That Darn Squid God

by Nick Pollotta, James Clay

In the year 1881, the moon suddenly begins to turn around and reveal its long-hidden darker side to the startled world. While most of Humanity finds the event fascinating, two British explorers know the horrible truth. The rotating moon is the legendary sign that foreshadows the return of a prehistoric demon, the monstrous destroyer of Atlantis, an unkillable colossus known only as the deadly, dreaded Squid God.Racing around the world, and against the clock, Prof. Einstein and Lord Carstairs battle the fanatical legions of Squid God worshippers in a valiant effort to stop the ghastly rebirthing ceremony and keep the demonic mollusk locked in the stygian depths of its unearthly lair. Authors Nick Pollotta & James Clay have lovingly crafted a splendid Fantasy/Adventure, heavily laced with their classic off-the-wall humor, and sprinkled with a light dusting of parody toward the legendary works of H.P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and just about everything else from the golden glory days of Victorian England."Rewrites literary history, remodels London worse than the Blitz, and convinces that it is wise never to deny the supremacy of British womanhood! What more can you ask?" --ANALOG

Genres: Fantasy, Humor, Steampunk, Lovecraftian, Fiction, Horror, Urban Fantasy

292 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Nick Pollotta also writes as Nicholas Pollotta, Jack Hopkins, and house names James Axler and Don Pendleton.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the cult of the Squid God threatens London and the rest of the world, Professor Felix Einstein and young friend Lord Carstairs must save the day!

I bought this not long after it came out in 2004, read it, and let it sit on a shelf for twenty years. In fact, I was surprised to see it survived the many purges of the last 20 years and decided to give it a reread.

Funny stuff. The Victorian setting and explorers Einstein and Carstairs are right up my alley. From the British Museum of Stolen Antiquities to Victorian standards of modesty to artifacts left over from The Troubles, this felt like it was written for me despite me forgetting 99% of it in the last twenty years.

I don't know what else to say without giving away too much. I understood a lot more of the Easter Eggs this time around. I probably enjoyed it much more the second time around.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book defines the term "tongue-in-cheek" and is a solid book of inner chuckles the entire way through. From H. Rider Haggard to HP Lovecraft; from Jules Verne to H.G. Wells; with a brief bit of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Indian Jones thrown in for good measure, this book is an absolutely delightful parody of all Victorian-based stories you can think of. It is a hoot. Do NOT read this expecting something serious...you won't find it. It's as if the authors got together and said "hmmm...whose work can we throw in to keep this story going?" And for a fun read, it definitely works. It was really fun, mostly, to be reading and then catch the "aha" as my inner light of story recognition went on each time there was another element added to the story. Must find more works by this person!

The basic story is this: Professor Felix Einstein, who runs the museum of stolen antiquities in London, has remembered an ancient text he once stole and deciphered which tells that the squid god will be reborn when the moon turns its face around, which is supposed to happen, according to his precise calculations, in about 2 weeks. There have already been signs of an oncoming apocalypse -- earth quakes, tidal waves, rainbow trout swimming in the Dead Sea, you name it. He goes one night to the London Explorers Club to seek help in stopping the rebirth of the squid god before it can rise and claim the world as its own, and runs into another brave member of the Club, Lord Benjamin Carstairs. It doesn't take much to convince Carstairs, especially after Benjamin meets Felix's niece Mary, so the two go off in search of the temple of the squid god. Of course, nothing is easy and they are relentlessly tailed & threatened by the squid god's priests & minions who do not want the rebirth interrupted.

To say that this is funny is an understatement...and it is a GREAT parody of the Cthulhu stories by Lovecraft. There are some really funny moments in here so read carefully so as not to miss a thing. Very good and a great way to spend a few hours of your day.

read: 3/02/2006

[Maia Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a ride and then some. It’s absurd and wonderful. A loving send-up of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, HP Lovecraft, and any other of those historical adventures that take you beyond anything real or rational. Could it have used one more copy edit and proofread before going to print? Absolutely. But that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of this ridiculous and rollicking story. If you can get your hands on a copy, grab it and hang on for the ride.

[Deborah Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too fun!

Recommended to any fan of the slightly ridiculous comedy. Many references to the books of adventure we all grew up with, and a helping of Elder Gods for spice. A thoroughly fun read.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book... especially if you like Cthulhu.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read this as someone gave me it as a present, and whilst a huge fan of HPL and the other writers of the Cthulhu Mythos, I am not so keen on parodies or pastiches unless they are done well. This one is good though still not great. It does capture the flavour of HPL well but is more of a pastiche of Conan Doyle's Challenger adventures or other steampunk writers like Wells. Some of the ideas are very well executed such as the constant references to a previous unpleasantness as "The Troubles" and the consequences of that

On the downside the authors are a little too fond of very weak puns that get in the way of the story at times. Yes I know it seems churlish to complain about silly jokes in what is a silly book but I like even pastiche or parody to maintain an internal consistency

all in all not high art, but then it doesn't claim to be, but a really fun read and there's worse ways to spend a couple of hours

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically an HP Lovecraft pastiche (with some War of the Worlds thrown in for good measure), and while I kind of enjoyed it, I did think it went on far too long. I did love the wives defending the museum while Lord Cartairs and the professor are wandering around, looking for a way to stop the squid god. And in the end? All that wandering was for nothing. Seriously? Not a single thing in the journey was used.

I love the Bureau 13 books, but this book had a feeling of a writer who is either 1) in love with his own perceived cleverness or 2) trying far too hard.

Skip this one and go for Bureau 13.

[S]

Ok, I have to admit that I judged this book by its cover. Not only that, but also I judged it by its title. How could I not? To me, it looked like the literary equivalent of a B movie. And you know what? I could easily see this story being turned into a movie one might find on the SyFy channel. Take that as you will. (Note: I haven't read HP Lovecraft or HG Wells, so any of those references were lost on me.) The book wasn't any better than I expected, though it had some good moments. Still, it's not a book I'd ever pay full price for. If you want to read something silly, this will do the trick

[Elizabeth R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a fine, fun & original book. My copy, at least, however, had a lot of typos in it. Whether it was from an early run and the stock is better now, or whether all the copies have this flaw, I don't know, but it was very distracting, otherwise I would have given it four stars.

Also, you really need to have an appreciation of the genres being spoofed or you won't enjoy it. I'd love to recommend this to a number of people but first they have to catch up on their reading. But that's more a commentary on our culture than on this book.

[Ed Nemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily my favorite book by Nick Pollotta. This book was both fun and full of the quirky sort of humor that makes Nick Pollotta such a great writer. If you see Nick Pollotta (which, unless you live in Chicago, is more rare than Bogfoot sightings), buy the man a slice of pizza, because he nailed it. The perfect combination of fun and sci-fi fun.

[Sim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does worth to its cover, both hilarious.
Its a gentleman story between a few London based explorers on a quest to safe the world.
The story takes place during the Victorian age and the two gentleman involved are the top of the crop.
It makes a great read, was hard to put down, very fast pased, no nonsense action and humor.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Polotta's "Bureau 13" books show signs of being novelized versions of his local RPG group's games. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, "That Darn Squid God" is more of the same, and not as well written.

[Henrik Rostoft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly but fun

[June Swinford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written with a collaborator, according to Amazon, and all I can say is, "Thank goodness." This is far above anything other offering by Pollotta. Very cute, very fun brain candy.

[Glenn Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think you might have to be British to appreciate that this science fiction parody is very funny. It is supposedly very funny. I'm not British.

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Scifi crap in the best sense of the term.

[Micah Lehew · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.P. Lovecraft style fun fantasy

[Michael Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very silly, but I bought it because Phil Foglio is James Clay,and I'm a Foglio fan.