For the second novel inspired by Chaosium’s table-top role-playing game Call Of Cthulhu, the good people at Aconyte Books enlisted writer Jonathan L. Howard, who’s been playing the game longer than, well, some of the people who work on it.
In the following email interview, Howard discusses what inspired and influenced Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass (paperback, Kindle, audiobook).
To begin, what is Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass about, and when and where is it set both in relation to our world and the world in the role-playing game Call Of Cthulhu?
Well, The Shadow On The Glass is set in and around London in 1891. It’s pretty much the historical London except for those who have an encounter with the Cthulhu Mythos. Call Of Cthulhu doesn’t really have a coherent timeline; the assumption — wisely made — being that different groups will take their game the way they want tonally. Some will head off to embrace derring-do while others bathe in the cold chill of existential horror, while others will vary the tone, adventure by adventure. There’s no empirical right and wrong to it, but it does mean that Chaosium has avoided being overly prescriptive; it’s a sandbox, albeit a sandbox containing tentacles and mysterious artefacts. That said, I have borrowed a character from a published adventure, so some readers may recognize a name.
The plot pertains to a couple of confidence tricksters who are running sham spiritualist (the term “spiritist” as then in vogue) meetings to gull the rich of London. They realize the law is taking an interest and decide to make a quick last score before scarpering off to the continent. That last séance, however, goes terribly, terribly wrong.
Where did you get the idea for this story?
That is an excellent question that I’m not sure that I can answer precisely. When I pitched, I produced a handful of ideas and did it in such a short period, I’m not sure of any of the inspirations. I would guess I just dredged around through my knowledge of Victorian fads and curiosities and let them spark a few ideas.
And how familiar were you with the game before you signed on to write Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass?
Very. I played my first game in 1983. We encountered both cthonians and Nyarlathotep his own self in the first session and the whole party went insane to different degrees. That, as they say, escalated quickly.
Since then I’ve run more games than I care to remember, and own most editions of the rules, starting from the Games Workshop boxed 2E.
How do you think that level of awareness influenced how you wrote Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass?
Not in the slightest, beyond trying to stick to descriptions of…things as they are given in the game. Cthulhu Mythos literature permits for a degree of freedom in descriptions usually — my Lloigor may look quite different from your Lloigor — but here there was a canon to which to adhere.
That said, my mental images of assorted Cthulhoid horrors are usually informed by my long acquaintance with the game, so perhaps our Lloigor aren’t so very different after all.
Like everything with Cthulhu, Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass sounds like a cosmic horror story, but it seems like there might be more to it. How do you describe it, genre-wise, and why that way?
Given that the nature of cosmic horror is the vast scale of it, it’s not comfortable to think of there being more to it, but I’ll try.
The Shadow On The Glass touches on a variety of subjects apart from the gnawing emptiness at the center of the universe, including politics, procedural police work, and even a touch of romance.
Prior to writing Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass you wrote a number of novels, including a dozen in The Goon Squad series, five novels and a short story collection in the Johannes Cabal series, and a two novel series called Carter & Lovecraft which, I assume, is not about former President Jimmy Carter and H.P. Lovecraft teaming up to fight crime. Are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass but not on anything else you’ve written?
Honestly, no. Or at least, not of sufficient influence to stand out for the countless other items of relevant media I’ve absorbed during my life that coalesced into the story.
And how about non-literary influences? Are there any movies, TV shows, or games that had a big influence on Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass? Aside from the original game, of course.
I’ve done quite a lot of research on Victorian England for assorted projects, so there’s that, I suppose. Many of the events to which the characters make reference did indeed happen.
Now, the cover of Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass says it’s “A Cthulhu By Gaslight Novel.” What can you tell us about this series?
That is very much a question for the publisher. I may be writing more, but I have no idea how definite that is.
As we’ve been discussing, Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass is based on the role-playing game Call Of Cthulhu. One of the tenets of books published by Aconyte is that the writers try to make them for fans of whatever game they’re connected to, but also stand alone. For instance, someone need not be a fan of the strategic board game Twilight Imperium to enjoy Robbie MacNiven’s Twilight Imperium: Empire Falling. Is that also true for The Shadow In The Glass? Can a fan of Lovecraftian cosmic horror stories appreciate it as much as a hardcore Call Of Cthulhu fan?
Yes, by all means. The Shadow On The Glass is primarily a Cthulhu Mythos story that happens to contain a few nods to the game. Call Of Cthulhu is, after all, a role-playing game and therefore a mechanism by which the players and Keeper co-operate — I almost said “conspire” — to create a narrative that is a product of their collective imaginations given a thorough stir by the vagaries of the dice. It therefore contains few if any “tells” to litter a narrative, even should the author show absolute fidelity to the game.
That said, what do you think a hardcore Call Of Cthulhu fan will get out of reading The Shadow In The Glass?
Ideally, rip the plot off and use it for an adventure.
Does that mean you think The Shadow In The Glass could work as an add-on to Call Of Cthulhu?
Potentially any Cthulhu Mythos story can work as an adventure for the game. There is a bundle of caveats with that, myriad and spiny, and, I think, self-evident given the waters the Mythos sails. The Shadow On The Glass would be fairly straightforward to adapt, though. Elsewhere in my Mythos writing I’ve leaned towards the “Purist” pole, but I certainly have no issues with leaning over towards “Pulp” as I’ve done here, and “Pulp” generally lends itself more to roleplaying games.
So, is there anything else you think people need to know about Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass?
Only that it would make my bank manager very happy if you were to buy it in large quantities, and he’s such a wee, frit creature most of the time, why wouldn’t you want to bring more happiness into his life? It would be inhuman not to. Everyone should buy several copies just to be sure.
Finally, if someone enjoys Call Of Cthulhu: The Shadow On The Glass, and it’s the first book of yours they’ve read, which of your other novels would you suggest they read next?
Well, I would suggest Johannes Cabal The Necromancer. People seem to like that one, and — if a new reader does, too — there are another four Cabal novels to be had, along with a good number of short stories. Buy them all and make my poor, hapless bank manager smile, bless his tiny cotton socks.
