Brian Lumley's been writing Mythos tales for 50 years now. Among his early stories were "Rising With Surtsey"—August Derleth placed it between Fritz Leiber and Ramsey Campbell pieces in TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS—and "The Caller of the Black," in Arkham House's 1971 collection of that title. As editor after Derleth's passing, Ramsey Campbell put Lumley's "The Second Wish" after Stephen King's and before Frank Belknap Long's stories in NEW TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS—and on and on. While today he may be best known for the highly-acclaimed NECROSCOPE books and RPG, Brian has never stopped writing Mythos stories. This collection spans from 1975 to the present, thematically selected. Developing Derleth's idea that one way mere humans could try to grasp Mythos horrors was to consider them as Elementals, these yarns expand upon the pulpiest aspects. If you like your Mythos with numerology, amulets, and otherworldly talismans, this one's for you! Includes "The Gathering"—a previously-unpublished novel-length story original to this book—along with "Lord of the Worms," "Born of the Winds," and "The Changeling," each introduced by the author.
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.
