The Abyssal Plain: The R’lyeh Cycle

These four linked novellas recount the aftermath of a Lovecraftian apocalypse with varying degrees of success. Holloway establishes the apocalypse in his haunting opening tale “Ammonia,” in which a U.S. submarine in Antarctica records a huge radiation spike that seems to be cosmic in origin. In the days that follow, the sub’s crew encounter unsettling oddities, including a new type of fresh-water cephalopod able to travel on land. Meanwhile, in Texas, a man named Quincy finds large areas of his neighborhood eerily deserted. “A Sunken Desert” by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason takes on another consequence of the Antarctic anomaly, painting a portrait of flooded Arizonan deserts and humanity’s attempts to escape the rising waters. In the less successful subsequent novellas, the tone shifts toward explicit gore and monster fights, losing the creeping fear of the earlier tales. In “The Rise and the Fall” by Brett J. Talley, the U.S. military goes on the offensive against invasive creatures, while Rich Hawkins’s “The Great Beast” sees the rise and reign of Cthulhu itself. Lovecraft fans will enjoy the concept, but long for more consistency from the execution. (Dec.)