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Titus Crow #4
Spawn of the Winds
Titus Crow and his faithful companion and record-keeper fight the gathering forces of darkness-the infamous and deadly Elder Gods of the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu and his dark minions are bent on ruling the earth. A few puny humans cannot possibly stand against these otherworldly evil gods, yet time after time, Titus Crow drives the monsters back into the dark from whence they came. Spawn of the Winds is the fourth book in the Titus Crow series.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
185 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1978
6 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Brian Lumley
444 books1,353 followersBrian Lumley was born near Newcastle. In 22 years as a Military Policeman he served in many of the Cold War hotspots, including Berlin, as well as Cyprus in partition days. He reached the rank of Sergeant-Major before retiring to Devon to write full-time, and his work was first published in 1970. The vampire series, 'Necroscope', has been translated into ten languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
He was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 28, 2024
It's a product of its time, a men's heroic fantasy of the late 1970s, in which the British author's Texan hero Hank Silberhutte defeats all rivals and forces himself upon his love interest, instantly warming her to his manly forwardness. (I'm only talking about kissing her in the middle of an argument; their mutual attraction was made clear well before this.) It was cringy hearing "squat Eskimos" described as they were, but I didn't sense any malice, and all the original peoples of northern climates the author could think of were given their due.
It's difficult to conceive of this as part of the "Titus Crow" series, a series in which Titus Crow is at no point the main character, since he appears not at all in this book. When I first read it bundled as the second half of Titus Crow, Volume 2: The Clock of Dreams; Spawn of the Winds it was most jarring since this novel takes a complete tangent from the prior books. It fits well into Lumley's oeuvre regardless; it closely follows his story Born of the Winds in The Horror at Oakdeene and Others, and Lumley has made use of Ithaqua to good effect before, so this story should not come as a shock. And as it turns out, it's a delightful book in its own right.
I find that Lumley's writing improved over the decade since he started writing prior to this book. The pacing is solid, the characters are enjoyable, and Hank is much less of a Mary Sue than Titus Crow, despite that he's physically the strongest, well-liked, and has some psychic ability to boot. The first books in this loose series were wonky, but they've found solid footing at this point.
My Paul Ganley hardback edition had a misprint problem, in that half a dozen non-consecutive pages in the middle were not printed! Thank goodness I had a paperbook edition too.
It's difficult to conceive of this as part of the "Titus Crow" series, a series in which Titus Crow is at no point the main character, since he appears not at all in this book. When I first read it bundled as the second half of Titus Crow, Volume 2: The Clock of Dreams; Spawn of the Winds it was most jarring since this novel takes a complete tangent from the prior books. It fits well into Lumley's oeuvre regardless; it closely follows his story Born of the Winds in The Horror at Oakdeene and Others, and Lumley has made use of Ithaqua to good effect before, so this story should not come as a shock. And as it turns out, it's a delightful book in its own right.
I find that Lumley's writing improved over the decade since he started writing prior to this book. The pacing is solid, the characters are enjoyable, and Hank is much less of a Mary Sue than Titus Crow, despite that he's physically the strongest, well-liked, and has some psychic ability to boot. The first books in this loose series were wonky, but they've found solid footing at this point.
My Paul Ganley hardback edition had a misprint problem, in that half a dozen non-consecutive pages in the middle were not printed! Thank goodness I had a paperbook edition too.
September 3, 2016
Well, the submission of my novel, Cthulhu Armageddon for publication has put me in a mood to finish off the Titus Crow series by Brian Lumley. I enjoyed The Burrowers Beneath, The Transition of Titus Crow, and The Clock of Dreams but they did tend to veer from cosmic horror to classic Pulp action. Indeed, the books went completely off the rails, in my opinion, with The Clock of Dreams and only returned to normalcy with this volume.
Spawn of the Winds is the fifth novel in the Titus Crow series which, despite its name, follows a variety of Pulpish heroes through Seventies as they do battle with a variety of Great Old Ones as well as befriend alien but benevolent beings on distant worlds opposed to their works. In the Lumley universe, half-human hybrids tend to be beautiful space babes and Cthulhu is dastardly rather than a force above good or evil. It's a universe where Cthulhu's good brother Kthanid keeps him imprisoned on Earth and the greatest way to fight gigantic blood-sucking worms is water.
They're silly but fun books.
Spawn of the Winds switches from Titus Crow and Henri de Marigny to Silberhutte, a psychic Texan who belongs to the same monster-hunting organization as the previous heroes. Determined to avenge his dead brother, killed by the evil wind elemental Ithaqua, he gathers a group of associates onto a plane to investigate a means to slaying the beast.
Unfortunately for Hank, he and the others are swept through a cosmic tornado created by the Great Old One and deposited on the ice-ridden world of Borea. Narrowly avoiding being added to Ithaqua's bank of inhumanly cold worshipers, they join with the monster's beautiful half-human daughter Armandra to form a resistance. As Hank falls in love with the strange demigoddess, his sister seeks some way to protect them against their monstrous foe and unravels the history of a world in another dimension populated by fellow humans.
Rather than Lovecraft, Lumley seems to be drawing from Edgar Rice Burroughs as Spawn of the Winds reads like an homage to his Barsoom as well as Pellucidar series. For those unfamiliar with the planetary romance genre, it's basically, "Earthman gets transported to fantastic land full of monsters. Earthman befriends local tribe with beautiful woman, Earthman impresses both, and then has to deal with whatever is ailing said tribe at the moment. There will also be an evil traitor in his tribe who is jealous of his newfound rival." Spawn of the Winds follows this formula to the tee. It actually hurts the story to some extent as I was able to predict all of the plot-twists before they happened.
The story also had some uncomfortable traces of the racism present in Burroughs stories. Armandra is a half-Caucasian/half-Great Old One worshiped as a goddess by the Native American and Eskimo-descended tribesmen. Ithaqua prefers only white human females to be his mates, even though he's a frigging alien monster. Oh and our hero is the big burly Texan with only one person of color in his group. Eesh. Despite this, the effect is somewhat mitigated by the fact it's not superior civilization or race which makes Hank their leader but his inborn psychic powers. It is these abilities which impress Armandra and convince her he might be useful in the battle against Ithaqua. Even so, the book's attitudes feel a bit retrograde even from Lumley's other works.
The world-building is the best part of the book. Borea is wonderfully detailed from its culture, religion, climate, to history. Ithaqua is a better antagonist than Great Cthulhu as he's not nearly as powerful as the rest of his fellows, allowing the heroes to pose an actual threat to him. They don't, really, but they can thwart his efforts much better than a world-destroying monster like Yog-Sothoth.
Some may argue Ithaqua is a too humanized monster and, yeah, I agree but he's a fun too humanized monster. My preferred Great Old Ones are above good and evil the same way a storm or an earthquake are rather than the devilish evildoers which seem to populate these pages. Despite this, I like the care and attention Lumley devotes to making Borea come to life.
The book is fun but it's not exactly something which is going to blow anyway away with its originality. If you were a fan of the original books, you may also dislike the switch from the more intellectual Titus and Henri too. Still, I don't regret my purchase and finished reading the series. I will say nothing here approaches the enjoyment factor of the original The Burrowers Beneath. Basically, if you liked the previous books, then this will probably appeal to you. It's also closer closer to the original than the other sequels.
8/10
Spawn of the Winds is the fifth novel in the Titus Crow series which, despite its name, follows a variety of Pulpish heroes through Seventies as they do battle with a variety of Great Old Ones as well as befriend alien but benevolent beings on distant worlds opposed to their works. In the Lumley universe, half-human hybrids tend to be beautiful space babes and Cthulhu is dastardly rather than a force above good or evil. It's a universe where Cthulhu's good brother Kthanid keeps him imprisoned on Earth and the greatest way to fight gigantic blood-sucking worms is water.
They're silly but fun books.
Spawn of the Winds switches from Titus Crow and Henri de Marigny to Silberhutte, a psychic Texan who belongs to the same monster-hunting organization as the previous heroes. Determined to avenge his dead brother, killed by the evil wind elemental Ithaqua, he gathers a group of associates onto a plane to investigate a means to slaying the beast.
Unfortunately for Hank, he and the others are swept through a cosmic tornado created by the Great Old One and deposited on the ice-ridden world of Borea. Narrowly avoiding being added to Ithaqua's bank of inhumanly cold worshipers, they join with the monster's beautiful half-human daughter Armandra to form a resistance. As Hank falls in love with the strange demigoddess, his sister seeks some way to protect them against their monstrous foe and unravels the history of a world in another dimension populated by fellow humans.
Rather than Lovecraft, Lumley seems to be drawing from Edgar Rice Burroughs as Spawn of the Winds reads like an homage to his Barsoom as well as Pellucidar series. For those unfamiliar with the planetary romance genre, it's basically, "Earthman gets transported to fantastic land full of monsters. Earthman befriends local tribe with beautiful woman, Earthman impresses both, and then has to deal with whatever is ailing said tribe at the moment. There will also be an evil traitor in his tribe who is jealous of his newfound rival." Spawn of the Winds follows this formula to the tee. It actually hurts the story to some extent as I was able to predict all of the plot-twists before they happened.
The story also had some uncomfortable traces of the racism present in Burroughs stories. Armandra is a half-Caucasian/half-Great Old One worshiped as a goddess by the Native American and Eskimo-descended tribesmen. Ithaqua prefers only white human females to be his mates, even though he's a frigging alien monster. Oh and our hero is the big burly Texan with only one person of color in his group. Eesh. Despite this, the effect is somewhat mitigated by the fact it's not superior civilization or race which makes Hank their leader but his inborn psychic powers. It is these abilities which impress Armandra and convince her he might be useful in the battle against Ithaqua. Even so, the book's attitudes feel a bit retrograde even from Lumley's other works.
The world-building is the best part of the book. Borea is wonderfully detailed from its culture, religion, climate, to history. Ithaqua is a better antagonist than Great Cthulhu as he's not nearly as powerful as the rest of his fellows, allowing the heroes to pose an actual threat to him. They don't, really, but they can thwart his efforts much better than a world-destroying monster like Yog-Sothoth.
Some may argue Ithaqua is a too humanized monster and, yeah, I agree but he's a fun too humanized monster. My preferred Great Old Ones are above good and evil the same way a storm or an earthquake are rather than the devilish evildoers which seem to populate these pages. Despite this, I like the care and attention Lumley devotes to making Borea come to life.
The book is fun but it's not exactly something which is going to blow anyway away with its originality. If you were a fan of the original books, you may also dislike the switch from the more intellectual Titus and Henri too. Still, I don't regret my purchase and finished reading the series. I will say nothing here approaches the enjoyment factor of the original The Burrowers Beneath. Basically, if you liked the previous books, then this will probably appeal to you. It's also closer closer to the original than the other sequels.
8/10
May 21, 2020
This book begins what appears to be an entirely new arc in the Mythos, introducing us to new characters and a new world and a new Great Old One who is strangely not locked away like the others.
Simon Vance is, as always, an excellent narrator. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. And if somewhat less (accurate to the text) than I'd like, his inflections are skillful.
Although I can't complain about veering away from de Marigny for this book, my main interest in these books (Titus Crow) is also curiously absent.
While I do like Hank as a character, his Texan bluster does get on my nerves.
And to make matters worse, the casual racism and sexism so common in Lumley's books is as strong as ever in this book.
We also see yet more evidence that in Lumley's version of the Mythos universe not only are human-Great Old One hybrids a thing, but they also tend to be the epitome of human beauty with an over reliance on whatever man might be to hand to solve her problems for her.
In addition to Hank, we're introduced to several interesting characters that were fun to get to know, though there seems to be a bit too much telegraphing.
The only points where I failed to predict what was coming were when I thought it must be a red herring as the obviousness of a character's actions defied belief.
That said, there are a number of fun scenarios that play out and I enjoyed the expansion of the paranormal abilities present in the characters.
I will give the author props for the ending though. There were some cool elements and things came together very well. After the last book I wasn't sure that is read any further, but after this one I think I'll finish the series after all.
Simon Vance is, as always, an excellent narrator. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. And if somewhat less (accurate to the text) than I'd like, his inflections are skillful.
Although I can't complain about veering away from de Marigny for this book, my main interest in these books (Titus Crow) is also curiously absent.
While I do like Hank as a character, his Texan bluster does get on my nerves.
And to make matters worse, the casual racism and sexism so common in Lumley's books is as strong as ever in this book.
We also see yet more evidence that in Lumley's version of the Mythos universe not only are human-Great Old One hybrids a thing, but they also tend to be the epitome of human beauty with an over reliance on whatever man might be to hand to solve her problems for her.
In addition to Hank, we're introduced to several interesting characters that were fun to get to know, though there seems to be a bit too much telegraphing.
The only points where I failed to predict what was coming were when I thought it must be a red herring as the obviousness of a character's actions defied belief.
That said, there are a number of fun scenarios that play out and I enjoyed the expansion of the paranormal abilities present in the characters.
I will give the author props for the ending though. There were some cool elements and things came together very well. After the last book I wasn't sure that is read any further, but after this one I think I'll finish the series after all.
September 2, 2021
This one took a decidedly different turn. The tone changed a lot and became a sort of pulp sword-and-sandal story about some members of the Wilmarth Foundation that find themselves transported to the alien world of Borea by Ithaqua the Wind Walker and end up fighting his cult there. Titus Crow and Henri de Marigny aren't even in this book so the only real link to the Titus Crow series is the Foundation itself and the theme about fighting against the Mythosian creatures, so it was strange to me that this is considered part of the Titus Crow series unless the next volume, which is obviously a sequel to this story, includes a meeting between these characters and Titus Crow and his crew. This one's more of a Conan the Barbarian/John Carter of Mars story than a Cthulhu Mythos story in its tone and execution, which was something I was not expecting, especially since our hero Hank Silberthutte's love interest turns out ot be a Borean alien priestess, who is herself the half-human daughter of the Great Old One Ithaqua. Granted, Titus Crow's lover Tiania is established to be descended from Kthanid, Cthulhu's chill twin bro, but since I'm accustomed to the Wilbur Whateleys and that sort of half-Mythosian creature, this was rather unexpected. Let's see what the final volume in the subseries has to offer before I tackle the other series that eventually culminates in the same volume as this one.
August 7, 2016
Spawn of the Winds was written in 1978 and is very much a child of its' era. There are a few thrills that can still be wrung out of it so I'm giving it three stars. Brian Lumley is the king of Lovecraftian pastiches and he usually does a fantastic job of bringing that world to life. However in this novel I think Lumley was still getting his sea legs-it is not anywhere near the high water marks he sets later on in his career. Unless you are absolutely obsessed with Lovecraft, Constant Reader, you can probably pass this one by.
December 18, 2008
I was very young when I read this but was completely obsessed with it. Plays in the Lovecraftian mythos. A bit like an X-Men graphic novel...
January 2, 2025
A Princess of Mars meets August Dereleth
The Titus Crow series is a mixed bag as Titus stops being the main character by the third book and is not even featured in this book. Instead we are reintroduced to Hank Silberhutte this book’s version of John Carter. Hank, his sister, and his friends are transported to an alien world where they face off against Ithaqua, a Great Old One similar to Cthulhu.
The story’s plot has many beats similar to any Burroughs story. Silberhutte forms a brotherhood with a local, he falls in love with a princess, and is betrayed by someone who was definitely going to betray him.
For Lovecraft purists this book does commit the unforgivable sin of having the Eldritch monstrosity be successfully fought off by humans. However, if you made it this far in the series it’s what you come to expect.
I would recommend that you read Lumley’s short story “Born of the Winds” before reading this story as it features similar elements to the book.
The Titus Crow series is a mixed bag as Titus stops being the main character by the third book and is not even featured in this book. Instead we are reintroduced to Hank Silberhutte this book’s version of John Carter. Hank, his sister, and his friends are transported to an alien world where they face off against Ithaqua, a Great Old One similar to Cthulhu.
The story’s plot has many beats similar to any Burroughs story. Silberhutte forms a brotherhood with a local, he falls in love with a princess, and is betrayed by someone who was definitely going to betray him.
For Lovecraft purists this book does commit the unforgivable sin of having the Eldritch monstrosity be successfully fought off by humans. However, if you made it this far in the series it’s what you come to expect.
I would recommend that you read Lumley’s short story “Born of the Winds” before reading this story as it features similar elements to the book.
September 16, 2018
Avventura più che horror, poca atmosfera nonostante faccia parte del ciclo di C'thulhu, e troppi avvenimenti telefonati. Però nel complesso è ben scritto e si lascia leggere.
In appendice alcuni racconti degni di nota, tra cui "I Vendicatori della Stirpe Maledetta" di Genovese, e l'ottima versione partenopea della Guida Galattica per Autostoppisti, dal titolo "Praticamente Innocuo?" che sono stati una bella lettura, di certo con più colpi di sorpresa del romanzo principale.
Tre stelle piene.
In appendice alcuni racconti degni di nota, tra cui "I Vendicatori della Stirpe Maledetta" di Genovese, e l'ottima versione partenopea della Guida Galattica per Autostoppisti, dal titolo "Praticamente Innocuo?" che sono stati una bella lettura, di certo con più colpi di sorpresa del romanzo principale.
Tre stelle piene.
May 21, 2017
I give up! Lumley's take on Lovecraft is an abomination wrapped in the amateur hack writing of an 8th grade boy!
I refuse to waste my life any further reading this shit! When the macho Texan leading man begins making out with the daughter of Ithaqua, the fucking book belongs on a trash heap, or in a fire.
I'm going to read Lovecraft now, to get this awful taste out of my brain.
I refuse to waste my life any further reading this shit! When the macho Texan leading man begins making out with the daughter of Ithaqua, the fucking book belongs on a trash heap, or in a fire.
I'm going to read Lovecraft now, to get this awful taste out of my brain.
September 18, 2017
Had this book for a while and it's been calling for me to read it from the shelf every since I got it. When I finally started it I was surprised to discover it's based on the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, one of my favourite authors.
Loved the book, and the writing, and shall hunt out other books by Brian Lumley in the future.
Loved the book, and the writing, and shall hunt out other books by Brian Lumley in the future.
October 16, 2017
This an OK adventure story, loosely wrapped in a Lovecraftian sort of setting.
The writing style is a tad purple and overblown, but perhaps the author was attempting to follow in Lovecraft's own style.
What really grated was the racism. Even Lovecraft recanted the racism of his earlier works, so there is no excuse for Lumley in that respect.
The writing style is a tad purple and overblown, but perhaps the author was attempting to follow in Lovecraft's own style.
What really grated was the racism. Even Lovecraft recanted the racism of his earlier works, so there is no excuse for Lumley in that respect.
June 24, 2019
Nice action scenes, but very lacking in character development as well as any solid, or physical romantic development. So the characters seem rather flat. The world itself is well described but again does not paint a solid picture. I struggle to say anything else because I don't want to bash the book but I shall not be reading another in this series.
December 16, 2024
Not as good as the first three books comprising the first Cthulhu trilogy from Lumley, but a pretty good lost world adventure story. I miss the cosmic adventures of Crowe, as the snow and ice-covered landscapes of Borea just aren’t that interesting. However, Lumley always nails his endings, and the final battle with Ithaqua and the children of the winds is epic.
July 2, 2019
Che tristezza...
October 2, 2020
Eh, I read it because it was cheap and I had no other fantasy choices...
November 19, 2020
This was better than the first three but Titus Crow is not even mentioned, although it is clearly part of the same story cycle.
March 9, 2017
Finished this entry into the Titus Crow series, this story was more enjoyable than the previous two books in the series and as better than the first book. The storyline had a fantastic build up and realistic characters. This book gets a soild four and a half star rating.
October 12, 2012
As a former resident of Manitoba, I felt a certain kinship to the settings described (COOOOLLLD!), especially to the Canadian placenames with which I am familiar. As an avid fan of the Call of Cthulhu RPG, I felt for the characters' helplessness as Ithaquoa, the main villain laughs off their vain attempts to harm him using Earth technology (Mythos critters are immune to our physics). The loss of sanity experienced by humans in close proximity to Mythos critters wasn't played through, I thought...they should all have been screaming and writhing in mindless horror! It was best in the early chapters when it read more as a horror piece, but then it became a sort of fantasy war setting. It wasn't bad as a fantasy novel, but the feel did definitely change. The use telepathy as a means to account for the recording of the story was inspired. The use of names like "Eskimo" meaning eater of raw meat would not play well in today's PC world (a derogatory Indian word, not an Inuit word in fact), but clearly Lumley is not here to give an anthropological monograph, so it is important to accept names like Oontawa (Ottawa?), and Tacomah (Washington?) at face value, and enjoy the ride. One very amusing note: a character dies outside of Regina, Saskatchewan after her motor vehicle crashes down a steep incline...fans of "Corner Gas" should get a laugh out of THAT lack of continuity...flatter than a board, my friend! I suppose there ARE river banks, though...A great, fast read! I must read more of Lumley.
September 6, 2015
Fegato: ne serve parecchio, anche solo per immaginare di poter seguire le tracce di Lovecraft. Ma se la natura ti ha favorito, buttati senza rete e fai rivivere i miti di Cthulhu. Prima o poi, però, casca l'asino perché H.P. era davvero inimitabile: manca, ad esempio, quella cappa di ineluttabilità del male che avvolge tutto. Restano la grandiosità delle scene di battaglia e un finale inquietante.
March 13, 2016
I didn't care for this story as much as the others in this series. It takes place in another space and time on the planet of Borea where Hank Silberhutte and his crew, plus his stowaway sister, end up after being kidnapped by the Windwalker, and elder god, Ithaqua. A great battle takes place between Ithaqua and his daughter, Armandra, who Hank has fallen in love with and married. Borea is a frozen wasteland because that's the kind of place Ithaqua like to hang in.
March 9, 2008
Turning a horror setting into a fantasy adventure setting can work in some stories. This isn't one of them.
November 20, 2014
A good lovecraftian story.
November 7, 2011
An interesting read. Very graphic descriptions helped to bring the imagery to life
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews