My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Aconyte Books for an advance copy of this new novel of horror dealing with dreams, possession, the perils of being different in society, those fears we have of things around us, and the dangers that we are better off not knowing about.

Many a writer has drawn on their dreams for their creations. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge dreamed of a stately pleasure dome in Xanadu, though it was stopped by a knock on the door from a weary traveller. Mary Shelley dreamed of a person returned from the dead using the modern fire of electricity, a story that still haunts us today. Robert Louis Stevenson dreamed of a man with two personas good and the debased evil that we keep within us, Hyde away deep inside. Many a songwriter draws on dreams, singing of beautiful worlds, edens from the past, familiar, yet somewhat disquieting. Dreams can tell us much, much about ourselves, our wants desires, and what we should stay away from. Reminding people that things did come before us, Older ones. Older ones who remember the old ways, and long to return this world back into what they knew best. And maybe what they need is a dreamer, a poet to lead the way. The Forbidden Visions of Lucius Galloway, book one of the The Drowned City is part of the Arkham Horror series, written by Carrie Harris, and tells of a poet, his many fears, his dreams, and the odd things that seem to follow him as he attempts to translate an ancient text.

Lucius Galloway has always wanted to be a writer, and has finally late in life found acclaim for his poetry. Lucius plagued with headaches, a fear of water, motion sickness, and the strain of being a black man in 1920's America, who also happens to be gay, has just won the Howard prize for poetry. The book Drowned City seemed to have come to him much in dreams, dreams that still bother him, and seem to have migrated to his boyfriend Rudi, giving Rudi horrible nightmares and sent him sleepwalking out into the streets of New York. An offer comes to Lucius to help a scholar Helen Berringer translate a rare manuscript that has just been offered to Harvard. Being a woman, many of the libraries and colleges services are barred to woman, something Lucius can understand. Lucius agrees and travels to Harvard, meets Helen who he finds quite smart and knowledgeable and begins to work on this translation. The pages are unbound, full of strange words, pictures, of lost buildings and ideas, much of which reminds him of his own work the Drowned City. Things also seem odd in Harvard. Lucius has many strange incidents in water, people seem to be following him, his sleep is disrupted, and work seems to be done without him knowing it. Strange shadows seem around, as well as smells. Lucius is afraid he might be losing his mind, or at least he hopes he is. For what is happening might be far worse.

Another great entry in this series, made better by the fact that it is written by an author I have enjoyed quite a bit. Carrie Harris has a very good understanding of the lore that Lovecraft created, dropping little Easter eggs in places, and getting the feeling right. Moving the story to Boston was a good idea, as it limits the people who are probably familiar with the usual eldritch lore, and giving a better feeling to what the 1920's was like to black men and women in the halls of elite education. Harris understands that creepy is better than jump scares, and Harris does this well, keeping the story moving, reveling secrets slowly, and letting things breath, before the ichor starts to flow. The characters are all interesting and well-developed, the bad guys bad, the good guys confused, and the threats real. Not just a good Arkham novel, but a very good horror novel period.

Fans will enjoy this, and will as forward to more as I am. I can't wait to read what Carrie Harris does next.