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Chaosium Digest Volume 37 Number 06
Chaosium Digest Volume 37, Number 06
Date: Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
* The Children of Cthulhu (REVIEW)
by Bryan Waters (exploder1985@yahoo.com)
Editor's Note:
This issue features a review of The Children of Cthulhu fiction anthology as
well as some new announcements. Remember that March 31 is the deadline for
submissions to qualify for this quarter's Chaosium Submission Contest and
its prize of $40 in Chaosium merchandise. There's been some great new
releases and upcoming releases from the big C so get those submissions in
for your chance to win!
I've also recently received a mega-submission from frequent contributor
Mervyn Boyd. It's too large for distribution through the emailed Digest, so
I'll be posting it on the archive site in the near future. Keep your eyes
peeled for "The Daughter of Set" by Mervyn Boyd.
Enjoy.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
* I am writing to remind all of you that Gloranthacon VIII will soon be upon
us. On March 7th-9th, many of the Glorantha Tribe will gather in Toronto to
celebrate all things Gloranthan, and you are cordially invited to join us.
In particular, the convention will host the worldwide debut of the new
HeroQuest rules. All manner of events are scheduled to support its arrival,
with Greg Stafford, Robin Laws, Roderick Robertson, Mark Galleotti, and many
others spearheading the celebrations.
Naturally, such a gathering of the Tribe means that it is once again time
for a gathering of the exalted host that is the Glorantha Trading
Association. All GTA members have seats waiting for them at the great feast
and tribal moot (mundanely known as a GTA dinner) scheduled for during the
convention. (Please note that there is a charge for the dinner to cover
costs.)
Visit www.gloranthacon.com today to see all that's on offer and register to
attend the convention.
See you there,
Rick Meints
GTA Hero
Issaries' North American Events Coordinator
* As Gloranthacon draws near (less than eight weeks!) we remember that one
of the oldest traditions of a Gloranthacon is the "The Pub Trivia Contest."
We've got a pub. We've got a con. Now we need some trivia...
We'd like the Gloranthan tribe to help us with this trivial pursuit. Four of
the five rounds (Geography of Glorantha; Spirits, Gods & Scriptures; The
Lunars; Past, Present & Future) we will squeeze out of our illustrious
guests. For the fifth, though, we want your help - and whether or not you
are coming, you can join this competition and win a prize.
The first round will simply be "Gloranthan Esoterica!" We want a list of 10
questions, starting with a few relatively simple ones and getting steadily
more difficult until they reach a crescendo of frightfulness with question
10, which should truly test the mettle of the most bookish Gloranthaphile!
Come up with your list of 10 questions, with answers (and ideally sources as
well) and submit them to us. The one we think best suits the quiz -
remember, they should start easy and get harder - the aim is for everyone to
have fun, not be humiliated for the ignorant rogues they undoubtedly are!) -
will win its creator their choice of a map of the Lunar Empire, a copy of
Moon Rites, or the Imperial Lunar Handbook, regardless of whether they are
coming to Gloranthacon. However, if he or she is also coming to the con,
then there will also be a free drink at the bar to celebrate.
Caveat: We would like to avoid questions like 'list ten subcults of
Orlanth' - we would prefer questions which have a definite answer.
Send any replies to Paul Rocchi at procchi@sympatico.ca or to
gloranthacon@glorantha.com
We will be taking trivia entries until Feb 21, 2003.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jeff Kyer
Gloranthacon VIII Organizer
March 7-9, 2003
Toronto, Canada
http://www.gloranthacon.com
P.S. For those coming to Gloranthacon, they have to be pre-registered by the
Feb 14th, 2003.
* Check out Tales of the Plush Cthulhu
http://www.logicalcreativity.com/jon/plush/01.html
* I have been interested in creating a Futuristic setting for the Mythos. An
apocalyptic setting after the fall of a coalition of worlds that went to war
with the Gods of the Void, this setting is set some time in the 35th century
it uses several game components:
1: psychological personality profiles
2: quirks and flaws
3: CoC character creation with futuristic careers
4: Psionic rules
5: futuristic equipment
6: celestial Dark Ages written profile of the worlds and their people .
7: space travel - a means of compelling sentient entities who come from a
reality where only their essence and awareness can be channeled near stars
these beings are asked to send a ship to a specific world if the character
makes a compelling plea and does the ritual correctly then the Sun entity
well transport them to another world. If not the entity may become curious
and make mental contact with the sorcerer. This is like having mental
contact with Cthulhu! Psionics can use Generators to boost their teleporting
powers and they to can send ships to other worlds or the dark void magic can
be used. Well this is the lay out and you will need a CoC book to play but
any one interested in the whole work up needs to send me an E-mail at
area51@redriverok.com.
---------------------
The Children of Cthulhu: A Review
By Bryan Waters (exploder1985@yahoo.com)
I consider myself a rather new initiate into the H.P. Lovecraft fan base. I
have only previously read two of his many short story collections. On both
occasions I was very impressed. Truly some of the best reading I've done in
ages. Though when I picked up "The Children of Cthulhu", I was blown away.
"The Children of Cthulhu" is a short story collection, featuring work by
various authors. Some of the stories featured are darkly humorous, some are
insanely (no pun intended) grim, and some are out and out adventure yarns,
but all give that "feeling" that Lovecraft's original stories offered so
many decades ago. There is one chief difference in these stories. All of
them take place in the present day, which will probably intrigue Delta Green
players.
It would be as futile as battling a Shoggoth with a baseball bat to try and
explain each of the 21 stories in this tome. Though all the stories were
great, it would be much more sane to go over my personal favorites that I
think would appeal to the readers of this review. High and above the rest,
in my mind, the most exciting story in the book was "A Fatal Exception has
occurred at." by Alan Dean Foster. In it, FBI agents are made aware of a
hacker named "Wilbur", who threatens to post the entire contents of the
Necronomicon online, unless his demands are met. It was truly a memorizing
tale that really showed what the book can do in the wrong hands. Also, I
thought that the tale was quite timely, especially today, with the days of
terrorism that are going on in real life. Terrorism can extend to computers
as well, and though the Necronomicon doesn't exist (I HOPE!!!), let's all
hope that there are no "Wilburs" running around the planet.
Another great excursion into Lovecraft country was "Sour Places" by Mark
Chadbourn. In it, it details a small, run-down part of a town that is beset
upon by creatures that are described as "Half human, and half pig". These
creatures have terrorized the town for ages, burrowing mile long tunnel
systems that emerge into other homes, and go all over, including deep down.
Our protagonist arrives in town after a long stretch being gone, and is
distressed, to say the least, about this invasion. He decides to investigate
the labyrinthine tunnel system with a crazed companion who is driven insane
by the creatures. What happens in the conclusion is mind blowing to say the
least.
A story that fans shouldn't leave behind is "Meet me on the Other Side" by
Yvonne Navarro. In this story that felt like an epic, a happy couple, which
has been everywhere and had countless adventures around the world prepares
to take a trip to the Dreamlands. When the male half of the couple brings
home a book entitled "Encyclopedia Cthulhiana" (sound familiar?), he is bent
on getting to this Dreamland. They travel into the high desert, and awaken
to find themselves in the land, which was talked about only in rumors. They
meet the twins, Lloigar and Zhar, and a decision is made which will alter
the course of human history forever.
Finally, the last story I will talk about is probably my all-time favorite
mythos story. It is titled "That's the story of my life" by John Pelan and
Benjamin Adams (who also edited this collection). In it, a recently divorced
student at Arkham's famous Miskatonic University is consoled by his brothers
and sisters who happen to be quite a rogue's gallery. His ex joined up with
some weirdo hippie group after having relations with others beside her
husband. Our main man, Collis, is a descendant of a bloodthirsty barbarian
family, and so is the rest of his clan. Collis mopes, and as he walks down
the street, he sees his ex at a bookstore signing. and sparks fly. It
doesn't sound like your typical mythos story, but it was one of the most
enjoyable for me. The joke at the end made it all worthwhile.
So, by the time you've finished reading the book, you'll go many places.
From Arkham, to Innsmouth, to the halls of the Miskatonic University, to
even the moon. The Children of Cthulhu comes highly recommended by me. Take
my word for it. It's an e-ticket ride you won't soon forget. It is an
exercise in true horror, in the style of the greatest, H.P. Lovecraft.
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