I have never read a story by H. P. Lovecraft. However, I have seen movies based on his books or ideas from his books and I do love reading Lovecraftian books, probably because I love horror and especially monsters. The description and the fantastic cover made me keen to read this book and I was thrilled to get the chance to read it.
Colleen Danzig is attending the Summer Tentacular convention in Providence for the first time. This is a must visit convention for every H. P. Lovecraft fan. Then, everything turns into a nightmare when Colleen's roommate Panossian is found dead with his face removed. Could this be an ordinary murder or is this part of a plan to summon the Elder God Cthulhu? It seemed that Panossian had in his possession the book Arkham bound in human skin when he died. The book is now gone, along with his face. But, only Colleen seem to be determined to find the culprit...
I AM PROVIDENCE is a book that I feel would really appeal to Lovecraft fans. I can imagine that this book would be a bit confusing to people with not much knowledge about Lovecraft's books. You do get information about Lovecraft, the man, and his books in the story. Especially about the Elder God Cthulhu, who will bring the end to humanity when summoned. And, yes there are those in the book that wants that.
The story is a bit uneven. I did enjoy Colleen's POV, however, her chapters are alternated with the POV of Panossian, yes the dead man who is still there in a way, in the faceless body. He has a tendency to ramble on a bit. Before he died he was quite an interesting guy. After his death, he becomes very contemplative about his life and death and who would have killed him. In other words, he rambles on and on and I felt myself dreading his chapters.
I AM PROVIDENCE by Nick Mamatas is an interesting book, not as engrossing and thrilling as I had hoped it to be, but it's a good book with an interesting story. The ending felt both good and bad, good in that you get an explanation for what happened to Panossian. But, also bad because it feels like the epilogue is missing. And, the last part of the book leaves you with an ending that makes you wonder what happened since it's Panossian's POV and he can't see what is going on...
An author's murder during an H. P. Lovecraft fan
convention reveals dark secrets beneath the printed page in
this biting murder-mystery satire.
At the Summer Tentacular, murder is non-fiction.
For fans of legendary pulp author H. P. Lovecraft, there is
nothing bigger than the annual Providence-based convention
the Summer Tentacular. Horror writer Colleen Danzig doesnβt
know what to expect when she arrives, but is unsettled to
find that among the hobnobbing between scholars and literary
critics are a group of real freaks: book collectors looking
for volumes bound in human skin, and true believers claiming
the power to summon the Elder God Cthulhu, one of their
idolβs most horrific fictional creations, before the weekend
is out.
Colleenβs trip spirals into a nightmare when her roommate
for the weekend, an obnoxious novelist known as Panossian,
turns up dead, his face neatly removed. Whatβs more
unsettling is that, in the aftermath of the murder, there is
little concern among the convention goers. The Summer
Tentacular continues uninterrupted, except by a few bumbling
police.
Everyone at the convention is a possible suspect, but only
Colleen seems to show any interest in solving the murder. So
she delves deep into the darkness, where occult truths have
been lurking since the beginning of time. A darkness where
Panossian is waiting, spending a lot of time thinking about
Colleen, narrating a new Lovecraftian tale that could very
well spell her doom.
No excerpt available.
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