“We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

So said H.P. Lovecraft in the first chapter of his most famous story, "The Call of Cthulhu" . This is also the perfect introduction to Steampunk Cthulhu, for within these stories mankind has indeed voyaged too far, and scientific innovations have opened terrifying vistas of reality, with insanity and worse as the only reward.

The Steampunk genre has always incorporated elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror and alternative history, and certainly the Cthulhu Mythos has not been a stranger to Steampunk. But until now there has never been a Steampunk Cthulhu collection, so here are 18 tales unbound from the tethers of mere airships, goggles, clockwork, and tightly bound corsets; stories of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and alternative realities tainted with the Lovecraftian and the Cthulhu Mythos. Here you will discover Victorian Britain, the Wild West era United States, and many other varied locations filled with anachronistic and sometimes alien technology, airships, submersibles and Babbage engines. But the Victorian era here is not only one of innovation and exploration, but of destruction and dread.

Reader Reviews

Lou Yuhasz

(4/5)

Nov 22, 2024

I'm giving this 4 stars because the writing's good and the theme is fun. However, I found too many of the stories to be repetitive. Some only had a thin veneer of "Steampunk" on them and could just have easily been set in the classic Pulp era, or the modern era.

Eden

(1/5)

What a disappointing anthology. I can only venture that the meshing of steampunk with the Mythos meant that a very particular writer contributed stories because many of them were in need of severe editing. One or two were passable but overall a complete waste.

Manuel Fonseca

(2/5)

Some stories were riveting, others were simply boring... But overall it was just nothing spectacular or very Cthullian about them...

Danielle Miller

(3/5)

As usual with these sort of collections, the quality varies. Some good ideas in here, but also a lot of verbosity. A couple of good stories, a couple of stinkers, and the rest are OK. Not bad but not great either.

Matthew

Some absolutely wonderful stories, and some fairly average ones. A mixed bag, but still worth checking out if you love Lovecraftian fiction.

David

An interesting blend of the Cthulhu Mythos with the darker side of steampunk. Among the standout stories for me was Carrie Cuin's "No Hand To Turn the Key" which told about a group of automata fighting to preserve humanity's knowledge. Adam Bolivar's "The Blackwold Horror" had a nice steampunk take on human augmentation with clockworks. Lee Clark Zumpe's "Before the Least of these Stars" was another example of his deft storytelling. Christine Morgan's "Unfathomable" was probably the most fun sto...

Myles

Another great anthology by Sammons. Steampunk Cthulhu, along with Eldritch Chrome, effortlessly blends two genres that have nothing to do with each other and makes it work beautifully. Lovecraft in a time of clockwork gadgets and flying airships was something i didnt know i wanted so badly. Dont miss out

Tony Calder

Like all compilations, some stories are better than others. However, in this volume, there are no weak stories - the editors have done a fine job of selecting their entries.Steampunk and the Cthulhu Mythos have been partnered before, and they do work well together. Some of these stories are primarily Mythos stories, with a bit of steampunk for flavour, and some are primarily steampunk, with a little bit of Mythos. Most achieve a more equal mix of both. Although all written by different authors,

Cat Treadwell

One of the best Lovecraftian anthologies I've encountered. Several stories had me hunting for more by their authors, and there's a lot of originality to be found here.The only let down for me was the final story, which seems to have been missing an editor (especially as the author is usually pretty good). Ah well - still an excellent book.

Ана Хелс

(5/5)

Една от най-добрите идеи за комбинация на стилове и вселени за мен ще си остане сдружението между Лъвкрафт и Дойл, тоест преследване на всякакви изчадия от човешки и съвсем не вид с помощта на дедукцията и твърдата логика, плюс някоя и друга древна магия, разбира се, къде без езотерика. Но кой да знае, че има и даже по-добра идея, а именно да поставиш над главите на стиймпънк викториана жителите, които и без това все си имат проблеми с луди учени и откачени машини със случайно придобито съзнание...

Simon

As with all compendiums, some is superb, some is good, and there are the inevitable one or two stinkers.But when this is good? It's very very good. Some of these short stories will live in on my memory for a long while. Just, maybe a few of them I'd have cut out of the book entirely.

James

I think this is a must-read for any fan of the Mythos. I think it's a must-read for any fan of steampunk, when so little of it is well written. One of the best aspects of it is the juxtaposition between the determined nihilism of Lovecraftian horror and the futuristic positivism of steampunk; in this collection, sometimes one wins out over the other. In one story, suggestive of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the doomed protagonists of Lovecraft's work get a second chance in another reali...

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