Book Review: Kthulu Reich by Ken Asamatsu, Jim Rion (Translator)

Kthulu Reich by Ken Asamatsu, Jim Rion (Translator)

Paperback, 252 pages

Published 2019 by Kurodahan Press

I am not sure how many times I have read a Kurodahan Press release but this is my second time reading the Japanese Lovecraftian master Ken Asmatsu. I could be wrong but from all the biographical material I have read, it seems he is the foremost Lovecraft nerd on the island of Japan. I get this picture in my head of him leading Cthulu prayer breakfasts in Japan. The guy is clearly an expert on all things Lovecraft. What I really enjoyed about his novel Queen of K'n-Yan is it took the mythos and filtered it through a very Japanese cultural filter.

Queen of K'n-Yan really is a must read, I mention that book because I never really stopped thinking about that Mummy meets mythos novel since I read it in 2011. that book also was clearly influenced by Clive Barker as well as the Resident Evil games. These Ken Asmatsu books are a textbook example of why we need a healthy and thriving small press. Kurodahan press has translated and provided a book that no major publisher in New York would bother to give but it is an important and fun book none the less.

So that brings me to Kthulu Reich. It was important for me to lead with my respect for the press and the author since I got to be honest and admit I was not super into this book. I liked it, I mean three stars is a positive review but I didn't LOVE it like I did the last one.

Let us start with the cover. Kurodahan Press books have always come with beautiful covers. I found the art on this cover to be simple and cheezy. It looked like a Lovecraftian monster was cut and pasted on to a tank. Now you can't judge a book by the cover and certainly, I wouldn't discount a book for bad art. That said pretty cover doesn't hurt and that is what I had come to expect.

Kthulu Reich as book confused me a little the back cover describes it as a "fantastic novel of the War, the Cthulhu Mythos, and humanity trapped in the middle." when you look in the cover the table of contents has seven titles with original copyrights between 1994 and 1999. How I review collections and novels are very different, how I read them are little different. This might not affect other readers as much as it did me. As novel has to flow and a collection can have ups and downs.

Certainly this can we read as one connecting story but certain stories worked better for me than others. In the middle of the book was a chapter/ or a story called in the Wasteland of Madness. This tale was connected almost a WW II men on a mission sequel to the Classic At the Mountains of Madness. I really enjoyed the Feast for the Children of the Night which was a traditional vampire tale. As a whole, the book ties Nazi occultism to the mythos not only of Lovecraft but traditional horror monsters.

That is a neat concept and has some really cool moments of execution. I would suggest Queen of K'n-Yan which I feel to be a much deeper experience which showcases the power of Japanese genre fiction. Kthulu Reich is fun, a cool read but I have read lots of native English language novels and seen plenty of movies with the Nazi occult angle. When I opened this book I was hoping for a more unique Japanese experience.

Kthulu Reich is a short and fun read. I can't stress FUN enough. I think it is important that Ken is translated into English. In that sense every book Kurodahan Press releases is important. Not every American horror book is a masterpiece but they all deserve to read. I am glad I read it, and I hope others will buy books from and support the mission of Kurodahan Press.