The New Death and Others by James Hutchings

 A copy of The New Death and Others was made available to me, Chrispy.  This is one of the better of "old school" Mythos and I appreciated the way it was written.  I count 66 short stories and poems which can be savored individually, or all at once.

In "How the Isle of Cats Got its Name", it begins wonderfully with "Death stalked the cats of Tekelee."  This pretty much explains the blend of the Poe, Lovecraft and RE Howard style throughout.  It is adventurous, thoughtful, and yet Mr. Hastings allows himself the freedom to express himself as James Hastings, and not be trapped inside some preconceived notion of what the Mythos should be or not be.

A brief portion of "If My Life was Filmed" goes "...someone famous once / would have the role of me / and if five stars meant 'excellent' / you'd give it two or three ...", which to me I find refreshingly self-deprecating yet closeted in a desire to shine.  This too, is a bit Lovecraftian in the best sense, as Lovecraft strove to excellence, yet always under-appreciated himself.

Fun of Sword and Sorcery exudes in "The Mirror of Tuzun Thune", "Un-numbered years ago it came to pass / that desolation settled on King Kull / His throne of gleaming gold seemed tarnished brass / and soft and subtle silk seemed rough and dull ...", and goes on to elaborate the dynamics of the conflict between Kull and Thune in 12 epic stanzas.

James Hutchings  is selling on both Amazon and Smashwords at a very reduced and bargain value.  The links are below.

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Death-others-ebook/dp/B005Q8Q8DY

Smashwords:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92126