For anyone who is a fan of H.P. Lovecraft’s character, Dr. Herbert West, this is a must read!
“Trust me, I’m a doctor.” – Dr. West
Some people can capture the voice and tone of an established character so seamlessly, you would think they were the ones responsible for their creation. Hats off, kudos, three cheers, etc. etc. to Craig Mullins. This guy KNOWS Herbert West. It’s as if Lovecraft himself has infused Mullins very being with the ability to deliver a perfect fingerprint of Dr. West. What I love so much about this book is how spot on Mullin’s delivery of the character of Dr. West is. From the dialogue, to his reactions to what’s going on around him, to the snide arrogant clinical side of West, to the loveable straightforward scientific adventurous side, Craig doesn’t miss a beat.
Re-Animated States of America opens with MIND OF MADNESS and we are witness to the experiments Dr. Herbert West is performing and are given a brief background of his history and standing at Miskatonic University. Although his past has been “forgiven” and his studies are now funded by the University, West has grown bored and feels he has learned all he can within the walls of Miskatonic. His boredom comes at a perfect time, because when he walks outside for some air, Dr. Herbert West is greeted with unimaginable horrors and unnameable things giving chase to the people of Arkham. As the people are running mad in the streets, while fire dances and burns the town to the ground, Dr. West, like any good scientist, looks on in awe at the sites around him trying to take it all in before deciding to head to Hangman’s Hill where he encounters disturbing frog like cultists. Even more monsters are presented to Dr. West before he stumbles upon the second part of this book;
SECOND HAND FLESH picks up where we left off, except from the perception of Dr. West’s new traveling companion Jehovah (aka David when he was…all put together). Jehovah’s decaying human head is attached to an equally rotting dog body; a last minute attempt to salvage Jehovah’s life. I love Jehovah and West’s dynamic. The way Herbert interacts with his “experiment” is perfect. Although Jehovah clearly possesses his free will and human nature, West pretty much regards him as an oddity to be proud of rather than compassionate with in the beginning. Their friendship continues to evolve as their travels send them into increasingly dangerous situations.
The rest of the book finds our adventurers traveling land and sea, viscous jelly and monster plagued lands using and perfecting Dr. West’s re-agent while testing it out in the field. Despite the world being laid waste to unexplainable monsters and the eruption of earth and falling of the skies, all this is perfect for West to see just how effective his life giving agent really is. Through the battles of the Old Ones and other various creatures, the New world just adds more questions rather than answers to the madness that is transpiring. The ending sends “oh crap” chills down your spine.
Craig Mullins really channeled Lovecraft on this one. The encounters of the Old Ones and other mythical horrors from the Lovecraft realm along with the mix of the author’s own creations of monstrosities (Gabriel is the best!!!!) showcase how intune Mullins is with this world. The artwork of Andrew Ozkenel borders on Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and comic book sketch art. It’s a perfect compliment to the stories with the warped angles and twisted pen work.
I have read Craig Mullins short, VISCOUS JELLY, in the anthology STRANGE VS. LOVECRAFT and that solidified him as one of my favorite writers just because he wrote Dr. West so well. I hope Craig plans on continuing the escapades of the good doctor and Jehovah, because I don’t think anyone could write Dr. Herbert West better unless they were H.P. Lovecraft himself.
MEET THE AUTHOR, CRAIG MULLINS AND BUY TO BOOK!
You can purchase Craig’s book here at Amazon along with other Strangehouse Books authors:
Craig Mullins has a small, but growing body of work that includes short stories in the StrangeHouse Books anthologies Strange Sex and Strange Versus Lovecraft, and a story in the Fifty Secret Tales of the Whispering Gash: A Queefrotica anthology published by Atrophied Gangsters Press. His most recent release is a collection called Re-Animated States of America, published by StrangeHouse Books.Future releases include The Last Barbarian, a novella written in collaboration with author Kent Hill.
Craig is also an amateur Fortean, and lives in Glenpool, Oklahoma with his wife Amie and their two children.
