Randolph "Dilda" Carter

Above average anthology from the usually outstanding Datlow (the hardest working editor in horror). Avoids some traps by excluding some of the usual suspects you would expect in an anthology like this (I won't name them) and substituting others who I bet this was their first foray into Lovecraftiana. It mostly works. Some of the usuals are still here (Barron, Kiernan), but these are the ones that almost never deliver a substandard product.

There be monsters here. All these stories are themed around tangible (or at least sort of visible) monsters, not just eerie goings on. These things want to eat you, or at least be mean to you, in more ways than one. So most likely the thing you see coming out of the wall is really a thing coming out of the wall, and it doesn't intend to thank you for inadvertently calling it up. Even the more upbeat stories leave you with a final cosmic chill. There isn't much outright comedy here besides irony, which is a good thing since I hate Lovecraftian humor. It NEVER works for me.

All in all something worth reading even if you aren't into Lovecraft but are into monsters.