Eldritch Chrome: Unquiet Tales of a Mythos-Haunted Future

Eldritch Chrome is another wonderful anthology of mythos weird fiction from editor Brian Sammons, this time paired with Glynn Owen Barrass. I've read most of Mr. Sammons' anthologies, maybe all of them now, and I have come to expect nothing less than perfection from him. This book is no different. The stories presented are all on target with the premise of presenting a future Lovecraftian horror.The stories themselves are each wonderful stories and as I go through each below, I might seem like I am being somewhat insincere to other people who might read this review and are looking to possibly purchase the book by saying everything is great. This is unintentional. The stories are all really good. If there did happen to be a single story in here that felt out of place, detracted from the whole, or dare I say it was bad in general, I would have said so.So, long story short, if you are a fan of the mythos and noir or sci-fi you must get this book. My hat goes off to co-editors Mr. Sammons and Mr. Barrass in presenting another excellent anthology."Obsolete, Absolute" by Robert M. PriceFrom one of the penultimate names in Lovecraftian circles comes this story set in a post-apocalyptic Earth after billions of the population was wiped out by an unknown virus. I won't ruin anymore, but this is a good story to open the anthology, the tone of the story is very reminiscent of Lovecraft and thus Dr. Price's many other weird tales. The tone does feel a bit out of place with the other stories in the book, but not so much as to detract from the whole. And don't get me wrong this is a fantastic story."The Place that Cannot Be" by D.L. SnellThis story centers around a man and his cheating wife. Needless to say, there are quite a bit more to this story, but I am trying very hard not to ruin them for you. Let's just say that things get fishy. Mr. Snell provides a very enjoyable story told from dual viewpoints, with a twist, which is a very interesting device that would not really work outside of weird fiction and sci-fi."The Battle of Arkham" by Peter RawlikI will admit that I had been pretty excited about this story from the get go. I read Mr. Rawlik's Reanimators, and loved it. I also got to meet with him briefly at Necronomicon in August of 2013, he is a really great guy. All that aside this is a solid story set during a war with humans, deep ones and mi-gos working together to combat some of the more horrific beasts from the Lovecraftian mythos. The drama here is tense and Mr. Rawlik's ability to write combat is without fault. This is a great action-packed story of what being human really is and the sacrifice that is made on a regular basis by members of the armed forces, even in this setting. It just works, and it makes for a great story."The Wurms In the Grid" by Nickolas CookThis is a dark and dirty cyberpunk story centered around a pair of freelance cyberpunks that are hired to remove an apparent virus from someone's system. Of course as the name suggest, the virus is more than just that, and the protagonist is left fighting for his very soul. Mr. Cook strings a good tale here. It is a very good story that should interest most weird fiction fans and cyberpunk fans alike."SymbiOS" by William MeikleAre you still responsible for your actions if they happen when you are asleep, or under the control of another? What if the person controlling you isn't a person but a parasite? Could you be able to tell the difference between your desires, and those of the parasite? Mr. Meikle attacks one of our most inner-most fears in this story, OK maybe one of mine, confronting these very questions. You might have heard of Mr. Mielke from his story in Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes or possibly one of his recent weird tales in the Lovecraft Ezine, it seems he is popping up all of in the last two years or so and he is quickly rising on my list of favorite weird short fiction writers."Playgrounds of Angolaland" by David ConyersDavid Conyers is a brilliant writer. The man can make the most unbelievable seem mundane, and when we are talking about shoggoth-human hybrid spec-op mercenaries and cyborg ninjas all living in a post-apocalyptic "Shog City" located in a certain mountain range in Antarctica that is no easy task. This is a great story that will have everyone flipping pages one after another to find out what happens next."Sonar City" by Sam StoneSonar City is one of those stories that is crossing multiple genres, in all honesty it is a noir steampunk weird fiction paranormal investigator tale. And I loved it. This is definitely one of my favorites in the book. Of course I do enjoy steampunk, and women in corsets, so I might be prejudiced just a tad on this. In either respect this is a absolutely wonderful story that is brilliantly thought out with an amazing story to boot. I can only hope there are more stories in this world, because I would eat them up."The Blowfly Manifesto" by Tim CurranIn The Blowfly Manifesto, everyone is jacked in. Not being jacked in is a sign of the aberrant mind, the weirdo on the corner preaching doom. Or in this case, a serial killer mutilating bodies across a festering city hell bent on destroying itself. What would the police force of the aforementioned city look like? How would they operate? But most importantly, can you trust what you see if you are always connected to net? This is another good story! Mr. Curran is no stranger to mythos fiction and as would be expected from a man of his talents, he delivers on this story. It is brutal, dirty, gorey, and a lot of fun to read."Flesh & Scales" by Ran Cartwright"Flesh & Scales" sends us to an Innsmouth of the future where humans, deep ones, and giant squids live together . This is a really fun story and I liked it quite a bit. The story follows a human contract killer and his investigation into a squid that has broken from the status quo and gone against "The Boss" (Dagon possibly?) to deal in the illustrious inter-species sex trade, without permission of course. It is well-worth your time. And since Mr. Cartwright was a new name for me I will definitely be on the look out for his future weird tales."Inlibration" by Michael TiceThis is another story from an unknown author, to me at least. "Inlibration" shows us a future LA where everything is digitized and a lucky few have some serious cybernetic implants. The story is told by one of these lucky individuals, a private investigator, in their search for a certain book in the Rare Book Room of the Los Angeles Central Library. This was a beautifully written piece that will not disappoint readers. Mr. Tice has almost been added to my future watch list thanks to this story."Hope Abandoned" by Tom LynchMany of you might recognize the name Tom Lynch, I know I do, so I will not go on about how awesome he is, or his unbelievable talent. "Hope Abandoned" is a brilliant story. This could easily be my favorite story in the book. Mr. Lynch's writing is brilliant and he builds a completely believable world with engrossing characters. The plot follows a pair of NYC cops, in the future of course, as they chase a serial killer into the abandoned SouthTown, aka Southern Manhattan Island. Want to know why it is abandoned? Want to know what happens? Read the story. You will absolutely not be disappointed."Immune" by Terrie Leigh RelfThis is another post-apocalyptic tale set in San Diego, more specifically the University of California at San Diego. In this tale the majority of the population was wiped out when an unknown virus struck the world. The survivors, those immune, are centered around the world's centers of learning, either teaching or learning. But what happens when the virus mutates in ways that man could never fathom? Mrs. Relf's writing here is top-notch and she is able to create an immersive and believable world."Real Gone" by David DunwoodyThis is an amazing story and is one of my favorite in the book. In the future we can upload our dreams to the net. Not our good dreams though, our bad dreams or nightmares. The story follows one such dreamer as she is hounded by things in real life and her dreams (are they her dreams?) while trying to retain her true identity. It is a fantastic story and should be read by everyone."CL3ANS3" by Carrie CuinnComing towards the end now, bear with me. "CL3ANS3" is a beautiful story from Carrie Cuin. Mrs. Cuinn's voice and the picture she was able to weave inside my mind was absolutely amazing, her prose was top-notch. The story is about a group of workers in the future that spend their days collating the data of the past so that it is easily consumed for the future. Everything is wonderful, until the data from a certain small university in Massachusetts is started upon. Then things get complicated."Dreams of Death" by Lois GreshThis story is set once again in Innsmouth and is rather hard to explain without giving too much away. Mrs. Gresh's writing here is excellent and this story like the others you spent the time to read is marvelous. Dreams of Death deals with what it means to be human, and at what point does a person stop being a person and start being something else?The Gauntlet by Glynn Owen Barrass and Brian M. SammonsThe editors of this anthology, Glynn Barrass and Brian Sammons teamed up on this great story melding mechas and the mythos. What happens when a Great Old One's summoning party gets gate crashed by a giant mecha and it's pilot? Well it isn't good, but it is awesome. This is a marvelous story. Both authors deserve some praise on this honestly, more than I can do here. Read this one, one of my favorites in the book."Indifference" by CJ HendersonCJ Henderson gives us "Indifference", a tale that follows the investigation into a series of bizarre incidents involving college students. Something inside them breaks, and they change. They become different people with a different set of morals, strange theories on life. They are shut off from the norm, or are they? This is another solid piece of writing."Open Minded" by Jeffrey ThomasWe end at Jeffrey Thomas, which is apt in an anthology of future mythos tales. In case you are not aware, Mr. Thomas is the author of the novel Punktown and this is a story from that setting. The story is a pleasure to read. I expected no less after reading Punktown. The story itself centers around a mid-level manager in a giant corporation that creates cyborg bodies for interstellar species. All is well until their new client, from Yuggoth, start taking things a little too far. This is a great story, one of my favorites.

Some of these were so wonderful that I wanted to record me reading for my blind friend. I think I might just go visit and read them at their house instead.

Really great anthology. I was kind of skeptical when it came to the idea of combining Lovecraftian horror with the cyberpunk genre but the writers in this anthology managed to pull it off admirably. The best example of this would be "The Battle of Arkham". Sure, some stories aren't as exciting as others but overall I was really impressed. Great anthology.

Cthulhu meets cyberpunk. All these Lovecraftian mythos short stories have technological aspect to them.. I, especially, liked the story where the enhanced protagonists became the book. What need to read, when you can absorb. Highly recommended, if you like mythos stories with a science fiction bent.

The product arrived in the promised condition within a reasonable amount of time and works exactly as advertised. I am pleased.

ELDRITCH CHROME is the latest anthology from what I lovingly call the ‘Sammons and Friends’ series of genre anthologies. That usually consists of prolific editor Brian M. Sammons and one of his go to editing pals, in this case that would be Mr. Glynn Owen Barrass. As per usual, Sammons and his co-pilot also team up to also offer a tale within the anthology, which I’ll get to in a bit.Wikipedia describes Cyberpunk best in the first descriptive line – it’s a postmodern science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The editors absolutely nail that, while giving the concept room to breathe, like in D.L. Snell’s THE PLACE THAT CANNOT BE where we get a rather sophisticated underwater city. Wikipedia also states that these stories tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than the far-future settings or galactic vistas, so a near future underwater city works. The editors say as much in the introduction.Sammons and Barrass have done something special though. Yes, all the stories fit within the parameters of the theme (something that Sammons is a stickler about, which I’m grateful for) but this anthology exceeds that basic fulfillment. Out of all the Sammons and Friends (copyright pending) anthologies I’ve read, this one stands out as one of the best. A rare jewel in a treasure room already overflowing with literary treasures.Like Merlin and King Arthur addressing a league of knights at a round table, the editors not only summon some of the best writers in the genre, but get some of the best stories out of those writers I’ve seen. To continue the Arthurian comparisons, the editors pull the ‘sword from the stone’ with this one, wielding a razor sharp conglomeration of stories that will decapitate your expectations. I only lay on the hyperbole because it’s true – this is one of the best Lovecraftian anthologies available, its only weakness a lack of variety OUTSIDE the cyberpunk genre (if you don’t like this setting you might get bored). The book gives fair warning, advertising near future punk action laced with the Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Don’t expect anything beyond that, but who would want too? I suppose I’m a bit biased because I love the Cyberpunk genre, so if you don’t appreciate what Cyberpunk has to offer, you may want to look elsewhere.Awesome cover art, meticulous editing, and a mouthwatering table of contents guarantee the buyer a buffet table of features and high points that make it worth the money. It almost reads as a BEST OF anthology, with future classics surely among the stories included (I’ll throw in my own postulations on what those stories might be).I feel every story here is five stars, so I’ll focus more on what I liked about the story and if it has potential to become a classic or simply one of the best pieces a said writer put out.“Obsolete, Absolute” by Robert M. Price: This is one of my favorite Price stories and I’m sure that’s why it got first billing in the table of contents. It’s a story of dark discovery, about digging deeper into a mystery and the person designated Ulysses 237 takes us on that weird, cyberpunk journey. Price is on point with his prose and characterization, this story is damn good and keeps you turning page after page. Classic big reveal at the end, and classic Price as far as I’m concerned. Good enough to get reprinted in a Lovecraftian collection like Book of Cthulhu? I’d say yes.“The Place that Cannot Be” by D.L. Snell: Mr. Snell is an author I always welcome seeing in a Cthulhu Mythos anthology table of contents. His story BLOOD BAGS AND TENTACLES from the Cthulhu Unbound series was amazing and he’s been on my radar since. Here we get a cool futuristic underwater city story, and you really can’t go wrong with underwater cities, or you have to work really hard at it (I’m looking at you JAWS 3). Here, Snell doesn’t drop the ball and weaves in a good narrative about a man having strange dreams and dealing with the bizarre life and reality of the underwater city. It’s a top tier story that might not be a genre busting classic but VERY entertaining (Snell always delivers the goods).“The Battle of Arkham” by Peter Rawlik: Half battle epic, half a tale about strange bedfellows, this story is very exciting while giving us a funny and bizarre take on a Mythos infused future war. One of Rawlik’s best short stories, although maybe not as serious in tone (at least towards the end). I found myself grinning and pulled into the action, a good combo that delivers a ‘popcorn film’ flair to this blockbuster sized story. It was a good choice to put after the first two tales, giving the anthology a strong start. I could see this story being reprinted somewhere.“The Worms in The Grid” by Nickolas Cook: I’m not familiar with Cook, at least not prior to this. This was the first story in the anthology that I came across an unfamiliar writer but it didn’t waiver in quality. This tale was CLASSIC cyberpunk with a great plotline involving the legendary Dholes and will satisfy both fans of Cyberpunk and Lovecraft fans who like to see a good Dhole tale every once in a while. Solidly written, solidly presented. This stayed very true to the editors concept for the anthology and was one of the best examples of nailing the theme they were going for. I could see it being reprinted in a straight Cyberpunk anthology."SymbiOS" by William Meikle: This author is a go to guy for me, and that all started by force more than anything else. Willy Meikle (can I call you Willy?) seems to appear everywhere, or at least the table of contents in stuff I read. I eventually gave in and became a fan, and here he cements his place among the classic new age Mythos writers. Here we have a tale of slug things attached to the back of people’s heads – and it’s done in a wonderful Meikle kind of way. It’s creepy and cool and a solid entry to the author’s overall body of work."Playgrounds of Angolaland" by David Conyers: I’m a huge David Conyers fan, and one of the reasons for that is his incredible prose mixed with amazing dialog and characters. Another reason is the Harrison Peel series, which is like Jason Bourne meets the Mythos with a hard ‘R’ rating. Conyers takes what should be pure pulp and elevates it past that with his extreme realism and sharp prose. While reading the Harrison Peel series you get a sense that the Mythos really could invade our world, that it is scientifically possible for it to happen. That alone adds a chilling punch to every story in the series, which already have tons of mind bending horror on display. In “Playgrounds” we actually go to the future of the Harrison Peel universe where a sort of virtual version of Peel exists. It’s more of a bonus story for fans of the Peelverse as it doesn’t have that much to do with the current storyline. But as such, it’s entirely approachable for those that haven’t read the series which is a plus. Conyers paints a very vivid and unique version of what he thinks a cyberpunk future would look like, and I love all the little details he throws in. A cool Easter egg for Peel fans, and an entirely entertaining tale for new initiates. The dinosaur infused ending had me begging for more!"Sonar City" by Sam Stone: “By Zeus’ Lightning Rod!” was a phrase I kept randomly saying around my house for about 24 hours after reading this story. I’ll admit that zapping Cthulhu type entities with cool future weapons tickles my inner fanboy, and Sam Stone simply delivers a fun romp that is designed to be a fun ride, nothing more, nothing less. That may seem like faint praise, but this story is literally a shiny, cool toy you’ll tear out of the box and have fun running around the house with. Terrifying, thoughtful, and action packed, it gave a boost to the momentum of the table of contents and I like its placement within the anthology.“The Blowfly Manifesto” by Tim Curran: I’ll start by saying Tim Curran is a crazy badass of a writer. Anyone who writes a zombie version of THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA has a lifetime pass with me (hint: check out DEAD BAIT 3, and anthology also featuring Cody Goodfellow). Tim goes on crazy mind melting prose over drive, delivering some crazy paragraph long descriptions of Eldritch Horror. Not to mention there is an interesting plot. I’d say the biggest star here is the quality of the writing. I want to show this story to college freshmen who want to be ‘writers’ and watch them cry when they realize they’ll never be that good. Tim out did himself on sheer craftsmanship with this one."Flesh & Scales" by Ran Cartwright: The editors just have straight up fun by providing the next story by Ran Cartwright. It’s a blast of a tale that takes to a very gangster oriented Lovecraftian ‘fish town’ in some warped, surreal future world. For some reason it reminded me of COOL WORLD (the semi-animated film) in its tone, except with a cyberlovecraftian twist! Fun and mind-bending, an entry that adds variety and cleanses the mental palette for the next story."Inlibration" by Michael Tice: "Inlibration" is a very technically written (but beautifully so) Necronomicon story that has some great world building on display, and those technical details (Project Googleberg as an example) flesh out a universe in a precise way that helps the story out. I haven’t read any of Tice’s other fiction so I have no reference to his usual style and if this strays from that. He’s a smart guy and delivers, if nothing else, a smart story. There was a lot of cool ‘future theorizing’ going on, and we see a future where actual paper books are a thing of the past."Hope Abandoned" by Tom Lynch: I recently read a story by Tom Lynch in Undead & Unbound and was very impressed. I remain impressed with this tale, a little yarn about futuristic cops chasing down a mass murdering psychopath. The story is totally action packed which I loved; futuristic weaponry and super cool future gadgets permeate this cyberpunk rendition of a bleak future New York. A cop leads a team on a suicide mission with the intent of catching the bad guy at all costs – and some very high, Lovecraftian costs are indeed paid. An excellent entry by Tom Lynch, ensuring that I will continue to watch his career.“Immune” by Terrie Leigh Relf: Very interesting Post-Apocalyptic tale where waves of a virus have decimated humanity. It seemed to be a quick read and I was drawn in, the pages gliding by pretty well. The cyberpunk elements were mild in this one but it was such a fantastic character piece I can see why it was included. The author has a fluid style and technique that make the words melt like butter on the page, it was so easy and refreshing to read, very concise. It was wise placing it in the middle of the anthology as it helps add in a very welcomed variety."Real Gone" by David Dunwoody: I’m a HUGE David Dunwoody fan; I’ve read his AMAZING collection from Dark Regions called Dark Entities, I’ve read his stories in anthologies like Undead & Unbound, and I’ve enjoyed seeing him take on eclectic projects like the Dead Bait series. “Real Gone” is a pretty solid cyberpunk tale about dreams being sold and uploaded to a you tube type dream site. I appreciate a good monster messing up puny humans (my inner age is 8 years old) and we get a fun critter (okay, it’s a horrible monstrosity) at the end that messes up human and artificial beings alike.“CL3ANS3” by Carrie Cuinn: This story has a really cool concept about a future where all data has to be organized and that organization is done through a kind of virtual reality (it is cyberpunk after all). Carrie Cuinn does a great job of building a great world of CHARACTERS here, like Orson Scott Card did in Ender’s Game (yeah, the guy’s politics suck but he can write some amazing characters). I bring up ‘Ender’ because there are scenes in the story where the protagonist sits down and interacts with other ‘sorters’ in a kind of cafeteria and it just has this realistic feeling to it. The writing is very solid and when the virtual world starts to become tainted by Eldritch happenings the story delivers.“Dreams of Death” by Lois Gresh: Flotulum (a parasitic mutagen) floats around the Earth transforming the population into grotesque creatures in this tale by author Lois Gresh. Cool, unique, and unexpected, this story breaks things up a bit and keeps your interest by giving you something not yet experienced in the book. A very original take on the Lovecraftian creatures and concepts.“The Gauntlet” by Glynn Owen Barrass and Brian M. Sammons: Oh man, if you like guns and mechs, this one is for you! For full discloser, know I visit the Wikipedia page called 'list of films featuring powered exoskeletons' quite often, and I have a copy of ROBOT JOX that is worn out from constant viewing. It also didn’t hurt that Pacific Rim just came out, just saying! In a tale much more serious than ROBOT JOX, “The Gauntlet” tells us of a future society where the poor parts of society are having a kind of ‘Devil’s night’ type riot where end of the world cultists are destroying the city. A team of mechs is shot down and a surviving mech pilot must survive out in the cityscape. Features an ending and twist that will blow your mind, and these editors turned story writers just crush it with an amazing tale for fans of mechs and cyberpunk alike.“Indifference” by CJ Henderson: This is an author I see quite often and I’ve grown used to his constant domination of many a table of contents. An investigation into the strange happenings of a cyberpunk future is laced with the usual awesome prose and characterization of CJ Henderson. This guy is a pro. Sammons, Barrass, Henderson, and Thomas all close out the book nicely.“Open Minded” by Jeffrey Thomas: The first person (of notoriety) to combine Lovecraftian themes with a cyberpunk future, Jeffrey Thomas, shows everyone how it’s done. Master, meet canvas. You should keep an ‘open mind’ – let Jeffrey Thomas take you into his special future, one he can only create, one that can never be copied. Punktown is an amazing place, and the story that Thomas delivers is more enjoyable if you know about the Punktown universe (that now even has games based on it) but the story would absolutely be suitable for Thomas beginners. I saved this story for last, as the editors intended. A nice cap to an awesome Eldritch experience. Salut!So go out there and get ELDRITCH CHROME. An awesome value for the money, amazing cover art, and a collection of possible future classics. I give this a solid, well-earned 5 stars and I’m still trying to process the awesomeness on display here!Suit up and get yourself to the future.