The Dirge of Reason is a novella written by Graeme Davis and published by Fantasy Flight Games under their Arkham Horror Files label. The story revolves around one of the setting's recurrent characters, Roland Banks.
Synopsis[]
When out-of-favour Bureau of Investigation Agent Roland Banks is sent to Arkham to investigate the bizarre deaths of a 38-strong orchestra at a remote cabin, he uncovers a tragic tale of misplaced curiosity and hubris.
The orchestra's conductor had been attempting to put the contents of recently-discovered ancient Sumerian texts to music, and had inadvertently opened a tear in the fabric of reality which allowed an unspecified entity to reach through and swat the entire group like flies.
When this breach occurred, some other entity, a bizarre, protoplasmic flautist accidentally made its way through as well, and Banks was forced to join forces with a booze smuggler to put an end to the beast.
Characters[]
Main Characters[]
- Roland Banks, the protagonist and an agent from the Bureau of Investigation.
- Leo de Luca, a local bootlegger.
- Edie Talbot, a New York reporter.
Minor Characters[]
- Sheriff Engle, head of the Arkham Police Department.
- Warren Rice, Languages professor at Miskatonic University's Classics Department.
- Vicky Serra, hired muscle for a rival Boston bootlegger.
- Maurizio Trappeto, Vicky's partner.
- Elmer White, a local moonshiner.
Mythos Connections[]
When discussing the ancient texts with Roland Banks, Professor Rice states that the expedition "was a real feather in the Classics Department's cap. I hear Geology is planning to go to Antarctica, just to get even." This would appear to be a nod to the Miskatonic-funded Pabodie Expedition, whose fate was described in At the Mountains of Madness.
The Arkham Advertiser is mentioned in passing.
Agent Banks interviews moonshiner Elmer White while he is a patient at Arkham Asylum.
Publication History[]
The Dirge of Reason was published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2018 as a hardback novella under the Arkham Horror Fiction imprint as part of their Arkham Horror Files line. The release includes a fifteen page full-colour insert featuring extras such as artwork of the items and locations featured in the story, as well as fake newspaper reports on the incidents. Also contained are a set of four exclusive cards for use in Arkham Horror: The Card Game.[1]
In October 2021 Aconyte, the publishing arm of Asmodee (with which Fantasy Flight Games had merged in 2014), released an omnibus edition of Arkham Horror novellas which included The Dirge of Reason, although the gaming materials and extras were omitted.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Title: The Dirge of Reason at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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