I bought this book for $... used, and I'm glad, because this collection of poorly written, dry as a cardboard stories are not worth $..., plus tax.

Grant it, some of the writers have nearly captured the spirit of Lovecraft, but fail miserably in their writing skills. Reading these stories, you get the feeling the authors were striving to sound like ghost-writters of H.P. These guys are no Stephen Kings, however, and it shows.

"The Barrens" is probably the best tale in the whole book. It has a real H.P./Charles Fort feel to it. The story ties together the legend of the Jersey Devil with Lovecraft's ideas to create a story that makes you wonder as well as shiver. "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood" is well-writen, but it is grotesque (two grave-robbers enjoy themselves by sticking femors where the sun don't shine) in a totally non-Lovecraft way by going for cheep, eccentric attempts to catch the reader's attention. "The Big Fish", "On the Slab" and a few other tales in this book bring back many of Lovecraft's creature characters and Cthulhu mythos with reasonable success.

All in all, this book is worth it if you are a serious follower of Lovecraft's writings and stories, and you want some fresh tales about Cthulhu, the Deep Ones, or the demonic Shoggoths. Just don't expect CALL OF CTHULHU quality here. Remember, it's not (thankfully) Lovecraft writing these stories, and it shows.

This is a solid collection for Lovecraft fans. Although there are some real terrors in this book, many of the stories are written with tongue firmly placed in cheek, which is refreshing. "The Big Fish" for example, with it's Cthulhu Noir style, was a lot of fun. High points include "The Barrens", "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood", "Black Man With A Horn" and "The Last Feast of Harlequin". Many of the titles can be found in other compilations, but there is enough fresh meat mixed in with the classics to be satisfying. Finally, for all you aquarium owners, get this book for Peter Blaylock's "The Shadow on the Doorstep". It is a short romp into paranoia and tropical fish collecting by a master fantasist. Great story!

Some of the reviews of this excellent anthology lead me to believe that they've missed the point. This is not an anthology of stories in the strict Lovecraftian tradition; it is rather a more disparate group of works which, more or less, were inspired by Lovecraft's work. They are in a broad spectrum of styles; the "Lovecraftian" element varies from potent to tenuous. But by and large it is a truly excellent collection. I found, of all the stories, T.E.D. Klein's "Black Man with a Horn" to be perhaps the most akin to Lovecraft's work, not in particulars so much, as in the sense of having blundered into a contact with cosmic horror, of which the protagonist becomes only slowly aware, yet which engulfs him finally. Two other stories are also very much in HPL's mode; Thomas Ligotti's "The Last Feast of Harlequin" is one of the stories that makes no overt reference to Lovecraft; yet it is a descendant of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" in the truest sense-- it generally follows the same narrative curve and is full of parallel plot elements and moods, even though they are not specific to Lovecraft. Many others of the stories make reference, direct or oblique, to elements of the "Mythos"; Gahan Wilson's HPL has Lovecraft himself (as well as Clark Ashton Smith) as a main character. "The Barrens", "Fat Face", and "The Faces at Pine Dunes" are also excellent. And, to leaven the mixture, there are two or three humorous entries-- "The Big Fish", a sort of Maltese Falcon comes to Innsmouth, very tongue in cheek (literally as you will see!); "Pickman's Modem", often humorous though ultimately creepy; and the delightful "Love's Eldritch Ichor", which is wonderfully amusing. Of the entries I felt Poppy Z. Brite's "His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood" to be one of the least Lovecraftian, as well as being rather unpleasant; but it will appeal to gothic-teens and such. I could have wished that the preface by Jim Turner would have discussed all the stories, not only Roger Zelazny's excellent "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai". All in all the anthology earns an A+ and is a must for any lover of horror, Lovecraftian or not!

S. Omar Barker provides a warm, refreshing look at life from the perspective of the Americn cowboy. This book draws you in to the simple world of the old west where the big frustration is "bob" wire, and the simplest pleasures seem mountainous to the cowboys and ranch hands.

Barker does a fantastic job.

I think this is a total waste of your money. Is this funny? "Who is the oldest person ever?" A smilel face. The point of the joke I think was there is a long mile between the s and the m.

Bob Phillips' "World's All-Time Best Collection of Good Clean Jokes" is, to be put simply, not funny. The "chucklers" as the front flap describes them, are weak and old. It is possible that very young children MIGHT find the jokes somewhat amusing, but I doubt that "car rides be made less boring" with such... "witty" definitions as "Writer's Cramp: Authoritis." I was certainly laughing out loud!