Ari Marmell’s Litany of Dreams is one of my favourites in the Arkham Horror range so far. Miskatonic University student Elliot Raslo is falling apart, desperate to find some clue to the whereabouts of his missing best friend Chester, and worrying that he’s going mad with a snippet of a sinister chant echoing through his mind and tormenting his dreams. When Inuit hunter Billy Shiwak arrives in Arkham looking for an ancient artefact stolen from his tribe, the two men – along with the deeply uncomfortable librarian Daisy Walker – reluctantly work together, and uncover the truth of an arcane litany that can infect those who hear it.

This really hit the nail on the head for me, in terms of blending ‘20s Americana, creepy cosmic horror and a pinch of vintage pulp, with just the right amount of troubled dream sequences and a plot that’s enjoyably twisty in all the right places. All three of the main characters are great fun to read about, each with a really distinct voice, and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Daisy and Elliot, both of whom are reluctant to believe in any kind of spirits and magic (at least to begin with) and Billy, whose doesn’t so much believe as know, and takes pretty much everything in his stride. Marmell does a great job of exploring the prejudices of the time, particularly in Billy’s case, and also digging into the emotional cost of going through this sort of trauma, in a way that not all horror stories manage. I really couldn’t put this one down.

So apparently this book is based on a board game. I have honestly never heard of the games before and this book makes me want to go out and buy them!

This book was simply amazing. I absolutely loved all aspects of this book. The storyline, the characters, and the villains. The writing style was engaging and poetic at times.

I am eager to explore and read other Arkham Horror family saga books. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I started reading this book and found that it was not for me. I didn't want to review a book that I didn't finish.

While the early Arkham books stayed firmly in that sinister town, Ari Marmell heads further afield, to explore how the insidious darkness of the Great Old Ones spreads far deeper into the lands around Massachusetts.

We follow Elliot Raslo with what might otherwise be a simple missing persons case: his roommate has vanished. After reading some mysterious writings. And becoming obsessed with a particular chant in an uncomfortably weird language.Yes, this is Arkham after all!

The story unfurls like a true yarn, leading from libraries and museums to the swamps of Hockomock outside the town, with a nod to the ancient lore of the Inuit peoples far to the North.

The tone shifts and changes – fortunately far more comfortably for the reader than for the characters! – so that we see Elliot’s confusion, his new friend Billy’s increasing worry, and the curiosity of librarian Daisy Walker, all combining beautifully as the quest unfolds.

I was reminded of many Lovecraftian movies (notably ‘Reanimator’, with the emphasis on Miskatonic University), but also ‘Evil Dead’ and even ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’ The escalating fear of the protagonists is tangible, and there were several points where it genuinely seemed like there was no way out for them. I don’t want to say any more for fear of spoilers, but this evil is its own kind of spreading disease, with no way of knowing if there’s any cure. Sound relevant?

I have DNF this book,

I was quite torn with this one. On one hand, I was really sad to just drop it, because I was happy to be reading again something by this author, and because it is a well-developed book, as far as I have read. It has some amazing Lovecraftian vibes, and there is an interesting mystery on top of that. And Arham is an interesting city to explore. But on the other hand, I wasn't enjoying myself. The problem is that I am not a horror fan, but, as strange as this can seem, I really enjoy Lovecraft's stories, so I hoped that this combined with an author that I really enjoy would have helped me along. But I was wrong. There is something in all the horror full-length novels I have read that prevents me from really enjoying the story, that prevents me from really connecting with the characters, and since I am usually a character-driven kind of reader this stops me from fully enjoying the reading. And, sadly, this book was no exception. While I think this would be a great book if you have not the same problems with this genre that I have, with such atmospheres and an intriguing plot, this is sadly not the right book for me. I have read 100 pages, or a bit more, and I really hoped to start enjoying it for real at some point, but... nope. But I really think that this could be an amazing spooky book, and I hope it would get all the love it deserves!

3.5 stars

This was a fun spooky read that I would recommend to lovers of horror books. It's not really all that scary, but it has that creepy vibe that a lot of us search for in horror books. In this book we follow multiple characters in a very creepy and mysterious place. I thought this book was really interesting and easy to read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've never played the board game this is based on, and this is my first book in the series, but I was into it. It's not really *scary* but it is spooky, and I love anything that is "dark academia," as in it takes place in a school and is creepy. If you're into Lovecraft, you'll probably like this one.

A Litany of Dreams is the most recent addition to the Arkham Horror Files fiction family. The book is part of the universe created for the popular cooperative game. I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. And honestly, I expected to hate it. Having not read anything else from the anthology, I expected to be confused, but the standalone plot took an unbiased approach to draw the reader into a mystery fit for Agatha Christie and H.P. Lovecraft. The book starts out at full octane which disappoints only that it brakes sharply to build up some background as characters are introduced. Still as the story unfolds, you become drawn to student Elliot Raslo, as he seeks answers to why his roommate and friend, Chester, has gone missing. He bites of more than he can chew, but as the story unfolds he finds help in the form of a motley crew of similarly vested individuals with an unknown common adversary.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was an enjoyable read! i had no idea it was supposed to be based on a board game? but now i want to try it out!

the story is decent, the writing is okay although it felt a little too dramatic and self-aware at times that i couldn't take it seriously, the characters were fine too but not that well-realized? i wasn't super attached to them but they carried out their roles anyway.

overall, an enjoyable novel that's worth the read!

I loved the characters! Elliot, Daisy and Billy were each so distinct and interesting, I loved following their journey! After a room mate goes missing at the university, the chase is on to find out what exactly happened on that fateful day! I really enjoyed thee plot, it kept me interested in how it was going to end, and was going in a completely different direction than I expected!

I recommend it!

Thank you to Net Galley and Aconyte Books for the ARC of this book.

So this is definitely my fault, but I got so mesmerized by this gorgeous cover that I skimmed over the fact that it is an Arkham Horror game tie-in novel. While I am familiar with the game, I have never played it.

Saying that, this book was A LOT of fun. I've read a few different reimaginings in the Lovecraft universe this year, and they definitely are a little dry. This had a lot of action, some compelling characters and a really fun story.

Litany of Dreams is a tie-in horror novel set in the Arkham Horror universe. Released 13th April 2021 by Aconyte, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

The setting is Lovecraftian - Miskatonic University and environs. The mythos is pure Lovecraft - psychological horror, creeping dread, incomprehensible nightmarish chanting in the dead of night and awakening unspeakable elder gods. Of the intelligently rendered protagonists, one is in search of his roommate who has gone missing after delving in dark mysteries best left alone, one is an indigenous man on the trail of a powerful profaned stolen artifact of his people, and the third is a reference librarian.

This will be an obvious choice for fans of the Arkham Horror board & card games and the co-op universe, but for a broader audience who are not necessarily already fans of the canonical Lovecraft stories, this could be a good fit as well. It's very well written and while it -is- horror, there's very little actual gore (mostly some body horror).

Four stars. Not for kids and possibly NSFW because of content, not language, which is fairly mild.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Interesting story into a video game that I haven't played yet.
It had some good mystery elements to it but not strong enough characters.
I wasn't the audience for this, but I am happy to have been given a chance to enter the world.

Miskatonic University student Elliot Raslo is troubled, both by the mysterious disappearance of his roommate, Chester, and by the ceaseless chant that loops endlessly through his thoughts. His search for his roommate and for relief from the unending chant will lead to a broken stone stele covered in ancient writings and an ally on his own quest. Billy Shiwak left his home and his tribe to complete his father’s quest and return a stolen artifact to their safe keeping, tracking it all the way to Arkham, Massachusetts and Miskatonic University. Both seek answers leading away from the broken stele and the writings on it and the more they search, the more questions crop up. The more it looks like the litany and Chester’s research into it risk awakening something horrific.

I admit that I was not entirely sure what I expected when I picked up Ari Marmell’s Litany of Dreams. The idea of a college student searching for his roommate who might already be lost to the infectious horror our protagonist is dealing with is fascinating. But it felt oddly quiet after the prologue, like the reader had been shown that things were serious and now Marmell wanted to build up to the threats that had already been implied and give them more context.

There is a slowness to Litany of Dreams, not a matter of it dragging but a slow creeping build as Elliot struggles with the litany’s infection while the situation grows ever worse around him. Each moment that introduces a point of hope or a way to fight back only serves to show more of the threat or to treat the symptoms of the litany, ever more temporary treatments at that. The slowness gives it a delightful sense of dread. There is no escaping the litany for Elliot. It plagues him at every turn, every time his mind wonders, and when he sleeps it follows him into his dreams as something somehow worse. The whole thing leads Elliot to feeling very helpless as a protagonist, despite his attempts at finding his roommate and finding a way to rid himself of the litany, because every break through is a stop gap in the face of something far, far beyond him or any of our other protagonists. This works for me so well though, Elliot feels helpless in so many ways, but it does not stop him from trying to find Chester and that gives everything a lovely tragic tint. This especially taken with a mid book reveal that could have easily been sussed out ahead of the reveal that just twists the knife that extra little bit.

I will say, as well as Elliot works as a protagonist, I do wish there had been more of the other characters. Billy is important through out, his quest to recover his people’s artifact has as much weight as Elliot’s search for Chester, but he does not always feel like nearly as much of a protagonist as Elliot. Billy gets less time as a view point character once things get rolling. He is much more physically capable than Elliot, and has a background with the artifact thanks to his people’s stories, but Billy can often feel more like a very important secondary character than a deuteragonist. This expands to other characters as well. The Miskatonic University head librarian Daisy, whose surname I have completely forgotten, is important in the first stretch of the book but then she disappears for what felt like a huge chunk of the middle section and never really regains her importance despite being greatly helpful later on.

Conversely, there are a couple of characters who feel hugely important to the greater Arkham Horror setting but who feel like they only really show up in Litany of Dreams to allow the plot to be wrapped up. I do not know that I was a fan of those characters. Clearly there is a much larger set of conspiracies going on in Arkham, and clearly we are meant to be aware of those. But it feels like, to readers who are me, there would have been a much better tie up if some of the bits from the book’s climax had been given to Daisy to discover, potentially pulling her further into things, rather than introducing an eleventh hour new character to take care of them. Mostly it feels like one of them comes out of nowhere and I do not know what to do with them.

At the end of the day I greatly enjoyed Litany of Dreams, Marmell does a fantastic job with his character work and setting up this oppressive air of something terribly wrong having happened. There were moments where I felt like I needed to put the book down for a moment to get away from it, and that is not a complaint at all. But I am a bit frustrated with the new characters at the end. This means that Litany of Dreams earns a four out of five from me and also leaves me excited to see what Marmell will do next. So, give it a shot if you get the chance.

This was my first book in the Arkham Horror universe, and let me tell you I LOVED it.
The characters were all so unique and their voices and experiences made them so distinct, I immediately felt connected and invested in their story.
The plot was intriguing and captivating, and the plot twists were surprising without feeling random or forced. This was a joy to read and I hope to see more from this author in the future.

Aconyte’s newest Arkham Horror title is upon us: Litany of Dreams by Ari Marmell. It has another one of those gorgeous art-deco covers, and perhaps the biggest role we’ve seen so far for an establish Arkham Files Investigator.

Litany of Dreams has a very unusual feel for an Arkham Book – whilst the growing, insurmountable dread is definitely there, the general vibe of large parts of the book felt more like a Zombie Apocalypse story – the shrinking numbers of survivors trying to stay alive against what feels like a never-ending wave of monstrously-transformed humans.

The story (more-or-less) begins with Elliot Raslo, a psychology student who is exhausted and feels like he is slowly going mad. Until very recently a successful Psychology student at the Miskatonic University, Elliot has been letting his education take a back seat as he devotes his time to volunteer work at the University Library – in return, he gets some limited access to the Restricted collection, wherein he hopes to find clues relating to the disappearance of his room-mate Chester, who was working, of course, on Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know.

Into this scene bursts fish-out-of-water Billy Shiwak. An intelligent man and clearly a fairly hardened fighter, Shiwak is an Inuit, experiencing Massachusetts ‘civilisation’ for the first time, and has come to Arkham, looking for something that was stolen from his people. Something which just so happens to be related to what Chester was working on before his disappearance.

The biggest problem for Rasko and Shiwak is the titular ‘Litany,’ an infectious chant or rhyme uttered in a keyboard-mashingly unintelligible language: once exposed to the Litany, it seems to be only a matter of time – at least for most – until they fall under its influence, compelled to repeat it themselves, and gradually losing their minds in the process. There are exceptions of course, with some being mysteriously immune, handy for narrative convenience, as well as upping the levels of uncertainty for the characters. Somewhat unusually for an Arkham novel (And again, reinforcing that Zombie-film feeling), the way to deal with an infected person seems generally to be by killing them, and I think that Litany of Dreams has by far the highest body-count of any Arkham story I’ve read any time recently (discounting any Arkham game where you lose and the world is destroyed, of course…)

The Billy/Elliot duo get the majority of the story’ page-time (that’s an unfortunate coincidence with the main characters’ names that I hadn’t spotted before I started the review and am now not going to be able to un-see…) but there are a couple of other figures who get a bit of a development: Ida provides an interesting window into the tremendous damage done to the lives of those who found the Litany thrust upon their community unawares, rather than having a reason to seek it out like Elliot and Billy did: her practical knowhow paints a sharp contrast with Elliot’s struggle to move beyond the Academic world into real action. Alice was another character who appears only briefly, but who I would be keen to see more of: I don’t see her becoming the protagonist of a future work, as she appears to have the sense to steer well-clear of the more dangerous side of the Mythos, but I could see a reprisal of this type of support role, perhaps being expanded a little.

As already mentioned, Litany of Dreams gives by far the biggest role so far in an Aconyte title of one of FFG’s established Investigators. Tommy Muldoon, Ashcan Pete, Preston Fairmont and others have all made brief appearances as acquaintances or reluctant sidekicks of protagonists, but Litany goes one step further, making Daisy Walker a major character in her own right: whilst she does not get as much story-time as Billy or Elliot, she gets her own point-of-view chapters, and that automatically propels the book towards the top of the charts for me. As has been the case for most investigators to appear in long-form fiction, this story clearly marks one of her first real brushes with the Mythos (at least beyond the troublesome tomes of the Restricted Section), and this definitely felt like a Daisy who was driven by her concern for an MU Student (Elliot) rather than simply a desire to discover ‘the truth’

Echoing the recent Mask of Silver, Litany of Dreams takes a rather more realistic (if, by extension, pessimistic) look at the worldviews of the people of 1920s New England. Even if Billy can convince people to stop referring to him as an “Eskimo,” he certainly isn’t going to be allowed to hang around inside the lobby of a posh hotel, and will be forced to wait outside whilst people give him dirty looks or worse. Nor is the 1920s a particularly forgiving place for Elliot whose feelings for Chester clearly went far beyond simply room-mate camaraderie, or even friendship. At best he is dismissed, and the stark rejection he receives from Chester’s parents makes clear their disgust at him (although it’s not entirely clear whether this is because they suspect his feelings, or simply because, as roommate, he should have prevented the disappearance). As depressing as these attitudes are, I definitely prefer it when authors depict their settings like this, warts-and-all, and watching the characters do what they can to overcome these challenges makes for a satisfying read.

The Ancient one behind the Litany is eventually revealed to be a disturbing creature name Tsocathra, a name which appears to be unique to this particular story (I certainly hadn’t come across it before). Whilst it can be nice sometimes to see familiar creatures cropping up in the stories, having a new entity like this allows the author (and, by extension, the story) a greater degree of freedom – we don’t know the power or the capabilities of such a being, and there’s no real opportunity for ‘experts’ to start quibbling about whether a vulnerability to tactic X, or an ability to recover from attack Y really makes sense given the wider lore.

Overall I thought that Litany of Dreams was an interesting read. It felt very different tonally to a lot of Arkham stories, just in terms of how far the ‘Litany’ was able to spread, and the scale of the impact. I also found the ending a strange one – I don’t want to spoil too much, but I will say that beyond the simple scars (mental and physical) that the surviving protagonists have suffered), the closing section brings in a new figure to help avoid the immediate destruction of humanity by the Litany: this section felt a bit odd to me, a strange mixture of Greater Threats Remaining and Deus Ex Machina. I’m assuming that Marmell has further plans for the individual introduced in this regard, so I’ll wait and see what follows before passing any further judgement on what could otherwise feel like a somewhat unresolved ending.

The nature of an Arkham story and the ruin it can make of a protagonist’s life means that sequels are often not the way of things, but I’ll be very interested to see if Marmell has plans to revisit any of the supporting cast in future. Whilst Litany of Dreams certainly wasn’t my favourite Arkham story so far, I’d still be interested to see what they have planned next.

I was first attracted to this book by the pretty purple cover and the intriguingly creepy short blurb. After I received it, I looked up Arkham Horror and discovered it is a card game based on Lovecraft’s horror. I had never heard of this game and I was honestly a little worried that this book would not be of a high quality and might be kind of silly. I was also concerned about the level of Lovecraftian influence. I can enjoy supernatural cosmic horror and otherworldly creatures of ooze and tentacles, but I do not appreciate the white supremacy, racism, and sexism common to Lovecraft himself and to many of the stories he inspired. With a fair amount of trepidation, I began reading.

Okay, so the main characters seem to be Elliot-a slightly hapless university student, Daisy-an intelligent female librarian, and a person of colour Billy-a fierce Inuk hunter no less. As I kept turning pages, I realized I was completely wrong to pre-judge because this book suffered from none of the problematic issues of Lovecraft and instead actively dispelled racism and sexism. There is even some LGBTQ representation! The racism faced by the Inuk character is not just present, but also discussed and examined as unfair and unjust. One of the best characters who appears later in the story is Alice, a strong, clever, and kick-butt black woman. I seriously would read a whole book just about her!

So, with the racism and sexism being not in evidence at all, quite the opposite, you may wonder about the quality of a book based on a game. Let me tell you this book knocked my sock off! It was engaging, exciting, funny, terrifying and most of all it was really fun! It had everything I want from a horror novel. Even while dealing with some tragic events there was still a lot of humour that kept it light and entertaining. I absolutely flew through the pages and when I finished, I looked for more Arkham Horror books. They seem to be by all different authors so I don’t know if they will be comparable to this one, but I was so impressed with “Litany of Dreams” that I’m willing to give them a try. This book surprised me, and I want to encourage other horror fans to give it a chance. It just might surprise you too!

Thank you to Aconyte Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

While this is a recent release, I read an advance copy of this book that I was sent in exchange for a review.
In <i>Litany of Dreams</i>, Ari Marmell has crafted a wonderfully engaging Lovecraft story worthy of the name (and in many respects, better than many of the original stories). The novel’s opening draws the reader in, and as the mystery slowly resolves, new horrors show the unfathomable powers of the Great Old Ones. A very good horror story that is full of action, adventure, mystery, and heart.
This is the nineteenth <i>Arkham Horror</i> novel, but only the fourth in the series by Aconyte. Each of the novels, however, appear to be stand alone works and I have not read any of the other <i>Arkham Horror</i> novels, though I am familiar with Lovecraft as a whole, and more specifically the card and board games that represent this property. But even that knowledge is unnecessary as <i>Litany of Dreams</i> completely stands on its own.
I have some minor issues with the novel. Notably, the characters—most of them are a little flat. But there is some emotional depth that is very well explored for at least one character. Additionally, while the climax is very engaging, it feels a little rushed and there’s a fair bit of <i>deus ex machina</i> on display. Also, while there is a fair amount of diversity in the cast of characters, it still seems a bit problematic to have the only indigenous character also be the only overtly mystic/magical character from the outset.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to any fans of the <i>Arkham Horror</i> series or games, fans of Lovecraft, or anyone who would enjoy a horror/adventure story set in 1920s Massachusetts. I will absolutely be checking out future <i>Arkham Horror</i> novels and other books by Marmell.

Litany of Dreams by Ari Marmell takes us into the world of Arkham Horror, a cooperative adventure board game first published in 1987.

Do not worry, though; you do not have to know one little bit about the original game or those published since to escape in this horror mystery. Litany of Dreams follows Elliot Raslo. He is a Psychology student at a Miskatonic university looking for his missing friend and roommate, Chester. Elliot uncovers Chester's research, crossing paths with Inuit Billy Shiwak. Together, they question the disappeared student's research topic, which leads them to dangers they weren't expecting.

The spine-tingling prologue sets the tone of Litany of Dreams, and Ari Marmell's use of dialogue helps bring the finer plot details to light. Coming in waves that constantly keep the reader on their toes, each level of mystery drags the characters deeper and deeper into the dark world of ancient, dark Gods.

All the characters are well developed, but Elliot especially handles his friend's disappearance with the real pain of losing someone you care about. Together with Billy and librarian Daisy, the trio of characters offers a well-rounded scope on the story. Billy is a powerhouse in and of himself, having polar opposite reasons for involving himself in the missing student Chester. Daisy approaches things with a keen mind. The later introduced Lafayette-Moses is a captivating character who deserves his own tale in the Arkham world.

With plenty of clues to unravel and the novel's basis focusing on a missing person, it would be foolish to mislead anyone that this is purely a mystery/thriller. Several nightmares from Elliot's dreamscape paint the pages with tingly terror. Elliot struggles against a chant that feels as if it is pressing in on his brain and the brief visit to the chant's origination proves to be a spooky experience.

Ari Marmell has created a precisely crafted plot in Litany of Dreams, delivering Lovecraftian-inspired horror.

Litany of Dreams (releasing April 13, 2021) is the fifth Arkham Horror novel from Aconyte Books (the fiction publishing arm of board game publisher Asmodee).
The Arkham Horror universe has a rich cast of dozens who have appeared across a variety of games, but (as is standard for Aconyte's board-game-IP novels) enjoying Litany of Dreams does not require knowledge of that universe.

Litany of Dreams is presents a horror story of supernatural behavioral contagion - an unintelligible chant that infects the listener's mind, giving them an intense urge to themselves begin chanting the strange syllables (coincidentally, this sort of verbal contagion features in one of the stories in the recent Dungeons & Dragons adventure compendium, Candlekeep Mysteries).

The protagonists of Litany of Dreams are Elliot Raslo (a psychology student at Miskatonic University), Billy Shiwak (an Inuit from Greenland), and Daisy Walker (a librarian at the university). Long-time Arkham Horror fans will recognize Daisy Walker as an established character in the Arkham Horror universe; the other two are not.

Elliot is the primary protagonist, prompted by a search for his missing roommate and troubled by a mysterious chant he can't get out of his head. He becomes entangled with Billy (who is searching for a stolen artifact) and Daisy (who wants to be helpful, to a point). The three work together, but not entirely in concert, as their personal goals sometimes conflict, which makes Litany of Dreams stand out in a genre that more commonly features a single protagonist or a cohesive team. Elliot's goals are the primary viewpoint, but the others tend to carry more of the workload in actually advancing their investigation, except when Elliot's pre-existing knowledge of his roommate's activities becomes pertinent. How relatable the reader finds Elliot may depend on whether they find his shortcomings humanizing or vexing.

Like The Mask of Silver, Litany of Dreams includes some exploration of minority status. There it was treatment of Asian-Americans; here it primarily relates to how Billy is perceived as an indigenous circumpolar person (I suppose the other minority status is a spoiler, although it's very obvious very early in the book). This most commonly involves Billy correcting people when they refer to him as an Eskimo (thankfully, being from Greenland, Billy is actually an Inuit, and we don't have to wade into the way that term is occasionally misapplied to non-Inuit peoples), but is not limited to terminology. As I noted in my review for Mask of Silver, I think that addressing these sorts of issues within the 'Lovecraftian' horror genre is a good thing, given Lovecraft's well-documented racism.

Obviously, being an Arkham Horror novel, Litany of Dreams includes Lovecraftian elements, but it also has some "hillbilly horror" (with a twist), so there's more gunplay than is typical for the genre. Horrors are both real and dreamed, as the strain on Elliot's own mind grows. After the opening scene, Litany of Dreams has a slow boil - there are stops and starts to the investigation, and the leads are incremental, rather than whipsawing the reader through the plot.

Overall, Litany of Dreams is a solid read if you're looking for slowly rising tension, investigation that's as much social as it is mental, personal conflict, and a mix psychological horror and backwoods maniacs.