The Abyssal Plain

The R'lyeh Cycle

By: Brett J. Talley, William Holloway, Michelle Garza

Narrated by: John Pirhalla

They called it the Event.

The Event changed everything. The earthquakes came first, including the Big One, shattering the Pacific Rim and plunging the world into chaos. Then, the seas came, the skies opened, and the never-ending rain began. But as bad as that was, there is something worse.

The Rising has begun.

A lone man who abandoned the world for his addictions searches a waterlogged Austin for something...anything to cling to. Little does he know that something else searches for him.

In the Sonoran Desert, the downtrodden of the world search for a better life north of the border, only to see the desert become an ocean - an ocean that takes life and gives death.

In the woods of Alabama, survivors escape to Fort Resistance, but soon discover that it isn’t just the horrors of the deep places of the world that they need to fear but rather a new and more deadly pestilence that has grown in their own ranks.

In England, it’s too late to fight, and all that’s left is to survive. One man reaches for his own humanity, but what to do when humanity is an endangered species?

And in the Pacific, He is rising.

In The Abyssal Plain: The R’lyeh Cycle, authors William Holloway, Michelle Garza, Melissa Lason, Brett J. Talley, and Rich Hawkins have created a timely and uniquely modern reimagining of the Cthulhu Mythos.

©2019 William Holloway, Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason, Brett J. Talley, and Rich Hawkins (P)2020 JournalStone

it's ok

it's a fine telling, in my opinion wish we got some different type of stories for it but interesting nonetheless

great story of cultists, monsters, and despair.

Do NOT listen to the negative review above.
This is a 4 part story, set from beginning to end, in sequence, from different perspectives. The background events continue along apace as the the stories change. The authors did a good job of not dumping clues that spoil the progress throughout.

While the writing is very modern and doesn't seek to emulate Lovecraft, the overwhelming bleakness and fatalism present from beginning to end is fantastic and really captures true cosmic horror that HP tried to invoke.

Seriously be prepared for wretched characters and agonizing deaths all the way through. I'm pretty cynical, and even I was like "wow that's rough" a few time.

Dark and true to HP

It’s well written by a modest talent. The plot and characters are okay. Not every book is a masterpiece. I don’t regret the credit nor the hours spent on it. If you like Lovecraft you’ll like this. The writing is less prosaic and archaic than HP but I don’t count that against it. It’s well narrated and that’s not always easy with horror. It’s not a 5 star book but it’s a solid 3-1/2. I have no experience with this author’s other work but it wouldn’t surprise me to find a true gem among it or a lot of crap.

Enjoyed this

Interesting short stories of the apocalypse from Cthulhu-like creatures. This is a good break from the zombie apocalypse.

Pretty Good

I seldom find much enjoyment in lovecraftian fiction that was not produced by the man himself. This is one of those rare times when I actually did. The writers possessed a clear understanding of the lore and used it to tell a good set of stories. I feel like some of it could have been more detailed but that aside I'm genuinely pleased.