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The Lovecraft Squad: All Hallows Horror (2017)

by John Llewellyn Probert
Created by Stephen Jones

(a) Pegasus Books, USA • hc • $25.95
ISBN 978-1-68177-333-9
The Lovecraft Squad: All Hallows Horror
Cover Design by Douglas Klauba

The first novel in a new series following the exploits of a secret organization dedicated to battling the eldritch monstrosities given form in H.P. Lovecraft’s fevered imagination. Don’t dig down below . . . When Human Protection League agent Professor Bob Chambers is called to London to investigate the macabre discovery of an old manuscript which has lain buried and hidden away for centuries, he stumbles upon a conspiracy than spans the aeons. Along with headstrong investigative reporter Karen Shepworth and a handful others, he finds himself incarcerated in the “cursed” All Hallows Church as part of a publicity stunt. However, All Hallows has always been a nexus of evil—and the demons that inhabit the very ground it is built upon are preparing to rise again when the stars are right. After a nightmarish journey through the Nine Circles of Hell, Bob and Karen finally arrive in the subterranean Sea of Darkness, where a monstrous god awaits them. With the legions of dead preparing to walk the earth again, time is running out to defeat this unholy entity and the ancient sorcerer who serves him—Thomas Moreby!

Reviews

  • “While Probert might have written the book, the mastermind at back of it all is horror maestro Stephen Jones, with The Lovecraft Squad series tying in to a previous series of linked books published under the general heading Zombie Apocalypse . . . with a
    bog standard horror device (the discovery of a cursed document) as Probert’s launching pad for a journey into the stratosphere of the horror genre, where the bizarre and grotesque are indistinguishable from the sublime and underlying it all is a fearsome engine of metaphysics . . . It is a bravura performance, a tour de force that dazzles with the wealth of invention and the sheer spectacle committed to the page . . . I loved every minute of this book, which certainly got the new series off to a flying start, and along the way picked up on some of the hints as to how it will all tie in to Jones’ Zombie Apocalypse predecessor.”
    —Peter Tennant
    BLACK STATIC #63 (May-June, 2018)
  • “Probert manages to create memorable and truly frightening scenes thanks to the building tension of his prose style . . . It’s a clever idea that both pays homage to the ideas expressed in Lovecraft’s fiction, while giving it a more contemporary setting.”
    —Alan Cranis
    BOOKGASM, April 2017
  • “A grisly, gripping tale of terror with roots in medieval English history and Lovecraftian horror.”
    —Tobias Mutter
    SHELF AWARENESS FOR READERS, March 31, 2017
  • “The Lovecraft Squad: All Hallows Horror is the first book in a new series created by award-winning horror editor Stephen Jones, presenting a fresh approach to H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthuhlu Mythos . . . John Llewellyn Probert’s story is much more character and action-driven than traditional Lovecraftian stories . . . Even if you’re not a fan of Lovecraftian fiction, All Hallows Horror is a smashing, wild ride that should be on your reading list . . . I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.”
    —Timothy Janson
    SCIFI MOVIE PAGE, March 20, 2017
  • “John Llewellyn Probert has written a fine, fast-paced pulp chiller in which he uses effectively the Lovecraftian tropes he obviously loves.”
    —Peter Coleborn,
    THE BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY.ORG, March 7, 2017
  • “Smartly combining Lovecraftian and classical mythologies, Probert does an excellent job of creating a suspenseful and often horrific atmosphere without indulging in gratuitous gore or violence . . . Fans of Lovecraft and horror should enjoy.”
    —Matt Schirano
    LIBRARY JOURNAL, February 14, 2017
  • “The pieces of a truly great ghost story are all present, with the added fun of the exploits of the agency. Horror fans will enjoy this one.”
    —Emily Whitmore
    BOOKLIST, February 3, 2017
  • “If you love Lovecraft Mythos, black magick, medieval history, or Dante, this book has it all (plus eternal zombies and shapeshifting and horror-horror-horror. Excellently written, articulate, this is a re-reader.”
    —THE HAUNTED READING ROOM, December 3, 2016
  • “This was a fantastic read that just kept getting better . . . Probert’s imagery sucks you in, and the action propels you along.”
    —Lilyn G.
    SCI-FI AND SCARY, December 24, 2016