Good pal and publisher Jeremy Lassen has just posted this question over at the Night Shade discussion board: What is your favorite Cthulhu Mythos story? I think it’s a great time to be asking this question, and to see what kind of Mythos stories people are loving at the moment. For what it’s worth, I think Laird Barron is doing some of the best new Mythos stories, but I especially love a story called “The Vorkuta Event” by Ken Macleod, which I was lucky enough to read just recently.
What is the Macleod story in, Jonathan?
It’s not been published yet. It was slated for a Cthulhu singularity publication, but I’m not sure that’s happening.
I only now find this question because you mentioned it during the Starship Sofa interview.
It’s not evident to create a cthulhuian anthology that isn’t kitsch. But it should be possible :-)
A few recommendations next to ones you must have received already (like, selected work by Laird Barron and T.E.D. Klein)
– My big recommendation is the excellent novella “A Colder War” by Charles Stross. It’s so much better than most in the genre. Perhaps a bit long for an anthology?
– Stephen Mark Rainey has a number of genre stories which are better crafted than most. “Fugue Devil” is a good one for example, and it’s worth to check out more.
– I assume you already ready Neil Gaiman’s “A study in Emerald”?
– “The whispering horror” by Eddy C. Bertin has been published in old paperback anthologies, I can’t give you a title since I read it in dutch.
I forgot to add a recommendation that’s truly worth checking out: Bob Leman’s now rare and top-notch collection “Feesters in the lake” has several excellent stories with a kind of cosmic horror vibe to them. You’ll undoubtedly find a few highly suitable stories there.