I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a novel that I have been really excited to read. It’s got that fantasy element along with government conspiracies and that’s all I really needed to peak my interest. Patiently waiting for the release month has been a difficult task, but I did it! So here is my review:
In 1928, the U.S. Government gathered up the people of Innsmouth and kept them in the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. The only ones who survived the brutal camps are Aphra and Caleb Marsh, and they are left with nothing. Now, that same government needs Aphra’s help. FBI agent Ron Spector suspects that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that threaten the existence of the human race. Aphra must now return to the ruins of her old home and put together the scraps of her stolen history in order to face a deadly enemy – the darkness of human nature.
As I had mentioned, this was a novel that I was very excited to read. But there were 2 things I was unaware of when I first requested this book: 1) it’s based on Lovecraft’s work, and 2) there was a novella that serves as a prequel to this novel. My ignorance on these things hindered my ability to understand and enjoy this novel, resulting in me giving up on this book after about 5 or 6 chapters. I found myself confused by what was happening and the constant jumps in time. The familiarity on certain topics and concepts took me off guard and the explanations weren’t very handy right away…. and I really didn’t want to keep reading in order to find out. I think what really stopped me from continuing to give this book a shot was the fact that it was very slow-paced; it took forever for the story to get going. Between that and my complete bewilderment on the topic, I lost interest and unfortunately did not finish this novel. I hate not completing a story, especially when I’ve received an ARC but I just couldn’t find it in me to push through. Because I didn’t finish, I’m not going to give a rating for this book. Instead, I urge fans of Lovecraft and those who have read the novella that is a companion to this story, to give this novel a chance. I am sure that the story would make way more sense and be a lot more interesting for someone who actually understands the references that are being made in this book!
Happy reading ~