The Colour out of Darkness

Replete with explicit sex and gore, Pelan's undistinguished Lovecraft pastiche lacks the subtle suggestiveness that was the hallmark of Lovecraft's best work. Once again, an alien tentacled monstrosity is attempting to take over the world, employing a cadre of followers to spread an infection that would convert all of humanity into his servants. Pelan interweaves his account of the spread of the contagion in Seattle with brief interludes that portray many of history's greatest monsters as prey of the Great Old Ones. Those seeking a scary grafting of Lovecraft's themes onto the modern world would be happier reading Robert Bloch's Strange Eons . Pelan is the editor with Michael Reaves of Shadows over Baker Street , a story anthology that mixes Sherlockian mystery with Lovecraftian horror. (Mar.)