Today’s offering is Ire of the Void: an unusual novella/gaming combo for Fantasy Flight Games’ Arkham Horror: The Card Game. The core conceit here is to offer a Cthulhu mythos novella set in the Arkham Horror universe, whilst providing a set of cards which allow players to adopt the persona of the book’s central character when playing the game. In theory ths is a great idea, offering a more immersive experience within the world of Arkham Horror by way of a return to its literary roots.
Despite excellent production values (hardcover, with some lovely colour plates providing additional, in-universe backstory), the novella is workmanlike and lacklustre, failing to evoke anything remotely akin to cosmic dread; indeed, Ire of the Void is, perhaps, the least Lovecraftian thing I have ever read - despite its intriguing Lovecraftian premise (a disgraced Miskatonic University astronomer investigates the hyperdimensional properties of Arkham’s architecture in the company of Einstein’s protege).
The novella’s main character is, however, in possession of a magnificent beard (ably illustrated on the front cover and player cards), so I suppose there is that.
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