Edward P. Berglund (.ed) – The Disciples of Cthulhu:Second Revised Edition (Chaosium, 1996, 258 p.)
The disciples of Cthulhu are a varied lot. In Mythos stories they are obsessive, loners, dangerous, seeking not to convert others so much as to use them. But writers of the stories are also Cthulhu's disciples, and they are proselytizers, bringing new members to the fold. Published in 1976, the first edition of The Disciples of Cthulhu was the first professional, all-original Cthulhu Mythos anthology. One of the stories. "The Tugging" by Ramsey Campbell was nominated for a Science Fiction Writers of America Nebula Award, perhaps the only Cthulhu Mythos story that has received such recognition. Chaosium is proud to bring this anthology back into print, spreading word of the Mythos to new generations.Content:
Preface to the Revised Edition (1996) - Edward P. Berglund
Preface to the Original Edition (1976) - Edward P. Berglund
Introduction (The Disciples of Cthulhu) (1976) - Robert Bloch
The Fairground Horror (1976) - Brian Lumley
The Silence of Erika Zann (1976) by James Wade
All-Eye (1976) -Bob van Laerhoven
The Tugging (1976) - Ramsey Campbell
Where Yidhra Walks (1976) - Walter C. DeBill, Jr.
Glimpses (1975) - A. A. Attanasio
Dope War of the Black Tong (1976) - Robert M. Price
Darkness, My Name Is (1976) - Eddy C. Bertin
The Terror from the Depths (1976) - Fritz Leiber
Back in 1976 this was a fairly important publication. Done by DAW Books, established paperback publisher of SF and Fantasy, who is still a player, it paved the road for more original Mythos publications with new material outside the speciality press.
This is a revised edition. Editor Berglund had to remove two stories. Joseph Payne Brennan's
The Feaster from Afar and Lin Carter's
Zoth-Ommog. Brennan because of problems with the rights, Carter because series editor Price wanted to do a Carter collection. He exchanged them for Attanasio and the inevitable Price. Both Brennan's and Carter's stories are no immortal classics, but typical by-the-number pastiches. Unfortunately the most interesting you can say about the replacements is that at least one was written in the time of the original. Attanasio was to be included but instead found its way into a Arkam House anthology. Price's story also is from 1976 according to ISFDB, but has a copyright from 1996. Here he tries to channel Robert Howard and Lin Carter by writing a Steve Harrison – Anton Zarnak team-up and fails spectaculary.
As for an introduction to the Mythos Berglund did a good job. Robert Bloch wrote a nice introduction, hinted at a new Mythos novel he was working on, which actually materialized with
Strange Eons, one of his more elusive and expensive books for collectors today, and, being a true professional, reins his personal recollections of the time in.
The stories are a mixed lot. A few are pedestrian pastiches. But it is quite interesting (for me) how much my appreciation changed as I re-read some of them 40 years later. In 1980 there was a translation, and I quite liked the pastiches and was pretty indifferent about the more original stories, which I thought boring and/or pointless. The background and the knowledge was just missing as a reader. So those I didn't like I now appreciate, while the pastiches are unoriginal blah.
Today I think that Lumley's
The Fairground Horror is too derivative of
The Horror in the Museum and
Cold Print, as far as the plot is concerned. Even Leiber's otherwise well-done story, which is a bit of homage to C.A. Smith, has too much Mythos lore incorporated which he ticks off like it was on a list. At least he does this tiresome exposition – which could only baffle readers not familiar with the Mythos - with much more subtlety than Lumley.
On the other side of the spectrum you have Campbell with his long and highly original story, or James Wade with his clever sequel to Lovecraft's
The Music of Erich Zann.Berglund's work holds up. He proves he had quite a vision about the spectrum of Mythos tales; lesser editors would have played it more safe. The Chaosium line is very hit and miss, this is vol.10 already, but this is a nice new edition which hasn't lost its relevance.
