Reviews and Comments

This would have been a five-star rating from me if not for that damn cat.

Man, even for Lovecraft this was really racist.

A good gothic horror story, though I confess it didn't leave the same impression on me as "The White People" by the same author. I'll need to reflect and think about it. It reminded me strongly of Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror", but significantly vaguer and with less action.

Unnerving short story whose rambling narrative both makes it hard to read and adds to its surreal horror. A very good read, both on its own and as a precursor to the Cthulhu Mythos. I was also surprised to realize while reading it that it almost certainly inspired the film Pan's Labyrinth.

Overall a pretty decent overview of the Syndicate with a good outline of their beliefs and character, but somewhat poor as a game aid in my opinion. I was left without a good idea of how to use the Syndicate in a campaign or how to portray their magic in action. Especially frustrating was the adventure location in the final chapter: the overview says that there are several sub-basements where the real cloak-and-dagger stuff happens, but these floors go completely undescribed. Still worth a read for the ruminations on wealth and value.