Swords v Cthulhu

As a lover of both a good swashbuckle and the Cthulhu mythos I was immediately pulled to Swords v. Cthulhu when I saw it.

One of my favourites was ‘Red Sails, Dark Moon’ by Andrew S. Fuller, Lovecraft and pirates meet in a wonderful tale of derring do and monstrous presence, brilliantly pulp in its outlook but the writing takes it way above that.

Another worth mentioning was ‘Ordo Virturum’ by Wendy N. Wagner, a verdant tale of ancient possession and nuns, ancient horrors return to complete arcane tasks with an unexpected ending.

There wasn’t a weak story in the book, some had faster pace than others, but this was balanced by the use of creeping horror and the realisation of certain doom that must befall the characters of the tale.

This is a great collection of swashbuckling tales of cosmic horror that respects both traditions and adds greatly to it, you can feel the love of the authors for the yarns that they’re spinning.

I’m going to be getting their other collection, Shotguns v Cthulhu once it become available again (or if I find it on a lonely shelf of a bookshop) as the choices made by the editors were right for both themes and I trust them to deliver once more.