Review: Nyogtha Variations -- John Michael Greer

[ritaer]

A sequel to _Shoggoth Concerto_. Branken Kendall is settled in Arkham, living as caretaker for a former Miskatonic faculty member while beginning her musical career. Her great secret is a loving partnership with an adult shoggoth and her six broodlings. A series of apparent coincidences lead her to compose a chamber opera from Oscar Wilde's translation of _The King in Yellow_. Greer does an excellent job of conveying the creative process: the faint tickling of an idea, the absent-minded preoccupation with working it out, the absorption in a project and the mingled joy and anxiety of completion. Add the tinge of danger as the reader senses the hostile forces of the Radiance closing in and the work becomes a genuine page turner.