While the book was able to capture some of the lurking horror associated with Lovecraft fiction, there is so much back and forth between Rick and Conrad, and later Sterling. The premise that Conrad would ruin his life over a barely dated girl doesn't fly with me. I know the author tried to set things up so that Conrad would pull away from Shelby, but the extremes that Conrad went to shocked even the other characters with no motivations beyond the flimsy one. And without Conrad's driver, the story is entertaining, but logically comes unglued. ( )

Many a writer, particularly in the field of horror, has borrowed from H.P. Lovecraft, adopting and adapting the themes, settings, monsters and even sometimes characters that have appeared in his fiction. With this novel, Rick Dakan has taken the more original approach of basing a story on Lovecraft's philosophy.

The story takes place in Sarasota, Florida, where the narrator, Rick, and his best friend, Conrad, have lived most of their lives. Another childhood friend, Shelby, comes to town after having been chased out over an orgy gone awry. He brings with him an exotic girlfriend and vague but oddly sounding plans related to H.P. Lovecraft, for which he enlists the aid of the two friends.

As the two learn more about Shelby's plans, their questions only begin to multiply. How are he and his girlfriend funding the purchase of property and rare documents? Is Shelby really the materialist he claims or has he crossed over into believing in HPL's Great Old Ones? Is Shelby calling the shots or is the mysterious Kym he met in Providence? When a fourth childhood friend falls into the hands of the cult, Conrad and Rick decide to finally penetrate the cult's secrets.

The Cthulhu Cult is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into paranoia, philosophy and how things can spin out of control. I can't say whether a non-Lovecraft fan would enjoy it to the same extent, but Dakan's novel of Lovecraftian obsession brings a unique approach to the realms of fiction inspired by the Old Gent. ( )

The Cthulhu Cult is a self published novel by Rock Dakan available at Amazon for $15.00, which is actually a substantial discount. The publisher is Lulu.com, a well known self publication site. Even better, at Amazon shipping is free if you order $25 worth of stuff; otherwise shipping charges attach. Ordering direct from Lulu will incur substantial shipping charges. It is nice trade paperback, 333 pages with text starting on page 5, about the same cost per page as usual for Lulu.com (interstingly, some previously out of print Cthulhu mythos titles are now being sold through Lulu, so the site is worth a visit.). I don't know much about Mr. Dakan but apparently he is a well known figure in rpg circles.

First of all, unlike most offerings at lulu, Mr. Dakan hired a professional copy editor and it shows; the novel was pretty much free of the errors so common at lulu. Let me get my beefs out of the way first. I think it was prbably a mistake for the author to make himself the viewpoint protagonist. In terms of world building/suspension of disbelief it makes it more difficult to get into the book. However, once past that quibble I just let the words flow over me. Second, I think some of the prose was clumsy in terms of the transitioning and some of the dialogue; this was most notable in the first 50 pages or so. Some of the scene setting did not work for me, particularly at the beginning where a thug with a knife is outfought by some nude yoga freak who happens to be physically aroused at the time. Probably the book would have benefited from being shortened by about 10% to make it a little tighter. On the copyright page there is a small statement saying this is an advance copy of an uncorrected proof, but I wonder if that is something that was accidentally not deleted? There are favorable cover blurbs from Ken Hite and ST Joshi (which is a trifle ironic).

Having said all that....I think this an excellent novel, well worth the money and well worth the read. If there are clumsy bits of prose early, the novel picks up steam as it goes and ends up being very compelling. For the last 200 pages I had difficulty putting it down and finished it in about 2 days, sneaking reads at work and while waiting for my sons at soccer. What impels the book is the plotting and that is quite deftly done. It was entirely believable and also had a certain resonance with me. At first I wasn't sold on the characters but I ended up caught up with all of them even down to the secondary figures. It is a Cthulhu mythos novel in the same sense that Spencer's Resume With Monsters is a mythos novel; I will defer discussion for fear of spoilers. I feel obligated to comment that Mr. Dakan shows himself to be a very insightful student of Lovecraft and the mythos (and HPL's social proclivities). Here is an author who knows his stuff!

Here is a plot summary with only minimal spoilers:

The novel begins by introducing us to three friends, Shelby Tyree (a free spirited free thinker who loves outrageous gestures) and his more geeky childhood companions, Conrad Laughton (a married semisuccessful realtor) and Rick Dakan (a single semisuccessful writer). Shelby is throwing a party, something of a spectacle and orgy by the beach. There is an attempted rape and Shelby is run out of town; he falls out of Rick's and Conrad's lives only to return some time later with a new girl friend. He is now *heavily* into Lovecraft and his cosmic nihilism, and is starting a new church, The Starry Wisdom. He says he wants to use Cthulhu as an example or metaphor for cosmic indifference and thereby stir up Sarasota, where the story takes place. At first Rick and Conrad are accepting that their friend is into another outrageous hobby but then they become less sure. There are weird tattoos, weirder books and strnage rituals. The free use of hallucinogenic drugs and optical effects, with the heavy veil of secrecy makes it difficult to sort out. With the help of Calvin Sinclair (met online), who presents himself as a distinguished scholar of books and the occult, they being to suspect darker motives and darker forces are behind everything. When an old flame from highschool, Cara McMillan, comes back for a reunion, catching Rick's eye, she is swept into Shelby's sphere of influence and Rick begins to fear for her safety. As Shelby gets more distant from Conrad and Conrad attempts with more fervency to penetrate the mysteris of Shelby's church, Rick gets swept up in events beyond his control. The fear of mind control and ritual become palpable as Walpurgis Night approaches, when everyhting comes to a climax.

I may have started this review appearing to be a skeptic (and why not, most everything self published from Lulu.com stinks, except for Where Goeth Nyarlathotep by Daniel Reiner) but I am now a big fan of Mr. Dakan. He addresses all the possibilities: HPL was an author of fiction. No, HPL was really a believer and put secret codes into his work. No, HPL was heavily influenced by his dreams and his dreams were heavily influenced by powers he did not understand. The desperation of the protagonists on the outside looking in was palpable; the readers are left guessing with the characters right up to the final pages. I loved this book and I think most regular mythos readers would also. Just don't expect your typical mythos story.

Bravo and more please. ( )