Pulpy, Punchy Tales of the Occult Hero, Titus Crow

The Compleat Crow is the collected short stories of Brian Lumley's occult hero, Titus Crow, in chronological order (narratively speaking, not publishing order).

I have heard that Lovecraft purists don't like Lumley's Crow stories because they don't hew closely to the Lovecraft canon or style. The stories are indeed a bit more adventurous and positive in tone. Pulpy, you might say. The character actually triumphs most of the time. I understand the difference, but I can't really understand why it's a reason to hate the Crow stories. They are different than Lovecraft's in formulation and tone, but they absolutely adhere to the larger canon of weird fiction, taking into account investigative heroes like Algernon Blackwood's John Silence or William Hope Hodgson's Carnaki. Further, because they abandon the bleak and sometimes ponderous style of Lovecraft, they are more entertaining to read for most audiences. It just depends. If you are looking for horrifying, existentialist, verbose Lovecraftian style, you wont' find them in this collection. These are well-paced, punchy, heroic stories.

Anyway, the titles in this volume are:

"Inception" (1987)
"Lord of the Worms" (originally published in Weirdbook 17, 1983)
"The Caller of the Black" (originally published in The Caller of the Black, 1971 Arkham House)
"The Viking's Stone" (originally published in The Horror at Oakdeene & Others, 1977 Arkham House)
"The Mirror of Nitocris" (originally published in The Caller of the Black, 1971 Arkham House)
"An Item of Supporting Evidence" (originally published in Arkham Collector, Winter 1970)
"Billy's Oak" (originally published in Arkham Collector, Winter 1970)
"Darghud's Doll" (originally published in The Horror at Oakdeene & Others, 1977 Arkham House)
"De Marigny's Clock" (originally published in The Caller of the Black, 1971 Arkham House)
"Name and Number" (originally published in Kadath, July 1982)
"The Black Recalled" (1983, originally published in World Fantasy Convention 1983: Sixty Years of Weird Tales)

Overall the writing, as you might expect of a short story collection that spans more than a decade, is uneven. A few stories were weaker potboilers, but others were quite good. I particularly liked Inception, The Viking's Stone, Darghud's Idol, and De Maringny's Clock. Lord of the Worms was the longest story, FYI. I say that because it's the second one and it might lead you to expect all the stories to be long novellas.

Lumley has always been a bit hit and miss for me, but when he is at his best, the reading is really exciting. I especially liked his novel, Necroscope (not a Titus Crow story, but definitely an occult story.)

I don't know if The Compleat Crow is the best place to start reading the Titus Crow stories. All I can say is that I have not read any of the others and the collection made sense to me. On the other hand, I have read all of Lovecraft, so none of the mythos references threw me. Your mileage may vary.

The reading was by Simon Vance. That's all you have to know because Vance is a fantastic audiobook narrator and he gave this one his usual stellar effort.

10 people found this helpful

Classic Brian Lumley

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

It is always a delight to immerse oneself into a Brian Lumley title (I have read all of the Necroscope titles) and this one is no exception. I love Titus Crow and his short adventures. My favorites include "Lord of the worms" and "De Marigny's clock" while "Billy's oak" was a short gem of a story. The characters are colorful in their dark setting and I was sad when this audiobook ended. I must read more adventures of Titus Crow, I simply must.

6 people found this helpful

Lovecraft's Mythos Carried On

Would you consider the audio edition of The Compleat Crow to be better than the print version?

As I do most of my "reading" via audiobook these days, of course. The narrator was quite suitable for Lumley's stories, and seats the listener firmly into the narrative.

What did you like best about this story?

Brian Lumley carries on HP Lovecraft's Mthos quite well, although in a different dirrection than the Old Man of Providence, and this collection is a worthy addition to the universe, along with the rest of his Mythos books..

Which scene was your favorite?

Titus Crow is a different take on the classic Lovecraftian protagonist, in that he is able to maintain his sanity, somewhat, after repeated encounters with the creatures of the Mythos. I cannot limit myself to one particular scene, as Crow is

If you could rename The Compleat Crow, what would you call it?

I feel the title works quite well as a collection as is. The later Crow books had wonderful Lovecraftian titles, but as this is a collection of short stories, it seems fitting.

4 people found this helpful

Fascinating tales of horror and sci-fi

The Titus Crow stories are some of the most iconic tales set in the Cthulhu Mythos. They're also some of the most unlike H.P. Lovecraft since the protagonists routinely kick the asses of the supernatural forces they're facing. The Compleat Crow follows the adventure sof Titus Crow before the book series where he becomes a time and space travelling stand-in for the Doctor from Doctor Who. They're spooky and enjoyable with quite a few twists and turns as well as more atmosphere than the main series. This is probably the best of the works aside from The Burrowers Beneath which I recommend as well.

2 people found this helpful

A Bit of Crow

Titus Crow, his friend Henri-Laurent de Marigny and others are featured in this series of novellas and short stories beginning with the onset of Titus Crow's supernatural abilities and ending with a story after his death.

Titus Crow is a occult detective with a Holmes like feel. The stories are based on the H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos. I guess I am really going to have to read some Lovecraft one of these days as I think it would help me merge faster with the story.

The stories are narrated by Titus Crow and various other characters from the novels. I was confused on a few stories because I thought the narrator was Crow but it turned out to be someone else.

Included are stories ranging from 1970-1987:
Inception
Lord of Worms
The Caller of the Black
The Viking's Stone
The Mirror of Nitrocris
An Item of Supporting Evidence
Billy's Oak
Darghud's Doll
De Marigny's Clock
Name & Number
The Black Recalled

My favorites are: Lord of the Worms, De Marigny's Clock and The Black Recalled.

As always listening to Simon Vance is a pleasure.

This audiobook was provided at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

1 person found this helpful

A must for Lovecraft fans

What did you love best about The Compleat Crow?

It's a wonderful set of stories about crow and his battles with minions of the CCD. It's a great companion to Lumleys other Titus stories. Truly a great listen

Who was your favorite character and why?

Demagogue reminds me of Watson

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

HE does a great job with the voices

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

A few laughs and quite a few shivers

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided to me free of charge by the author, narrator or publishe via audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review

1 person found this helpful

Titus Crow = if Sherlock Holmes were an occultist

Simon Vance is a magnificent narrator, and the magickal, Sherlock Holmes-like world of fictional English occultist Titus Crow was fun to listen to. Brian Lumley makes good use of the Cthulhu mythos, but here it is possible for the good guys to win. From the surprising genesis of Crow's unusual awareness, to his battles of wit against Alistair Crowley-like villains and Lovecraftian creatures, to Crow's virtue clinging to the ruins of his home even after his death, the tales kept my interest and were delightful. Kudos to Mr Lumley for creating this character.

A fun collection, but less than I expected.

Here we have a fun collection of stories about Titus Crow, ranging from his birth to shortly before the adventures leading to his Transition. Dark. Atmospheric. Exciting. But little was new.

Simon Vance is, of course, an excellent narrator. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. And if somewhat less (accurate to the text) than I'd like, his inflections are skillful.

I think my disappointment with the narrator lies in the fact that several of these stories are in other collections (The Taint and Haggoppian, read by Joshua Saxon) and here just don't have the same depth of atmosphere and resonance as those other recordings.

Now, the stories themselves.

Naturally, Titus Crow is my favorite Lumley character. That is much if what drew me to this series in the first place. However, it was nice to also find a new character (Henri Marigny) who I connected with as well.

I most confess, however, to a bit of disappointment at how few of these stories are told from Crow's perspective. Most are about other characters who come into contact with Crow.

That said, however, each story is interesting and unique, with a different feel and a different focus, do there's plenty of variety.

As before, my favorite Crow story is still Lord of the Worms. I just love the ambiance, the overtones, and the air of mystery about the story and how it brilliantly presents Crow's expertise and brilliance while also showing his weaknesses and humanity.

One thing I will absolutely grant the author is his deftness with twist endings. Most are brilliantly put together.

I really enjoyed this book!

I didnt want it to end as it was very entertaining and interesting. I love Brian Lumley books and cant wait to dive into the next one.Simon did a great job.

good stuff

Really well done, I highly recommend it. I'm just filling words now....oh more words needed.