Titus Crow and the Burrowers Beneath/ The Transition of Titus Crow

Titus Crow and the Burrowers beneath by Brian Lumley is a book that I read as a kid and really made an impression on me.  It is a book loosely classified as horror that has its basis on H.P. Lovecraft's weird fiction from the turn of the century.  Of course if you are a Lovecraft purist you may be a little disappointed by this book because though it features the Great Old ones, it also prominently features elements of the mythology introduced by August Derleth after HPL's death such as the "good versus evil dichotomy"  [1] instead of the"nhilistic"  unbeatable and singularly evil pantheon created by HPL himself and his immediate contemporaries [1]

Of course that means nothing to you if you have not read Lovecraft's work so I will try to briefly lay down the foundation of the myth cycle that figures so prominently in the Titus Crow books as well as being featured in various degrees in various other pop culture items from Hellboy to Jerusalem's Lot by Stephen King. 

In short it is all about this nasty guy right here:

That, my friends, is Cthulu.  The most evil dragon-octopus from space you will ever read about.  Of course Cthulu has many other deities whom he lords over all the while trapped deep beneath the Pacific in his slimy city of R'lyeh. Most of these deities were created by HPL himself in various works of fiction, some were created by Robert E. Howard of Conan the Barbarian fame, some in the verbose stories of Clark Ashton Smith, whille others were created by August Derleth and others who came after such as the author of Titus Crow, Brian Lumley.  Among the pantheon are Shudde M'ell, Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth, and various other unpronouncable evil gods.

Of the story itself, the first part in the saga "The Burrowers Beneath" details Titus Crow an occultist with wizardly knowledge and Henry Laurant-de Marigny who acts as Crow's Watson-esque sidekick and who's diary serves to narrate most of the story (a favorite convention of HPL).  Of course the story is completely fantastic, and yet it drew me in and I had a difficult time putting it down.  In the first part of Crow's saga you are informed of most of the action through de Marigny's journal which serves to keep suspense (HPL was known to tell stories in this form only to have the characters die in the end and leave their journal as the only evidence of their fate) and it also keeps Crow somewhat aloof, adding to the mystery of his character.  Crow is indeed mysterious he seems to be incredibly intelligent, and posseses artifacts of great magical power and arcane knowlege that he uses to help fight against the ultimate evil.

I don't want to give away too much about the story but Crow does eventually find aid in the mysterious "Wilmarth Foundation"  from Miskatonic University who use their sorcerous and scientific knowlege as well as government contacts to act as a cross between "Men in Black" and "Constantine"  traveling the world battling the minions of Cthulu and attempting to exterminate them. 

At the end of the story Titus Crow and de Marigny are missing and presumed dead, however in the second installment, "The Transition of Titus Crow"  de Marigny appears in the middle of the Thames with every bone in his body broken, while Crow is stranded in outer space somewhere in the distant future or past, with a little help from the technolgy of the Elder Gods.

In "The Transition of Titus Crow" Crow is fleshed out a little more, he acts as the narrator for most of the story and we are able to gain a little insight into his head.  At this point the story becomes completely fantastical and goes from being a story about cosmic horror to a story of epic fantasy, complete with a robot playing god, dragons, Gods and Godesses and a nice cheesy romance plotline thrown in to spice it up.  Of course all the eclectic elements available to Lumley are put together to make a story that should be horrible and too far-reaching, but somehow he manages to write a tale that really pops and while it is a little rediculous at time you will find yourself rooting for Crow, and hoping for his return to the earth.

I give Titus Crow: The Burrowers Beneath and The Transition of Titus Crow an 8 out of 10 and I recommend it for fans of weird fiction, adventure, fantasy and horror.    


1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu_Mythos