Brian Lumley

An anthology of short fiction expanding and elaborating on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, edited by Ramsey Campbell. New Tales collects the following stories: "Crouch End" by Stephen King "The Star Pools" by A. A. Attanasio "The Second Wish" by Brian Lumley "Dark Awakening" by Frank Belknap Long "Shaft Number 247" by Basil Copper "Black Man with a Horn" by T. E. D. Klein "The Black Tome of Alsophocus" by H. P. Lovecraft & Martin S. Warnes "Than Curse the Darkness" by David Drake "The Faces at Pine Dunes" by Ramsey Campbell

Prof. Ewart Masters spends his convalescence, following a car accident, at the home of his nephew Jason Masters, pursuing his studies of ancient civilizations, during which he makes startling discoveries about the hidden city beneath the Yorkshire moors. His search to unravel the mystery of the green figurines, his efforts to assess the implications of Robert Krug's manuscript, lead ultimately to the Devil's Pool and the surviving world of Lh'yib, culminating in a series of dream-like adventures as he wanders through the nightmare corridors of his new environment. Beneath the Moors is primarily Gothic in atmosphere, its brooding mystery and stark terror occasionally relieved by bits of quiet charm and subtle humor. And the author's straightforward "autobiographical" technique possess an element of immediacy seldom achieved in this type of narrative.

The Arnold family have worked the farmland for as far back as they can remember. Well-respected and comfortable in their small, close community, it seems nothing could upset their quiet everyday routine. Then Ellie enters their lives...With her shy smile and kind nature, she fits into the family easily. When Nancy Arnold's eldest son Frank begins to show an interest in the new arrival, she believes that at long last he has found a woman to share his life with. But tensions begin to rise between Frank and his brother, and while Nancy puts it down to sibling rivalry, her husband senses a more dangerous undercurrent. Something has deeply unsettled their peaceful world and Ellie is also affected. Someone is playing a game, a tragic game that will tear apart not only Nancy Arnold's family but the lives of others too...

Khai begins life in ancient Egypt as the son of Pharaoh Khasathut's chief architect. Believing Pharaoh to be a god, Khai is stunned to learn that the supposedly great and wise leader is a shriveled, ancient fossil of a man whose chief desires are to deflower young virgins and achieve eternal life through the powers of his black magicians. When Khai dares to raise a hand to Pharaoh, he is condemned to be a slave.

The House of Cthulhu introduces the weird and wonderful world of Theem'hdra, an island continent of wonders and terrors where brave men die terrifying deaths, awe-inspiring sorcerers hurl powerful magic at each other, and monsters abound. This is classic Lovecraftian horror from one of the masters of the form, British Fantasy Award winner Brian Lumley. The volcanic eruption that created the island of Surtsey in 1967 also revealed a long-hidden cache of documents that told the fantastic history of Theem'hdra as written by the sorcerer Teh Atht. Building on translations begun by the scholar Thelred Gustau—who vanished under mysterious, some say magical, circumstances—Brian Lumley brings the saga of the Primal Land to readers of today. Here the wizard Mylakhrion—most powerful of the terrible magicians who walked the Earth in those long-ago days—battles sorcerers jealous of his knowledge, power, and wealth. His own apprentice, thinking he knows all of his master's secrets, challenges him—but Mylakhrion has one final trick up his sleeve….When the assassin Humbuss Ank, who specializes in killing wizards, makes Mylakhrion his target, he avoids or destroys nearly all of the sorcerer's traps, forcing Mylakhrion to a final, desperate gamble for survival. And Mylakhrion has a weakness, a lust for power that drives him tosummon the Great One, Cthulhu, and so call doom upon himself! The fabled riches of the House of Cthulhu draw thieves and warriors from throughout the civilized—and uncivilized—lands, but none escape with so much as a single gemstone, for they discover that Cthulhu's House is not a temple, but a dwelling place. Surely the Elder God lives there still, waiting for an unwary person to open the portal between his world and ours….

In addition to his stellar Necroscope series, Brian Lumley is highly regarded for his short fiction, for which he has won the British Fantasy Award. Beneath the Moors and Darker Places, a companion to The Whisperer and Other Voices, collects nine lengthy exemplars of the best of Lumley's short works, many of them unavailable for decades in any form. The Cthulhu Mythos of the immortal H.P. Lovecraft provides inspiration for much of Lumley's work, including "Dagon's Bell" and "Big C," both included here. The explosive creation of a new volcanic island off Iceland in 1967 led to "Rising with Surtsey," a homage not just to Lovecraft but to the great August Derleth. "David's Worm" --which takes an interesting view of "you are what you eat" --was published in a Year's Best Horror Stories and later adapted for radio in Europe. The collection also includes the macabre "The Second Wish," published here for the first time with the author's original, intended ending, and "The Fairground Horror," first published in The Disciples of Cthulhu twenty-five years ago and not seen since save for a small press edition. The title tale, Beneath the Moors, a complete short novel, has been unavailable in the United States since it's first publication by Arkham House in the early 1970s. It is considered to be one of Lumley's strongest short works; Tor is proud to restore this and the other pieces in this volume to Lumley's growing readership.