Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred edited by H. David Blalock
The Cthulhu Mythos is littered with the names of mysterious books and manuscripts containing forbidden knowledge. The most commonly used one is the Kitab al-Azif, the “Book of Night Insects Buzzing” (among the possible meanings), usually referred to by the Latin translation’s name, the Necronomicon. This anthology is themed around the author of that book, Abdul al-Hazred.
There’s relatively few “facts” revealed about the mad prophet in the Lovecraft stories, none of which were directly about him, so these tales take a “multiple choice past” approach. Was al-Hazred a good man corrupted by his study of forbidden lore, or was he seeking power from the first? How did he compose his work, and are there other manuscripts as yet undiscovered? How did he truly meet his end? Was Abdul al-Hazred even his real name?
“The Nameless City” by H.P. Lovecraft opens the book with a tale that merely quotes the Necronomicon as the narrator explores some ruins in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia. As he explores the still intact tunnels below the ancient city, he completely fails to grasp the actual nature of its inhabitants, even while reading their pictographic history. That is, until the end, when he realizes the original inhabitants of the nameless city aren’t precisely vanished. It’s one of those stories where you wonder how the narrator survived long enough to reach the Nameless City in the first place, because he clearly has no self-preservation skills.
This is followed by sections on al-Hazred’s origins, early work and horrific death, and finally how his work affects people in later times.
The story I liked best of the ones directly about the mad prophet was “Prophet of the Black Hajj” by Aaron Vick, which positions al-Hazred as the Anti-Mohammed with a blasphemous perversion of the other prophet’s journey. While most of the stories are individually effective, they cover a lot of the same ground and got a bit tedious in the aggregate.
“The Howling in the Sands” by Paul StJohn Mackintosh is a steampunkish entry in which the British Empire tries to fly an airship across the Empty Quarter for mostly political reasons. Their native guide has his own motives. They get a little too close to Irem, the City of Pillars, with fairly predictable results. (This one has some period racism.)
“For Sale by Owner” by Gregory L. Norris closes the tales with a story of modern times. A man buys an old house that’s a fixer-upper, but it’s what the former owner found in Iraq and buried in the backyard that is most dangerous.
Content notes: In addition to the usual horror stuff, there’s torture and suicide.
The fairly narrow focus of this collection hurts it a bit, I think, due to some samey bits. You may want to space out the stories rather than reading all in one sitting. On the other hand, the desert settings make a nice change from the usual ocean and rotting fish-heavy stories usual in the Mythos.
You might want to consider buying the physical version for the wrap-around cover by Bill Reames and get it directly from Alban Lake Publishing. Recommended to Cthulhu Mythos fans.
That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.
