Showing results by author "Matthew Davenport" in All Categories

The Necronomicon was not the first book by H.P. Lovecraft to terrify readers with tales of dark and twisted horrors from beyond. No, the Al-Azif, or Book of the Insect, is the first work that told mankind of Cthulhu, Azathoth, and other terrors. Indeed, it was the book that inspired "The Mad Arab" Abdul Al-Hazred to write its more famous successor.

At first light on Tuesday, May 28th, 1918, waves of American riflemen from the US Army's First Division climbed from their trenches, charged across the shell-scarred French dirt of no-man's-land, and captured the hilltop village of Cantigny from the grip of the German Army. Those who survived the enemy machine-gun fire and hand-to-hand fighting held on for the next two days and nights in shallow foxholes under the sting of mustard gas and crushing steel of artillery fire.

Ghouls have a special place in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, as the monstrous eaters of the dead are the only creatures from traditional folklore to stalk through his Mythos. Lovecraft’s universe was science fictional rather than fantastic, and his nightmare creations were alien rather than supernatural. While his ghouls were inspired by a fascination with the Arabian Nights, they have an added dimension of horror: they were once human.

Yig, known as the Serpent God, is older than humanity, and Yig’s reptilian children once ruled the Earth. Now they are stirring in their caves, walking the Earth in forms not quite human, slowly and patiently preparing their plans. Those who stumble on their secrets are in deadly danger...but only they can prevent the return of our darkest fears.

Like it or not, a healthy credit score is essential if you want to participate in today's financial world. But very few people actually understand how their credit score is determined. Worse yet, most don't know how their score is used by all kinds of companies and banks to dictate financial terms that will strongly affect their daily lives. When consumers interact with the world of credit, they do so from a position of weakness. In Your Score, Anthony Davenport aims to change that. Finally, there's a road map for navigating the confusing world of consumer credit.

Hastur was not a creation of H.P. Lovecraft but an adaptation of concepts created by Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers. Nevertheless, Hastur, AKA The King in Yellow, has since gone on to become one of the most iconic Great Old Ones. Whether the mysterious Lord of Leng in the Dreamlands or Cthulhu’s alleged half-brother, he is a figure who haunts the dreams of those mortals who touch upon even the barest knowledge of his existence.

Earth is home to us, but to others it is a prison planet, where alien convicts are imprisoned in human bodies. Four tales by veteran Cthulhu Mythos authors explore the collisions between humans and unwilling visitors among us.

Yog-Sothoth, known as the Key and the Gate and a host of other names, is H.P. Lovecraft's most enduring creation after the Necromnomicon and Great Cthulhu itself. An eldritch god that occupies all time and space, Yog-Sothoth is most known for his role as the antagonist in The Dunwich Horror but has played a role in many other Cthulhu Mythos stories. Tales of Yog-Sothoth features several stories centered around the creepy deity and its monstrous intelligence.

TALES OF NYARLATHOTEP is the fourth book of the Books of Cthulhu series by Crossroad Press (Tales of the Al-Azif, Tales of Yog-Sothoth, The Book of Yig). It is an anthology featuring pulpy tales of horror starring Outer God and his myriad plots as well as games. Nyarlathotep is functionally omnipotent and treats humanity like ants underneath a magnifying glass. He is impossible to kill but perhaps capable of being thwarted. Or maybe that's just what he wants you to think.

At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco, catching most of the city asleep. For approximately forty-eight seconds, shock waves buckled streets, shattered water mains, collapsed buildings, crushed hundreds of residents to death, and trapped many alive. Matthew Davenport draws on letters, diaries, unpublished memoirs, and previously unearthed archival records, as well as interviews with engineers and geologists, to combine history and science to tell the dramatic true story of one of the greatest disasters in American history.

Miskatonic University is bathed in the blood of the students who have walked its halls. A place where the darkness is more than just shadows. As with many of the best universities, many students having a distinguished family name—but at Miskatonic this can be as much a curse as a blessing. Such an aged repository of occult histories has secrets of its own. Miskatonic University is an anchor for all reality. Held tentatively in place by spells woven into its walls over generations. Someone, somewhere, is breaking those spells and all of the universe is on the brink of tearing apart.

H. P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth introduced us to a corrupt and fallen town, owned and controlled by the dark Esoteric Order of Dagon. But how did Innsmouth fall so far from the healthy New England town that it had been? What could possibly convince an entire port town to abandon their beliefs and morality for the darker path of the Necronomicon? The answer was found in the lost journals of Obed Marsh.

Dr. Andrew Doran has been out of touch with the major civilizations for quite a while. When an emissary from his Alma Mater demands his assistance, Andrew is in such a state that he has no choice but to help. The Nazis have taken the Necronomicon from Miskatonic University's library. With it they could call upon every form of darkness and use the powers of the void to destroy all who stand in their way of unlimited power.

Andrew Doran—celebrated archaeologist and wisecracking warrior against enemies beyond human imagination—faces his greatest challenge, this time the fate of the world is at stake. Doran’s colleague Nancy Dyer has located the Book of Eibon. Its vast power is a magnet for foes from all over the world. Miskatonic University soon finds itself besieged by dark forces whose victory would mean the end of Earth as we know it.

Dr. Andrew Doran is back! Narrowly saving the world from the cosmic advance of the Nazi armies, Andrew Doran is loathing with his new position as dean of Miskatonic University. The duties of a dean are too slow for the lifestyle that Andrew had become accustomed to, but he doesn't have to wait long until he finds that the previous dean had sold documents to the Nazis direct from the library of Miskatonic University.

Sammy Howell died at 89, but she signed a contract to continue on as a digital avatar. She didn't expect it would be the bloodiest wild west game ever. Sammy Howell was widowed a few years back and threw her everything into being the best grandmother that she could. She buried her sadness and had fun. Then she was diagnosed with cancer. Death was knocking on her door and the idea of putting her granddaughter, Winifred, through everything the elderly widow had just been through broke her heart.

In the wake of their mother's death, Jason and Amy Night tried to get on with their lives. While Amy buried herself in her work and taking care of their ailing father, Jason took another path. He donned a mask and became the protector of Darden Valley. He became The Guardian. When Darden Valley comes under attack from more than just crooks and thugs, the siblings will have to lean on each other to protect their family and defend their city. Does the Darden Valley Guardian have what it takes to protect his city while his family is under attack?

Shane’s a damned good salesman, but when a promotion that he spent years earning gets taken away only hours after getting it, he realizes that sometimes it doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do. But that’s not good enough for Shane. Confronting the person that he believes is responsible for his situation, Shane learns that there’s another, quieter, sales organization that he’s competing against: Perdition Investments. At Perdition Investments the products are whatever you want the most, but the cost is your Soul. Shane has a chance to use his excellent skills in an entirely new way, but at what cost? Can you lose your soul by trading people for theirs? What’s the price for success?

In a last ditch effort to save the Kingdom, Merlin, the former Wizard of Camelot, calls upon the Lady of the Lake to beg for one last favor: Protect his offspring. The child that no one knew Merlin had is spirited away, given to a farming family far from the hunters of Wizard blood. Two generations later, twins Cremont and Dash Farthing are born, and Lord Bonnevist, the last dark wizard, has come to cast his dark power over Merlin’s land. Never having known their heritage, the boys are surprised to discover they are the only ones who can stop his dark shadow.