‘I, Cthulhu, or, What’s a Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing in a Sunken City Like This(Latitude 47° 9’S, Longitude 126°43′ W)?’ Book Review

Mount Readmore Book Review, 2018 15/200

I, Cthulhu, or, What’s a Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing in a Sunken City Like This(Latitude 47° 9’S, Longitude 126°43′ W)? By Neil Gaiman

Tor.com Short Story Edition

Finished on 12/26/2017

Goodreads

Description: Neil Gaiman’s contribution to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Lovecraft, Cthulhu Mythos

Cthulhu Narrates a Short Story.

Spoiler-tastic review

Cthulhu narrates a short story by Neil Gaiman. Talking about his origins in a rather personable style, Cthulhu comes off as a friendly pet owner in his conversations with Whateley the chronicler. We learn about Cthulhu’s birth under the bleeding moon, his wild and crazy younger years with the Yog-Sothoth and Hastur. After a brief interlude we discovered that Cthulhu has two deal with encroaching elder gods you want nothing more than to steal his oceans. The wars between elder gods resulted in a barbecue of all the dinosaurs. After a further interlude we learned that Cthulhu has had his head cut off and is now narrating the story from the bottom of the ocean.

In total, this is a rather weird story. If you’re a Lovecraftian aficionado to the nth degree, this short story might seem a little insulting. But for me, a person who knows virtually nothing about the Lovecraftian mythos, this book is fun, using characters I vaguely know in a manner I find intriguing. I might use this as a launching pad to get more interested in the Lovecraft mythos.

Stay Sunny!