I didn’t know what to expect from this book, I selected it because of the narrator. But I was almost instantly hooked. The book is a frame story with a triptych of shorter narratives within. These brought in elements from history (which were accurate) and spun them in original ways. For example the second story the one that takes place in eastern Europe, the Scholomance figures. I remember reading Dracula, and the Scholomance is mentioned twice in Bram Stoker’s book, but I remembered it only from World of Warcraft. There’s quite a bit about it on the internet and I was delighted to learn something about the folklore the author borrowed for his story. I love little bits of historical accuracy in period books, and this had plenty. In the third story, the whole history of Danvers State Hospital is detailed. All of it was historically accurate and also fit nicely into the narrative. This doesn’t do justice to the little bits of history and literature. Like Dan Brown, the author is a polymath. It’s like the Call of Cthulhu meets The DaVinci Code.
The book is a winner. I don’t tend to like Lovecraft pastiche because nobody can even hold a candle to the master (except for Robert Bloch, perhaps), but Talley comes close enough for horseshoes. The idiom is antiquated, which is to say, it sounds like it might have been written in the 19th or early 20th Centuries. So it’s not the kind of modern language you find in most books. That won’t appeal to everyone, but I liked it; it gave a sense of mood and set the action firmly in time.
David Stifel’s narration is excellent, his accents have authenticity and his characters are multidimensional. I always understood what the characters were feeling even if it wasn’t explicit in the words. He knows the secret of how to make characters live.
The frame story borrows heavily on the classic Call of Cthulhu, and I resisted that for a bit until the author AGAIN put a new spin on it. Impressive writing indeed.
The horror is cosmic and I felt that several times during the book–especially during the Captain’s story–being lost in a cosmic sea. This book really cooks and I’m going to listen to it again I’m sure. I’m also going to get the sequel. If you like Lovecraftian horror you will love this book–I think if you’re a Lovecraft purist you might not; maybe not right away, but there’s a lot here that transcends the Mythos, that draws on threads of ancient world history. It’s extremely satisfying.