Spawn of the Winds

Titus Crow Series, Book 4

By: Brian Lumley

Narrated by: Simon Vance, Corey Snow

Titus Crow and his faithful companion and record-keeper fight the gathering forces of darkness - the infamous and deadly Elder Gods of the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu and his dark minions are bent on ruling the earth. A few puny humans cannot possibly stand against these otherworldly evil gods, yet time after time, Titus Crow drives the monsters back into the dark from whence they came. Spawn of the Winds is the fourth book in the Titus Crow series.

©1978 Brian Lumley (P)2017 David N. Wilson

Terribly Good

Love how I was expecting De Marigny and got a different story and more more on another elder god. Not a sappy story and so rich is that universe

enveloping as the story that's yet to end

I may be biased
i'ven't ever been adept at ridicule of written nor spoken works

A Slightly Different Side of Lumley

Considering this is all part of the Cthulhu Mythos and usually involves Titus Crowe, this takes a decided departure in that it revolves around a large Texan and is more of a love story. in spite of this, it was filled full of action, suspense and thrills.

While I would have liked to have seen at least one of the bad guys go on to the next book in the series, other than the big Cthulhu monster, it was a nice tight short book. the one thing that I did really like about it was it did tell a complete story. we got to know more about the Cthulhu Mythos family and more about the Wilmeth Foundation.

I have to admit, I was rather used to listening to Simon Vance do his usual superb job with the Titus Crow series, but the addition of Corey Snow to the lineup as the huge Texan, gave a startling and lifelike performance to the book. Well done gentlemen! I look forward to hearing more of these two working together in the Brian Lumley novel set.

The best after The Burrowers Beneath

The Spawn of the Winds is my second favorite of Brian Lumley's immortal Titus Crow series. Titus Crow, for those unaware of it, is a series which follows the titular character or one of his supporting cast in their adventures against the Cthulhu Mythos. Unlike your typical Lovecraft heroes, they generally kick the Great Old Ones' asses rather than go insane and wet themselves. They're a very pulpy series with many homages to other franchises.

For example, Spawn of the Winds is a planetary romance where a Texas cowboy, Hank Siberhutte, is transported to the planet Borea where the natives are ruled by the monstrous Ithaqua. A resistance controlled by the beautiful redheaded sorceress Armandra is in resistance to the Great Old One but failing badly. Will Hank get the girl and punch the Great Old One's minions to submission? You bet he will! The only question is how and when as well as who dies in the process. This book was a big influence on Cthulhu Armageddon and another reason why it rocks.

If you want a rollicking good old timey adventure, this is a great story and Simon Vance does an amazing job bringing the characters to life.

An odd departure, but interesting for all that...

This book begins what appears to be an entirely new arc in the Mythos, introducing us to new characters and a new world and a new Great Old One who is strangely not locked away like the others.

Simon Vance is, as always, an excellent narrator. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. And if somewhat less (accurate to the text) than I'd like, his inflections are skillful.

Although I can't complain about veering away from de Marigny for this book, my main interest in these books (Titus Crow) is also curiously absent.

While I do like Hank as a character, his Texan bluster does get on my nerves.

And to make matters worse, the casual racism and sexism so common in Lumley's books is as strong as ever in this book.

We also see yet more evidence that in Lumley's version of the Mythos universe not only are human-Great Old One hybrids a thing, but they also tend to be the epitome of human beauty with an over reliance on whatever man might be to hand to solve her problems for her.

In addition to Hank, we're introduced to several interesting characters that were fun to get to know, though there seems to be a bit too much telegraphing.

The only points where I failed to predict what was coming were when I thought it must be a red herring as the obviousness of a character's actions defied belief.

That said, there are a number of fun scenarios that play out and I enjoyed the expansion of the paranormal abilities present in the characters.

I will give the author props for the ending though. There were some cool elements and things came together very well. After the last book I wasn't sure that is read any further, but after this one I think I'll finish the series after all.