Billy Lovecraft Saves the World, by Billy Lovecraft

The Cthulhu Mythos are real! Ostensibly written for the “young adult” market, Billy Lovecraft Saves the World, by Billy Lovecraft, Curiosity Quills Press (Amazon link) is wonderful fun. I’m 60-years old, and as a long time H.P. Lovecraft fan, I loved this book. Well written, endearing characters, scary, but with a big-sized dollop of humor thrown in, I believe that you will get a kick out of this story, too.

Billy Lovecraft is 12-years old. His parents are killed in a plane crash caused by a terrifying creature. His parents were famous for creating a popular role playing game based upon their explorations of the mysteries of ancient and strange out-of-this-world creatures. The last thing they did before their deaths was to send their son, Billy, a photo of the strange critter sitting on the wing of the plane they were in.

Billy enlists the help of some nerdy kids at his school, forming a detective squad to investigate the how and why of his parents’ deaths. Plunged into a dangerous world of magical chants and hidden enemies, the children use their natural talents to seek answers.  Along the way, the forces of supernatural creatures and their human slaves fight them every step of the way with a fiendish plot to destroy the world. The future survival of Earth is at stake!  What makes this story so satisfying is that while being a loving tribute to the body of horror writings by H.P. Lovecraft, it’s tamed with the humor, creativity, and updating by the author. Scary but funny; you just know that everything will work out all right. Everyone reading this will wish they grew up in the home that Billy did.

Aimed at the young adult market, I’m not sure that there are all that many kids who would even know who H.P. Lovecraft is. None the less, they will eat this novel up because it has all the elements they regularly encounter in their online dungeon and dragon games. Oldsters such as myself can appreciate the story  itself, as well as the honor that the author has given to one of the early masters of horror fiction.

One tiny quibble — or piece of advice, if you will — is that the protagonists are listed as being 12-years old. They don’t seem, speak, or act it. One of them can read and translate Latin, while another can design plasma weapons. While you read the book, just figure that they are really 14 or 15-years old and it will seem more realistic. Aside from that, the author does a fine job of fleshing out all of the characters (human or otherwise) in this enjoyable tale.

Billy Lovecraft Saves the World is a fun read. The writing is crisp and the action is fast paced. I recommend it for kids up to age 90. You’ll love it and hope (as I do) that it is only the first of a series for these brave detectives. Bravo!

By the way: If my review helps you decide to buy a book, please seek out my review on Amazon and give it a “was helpful” thumbs-up. It’s the only egoboo I ever receive.

 

 


1 Comment

  1. You have made me want to read this book very much. Becky and I both enjoy young adult and fantasy/sci/fi material and this sounds like a good read. Wonder if it is available for NOOK.

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