Black Wings of Cthulhu 5 (2016) edited by S.T. Joshi

Black Wings of Cthulhu 5 (2016) edited by S.T. Joshi, containing the following stories:

• Plenty of Irem by Jonathan Thomas
• Diary of a Sane Man by Nicole Cushing
• The Woman in the Attic by Robert H. Waugh
• Far from Any Shore by Caitlín R. Kiernan
• In Blackness Etched, My Name by W. H. Pugmire
• Snakeladder by Cody Goodfellow
• The Walker in the Night by Jason C. Eckhardt
• In Bloom by Lynne Jamneck
• The Black Abbess by John Reppion
• The Quest by Mollie L. Burleson
• A Question of Blood by David Hambling
• Red Walls by Mark Howard Jones
• The Organ of Chaos by Donald Tyson
• Seed of the Gods by Donald R. Burleson
• Fire Breeders by Sunni K Brock
• Casting Fractals by Sam Gafford
• The Red Witch of Chorazin by Darrell Schweitzer
• The Oldies by Nancy Kilpatrick
• Voodoo by Stephen Woodworth
• Lore by Wade German

Another year, another superior Black Wings anthology of cosmic horror from editor S.T. Joshi. The 'of Cthulhu' is added to the trade paperback editions of these anthologies for commercial considerations, by the way. The hardcovers, per the originating H.P. Lovecraft quote, are simply Black Wings.

As is usual for Joshi anthologies, the stories range from good to excellent. Familiar names that include Caitlin Kiernan, W.H. Pugmire, and Darrell Schweitzer offer up superior tales of dark gods and that menacing, indifferent universe of cosmic dread. Sunni Brock offers a fresh take on Innsmouth, complete with what seems like a nod to the Japanese horror story that would become the American movie Dark Water (that story being "Floating Water" by Koji Suzuki). Schweitzer offers an ambitiously circular mise en abyme. Kiernan's background in paleontology informs the unfortunate findings of her characters. 

There's a sarcastic cheekiness to Nancy Kilpatrick's "The Oldies" that doesn't undermine the horror of its collision of Old Gods and traumatized people. As flies to wanton boys, and all that jazz. Jonathan Thomas (The Color Over Occam) offers a wry visit to Lovecraft's Kingsport that nods to the odd festival held there, and its odder participants, in a story whose droll tone resembles that of a vintage Clark Ashton Smith story like "The Seven Geases" or "The Tale of Satampra Zeiros." 

A couple of stories -- John Reppion's "The Black Abbess" and David Hambling's "A Question of Blood" specifically -- don't quite stick their landings as they embrace a little too much lack of closure. Still, they're worth reading, as the anthology is as a whole. And Wade German's concluding poem is a nice touch, especially given Lovecraft's embrace of weird poetry. Highly recommended.