The Exham Cycle

The Exham Cycle is the latest volume in Robert M. Price’s long-running series of weird fiction anthologies (begun by Chaosium in 1993), each one collecting stories that inspired a major tale by H.P. Lovecraft, plus subsequent tales by other writers inspired by that Lovecraft yarn. This time the focus is on HPL’s classic tale The Rats in the Walls. An introductory essay begins the book, and each tale thereafter starts with its own mini-essay aiming to enhance the reader’s understanding and enjoyment of the text. We boast the inclusion of important background material by James George Frazer and Sabine Baring-Gould, familiar to Lovecraft but not to many of today’s readers, plus great tales by Fiona Macleod, Irvin S. Cobb, Michael Harrison, Edgar Allen Poe, Peter H. Cannon, Robert M. Price, and that old rat catcher himself, H.P. Lovecraft. A special treat is the hilarious appearance of The Rats in the Walls from the obscure 1950s men’s magazine Zest. The Rats in the Walls derives its great power from the almost Jungian plumbing of the depths of heredity and heritage, as De la Poer, seeking to reconnect with his ancestry, unwittingly rediscovers cannibalism, blasphemy, and unspeakable perversion. His tragedy shows how the greatest horror may lurk deep inside us and is better left undisturbed in its sleep. Call it your Inner Azathoth-and start piping!