Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The Summer Tentacular is an annual convention for fans of H. P. Lovecraft, and Colleen is a newly published author who is not sure what to expect during her first trip to Providence. When her roommate, Panossian, the maligned author of the horror mash-up Catcher in R'lyeh, is brutally murdered, Colleen goes into Nancy Drew mode, going deeper into the bizarre world of geeks, self-important writers, manuscripts bound in skin, and occult rituals to try to catch the killer. The viewpoint alternates between Colleen, as she spirals into her own personal nightmare, and Panossian, dead in a drawer in the town morgue. There is a compelling, macabre mystery here: Is Panossian there to help us solve his murder or is he simply the narrator of a Lovecraftian tale, with Colleen as his protagonist? This smart, fun novel is filled with hilarious satire. The story takes an honest look at Lovecraft's troubling legacy of racism and sexism and how it comes into play during this current revival in his popularity, but you can also feel Mamatas' true affection for the author and the larger community of misfit horror authors. A great choice for readers who enjoyed Matt Ruff's Lovecraft Country (2016); those who liked the dark humor, mystery, and speculative elements in Ben H. Winters' The Last Policeman trilogy; and anyone who has ever been part of a fandom.--Spratford, Becky Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A conscious corpse relates the events leading up to his murder at the Summer Tentacular H.P. Lovecraft convention in Providence, R.I., in Mamatas's (The Last Weekend) humorous but sometimes meandering horror mystery. Antagonistic narrator Panossian, hated by many in the Lovecraft fan community, was found dead with his face missing. Just before he was killed, he was meeting someone who had offered to buy his copy of a rare book bound in human skin. Panossian's convention roommate, Colleen Danzig, searches for his killer among the event's eclectic and neurotic attendees: control freak convention organizer and Lovecraft scholar Bhanushali, racist Cthulhu cosplayer Ronald Ranger, drag queen Ms. Phantasia, stalker groupie Chloe, and Cthulhu cultist and chauvinist Norman. She also meets Thomas, the night coroner, who likes to doodle Lovecraft creatures. Things get weirder when Colleen and bookseller Hiram Chandler follow Bhanushali to dig up Lovecraft's dead cat, whose name is a racist slur. When Bhanushali's lieutenant, Charles Cudmore, is found dead behind the hotel, detective Antony Amato suspects a serial killer. Mamatas provides a heartfelt homage to Lovecraft lore, perfectly captures the antics of conventioneers, and comments on the cutthroat politics of online publishing and the recent discussions of Lovecraft's bigoted views. However, chapters of the deceased Panossian waxing nostalgic divert the action, and Colleen's sleuthing involves too much speculation and too little delving for solid answers. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Novelist Panos Panossian is attending the annual Summer Tentacular horror convention in Providence, RI, when he is murdered and his face sliced off. That doesn't keep him, however, from being one of the narrators of this satirical salute to horror master H.P. Lovecraft. The other is first-time attendee Colleen Danzig, who had been rooming with Panossian to save money; after his death, she begins investigating her fellow attendees. Could one of these barely socialized, zine-publishing, Cthulhu-obsessed fans be a killer? While a knowledge of Lovecraft and his work might heighten enjoyment of this novel, any familiarity with rabid fandom will do. The men (and a few women) who show up for the small convention may be easy to mock, but horror writer Mamatas (The Last Weekend) does so with an insider's understanding. Having -Panossian's disintegrating consciousness tell half the tale draws out the suspense of the murder mystery, but it's Colleen's chapters that more effectively move the story along. VERDICT The reveal of the killer takes a while, but anyone who has ever skirted the world of obsessive devotees will find a lot to enjoy in this funny homage to horror and its leading practitioner.-MM © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
