Tales of the Al-Azif: A Cthulhu Mythos Anthology by C.T. PhippsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Al Azif or the book of insects if a forbidden tome brought into human consciousness by the mad Arab Al Hazred. The Mad Arab picked it up in some divine revelation after being banished to the empty quarter in Yemen. The revelations are derived from the sound of desert Cicadas. Apparently insects are the oldest beings around and have seen everything since the beginning of time. Therefore they have wisdom.
Al Azif comes from the Cthulhu myths written by HP Lovecraft. It has such a following that systems of magic have been based on it and other authors have written their own adventures in the Cthulhu mythology. This book is a collection of such tales. The first story tells how the Mad Arab first obtains the Al. Azif with his uncle. Another story deals with Henry Stubbs in finding the Al Azif. Another story has Elizabeth Dee going to Cairo in search of the book and fighting a group of assassin to stay alive and get the book. Don’t think that Cthulhu is confined to the Middle East. There are cave in the New York Hills where a cult sacrifices people to be taken over by insects. Once again the Al Azif is a source of power.There is a story about a 7 foot wooden cockroach that people pay to see. Instead of just seeing a Steven foot cockroach they get possessed by evil insects. Finally there is an apolylyptic at the end.
The Al Azif is the forerunner to the Necronomicon. It can be used to grant wishes but like the monkeys paw it’s all twisted and comes with a terrible price. The book is indestructible and if the pages get destroyed then the information can travel to another book.
The Cthulhu mythology deals with evil but not demons and devils rather it is about like being coming from another dimension to take us over. Occult means can be used too stop them. But they are really alien like.
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