Kenneth Hite

Kenneth Hite knows his Lovecraft. He very opinionated and and you won't always agree with him (He thinks the oft anthologized The Outsider is one of Lovecraft's worst stories, he does make a good argument), but he hits the nail on the head more often than not. He also has some good insight on cheerleader's and detractor's of Lovecraft's work.

Other than those of us that want to devour all things Lovecraft, I'm not sure who would like this other than those trying to pick up just the cream of Lovecraft and trying to avoid the weaker fare.

By his count there are just 17 classics, but as he does point out Lovecraft's mediocre fare is often better than another's best output.… (more)

The Cthulhu Wars: The United States Battles Against the Mythos
Author: Kenneth Hite, Kennon Bauman
Publisher: Osprey Publishing / Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing Date: 2016
Pgs: 80
Dewey: HITE CTHU
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus
Inter Library Loan - St Johns County Public Library, St Augustine, FL
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*not associated with the Cthulhu Wars tabletop game by Petersen Games, LLC; PetersenGames.com
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Necromancers and Special Forces. A war of cultists and massive creatures. Other dimensional entities. Undersea intelligences. Subsea colonies. Submarines, soldiers, seaman, nuclear weapons. Constant vigilance and violence insure the survival of the race of men. Threat reports, after-action reports, battles, and a secret history. Cthulhu and the rest of Great Old Ones are awakening. Strange times are upon us, the world is changing, and even death may die.
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Genre:
Role Playing Games
Secret History
Alternate History
Horror
War

Why this book:
Cthulhu and Lovecraftian horrors at war with history.
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The Feel:
Love the “this is a true story and history” aspect of this.

Favorite Scene / Quote/Concept:
This alternate history’s use of the colonization of America era and the interactions with the First Peoples is awesome.

The rooting out of the Curwen sect was well written. Very interesting. Loved the inclusion of Paul Revere, Aaron Burr, and George Washington.

Hmm Moments:
Great worldbuilding built on the foundation of real history and the Lovecraftian mythos.
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Pacing:
Great pacing.

Last Page Sound:
No payoff, but cool nonetheless. The war continues.
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Brilliant attempt at describing the interactions of the Cthulhu Mythos with the American State through the 20th & 21st Centuries. Very exciting and with the methodical detail that you expect from Osprey as well as entertainingly written by Kenneth Hite, and beautifully illustrated by Darren Tan. If you're a gamer, a board gamer or someone with just an interest in science fiction, alternate realities of just a H P Lovecraft fang who wants to know what has happened to all those tentacles in the time since the 1920's then this is the book for you. Definitive for its niche.… (more)