At an idyllic New England lake in summertime, two older college professors, Gerald and Ernst, notice a strange, disturbingly colored halo about the lake one dusk. Later they find twisted, stunted trees and giant insects in an isolated tract of the woods. They also feel depression and dread for no seeming reason. Eventually the horror grows as the strange color exhibits and manifests a malevolent nature poisoning spirit and body alike. The tale is set 40 or so years after the events of HPL's novella. The old gent is even the mentor of one of the main protagonists. It turns out, the Colour was actually true if you have read the Colour, you'll recall the ending, the after the climax, Amie looks back and thinks he sees a brief flicker in the well. This event is the seed from which this story grows.

Characters:

The characters are richly developed, notably elderly scholars with personal struggles, who bring depth to the narrative.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style strikes a balance between modern clarity and Lovecraftian influence, maintaining a sense of horror without excessive complexity.

Plot/Storyline:

The storyline continues from Lovecraft's original, focusing on the discoveries and horrors faced by two elderly professors and a park ranger's sister near a lake with dark secrets.

Setting:

The narrative is set in a picturesque yet eerie New England lake, rich with atmospheric and unsettling details.

Pacing:

Pacing is uneven, with a strong start that builds tension but falters in the latter half, leading to a less satisfying conclusion.

All the dire occurrences which I now set myself to report had for their setting a lake in the New England region—a dam-created lake which I shall not name. Let it—in the full force of that archaic for...

Notes:

Michael Shea loved H.P. Lovecraft's work and frequently featured Lovecraftian elements in his stories.

The Color Out of Time is a sequel to Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space.

The story involves two college professors who vacation by a lake with a dangerous secret.

The lake was formed from the reservoir where remnants of an alien lifeform fell.

Characters experience dread and depression due to the alien's influence on the environment.

The alien entity is referred to as 'the Enemy' in the story.

There are notable pacing issues in the novel, particularly in the second half.

Shea's characters are often depicted as alcoholics, raising questions about the author's own experiences.

The story includes unfolding horrors as vacationers go missing and are killed.

The narrative is set 40 years after Lovecraft's original tale, intertwining its history with the characters' journey.

There are references to Lovecraft within the story, though some readers find this inclusion tedious.

Shea's writing style strikes a balance between modern language and Lovecraft’s richly descriptive prose.

Characters in this book are portrayed as elderly, emphasizing that courage can be found at any age.

Readers have enjoyed the atmospheric horror and noted its tribute to Lovecraft.

This book is considered a good entry point to Michael Shea's other works.

The novel contains shocking and horrific moments that enhance the tension throughout the story.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers could include themes of murder, madness, and substance abuse, which are prevalent throughout the narrative.

From The Publisher:

Set in a beautiful New England vacation spot, a lake surrounded by wooded farmlands, the narrator and his professorial colleague discover eerie and sinister features about this area. The lake shimmers with a disturbing, unnatural color; tourists disappear; an evil presence sickens or twists the thoughts of the park rangers and vacationers alike. Seeking to discover the nature of this horror and prevent further deaths, the narrator and his friend suspect that the lake hosts an alien monstrosity. Together with a long-time resident and sister of one of the area's past victims, they muster all their strengths and skills to combat a terrifying opponent. Shea's literary skills and insight into character and group behavior are as skillful as his ability to create fantastic and nightmarish scenarios.

An homage to H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Colour Out of Space", Shea's haunting, fast-paced novel continues that narrative. A new Introduction by the author is included.

By the author of the Fantasy Award winners NIFFT THE LEAN and "The Growlimb", and a finalist for several Hugo and Nebula awards.

"Michael Shea may not be the only writer hybridizing science fiction and horror, but he is certainly among the best."

- Publishers Weekly

"Michael Shea puts his people in the damnedest nightmares."

- Stuart Gordon, writer/director of Re-Animator

"Michael Shea has long been one of the most vital writers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. The imaginative scope of his work is exceeded only by the gripping and evocative vibrancy of his prose."

- S. T. Joshi, award-winning author of H.P. Lovecraft: A Life

"Michael Shea has graced the field of the fantastic for more than thirty years… His prose is as rich and inventive as his considerable imagination…"

- Ramsey Campbell, multiple World Fantasy Award-winning author.

"Shea demonstrates what a boundary bender can do to make us rethink our definitions."

- Locus Magazine

"Michael Shea has been writing dazzling books of fantasy and horror since the early eighties, and over the intervening decades, readers who come to him for the first time invariably wind up asking themselves, 'Where has this guy been all my life?' "

- Peter Straub, bestselling author of GHOST STORY and SHADOWLAND

"(Shea is) one of the most interesting mavericks in the field."

- Locus Magazine

about the author:

Michael Shea was born in Los Angeles-in Culver City, across the street from the huge north wall of MGM Studio's main lot. There, the billboard-size movie ads greeted his infant eyes, and taught him awe and a love of grand narratives. An inveterate hitch hiker before, during, and after his college years, he encountered, in a flophouse up in Juneau, Alaska, a book of pure Fantasy entitled The Eyes of The Overworld. A year or so later, at a different flophouse in the Fillmore District (a ghetto in those days) of San Francisco, he encountered AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. His aesthetic goose was cooked, though he didn't come to know it till a couple years later, when he began writing Sword and Sorcery, and Mythos. He's won two WFA's, was a finalist for a third, was twice a finalist for Hugos, and twice for Nebulas. His work has been translated into French, German, Russian, Italian, Japanese, Swedish, Hungarian, Finnish, Greek and Urdu. (No-not Urdu-that's just a little joke.)

1984

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151 pages

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The Color Out of Time

Michael Shea

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