Mad Moon of Dreams

New Adventures in H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands #3

by Brian Lumley, Dave Carson (Illustrator)

First edition, First printing. Book is in Near Fine condition. Boards are clean, not bumped. Fore edges have the tiniest bit of shelf wear. Interior is clean and legible. Not remaindered. Dust Jacket is in Near Fine condition. Not chipped or crinkled. Not price clipped. Dust Jacket is covered by Mylar Brodart. Thanks and Enjoy. All-Ways well boxed, All-Ways fast service. Thanks.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Cthulhu Mythos, Fiction, Sword and Sorcery, Audiobook, Weird Fiction

190 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Brian 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.

Reviews

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glorious, action-packed, heroic ending to a joyful trilogy, pitting Hero of Dreams and Eldin the Wanderer and stalwart friends against all the forces of evil the Dreamlands could muster: past foes Zura, Mistress of the Dead, and Lathi the Eidolon, insectoid queen of termite-men, joined together with the turbaned, loathsome Lengites, assisted by the scabrous Dukes of Ishtaria, all under the sway of Mnomquah, the Cthulhoid beast imprisoned within the Dreamlands' moon.

Lumley's writing has definitely improved since he began writing heroic horror-fantasy with The Burrowers Beneath, and his Dreamlands series is vastly more enjoyable than the Titus Crow books they are an offshoot of. This book contains the perfect amount of purple prose, channeling thrills and wonder without going off the rails.

The story's main threat is made known right off the bat, with David and Eldin musing about the meaning of the moon looming larger each consecutive night, its sickly radiance causing anxiety and restlessness among all exposed to it. They are immediately called into action by Dream's most prominent leader, Lovecraft's own Randolph Carter, as only the questing pair's skills stand a chance of countering impending doom. The adventure that follows is endless, with airships galore, loyal night gaunts, swordwork aplenty, lithe maidens (not without some standout "man writing women" segments to shake your head at), polypous beasts, terrifying magic, and more.

I kind of love the adventuring pair's fate at the end of things, tragic and melancholy.

Yes, it's pulpy and somewhat ridiculous, but no one writes old-school sword-and-sorcery swashbuckling adventure like this any more. Lumley transcended the Cthulhu Mythos style he originally adopted, then adapted through his heroic protagonists, and perfected in this Dreams series, just in time before he pivoted full-time to original horror with his Necroscope series. It's a rare treat to discover that these books held just as much joy for me as when I first discovered them many years ago.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so we move on to the third instalment in the Dreamland series (and although there are actually 4 books) this feels like its the culmination of a much larger story arch (although unless I totally missed it there was no reference to events in this book in either of the first two volumes.

So what do we have - well without breaking my own rules over spoilers you have the return of previous characters both good and bad. You have action on ever increases scales and finally yes you guessed it you have some serious Mythos name dropping.

Now I do not have issues with any of these although reading reviews elsewhere I can see that some people must certainly do. However the action does feel a little repeated and I keep on getting vibes of Dungeons and Dragons several times throughout the book - save I suspect by references to Call of Cthulhu and name dropping H P lovecrafts dreams periodically.

Now that sounds like I am doing the book a disservice - however if you enjoyed the world of D&D then this book is a cracker and for me that distant whiff of nostalgia certainly kept me going when really I have read more complex and challenging fantasies.

So what do I make if this book - its a ripping yarn which certainly adds on to what went on before in the first two volumes -the question is what will happen in the final instalment.

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just pure unadulterated pulp.

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

After all their crazy adventures from the last two books, Eldin the Wanderer and David Hero end up being recruited by none other than Randolph Carter, the legendary dreamer and king of Ilek-Vlad, to go on a quest meant to prevent the Dreamland's destruction (once again), this time due to the moon growing bigger and bigger as it approaches the land and its denizens are hellbent of destroying everything in their path. These guys can't catch a break, it seems, and just like their spiritual fathers Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, they're caught in a cycle of saving the world and getting rich only to find themselves broke and on the run because they can't keep their hands (and other parts of their anatomy) to themselves. I wonder what'll happen in the next and final novel in the series, since this time they had to directly face, in addition to an unholy alliance between their foes from the previous volumes and the horned men from Leng, not one but two Great Old Ones.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great escapist fare.

[Dysnekro · Rating 1 out of 5]

3/10

[GD · Rating 2 out of 5]

More dorky Dreamlands stuff.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Lovecraftian novel taking place in dreamland as full of adventure and fun as the first 2.

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lumley should stick to vampire/horror books. This is his attempt at a fantasy/SiFi "man transported to another world" story. While not bad it's doesn't stand out in any way. Not recommended