by Brett J. Talley
But in an insane world, all shall dwell in madness.
In this sequel to That Which Should Not Be, we pick up with Carter Weston decades after the events of the first book. Carter still holds the Incendium Maleficarum, but the book stops singing to him the moment a certain German officer enters the room. Carter, presumed dead, is stripped of the book and the German, Zann, appears set to end the world by bringing about the return of the Old Ones. A small party from Miskatonic University gathers to search for the missing Carter and gather the weapons needed to combat a god.
The sequel is a little more complex than the original, and occultism is once again at the forefront of the story. Elements from Christianity feature quite heavily, and the Koran and Torah also appear in addition to mentions of other ancient belief sets. All contain elements of the truth.
As with the first book, the aggressive pacing here is not generally found in Lovecraftian stories, but this one maintains a scope of ultimate doom by bringing about the final fight of humanity. And as Lovecraft delivered so spectacularly, here again is an alternate history of God.
That Which Should Not Be and He Who Walks in Shadow are two of the best mythos stories you’re going to find outside of Lovecraft’s own quietly horrific conjuring.
I speak for those whose names alone would shatter the minds of man.
5- (4+) stars
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