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A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods
The ongoing fight against the immortal Elder Gods enters the modern age. Magic, mayhem, and murder no longer reign in dusty books discovered in decrepit libraries. Today's monsters can be called be more than uncanny rituals in candlelit basements. Madness lurks on the internet and lives in the locker room. It breeds in the mall and ambushes its victims outside the club.
But those who fight this vast evil have also moved into the modern age. Teenagers from every walk of life use whatever they can to defend our world. Sometimes they win. Sometimes they lose. Sometimes...they give into the temptations of eldritch power.
“Away Game” by Seanan McGuire
“The Icarus Club” by Weston Ochse
“Stormy Monday” by Chesya Burke
“Pickman’s Daughter” by J. C. Koch
“Us and Ours” by Premee Mohamed
“The Art of Dreaming” by Josh Vogt
“Visions of a Dream Witch” by Lucy A. Snyder
“The Tall Ones” by Stephen Ross
“Just Imagine” by Tim Waggoner
“Holding Back” by Lisa Morton
“The Mouth of the Merrimack” by Douglas Wynne
“The Geometry of Dreams” by Wendy N. Wagner
“Being Emily-Claire” by Jonathan Maberry
But those who fight this vast evil have also moved into the modern age. Teenagers from every walk of life use whatever they can to defend our world. Sometimes they win. Sometimes they lose. Sometimes...they give into the temptations of eldritch power.
“Away Game” by Seanan McGuire
“The Icarus Club” by Weston Ochse
“Stormy Monday” by Chesya Burke
“Pickman’s Daughter” by J. C. Koch
“Us and Ours” by Premee Mohamed
“The Art of Dreaming” by Josh Vogt
“Visions of a Dream Witch” by Lucy A. Snyder
“The Tall Ones” by Stephen Ross
“Just Imagine” by Tim Waggoner
“Holding Back” by Lisa Morton
“The Mouth of the Merrimack” by Douglas Wynne
“The Geometry of Dreams” by Wendy N. Wagner
“Being Emily-Claire” by Jonathan Maberry
First published April 1, 2019
About the author
Jennifer Brozek
151 books113 followersJennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of the Never Let Me Sleep, and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her BattleTech tie-in novel, The Nellus Academy Incident, won a Scribe Award. Her editing work has netted her Bram Stoker Award, British Fantasy Award, and Hugo Award nominations. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, and Predator. Jennifer is also the Creative Director of Apocalypse Ink Productions.
Jennifer has been a freelance author and editor for over ten years after leaving her high paying tech job, and she’s never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com.
Jennifer has been a freelance author and editor for over ten years after leaving her high paying tech job, and she’s never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 5, 2019
Though aimed at teenagers, this is a collection that is sure to wow anyone who likes their horror anthologies teeming with tentacles and misshapen things that go bump in the night (or day, or next universe over...) Packed with some of the best authors science fiction, fantasy, and horror have to offer, this collection makes the most of Lovecraft's mythos, to produce some of the best short stories I've read this year.
There's really no stories in here I didn't enjoy in some way - usually an anthology has at least a couple of duds, but for me at least the worst it got was only mild enjoyment. But the good end was really good, so starting at the top:
Being Emily-Claire, by Jonathan Maberry - This story is simple enough to initially fool me into thinking it was aiming for the younger end of the teenage spectrum. Not so! Instead, this absolutely delightful dark and twisty tale of a girl who's all too aware of what's hiding in the shadows knocked my socks off. It's lighthearted, but serious, it showcases a young lady with supreme confidence and ability, and it's completely and utterly satisfying. Absolutely stellar.
Pickman's Daughter, by JC Koch - One of the few to take direct inspiration from Lovecraft, this story hit different notes to most of the collection. Good notes, dark notes, and definitely funny notes. A new author for me, one I'll be following with interest.
Us and Ours, by Premee Mohamed - I'm not sure I can be objective enough to know this is a good story; it hit every note I personally like, so of course I thought it was fantastic. But bringing the Elder Gods into conflict with the Even Elder Than That Gods was, in my opinion, a stroke of genius. And an incredibly enjoyable story to boot.
Anthologies like this make me glad I'm not the only one who thought the idea of the Mythos was great, because I just cannot get into the actual writing of HP Lovecraft no matter how hard I try. But as long as there are writers of this calibre making collections like this, I'll never need to.
There's really no stories in here I didn't enjoy in some way - usually an anthology has at least a couple of duds, but for me at least the worst it got was only mild enjoyment. But the good end was really good, so starting at the top:
Being Emily-Claire, by Jonathan Maberry - This story is simple enough to initially fool me into thinking it was aiming for the younger end of the teenage spectrum. Not so! Instead, this absolutely delightful dark and twisty tale of a girl who's all too aware of what's hiding in the shadows knocked my socks off. It's lighthearted, but serious, it showcases a young lady with supreme confidence and ability, and it's completely and utterly satisfying. Absolutely stellar.
Pickman's Daughter, by JC Koch - One of the few to take direct inspiration from Lovecraft, this story hit different notes to most of the collection. Good notes, dark notes, and definitely funny notes. A new author for me, one I'll be following with interest.
Us and Ours, by Premee Mohamed - I'm not sure I can be objective enough to know this is a good story; it hit every note I personally like, so of course I thought it was fantastic. But bringing the Elder Gods into conflict with the Even Elder Than That Gods was, in my opinion, a stroke of genius. And an incredibly enjoyable story to boot.
Anthologies like this make me glad I'm not the only one who thought the idea of the Mythos was great, because I just cannot get into the actual writing of HP Lovecraft no matter how hard I try. But as long as there are writers of this calibre making collections like this, I'll never need to.
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November 29, 2020Read for BFS Short Fiction Anthology Award category.
October 30, 2020
Count on Seanan McGuire to use cliches and make desperate--but weak--attempts to overcompensate for boredom and poor pacing with stuff like "the way the walls joined together was just... wrong" (approximate quote). Never mind.
February 15, 2020
If you want a YA short fiction anthology full of monster punching, look no further! I became excited when I flipped through the table of contents, and I was not disappointed.
“Away Game” by Seanan McGuire is fun, and I love the eldritch cheer squad way more that the events of the story. I would read more about these girls. “Pickman's Daughter” by J. C. Koch is full of fun monsters punishing the banality of high school. “Us and Ours” by Premee Mohamed shows a great friend relationship, and it’s easy to get excited to see what they do next. We can smell the fecund fetor of the swamp in “Visions of the Dream Witch” by Lucy A. Snyder. “The Geometry of Dreams” by Wendy N. Wagner has some fantastically constructed characters building a found family.
“Away Game” by Seanan McGuire is fun, and I love the eldritch cheer squad way more that the events of the story. I would read more about these girls. “Pickman's Daughter” by J. C. Koch is full of fun monsters punishing the banality of high school. “Us and Ours” by Premee Mohamed shows a great friend relationship, and it’s easy to get excited to see what they do next. We can smell the fecund fetor of the swamp in “Visions of the Dream Witch” by Lucy A. Snyder. “The Geometry of Dreams” by Wendy N. Wagner has some fantastically constructed characters building a found family.
June 19, 2019
Like any short story collection, some are better than others but none are awful and more than a couple are fantastic.
October 5, 2021
Because we do love Lovecraftiana, we really enjoyed this anthology of short stories about teenagers confronting (or joining) the Lovecraftian/Derelithian Elder Gods.
We were particularly taken with “Away Game” by Seanan McGuire and “Holding Back” by Lisa Morton. Both of these stories seamlessly pulled in cosmic horror and warped it through the lens of teenage dynamics.
Although we have hit one or two stories that were less than stellar, the majority are solid and very entertaining reads. We highly recommend this one. We got ours through its Kickstarter campaign, but it now available everywhere.
We were particularly taken with “Away Game” by Seanan McGuire and “Holding Back” by Lisa Morton. Both of these stories seamlessly pulled in cosmic horror and warped it through the lens of teenage dynamics.
Although we have hit one or two stories that were less than stellar, the majority are solid and very entertaining reads. We highly recommend this one. We got ours through its Kickstarter campaign, but it now available everywhere.
March 24, 2022
This has Away Game by Seanan Mcguire, and I will never not love her cheerleader stories. "The Art of Dreaming" by Josh Vogt is the best kind of creepy. "Being Emily Clare" by Jonathan Mayberry made me go look at his other books; sadly, none of them seem to be at all similar (possibly interesting, but not like this); the story is a strange mix of cute and creepy. "The Art of Dreams" by Wendy N. Wagner was solid and made me wish there were more to the story.
The others were a mixed bag--none terrible, but none that particularly stood out for me.
The book as a whole is entertaining, but not earthshaking.
The others were a mixed bag--none terrible, but none that particularly stood out for me.
The book as a whole is entertaining, but not earthshaking.
July 6, 2019
Really solid collection of shorts focused on a central theme of YA + hunter/hunted + Cthullu mythos. Some well-known authors contributed to the anthology so the overall quality is way above average. Nice mix of different themes and directions. Good eclectic mix of content. As in most cases, some stories were well above the level of others, but overall a worthy collection.
November 10, 2021
Okay, best as I understand it, the editor asked authors to take Lovecraft's idea of opening one's Mythos to other author's interpretations. Here well-known authors were presented with this background and asked to use savvy teens as the protagonists. I loved pretty much all the stories! Just short of total horror for my wimpy tastes.
November 9, 2019
Shades of H.P. Lovecraft, oh my. If you like that sort of thing.
February 1, 2021
Fabulous book, many exciting stories, I got it for Seanan McGuire but loved the rest
March 28, 2022
“Away Game” by Seanan McGuire
January 2, 2022
My favorites were Away Game, The Icarus Club, Pickman's Daughter, The Art of Dreaming, and Being Emily-Claire.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews