, there was ample time to read. And Mr. Gaiman didn't disappoint. Alone & anxious, Gaiman's American Gods, gave me a much needed escape from the depressing reality that was, to a slightly darker fantastic world which he had woven with as much ca

Mont'ka by Games Workshop My rating: 3 of 5 stars During the second Damocles Crusade, the Imperium sends a punitive force, composed of the elements of the astra militarum, adeptus mechanicus, imperial navy to the former Imperial world of Agrellan. Supplementing them are the space marines from the Raven Guard & White Scars chapter, as well as Imperial Knights of House Terryn. Their objective, retake the now Tau dominated world of Macgulath, which serves as a key supply point for their sphere of expansion. Arrayed against them are the forces of the Tau empire, led by Commander Shadowsun, as well as Aun' va the Ethereal supreme. Also making an entrance is the surprise assistance from the renegade Commander Farsight as well as the forces of the Farsight enclave. The former hero of Tau, may not hold the leadership in high regards, but still regards himself as a loyal soldier of the Tau race. Right out of the gates, we are treated to a mass m