Londres, en 1881, se remet à peine de dramatiques évènements – pudiquement surnommés "The Troubles" – lorsqu’une nouvelle menace plabe sur la ville et sur le monde: un dieu-pieuvre destructeur se prépare à revenir sur Terre y semer terreur et destruction. Mais c’est sans compter sans la force, le courage, l’ingéniosité et la britannicitude du professeur Felix Einstein, de sa nièce Mary et du bouillonnant aventurier Lord Carstairs qui, affrontant les hordes de cultistes et d’autres périls, comptent bien empêcher ce funeste destin.

Je dois avouer que la première chose qui m’a fait acheter "That Darn Squid God", c’est le duo créatif qui en est l’auteur: Nick Pollotta et James Clay – ce dernier étant plus connu de nos services sous le nom de Phil Foglio (et les connaisseurs du bonhomme et de son œuvre ricaneront au choix du nom de plume). Ils avaient précédemment commis l’hilarant "Illegal Aliens" (d’ailleurs illustré par Foglio) et la perspective de lire le même genre de délire, en plus sur un thème qui m’est cher – le démontage de Cthulhu à l’arme lourde – ne pouvait que m’enthousiasmer.

Je dois également avouer être déçu; juste un peu, mais déçu quand même. "That Darn Squid God" est un bouquin très drôle, mais pas aussi drôle que "Illegal Aliens". Je soupçonne que c’est en partie dû au choix de l’époque et au style très typé « roman d’aventure victorien », qui peut parfois être très lourd. En gros, on a deux Américains qui écrivent sur des Britanniques et sur une époque sujette à clichés; le tout est saupoudré d’une dose conséquente d’anachronismes, pas toujours du plus heureux effet.

Cela dit, quand il est drôle, il est très drôle – et soyons honnête, il est drôle très souvent. Le constant décalage entre le côté ultra-british des protagonistes et les situations improbables dans lesquelles ils se trouvent ainsi que des personnages hauts en couleur – le professeur Einstein collectionne les antiquités volées (et est tricard au Vatican), sa nièce manie le fusil à éléphant et les explosifs et Lord Carstairs est un colosse (et amoureux transi de Mary) – est un régal. Et, question scènes à grand spectacle, ça ne fait pas semblant!

On croise quelques personnages historiques ou fictifs de l’époque, notamment Sherlock Holmes – très brièvement, pour cause de locomotive – ou le Hollandais Volant, ainsi qu’un lézard à fourrure bien connu des habitués de l’œuvre fogliesque; l’histoire n’est pas avare de trahisons, retournements et autres cliffhangers (souvent désamorcés par un « hop-hop-hop » scénaristique). Le bouquin se lit bien, assez vite pour peu que l’on maîtrise à peu près correctement la langue de la reine Victoria.

Pour les rôlistes qui n’ont pas peur de mettre une grosse dose de délire dans leur steampunk, "That Darn Squid God" est presque une campagne clés en main pour Castle Falkenstein ou d’autres jeux du même genre. Les amoureux du Mythe feraient mieux, eux, de passer leur chemin: les Dieux Anciens (et surtout le grand poulpe lui-même) en prennent pour leur grade; en même temps, quelle idée de s’attaquer à la Grande-Bretagne! ( )

This year I am resolved to clear out some mythosish books that have been on my shelves a long time now. That Darn Squid God by Nick Pollotta and James Clay is a 308 page hardcover from Double Dragon Publishing, listed at $19.99 but discounted a few dollars on Amazon. I was anticipating a possible Lovecraftian send up but there was actually less here than meets the eye.

This is a book that plays way over the top for humor, following some adventurers, who are paragons of Britsh explorer manhood, in Victorian England on a wild adventure. Everything is tongue firmly in cheek, as every trope imagniable is played for laughs. The Squid God of the title may have been modeled on Cthulhu at bit, but only inferentially. Some crazy cultists want to awaken the squid back into our dimension so he can destroy the world in apocalyptic fury, and our heroes (and heroine) must stop him. There are no other Lovecraftian associations, so once again I was snookered by the cover of a book. Just about every famour British character from the era, historical or ficitonal makes an appearance.

The book is a breathless read and in spite of the page count can be zipped through pretty effortlessly. Problem is, I did not like it much. I wonder if I would have liked Bored of the Rings so much if I first read it at age 51 vs age 12. It was OK, but only OK. I didn't guffaw, chortle, whoop or even snicker out loud. I think I occasionally smiled briefly. More than once I checked how many pages I had left to finish, always a bad sign.

Recommended to those who like this sort of book; if you can read the first chapter in the bookstore you will be able to decide if it's for you. Not a necessary addition to a Lovecraftian's library, even ridiculous completists. My copy is headed to the used book store.

Instead of chasing down That Darn Squid God, let me suggest an alternative. In the vein of fantasies set in Victorian England, if you don't mind delving into books sadly described as children's literature, try Larklight, Starcross and Mothstorm by Phillip Reeve. Here plucky Englishmen and women sail spaceships across the ether encountering adventures and bizarre creatures in all the planets, moons and asteroids. It was wit, energy and humor without resorting to ridiculous caricatures. David Wyatt's numerous brilliant illustrations are an added bonus. ( )

This book defines the term "tongue-in-cheek" and is a solid book of inner chuckles the entire way through. From H. Rider Haggard to HP Lovecraft; from Jules Verne to H.G. Wells; with a brief bit of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Indian Jones thrown in for good measure, this book is an absolutely delightful parody of all Victorian-based stories you can think of. It is a hoot. Do NOT read this expecting something serious...you won't find it. It's as if the authors got together and said "hmmm...whose work can we throw in to keep this story going?" And for a fun read, it definitely works. It was really fun, mostly, to be reading and then catch the "aha" as my inner light of story recognition went on each time there was another element added to the story. Must find more works by this person!

The basic story is this: Professor Felix Einstein, who runs the museum of stolen antiquities in London, has remembered an ancient text he once stole and deciphered which tells that the squid god will be reborn when the moon turns its face around, which is supposed to happen, according to his precise calculations, in about 2 weeks. There have already been signs of an oncoming apocalypse -- earth quakes, tidal waves, rainbow trout swimming in the Dead Sea, you name it. He goes one night to the London Explorers Club to seek help in stopping the rebirth of the squid god before it can rise and claim the world as its own, and runs into another brave member of the Club, Lord Benjamin Carstairs. It doesn't take much to convince Carstairs, especially after Benjamin meets Felix's niece Mary, so the two go off in search of the temple of the squid god. Of course, nothing is easy and they are relentlessly tailed & threatened by the squid god's priests & minions who do not want the rebirth interrupted.

To say that this is funny is an understatement...and it is a GREAT parody of the Cthulhu stories by Lovecraft. There are some really funny moments in here so read carefully so as not to miss a thing. Very good and a great way to spend a few hours of your day. ( )