Titus Crow, The Clock of Dreams & Spawn of the Winds

I just finished reading Brian Lumley's second Titus Crow novel entitled Titus Crow: The Clock of Dreams and Spawn of the Winds. 

The first half of the book, the story entitled "The Clock of Dreams" continues the trend off this series to become completely fantastical, this time reminding me more of Tolkien than Lovecraft, although it does take place in "Dreamland" a real world dreamed  up by men in Lovecraft's fiction and peopled with fantastical denizens from peaceful villagers to crazy devil people with horns and cloven hooves.  The story follows Crow's sidekick Henri de-Marigny as he attempts to save Crow and his crazy-hot alien girlfriend Tiania from the aforementioned devil people.  Of course this turns into an epic adventure complete with floating cities, giant nightmare machines, and even a vampire blob.  The story really takes of from Lovecrafts' style establishing Lumley's own take on Lovecrafts' creation. 

If the first story reminded me of JRR Tolkien then the second story in the book, "The Spawn of the Winds"  was channeling Robert E. Howard.  Where the Clock of Dreams was as close to high fantasy as you can get, "Spawn" was a swashbuckling romp complete with duels, people getting harpooned, bear cavalry, wolf riders and snow ships.

The story itself brings us back to a character briefly intoduced in "Burrowers" named Hank Siberhutte a big beefy Texan psychic with a score to settle with the "Cthonian Cycle Deities" and one in particular Ithaqua A.K.A. The Thing that Walks on the Winds.  In this story Hank is the main character while Crow and de Marigny are completely absent.  While searching out the Wind-Walker in the arctic Hank is transported along with 4 others including his sister to the frozen world of Borea where he becomes embroiled in a civil war between prime evil Ithaqua and his followers and his wayward half human (and super-fine) daughter and her own tribe. Of course cheesy romance follows along with crazy battles involving polar bears, wolves, spears, magic power etc.

Again Lumleys style is all over the place but he somehow figures out a way to keep it together and create a narrative that is compelling at times, though I do have to complain that the romantic plot between Armandra and Hank is pretty much exactly the same as Tiania and Crow's romantic subplot, and it stuck in my craw a little bit.     

In all I enjoyed the read and those who don't mind their fiction a little pulpy will probably be pretty satisfied with this.