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Singers of Strange Songs: A Celebration of Brian Lumley
Most readers acknowledge Brian Lumley as the superstar of British horror writers. With the great popularity of his Necroscope series, he is one of the best known horror authors in the world. Devoted fans know that his roots are deep in the Cthulhu Mythos, with which most of his early work deals. This volume contains eleven new tales in that vein, as well as three reprints of excellent but little-known stories by Mr. Lumley.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 1997
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March 8, 2026
H.P. Lovecraft inspired Brian Lumley to write his own additions to the Cthulhu Mythos. They started as respectable pastiches, then grew into more adventurous pulp fantasy in which characters actually fight back against the threatening horrors, with some expectation of success.
This is an anthology of stories based on Lumley's stories based on Lovecraft's stories and other writer's stories based on Lumley's Lovecraft stories. Got that?
My main interest was in Lumley's own included stories, two of them and a poem. The book was published in 1997 by Chaosium, Inc. and is out of print. Secondhand copies are available currently for about US$50. I come upon my copy by sheer fortune, years ago. I didn't know it existed, but it popped up while scrolling Thriftbooks for Lumley titles and thus I acquired it in 2018 at much lower cost. It is of great value to me at the moment as I embarked on a publication order Lumley Cthulhu Mythos reading project: the Lumley-written stories on offer here are rarely reprinted.
The Lumley stories first:
Cement Surroundings: 1969; later expanded on to become 1974's The Burrowers Beneath. Lumley's second published story it's a FANTASTIC Lovecraft pastiche chock full of new and old creations, most salient being the race of Chthonians (although I don't recall if they're called that first in this story or the later novel; ground-dwelling monsters with an eons-long plan to destroy humanity and reclaim the planet.) It references At the Mountains of Madness directly.
Spaghetti: 1985, previously only published in Paul Ganley's Weirdbook vol. 21. Another excellent Lumley story and decidedly rare. After reading many of his sword-and-sorcery stories, this one's modern setting was striking. I was impressed with his ability to convey character through stylized dialogue, in the case of a loutish career criminal character of a type I have not seen Lumley write before. A superbly chilling and substantial story, initially light on Mythos ties but diving deep as it progressed.
As for the remaining stories in this collection written by not-Lumley, they are all perfectly okay, nothing mind-blowing but neither were any bad. There is a reasonable variety of styles and topics. I was disappointed that none of them spun off from Lumley's Titus Crow or Dreamlands books; rather they stick strictly to Lovecraft pastiche, with the only Lumley connection being their use of elements he originated, such as Shudde M'ell. The most directly attributable to Lumley's own writing are those making use of The Horror at Oakdeene. Really, these stories could have appeared in any Cthulhu Mythos collection; for two of them, I can't even identify what Lumley-originated material made it in.
Would asking for stories stemming from a love of Lumley's further creations be too much to ask? There may have been copyright restrictions (but direct Cthulhu Mythos material is fair game?) or maybe it was only the intended audience; Chaosium published a number of similar collections and general Cthulhu Mythos readership seems implied. Maybe I'll have to dabble in my own fanfiction some day.
I very much like this illustration of Lumley surrounded by highlights from his Mythos adventures:
This is an anthology of stories based on Lumley's stories based on Lovecraft's stories and other writer's stories based on Lumley's Lovecraft stories. Got that?
My main interest was in Lumley's own included stories, two of them and a poem. The book was published in 1997 by Chaosium, Inc. and is out of print. Secondhand copies are available currently for about US$50. I come upon my copy by sheer fortune, years ago. I didn't know it existed, but it popped up while scrolling Thriftbooks for Lumley titles and thus I acquired it in 2018 at much lower cost. It is of great value to me at the moment as I embarked on a publication order Lumley Cthulhu Mythos reading project: the Lumley-written stories on offer here are rarely reprinted.
The Lumley stories first:
Cement Surroundings: 1969; later expanded on to become 1974's The Burrowers Beneath. Lumley's second published story it's a FANTASTIC Lovecraft pastiche chock full of new and old creations, most salient being the race of Chthonians (although I don't recall if they're called that first in this story or the later novel; ground-dwelling monsters with an eons-long plan to destroy humanity and reclaim the planet.) It references At the Mountains of Madness directly.
Spaghetti: 1985, previously only published in Paul Ganley's Weirdbook vol. 21. Another excellent Lumley story and decidedly rare. After reading many of his sword-and-sorcery stories, this one's modern setting was striking. I was impressed with his ability to convey character through stylized dialogue, in the case of a loutish career criminal character of a type I have not seen Lumley write before. A superbly chilling and substantial story, initially light on Mythos ties but diving deep as it progressed.
As for the remaining stories in this collection written by not-Lumley, they are all perfectly okay, nothing mind-blowing but neither were any bad. There is a reasonable variety of styles and topics. I was disappointed that none of them spun off from Lumley's Titus Crow or Dreamlands books; rather they stick strictly to Lovecraft pastiche, with the only Lumley connection being their use of elements he originated, such as Shudde M'ell. The most directly attributable to Lumley's own writing are those making use of The Horror at Oakdeene. Really, these stories could have appeared in any Cthulhu Mythos collection; for two of them, I can't even identify what Lumley-originated material made it in.
Would asking for stories stemming from a love of Lumley's further creations be too much to ask? There may have been copyright restrictions (but direct Cthulhu Mythos material is fair game?) or maybe it was only the intended audience; Chaosium published a number of similar collections and general Cthulhu Mythos readership seems implied. Maybe I'll have to dabble in my own fanfiction some day.
I very much like this illustration of Lumley surrounded by highlights from his Mythos adventures:
March 6, 2014
To begin with, I am not unfamiliar with the works of Brian Lumley--the covers of his TOR published Necroscope series literally grinned at me as I shelved them in the then-employment of a Cleveland-based bookstore. Being a person who likes weird fiction--especially HPL & C.A. Smith--& also likes modern-horror, I gave Lumley's first volume, Necroscope a try. & I absolutely loathed it.
I'll spare you the details, but I found Lumley's writing annoying in it's "playful" punctuation (fans of Lumley know what I'm talking about--the heavy use of colons; sometimes in the same sentence)& the way he would build up a great plot only to rush with blinding speed to a conclusion. He also seemed to be pleased with his melding of Robert Ludlum-like stories with Vampires/Necromancers mixing it up with the CIA & KGB. It may have worked during the Cold War but it falls flat now.
Imagine my surprise when I found out he was a Lovecraft fanatic & wrote lots of early stories within the HPL MYTHOS vein. I am a HUGE fan of HPL & have always searched out stories written by those authors who also worshiped at the altar of HPL--finding their footing within the horror fiction genre through general pastiche. Not many can capture the feel or atmosphere a HPL tale weaves within the reader & I can honestly say Lumley--despite what I feel about his Necroscope drivel--is one of the few who can capture the HPL MYTHOS malignancy with some sense of proper command. It pains me to write this--it really does--because I truly hate Lumley's novels. Others who can achieve this same MYTHOS quality are Ramsey Campbell & Robert Bloch who were actually correspondents with Lovecraft in their early days of youth--trying to find their voices within a genre they shared with their mentor.
This collection of "HPL pastiche" is really a tribute to one of Lovecraft's acolytes who has somehow by some miracle become one of the most celebrated writers of MYTHOS fiction. He has been put on the shelf next to Campbell & Bloch as one of the continuing contributors to the Lovecraft cannon. So, in summation, this book is a collection of tributes of story imitation by writers to a writer who has paying tribute to his idol by imitating his genre. A Moebius Strip if there ever was one.
But is it worth it. Simple answer: Yes.
Lumley's two stories stand out--Cement Surroundings & Spaghetti--& are deeply rooted in the HPL vein. Both deal with Lumley's answer to HPL's Deep Ones: The Burrowers Beneath. While HPL has a huge population of aquatic Cthulhu-worshiping creatures that dwell in submarine cities, Lumley answered with underground dwellers in the earth--hinting that they too had massive cities in which they lived. These two tales are a reason to pick up this book.
But there are other reasons as well: Where I Go, Mi-Go, Shudder Wyrm, Not to Force the Rhymes, A Forty Share in Innsmouth. These are good stories that entertain--evoking Lumley's creations & swirling them into HPL's--& help pass the time when looking for entertainment. They are not ground-shaking by any means &, sometimes, teeter on the edge of being above average. But in the end, it is Lumley who has the better grasp on how to execute a HPL-style tale. I could see someone finding Cement Surroundings on a pile of HPL unpublished manuscripts that he never got around to revisiting for another draft.
That's as big of a compliment I can give, Mr. Lumley.
I'll spare you the details, but I found Lumley's writing annoying in it's "playful" punctuation (fans of Lumley know what I'm talking about--the heavy use of colons; sometimes in the same sentence)& the way he would build up a great plot only to rush with blinding speed to a conclusion. He also seemed to be pleased with his melding of Robert Ludlum-like stories with Vampires/Necromancers mixing it up with the CIA & KGB. It may have worked during the Cold War but it falls flat now.
Imagine my surprise when I found out he was a Lovecraft fanatic & wrote lots of early stories within the HPL MYTHOS vein. I am a HUGE fan of HPL & have always searched out stories written by those authors who also worshiped at the altar of HPL--finding their footing within the horror fiction genre through general pastiche. Not many can capture the feel or atmosphere a HPL tale weaves within the reader & I can honestly say Lumley--despite what I feel about his Necroscope drivel--is one of the few who can capture the HPL MYTHOS malignancy with some sense of proper command. It pains me to write this--it really does--because I truly hate Lumley's novels. Others who can achieve this same MYTHOS quality are Ramsey Campbell & Robert Bloch who were actually correspondents with Lovecraft in their early days of youth--trying to find their voices within a genre they shared with their mentor.
This collection of "HPL pastiche" is really a tribute to one of Lovecraft's acolytes who has somehow by some miracle become one of the most celebrated writers of MYTHOS fiction. He has been put on the shelf next to Campbell & Bloch as one of the continuing contributors to the Lovecraft cannon. So, in summation, this book is a collection of tributes of story imitation by writers to a writer who has paying tribute to his idol by imitating his genre. A Moebius Strip if there ever was one.
But is it worth it. Simple answer: Yes.
Lumley's two stories stand out--Cement Surroundings & Spaghetti--& are deeply rooted in the HPL vein. Both deal with Lumley's answer to HPL's Deep Ones: The Burrowers Beneath. While HPL has a huge population of aquatic Cthulhu-worshiping creatures that dwell in submarine cities, Lumley answered with underground dwellers in the earth--hinting that they too had massive cities in which they lived. These two tales are a reason to pick up this book.
But there are other reasons as well: Where I Go, Mi-Go, Shudder Wyrm, Not to Force the Rhymes, A Forty Share in Innsmouth. These are good stories that entertain--evoking Lumley's creations & swirling them into HPL's--& help pass the time when looking for entertainment. They are not ground-shaking by any means &, sometimes, teeter on the edge of being above average. But in the end, it is Lumley who has the better grasp on how to execute a HPL-style tale. I could see someone finding Cement Surroundings on a pile of HPL unpublished manuscripts that he never got around to revisiting for another draft.
That's as big of a compliment I can give, Mr. Lumley.
February 8, 2018
This is the fourth book I´ve read from Chaosium Fiction and by far, very far, the best. I´ll write short impressions I´ve got from the tales:
Lumley´s "Cement Surroundings" - Great story. Really a incredible addition to the Mythos. This is canon.
D´Ammassa´s "Bad Soil" - Quite good, unfortunately the protagonist has exactly the right job at the right time - deus ex machina. A pity.
Burleson´s "The Temple of Yig" - Another great story, another great addition to the Mythos. Great pace.
Adams´s "Not to Force the Rhymes" - This one was at first also great, offering a very interesting view of an asylum and of the 70´s, but the climax is terrible. The link he made with a historical character (I won´t tell which) was so bad, so poor... But it was very good until that. A shame, it could have been great.
Jens´ "In His Daughter's Darkling Womb" - This story is still good, but the first that reminds me of other books from the collection. The idea is fine, and there are some great moments, but it seem the writer wanted to create a version of Rosemary´s Baby, and the lack of criativity made the story a bit cliched. Another one that, with a little more care, could have been great.
Smith´s "The Reliable Vacuum Company" - A funny story related to Ithaqua, but still good, nonetheless. A bit silly, but that was welcomed.
Tynes´ "The Nullity of Choice" - The weaskest until now, but still good. Curious thing: this story uses some characters from "Not to Force the Rhymes", in a similar set, but a bit different - instead of Jack Baker is George Baker, a character that survives in one story is killed in another... Completely nonsensical.
Gresh´ "Where I Go, Mi-Go" - The bliss is over. This story is terrible, one of the worst things I ever read. The writer tried to cram everything she read about the Mythos in one short story and the result is a disaster. Not only: the characters are terribly constructed, and she is not a good writer at all. Short paragraphs, no pace, no rythm, no setting. Terrible. A mess.
Nicoll´ "Subway Accident" - Ok, back to the track. This is a fine short story. Nothing amazing, but after the last one, this one was a pleasure to read.
Adams & Smith´s "The High Rollers" - A fine story. I should note that many stories here, like this one, doesn´t seem to me really a tribute to Brian Lumley, but to the Mythos in general. They don´t tell about something created by Lumley, but by Lovecraft or some other writer.
Henderson´s "A Forty Share in Innsmouth" - Nice idea, average story.
Rainey´s "Shudder Wyrm" - Basically the same monster of "Bad Soil", but this story is a little superior. A good tale.
Lumley´s "Spaghetti" - Another good story, Lumley is a very talented writer. Quite disgusting.
I´m quite amazed - eleven good stories (one average and just one terrible)! That´s amazing! I´m very glad I bought this book.
Lumley´s "Cement Surroundings" - Great story. Really a incredible addition to the Mythos. This is canon.
D´Ammassa´s "Bad Soil" - Quite good, unfortunately the protagonist has exactly the right job at the right time - deus ex machina. A pity.
Burleson´s "The Temple of Yig" - Another great story, another great addition to the Mythos. Great pace.
Adams´s "Not to Force the Rhymes" - This one was at first also great, offering a very interesting view of an asylum and of the 70´s, but the climax is terrible. The link he made with a historical character (I won´t tell which) was so bad, so poor... But it was very good until that. A shame, it could have been great.
Jens´ "In His Daughter's Darkling Womb" - This story is still good, but the first that reminds me of other books from the collection. The idea is fine, and there are some great moments, but it seem the writer wanted to create a version of Rosemary´s Baby, and the lack of criativity made the story a bit cliched. Another one that, with a little more care, could have been great.
Smith´s "The Reliable Vacuum Company" - A funny story related to Ithaqua, but still good, nonetheless. A bit silly, but that was welcomed.
Tynes´ "The Nullity of Choice" - The weaskest until now, but still good. Curious thing: this story uses some characters from "Not to Force the Rhymes", in a similar set, but a bit different - instead of Jack Baker is George Baker, a character that survives in one story is killed in another... Completely nonsensical.
Gresh´ "Where I Go, Mi-Go" - The bliss is over. This story is terrible, one of the worst things I ever read. The writer tried to cram everything she read about the Mythos in one short story and the result is a disaster. Not only: the characters are terribly constructed, and she is not a good writer at all. Short paragraphs, no pace, no rythm, no setting. Terrible. A mess.
Nicoll´ "Subway Accident" - Ok, back to the track. This is a fine short story. Nothing amazing, but after the last one, this one was a pleasure to read.
Adams & Smith´s "The High Rollers" - A fine story. I should note that many stories here, like this one, doesn´t seem to me really a tribute to Brian Lumley, but to the Mythos in general. They don´t tell about something created by Lumley, but by Lovecraft or some other writer.
Henderson´s "A Forty Share in Innsmouth" - Nice idea, average story.
Rainey´s "Shudder Wyrm" - Basically the same monster of "Bad Soil", but this story is a little superior. A good tale.
Lumley´s "Spaghetti" - Another good story, Lumley is a very talented writer. Quite disgusting.
I´m quite amazed - eleven good stories (one average and just one terrible)! That´s amazing! I´m very glad I bought this book.
August 26, 2022
This tribute to Brian Lumley manages a better hit/miss ratio than some of his shakier collections. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...
June 29, 2008
As I am ever so fond of saying, when you read an anthology, you're reading a mixed bag. What one person may think is a great story may not be so true for another. With that in mind, I thought overall, it was okay; not on the whole as good as some of the CofC collections I've read. I love Brian Lumley's work, and so I was quite eager to read this one.
Here's the contents list; a * marks a story I really enjoyed:
1."City out of time," by Brian Lumley: a well-known poem about the whole Cthulhu thing
2. "Cement Surroundings," * by Brian Lumley: very well done story about the coming of some of the worse bad things as told by seismic activity
3. "Bad Soil," * by Don D'Ammassa: dead & rotting soil brings down parts of a town and some of its inhabitants, but the cause is scarier than its effects.
4. " The Temple of Yig," * by Donald R. Burleson: This one reminded me of Bradbury's "Something Wicked this Way Comes," a wee bit. The action takes place at a bizarre carnival -- and the exhibits go way beyond the worst freak show you can imagine. Very nice story.
5. "Not to Force the Rhymes,"* by Benjamin Adams: This one was pretty good -- A nurse at Oakdeene Sanitorium is told not to deal with a certain patient, and finds out in good time why. I liked this one.
6. "In His Daughter's Darkling Womb," by Tina L. Jens: This one I didn't care for much -- it seems that some scientists are studying a bizzare "octopoid," with some pretty serious (and kind of silly) consequences. Not up there as far as I'm concerned.
7. "The Reliable Vacuum Company," by James Robert Smith: A man decides to buy his wife a vacuum for Christmas (this should have been my first clue that something was wrong with this story) -- and ends up having dealings with the thing often called Ithaqua. I could pass on this one as well.
8. "The Nullity of Choice," * by John Tynes: Another one set in the area of Oakdeene -- and featuring the Lord Yib-Tstll.
9. "Where I go, Mi-go," * by Lois H. Gresh: I've read this one before (sorry, I can't recall where) -- featuring the last of a family line who hasn't been told the secrets of her family's past much to her detriment. Very well done.
10. "Subway Accident," by Gregory Nicoll: Very short story about what happens when a man ignores the "danger, do not enter" signs at an excavation. Okay.
11. "The High Rollers,"* by Benjamin Adams and James Robert Smith -- A hotel/casino in Innsmouth is plagued with curses because its owner will not sell to an Innsmouth-based company. Very very well done; one of my favorites in the book.
12. "A Forty Share in Innsmouth," by CJ Henderson -- another one I've read somewhere, and not my favorite by Henderson. What some people won't do for higher ratings, featuring an appearance by Bugg-Shash.
13. "Shudder Wyrm,"* by Stephen Mark Rainey -- Rainey is one of my favorite authors and he's written a very cool story here about the unleashing of horrific beasts. Very good.
14. "Spaghetti," * by Brian Lumley -- Excellent story about the forces unleashed because of the greed of a man's grandson.
Overall, an okay collection; I am pleased to have it in my collection.
Here's the contents list; a * marks a story I really enjoyed:
1."City out of time," by Brian Lumley: a well-known poem about the whole Cthulhu thing
2. "Cement Surroundings," * by Brian Lumley: very well done story about the coming of some of the worse bad things as told by seismic activity
3. "Bad Soil," * by Don D'Ammassa: dead & rotting soil brings down parts of a town and some of its inhabitants, but the cause is scarier than its effects.
4. " The Temple of Yig," * by Donald R. Burleson: This one reminded me of Bradbury's "Something Wicked this Way Comes," a wee bit. The action takes place at a bizarre carnival -- and the exhibits go way beyond the worst freak show you can imagine. Very nice story.
5. "Not to Force the Rhymes,"* by Benjamin Adams: This one was pretty good -- A nurse at Oakdeene Sanitorium is told not to deal with a certain patient, and finds out in good time why. I liked this one.
6. "In His Daughter's Darkling Womb," by Tina L. Jens: This one I didn't care for much -- it seems that some scientists are studying a bizzare "octopoid," with some pretty serious (and kind of silly) consequences. Not up there as far as I'm concerned.
7. "The Reliable Vacuum Company," by James Robert Smith: A man decides to buy his wife a vacuum for Christmas (this should have been my first clue that something was wrong with this story) -- and ends up having dealings with the thing often called Ithaqua. I could pass on this one as well.
8. "The Nullity of Choice," * by John Tynes: Another one set in the area of Oakdeene -- and featuring the Lord Yib-Tstll.
9. "Where I go, Mi-go," * by Lois H. Gresh: I've read this one before (sorry, I can't recall where) -- featuring the last of a family line who hasn't been told the secrets of her family's past much to her detriment. Very well done.
10. "Subway Accident," by Gregory Nicoll: Very short story about what happens when a man ignores the "danger, do not enter" signs at an excavation. Okay.
11. "The High Rollers,"* by Benjamin Adams and James Robert Smith -- A hotel/casino in Innsmouth is plagued with curses because its owner will not sell to an Innsmouth-based company. Very very well done; one of my favorites in the book.
12. "A Forty Share in Innsmouth," by CJ Henderson -- another one I've read somewhere, and not my favorite by Henderson. What some people won't do for higher ratings, featuring an appearance by Bugg-Shash.
13. "Shudder Wyrm,"* by Stephen Mark Rainey -- Rainey is one of my favorite authors and he's written a very cool story here about the unleashing of horrific beasts. Very good.
14. "Spaghetti," * by Brian Lumley -- Excellent story about the forces unleashed because of the greed of a man's grandson.
Overall, an okay collection; I am pleased to have it in my collection.
June 6, 2015
This is another out of the Chaosium Mythos range - where rare and lesser published works relating to the Cthulhu Mythos see the light of day again, The problem or if you prefer the strength of this series is the fact that they are focus on the rare and unusual - now for some stories it maybe that they are no in favour or suit an anthology, especially when the author in question has a large number of titles to choose from - however for some authors that means that their words are repeated and repeated in different combinations and formats but are essentially the same. And that is what I feel is much the case with Brian Lumley- he has some amazing mythos stories to share and some of them are truly brilliant but there are also a lot of stories which, to be honest have every right to be over looked - and sadly this book has it share of them too. Now I am a HUGE fan of Brian Lumley and I will put my hand up and admit that (within my budget, as some of his work is astronomically expensive) I will buy and read any work he puts out.
April 15, 2015
A must have for fans of Brian Lumley and the greater Cthulhu Mythos.
A bit uneven (as all the Chaosium Cycle anthologies are) but overall excellent. Notably fewer typos and editing mistakes than in some of the other Cycle books.
One of the better collections I've read in the series- highly recommended.
A bit uneven (as all the Chaosium Cycle anthologies are) but overall excellent. Notably fewer typos and editing mistakes than in some of the other Cycle books.
One of the better collections I've read in the series- highly recommended.
May 2, 2015
The Lumley stories are 5 star. The rest is 1 star. This seems to be pretty common with these collections. I do not think I will get anymore of them. On the plus side, I will now go out and buy some Brian Lumley collections.
February 2, 2017
Fun stuff. "Spaghetti" is nasty. Gotta love those Cthonians...
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