That Which Should Not Be

Terrifying and Beautifully Written Tale of Good Versus Evil

Finally a contemporary author has written a novel worthy of the appellation "literary horror." Evocative of the work of H.P. Lovecraft, this many-layered story takes the reader from a stormy New England seaport to the mountain ranges of Eastern Europe; from snowy forest to the dreadfully still waters of a dead sea; from the peculiar halls of an ancient university to the infinitely more ancient dangers that lurk beneath the surface of the earth and inside the heart of man. The author's language--reminiscent of Lovecraft, Faulkner, and Melville--paints a series of deeply entrancing pictures. This is a book you will struggle to put down. But Carter Weston's journey is not just a battle of monsters and phantoms; it is a quest that illuminates humanity's deepest truths.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Highly Recommended

Carter Weston finds himself on a journey to find a book for his professor Dr. Thayerson , Weston goes to a village and in a tavern he is told stories by men that have seen unspeakable evil,stories of a school of dark magic taught by the devil himself, one of a cruel evil man named Vladmir, to an occult and mysterious Insane Asylum . Once he leaves the tavern he joins one of the men , Captain Gray at his home where he discovers Gray has the book he is searching for . Gray freely gives Weston the book , little by little Weston finds out what Evil the book holds. Once he returns , he gives the book to his professor , but little did he know of what evil the professor was about to unleash with it.

This was a Great book , it's devilish stories kept me on the edge of my seat.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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JournalStone 2011 Horror Contest Winner.

Author Brett J. Talley's masterful retelling of ancient legends, of creatures which existed before many of our own gods. That Which Should Not Be is a wonderfully rich combination of five separate stories, made common by excellent characters, and the evil they encountered within each tale. It is an evil which must not be released.

Talley takes us on a journey, to find a mysterious book - the Incendium Maleficarum - a text written when the earth was shrouded in darkness. If ever combined with the equally dangerous Necronomicon, untold horrors will be released from their eternal prison. We meet elements of this wickedness in each of the first four tales, and we dread what will happen when the forbidden book is found.

For Literary Horror fans, this book will be a joy to read. For those unfamiliar with those oldest demons who ever walked before daylight blessed our world.don't read this in the dead of night; Talley has set those demons free.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Brilliant

The things that go bump in the night, the zombie apocalypse, the amount of money it takes to fill up your gas tank are horrors that may seem truly frightening - until you read what is in store for humanity inside the covers of this book.

Carter, a student at a university known for its dabblings in the occult, the otherwordly, and the possibly demonic, is asked by his professor to undertake a particularly daunting task. A book known as Incendium Maleficarum has been rumored to be nearby, and Carter must go searching for the book. Fate and the book have things worked out just a tad bit differently.

When Carter comes into a lonely little town, a blizzard to take on all other blizzards arrived before him, and he must struggle to find a place to get some hot food and shelter while the storm runs its course. The book starts its move. Carter runs into a motley crew in the pub he is using for a bite to eat and shelter from the bitter winds. These four people have stories to tell that will chill your bones.

The final story comes when the 'leader' of the group invites Carter to stay the night with him in his ocean front mansion. Book - checkmate. The horrors in store for the world are just now being placed to take control of all. And we have never imagined the dreadful things the deepest, darkest places of the world have been hiding.

This is a masterfully written piece of work. There are smaller stories that you get to be a part of while wandering down the adventure with Carter. At first, you may not see the point of these musings, but once you get to the end, everything that you have learned, all of the stories that have been shared, all tie together into one giant puzzle you never realized your were putting together until the last piece falls. Then you sit transfixed thinking, how in the world did I not see that coming, all the while rubbing the goosebumps from your skin from the horrors that you just lay witness to.

This isn't a graphic story, there are a few instances in there where you may have some spilled entrails, but the most horrifying part is the book itself. What it can do, what it can bring forth, what could be lying in wait. If you have an imagination like mine, this book will leave you thinking long into the night, and several days later you will still be thinking of the tales, how each part wove it's way in relation to the others. Brett's debut book is nothing short of superb.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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When Carter Weston is sent on an errand to retrieve an ancient

When Carter Weston is sent on an errand to retrieve an ancient artifact by his mentor he knows he will face dangers but not of the kind that awaits. The story of Weston’s journey is intertwined with the stories of four men he meets during the errand. Their fates, along with those of the rest of the world, are linked to the ancient book that Weston is trying to find. They cannot allow the book to fall into the wrong hands and together they must face an evil that no one should ever know of.
This one started out strong, slowed down in the middle for awhile, but ended with the same fast pace I encountered at the start. There were a couple of times in the middle that I worried it wouldn’t pick back up. The folklore feel throughout most of the book kept me interest enough to get me through that slow section. The characters are a strong part of this novel. Reading their individual stories was exciting but they seem to have their own personalities. Besides their own experiences they could have been the same person. Overall I liked this book and it was a fun read at times. I do recommend this one.

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It's not often that a new novel will please both horror aficiona

It's not often that a new novel will please both horror aficionados and newcomers alike, but Brett Talley's first book does just that. Told in five parts, That Which Should Not Be is the story of Carter Weston, a student sent on a mission to secure an ancient tome. What he finds along the way are four old men, snowed into a seaside tavern during a nor'easter, each with their own frightening tale to offer. Through the course of the stories, readers will have their own favorite tale (mine was the one of students on a grand adventure who wander into trouble in Eastern Europe, but others might enjoy a psychologically frightening tale of a New England asylum -- or that of a fur trapper who faces evil in the woods).

This is a great read -- a real page turner -- my only wish is that there was more. Keeping my fingers crossed for more from Talley -- and that Hollywood gets its hands on this one.

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WOW!

This was probably a little "heavier" than what I normally read, but WOW! Mr Talley does a fabulous job with this book. He takes several men's short stories and manages to make it applicable to his main character, THEN he continues on to an action packed ending! I didn't know a lot about the Wendigo mythology but he did a fabulous job explaining things with out over doing it. I don't think I can say enough about how engrossed I got into this book. I don't like to give away a lot details in my reviews, but if you like paranormal with action, this is the book for you. It's not action front to back, but in the most appropriate of places :) Try it, you'll love it!

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Classic Lovecraftian story, modern writing

That Which Should Not Be, by Brett J. Talley, is a love-letter to Lovecraft fans. It takes place around the turn of the 19th century, ending in the mid-1930s. Carter Weston is a college student at Miskatonic U and is sent on an errand to collect an ancient tome that has turned up in a nearby town. There, he hears tales of encounters with otherworldly creatures - each story leading to the conclusion that The Rising of the Old Ones could be taking place soon.


I enjoyed TWSNB better than original H.P. Lovecraft stories. While the novel seems firmly entrenched within the Lovecraft lore and takes place a hundred years ago or more and the writing is meant to evoke those stories, the plotting and structure are more modern and easier to read.

I'm generally not a fan of first-person novels, especially ones with multiple characters all telling their own story in first-person, but TWSNB clearly separates each narrative so it's not confusing who's telling what story. Also, I enjoy suspense sometimes, but not gore. There's only one particular scene of a graphic nature early in the book that bothered me - the rest of the story didn't stray into graphic gore too much.

Fans of Lovecraftian fiction should love this, especially if you wish Lovecraft were a bit easier to read.

The publisher, through LibraryThing, provided an e-copy of the book for my review.

That Which Should Not Be: 3.5 stars out of 5. I liked it.

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Highly recommended award-winning Lovecraftian horror

Carter Weston attended Miskatonic University against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to go to Harvard. However, Weston's fascination with the occult led him to Miskatonic, which had the reputation - albeit only whispered about - of being closely connected with all things occult and supernatural. One day, Weston's mentor - Dr. Thayerson - sends Weston on a quest to find a very rare book; a quest that leads him to a small fishing village in the middle of a blizzard, where he meets four men with extraordinary tales - and one who has a very rare book. But bringing the book back to Miskatonic is a mistake, because now someone has the ability - with both this book and the "Necronomicon" - to open the gates to the outer spaces, raise R'yleh from the depths, and wake Cthulu.

Written in Lovecraftian style, "That Which Should not Be" is lushly evocative, like black velvet. The uncanny nature of the story builds along with the pressure of the suspense; starting off somewhat normal, but by the end you're in a completely different world. This book is the book for horror lovers, and fans of Lovecraftian fiction and Cthulu. I am apparently not alone in that feeling, as it won 1st place in Journalstone's 2011 Horror Fiction category. Highly recommended!

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Good book

This was an exciting read. I did not realize, however, that it was a horror novel. This was not apparent to me when I read the description. That being said, I did enjoy most of the book...just not the parts with blood and gore in them. If you like mystery, intrigue and solving puzzles in life, you will enjoy this book!

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New life to Classic Horror-- Don't miss this one!

Author Brett J. Talley has breathed new life into legends and stories as old as the Cthulhu creature itself. More importantly, he has captured the voice of the legendary writers who go before him. Told in the classic literary horror style of Lovecraft, Shelley, and Stoker, this book is alive with imagery and rich characters which bring to life the terrifying story in a way that will keep you up at night long after you have turned the last page.

Told through the eyes of five main characters, the book strings together four stories that each could stand alone as masterful shorts, with a fifth that ties them together and moves them towards a terrifying ending. Carter Weston is a student from the legendary Miskatonic University, with a smiling nod to Lovecraft for the reference, and is charged with the task of recovering an ancient book of incredible value and, it turns out, untold power to awaken an evil that could destroy the world. On his quest he meets four men, each of whom share with him their own personal tales of horror which bring to life classic creatures like the wendigo, witches, the Kraken, and the terror of an insane asylum. In the tales of terror from the dark woods of New England to the mountains of eastern Europe to the blue water oceans onboard great sailing ships from long ago, young Carter finds a thread that moves him on his quest towards its inevitable, spine chilling conclusion.

In setting, characters, and tone Mr. Talley has done far more than mimic the classic masters of the genre- he has embodied them completely. This is an absolute must read for all lovers of the genre any lover of well told stories. If you like well told adventure stories mixed with mystery and ancient legends of horror- you have found your perfect read in That Which Should Not Be.

Brett J. Talley has made a dramatic entrance onto the fiction writing stage with this, his first book. I have no doubt his name will be well known and I look forward to his next works.

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Nice addition to the Cthulhu mythos!

This book is composed of several stories in fine Lovecraftian tradition, which are really only linked because of this, excepting the last one. They are very well written, and the author is well versed in the Cthulhu mythos. I will definitely keep an eye open for further additions to the mythos from this writer.

No spoilers here, just a brief summary of the main plot. The protagonist, a student at Miskatonic U, is sent on a mission to recover an eldritch tome (no, not the Necronomicon, something far worse!) from a nearby town. All he knows is that this tome has turned up there, but no clue as to exactly where it is, or who has it. Upon arrival, in the middle of a nasty storm, he takes refuge at a pub. He is invited to join the table of several local gentlemen, each of which regales him with his own personal encounter with the occult. These tales make up the seemingly unconnected stories that make up the bulk of this book.

In the end, of course, the tome is found and a final adventure ensues.

While the book is hardly to be mistaken as one being written by H.P. himself, it is still very much worth reading.

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Early Reviewer Gives Big Thumbs Up

I was not aware that there was a 'Lovecraftian Horror' catagory, but if this falls there, I will definitely read more of Lovecraft's stories. It is a well written book. The stories told in the novel are entertaining all by themselves, and blended together into the overall tale. And, while the ending was expected, it still surprised.

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Excellent Book - Sent Chills Down My Spine

Unlike my movie choices, I tend to be highly picky about what I read. I often spend hours just trying to figure out what my next book should be. This has been one that I loved from the moment I picked it up. Despite my work (which is reading intensive) and another book already started, I found myself reading this whenever I had a spare moment.

I'll limit my description so as not to give anything away. If you are a horror fan, this is a book for you. But, even if you are not a horror fan, I would still recommend this novel. Talley weaves a tale that lets your imagination take flight and honestly - who doesn't enjoy leaving their world behind for a little while? I found myself invested in the characters and the story and the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. The ending truly caught me by surprise.

I hope Talley publishes additional works because I can't wait to read them.

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Literally, a first place novel!

That Which Should Not Be
By: Brett J Talley
ISBN: 9781936564149
Published October 7, 2011 by JournalStone
Available Format: Paperback, ebook

My Rating: ?????

That Which Should Not Be is the winner of JournalStone's 2011 Horror Writing Contest!

As a student at the mysterious Miskatonic University, Carter Weston is accustomed to the well-known reputation of the school's association in all things occult and supernatural. When Professor Thayerson sends Carter on a secretive search for a dark and powerful book, he doesn't even blink an eye. Shortly after Weston reaches the seaside town of Anchorhead in pursuit of the Incendium Maleficarum, The Inferno of the Witch, he meets a small group of fascinating men in a local tavern. Deep into the night, the men share their stories with Carter-stories that are chock full of paranormalcy and evil. Two particular stories seem to deal directly with the very item Carter is in search of, proving their chance meeting anything but. Will Weston find what he is looking for, and what could this mean for the fate of the entire world?

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher for proofing and review.

Since this book is the winner of the Horror Writing Contest, it is indeed of the horror genre. I have not read horror in years.YEARS! JournalStone is corrupting me! Nevertheless, this is a fantastic novel and absolutely worth first place!

For starters, I think this is one of my favorite book covers, at least of the JournalStone published books. It really captures one of the pivotal scenes of the novel and puts a face, so to speak, on the evil that threatens the world.

Okay, so it really wasn't that scary. Actually, a tremendous amount of the "fantasy" out there could be labeled horror but probably would be read less. The worst this did to me was give me some interesting material for some pretty creative dreams! Yes, there are a few rather gruesome parts in Jack's trapper story, and the whole psychotic professor deal was a bit disturbing, but the overall plot was first class fiction in my opinion. (At least, I hope it is fiction!)

I love how the different stories within the narrative tied the beginning and ending together so perfectly. It was a truly creative and entertaining way to slowly add pieces to the puzzle of Miskatonic and the darkly magical books involved. There were the necessary twists, turns, and deceptions that I feel are essential to a good horror or suspense novel. You will find no objection from me that Mr. Talley is a fantastic writer!

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Okay for a rainy day

Brett J. Talley's That Which Should Not Be uses the first-person confessional style, common to Lovecraft's own works, to create an interesting but flawed novel good for a rainy day. The book has several narrators with Carter Weston serving as the main character. Weston's teacher sends him to fetch an evil book, sister to the Necronomicon. In a small town, Weston comes across several men in a local pub. Each man has his own story of evil guiding Weston to the book, which comes to him easily, but he soon learns that everything, even his teacher and the men whose stories he has heard, is not what it seems.
The novel uses Weston's hunt for the book and what happens once he has acquired the book as a frame for several other stories, the narratives of the men in the pub. Though the stories are interesting, and all the narrators play a role in Weston's story, I kept feeling as if I was reading a series of short stories rather than a unified work.
Talley does make interesting connections between the Lovecraft mythos, classical history and cultures, and Jewish/Christian mythology. I would have loved for him to say more about these connections and the history of the "Book" in the novel.
Though the story was interesting and had some creative descriptions, the horror of the story was too muted at times. Lovecraft's stories created horror by keeping the reader in the dark, letting our imaginations create something more horrible than his descriptions could. Talley attempts to describe horrific images that leave little to our imaginations, and I never felt the horror the characters claimed to feel-no room for my mind to make something horrific. Also, the characters all spoke the same, as I couldn't tell the difference between one character's dialogue and another.
Overall, the novel is okay. I enjoyed reading it on a rainy evening, but I kept seeing areas that I wished had been revised a bit more to better develop the differences between the characters' speaking styles, to give the reader a chance to use his/her imagination, and to better unify the stories that make this novel. Worth a quick read, just not making the grade for a book to save and read again.

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