Lovecraftian: The Shipwright Circle is a short novel by American author and comic book creator Steven Philip Jones. Featuring cover and interior art by Trey Baldwin, it was published by Caliber Comics in August 2019; both paperback and digital editions were released.
Also included in the book is "The Empty House on Harley Street", a short story by Jones written as a prequel to "Herbert West--Reanimator".
Premise[]
The story transposes several characters from H. P. Lovecraft's fiction into a contemporary setting, where they must thwart the plans of witch Keziah Mason and Messenger of the Outer Gods Nyarlathotep. These characters include Randolph Carter, Harley Warren, Asenath Waite, Edward Pickman Derby, Walter Gilman, Herbert West, and Henry Armitage.
Synopsis[]
Chapter 1: Memories & Possibilities[]
The main characters are introduced (sans West), having formed a social group dubbed The Shipwright Circle in Arkham, Massachusetts. Derby rents a very special room in the dilapidated Witch House, as he and Waite begin to become close. Warren and Carter investigate an ancient tomb hidden in the wilderness, but accidentally awaken Nyarlathotep, who kills Warren and assumes his form.
Chapter 2: Vague Ghosts of Monstrous Things[]
As Carter recuperates in an out-of-town institution, a mysterious virus - with symptoms similar to those encountered during the events at the Nahum farmstead years previously - begins to circulate in Arkham. While the town is quarantined and national agencies search desperately for a cure, West continues his trials with the reagent.
Chapter 3: The Scourge, Grinning and Lethal[]
Carter receives dream-tutelage from fellow patient Joe Slaader before his release from hospital. Gilman and Pickman investigate an island on the Miskatonic River. At the behest of Dr. Armitage, Derby and Dr. Waldron look into the history of the Nahum farmstead. The Arkham Police Department must deal with a resurrected and cannibalistic Dean Allan Halsey, who is captured and admitted to a psych ward.