I managed not to be able to finish this book. I read through to the short story House of Cthulhu, were I shrugged my shoulders and set the book down. The only merit in this book, is the introduction which is the only thing that has any Lovecraft feeling. This is more like a Dungeons and Dragons collection of moral fables. Every story was predictable and one that has been written better many times by many different authors. If you have kids and they have an inkling towards fantasy then I highly recommened this book for bedtime story reading, as the morals will give them something to chew over, in a nice fantasy package. All in All this is a dull uninspired fantasy mess, that gets you no where fast... and leaves you wondering if the people that made comments on the book jacket have ever actually read any H.P. Lovecraft.