In his foreword to Cthulhu Armageddon, the author C.T. Phipps compares his book to Brian Lumley’s work, specifically The Transition of Titus Crow.
Really? No. Phipps is selling himself far short with such a comparison.
While both works deal with idea that humanity can win at least some battles with Mythos horrors, Lumley includes Titus scaring off Yug-Sothoth and befriending Cthulhu’s twin brother.
In comparison, Cthulhu Armageddon is an existential scream of despair.
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In the world of Cthulhu Armageddon, the stars have already become right. The Great Old Ones have risen. The world has been razed. Tiny remnants of humanity desperately try to survive and will be entirely gone in less than a century.
It’s Mad Max: Beyond R’lyeh.
The main character is former military ranger named John Henry Booth and the book is ultimately about his conflict with the necromancer Alan Ward. So, while the setting is a Lovecraftian nightmare, it’s about two guys duking it out. And their battle, which escalated to a small war (there’s not enough people left for a big war), is still inconsequential for the Great Old Ones.
Mind you, Ward has mutated himself into an eldritch abomination and Booth is blessed by Nyarlathotep (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg ) so it’s ultimately a stretch to call either of them human. And they are still beneath Cthulhu’s notice.
Yeah, there are some cool action scenes in the book that would look great with a big special effects budget. And Booth does come out the winner against Ward. However, it is clear that these are fleeting, momentary victories. In the end, it charges nothing for Cthulhu and its kin.
So I think C.T. Phipps has done a good job creating a story of cosmic horror and despair. Which is what I want when Cthulhu is in the title. It’s the first of three books and I now want to read them all.
And if Booth punches Cthulhu out in the last book, I’ll revise the cosmic horror opinion.
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