Wrath of N'kai
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- Create Date：2021-10-30 06:53:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Joshua Reynolds
- ISBN：1839080116
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Summary
The first in a new range of novels of eldritch adventure from the wildly popular Arkham Horror; an international thief of esoteric artifacts stumbles onto a nightmarish cult in 1920s New England。
Countess Alessandra Zorzi， international adventurer and thief， arrives in Arkham pursuing an ancient body freshly exhumed from a mound in Oklahoma， of curious provenance and peculiar characteristics。 But before she can steal it， another party beats her to it。 During the resulting gunfight at the Miskatonic Museum， the countess makes eye contact with the petrified corpse and begins an adventure of discovery outside her wildest experiences。 Now， caught between her mysterious client， the police， and a society of necrophagic connoisseurs， she finds herself on the trail of a resurrected mummy as well as the star-born terror gestating within it。
Countess Alessandra Zorzi， international adventurer and thief， arrives in Arkham pursuing an ancient body freshly exhumed from a mound in Oklahoma， of curious provenance and peculiar characteristics。 But before she can steal it， another party beats her to it。 During the resulting gunfight at the Miskatonic Museum， the countess makes eye contact with the petrified corpse and begins an adventure of discovery outside her wildest experiences。 Now， caught between her mysterious client， the police， and a society of necrophagic connoisseurs， she finds herself on the trail of a resurrected mummy as well as the star-born terror gestating within it。
Reviews
Toria
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This was a very entertaining horror set in 1920's。 Was intrigued by the cover and wasn't disappointed This was a very entertaining horror set in 1920's。 Was intrigued by the cover and wasn't disappointed 。。。more
Joanna
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Zu Beginn schafft es Josh Reynolds tatsächlich， sich gut in den Lovecraft-Vibe einzufühlen。 Leider verliert sich dieser im Verlauf der Handlung， sodass man das Buch besser als Crime Noir mit übernatürlichen Elementen betrachtet。Ein wirklich spektakuläres Werk ist es nicht， auch nicht Reynolds bestes， aber es ist unterhaltsam und kurzweilig。 Der Autor hat zwei jeweils auf ihre Art eigenständige weibliche Hauptcharaktere geschaffen， denen man gerne durch ihre Abenteuer folgt。Leider werden viel zu Zu Beginn schafft es Josh Reynolds tatsächlich， sich gut in den Lovecraft-Vibe einzufühlen。 Leider verliert sich dieser im Verlauf der Handlung， sodass man das Buch besser als Crime Noir mit übernatürlichen Elementen betrachtet。Ein wirklich spektakuläres Werk ist es nicht， auch nicht Reynolds bestes， aber es ist unterhaltsam und kurzweilig。 Der Autor hat zwei jeweils auf ihre Art eigenständige weibliche Hauptcharaktere geschaffen， denen man gerne durch ihre Abenteuer folgt。Leider werden viel zu schnell zu viele Figuren eingeführt， sodass ich mit der Zeit Mühe hatte， all die Herren zu unterscheiden。 Dies war dem Spannungsverlauf leider etwas abträglich， bei einer Krimihandlung sollte man grundsätzlich schon wissen， wer wo seine Finger im Spiel hat。Aber trotzdem hatte ich meinen Spass mit dem Buch。 Es lässt sich einfach lesen und gestaltet sich sehr kurzweilig。 Es klingt， als gäbe es eine Fortsetzung; falls ja， spricht für mich nichts dagegen， diese ebenfalls zu lesen。 。。。more
Clara
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A fun pulp fiction， fast paced and lots of creepy twists and turns。
Amy Walker - Trans-Scribe Reviews
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I've been really enjoying the Arkham Horror series of novels being produced by Aconyte books， but I missed The Wrath of N'Kai when it was first released。 So， whilst I had a day free from other， upcoming books to read， I decided to sit down with the first book in the set and see what I'd missed。 And I was so glad that I did。The Wrath of N'Kai follows Countess Alessandra Zorzi， possibly the coolest protagonist in the entire Arkham Horror range。 An international thief who spends her time stealing s I've been really enjoying the Arkham Horror series of novels being produced by Aconyte books， but I missed The Wrath of N'Kai when it was first released。 So， whilst I had a day free from other， upcoming books to read， I decided to sit down with the first book in the set and see what I'd missed。 And I was so glad that I did。The Wrath of N'Kai follows Countess Alessandra Zorzi， possibly the coolest protagonist in the entire Arkham Horror range。 An international thief who spends her time stealing strange artefact and odd trinkets for various collectors of the occult， Alessandra has been called to the city of Arkham by a new client， one who gives her her most daring mission yet。 He wants her to steal an entire mummy from a museum。 Not one to turn down a challenge， especially one that pays so well， Alessandra agrees to the job; little realising that it's one that could change her life， if it doesn't end it first。The mummy in question is about to go on display in Arkham before a national tour， having generated huge buzz because it was found in the middle of Oregon。 A find that could change the way people look at the history of America， the mummy is drawing attention from several parties。 Unfortunately for Alessandra， one of these parties also wants to mummy， and whilst she's at the unveiling the museum is robbed at gunpoint， and the mummy stolen。Worse still， one of the security detail， Abner Whitlock， is an investigator who recognises Alessandra from a theft in Europe。 With the police suspecting her involvement in the theft of the mummy Alessandra finds herself in an impossible situation， as the people who hire her make it clear that if she doesn't recover the mummy soon they'll make her the target of their wrath。 With the police， mobsters， and these frightening employers all setting their sights on Alessandra she'll have to rely on every trick she's ever learnt to complete her mission and get out with her life。I adored this book。 It was just so much fun。 Unlike many of the other Arkham Horror novels， all of which have an element of mystery but really push the horror side of things， this book was actually pretty light on horror。 There's a pervading sense of strangeness across the entire book， due in large part to the very nature of Arkham itself， but it never really played up on these themes。 Instead， Reynolds made the mystery the focus of the story， and made it into a spooky adventure story。There are some moments throughout the book where there are some scares， mainly when Alessandra begins to have strange nightmares and hallucinations after coming face to face with the mummy， but these moments don't override the main story。 Instead， they add flavour， giving the book a little something extra， a promise of scares and horror to come that doesn't really come into play until the final few chapters of the book。What The Wrath of N'Kai really focuses on it Alessandra。 It makes her the focus， showcasing her detective skills， her bravery， and her quick thinking that she uses to get out of tight spots。 She's an incredibly smart woman， one who's had to learn her skills just to survive， and who doesn't take risks lightly。 She feels like a femme fatale， but one who isn't a bad person， one who will only turn her gun on you if you give her no other choice。 If anything， she makes me think of characters like Catwoman， these people who should really be classed as villains， but you can't help but enjoy seeing them win。Alessandra is joined on her adventure by Pepper， a young woman posing as a man who drives a cab around Arkham。 Having quickly figured out that the man driving her into Arkham is actually a woman， Alessandra offers her the opportunity to keep working with her as her local guide， and it's a pairing that works well。 Pepper has the local knowledge that Alessandra needs， and whilst she's willing to listen to her and do what she asks most of the time she's not afraid to put herself in danger too， helping out her new friend if the opportunity arrives。With other books in the series having male protagonists it was great to see the heroes of the book be an all female pair， even if one is pretending to be a guy。 It made it feel different， and showcased that the women in Arkham Horror are just as formidable and cool as the men。 If anything， these are two characters that I'd be more than happy to see more of， and would read a series of books about the two of them travelling the world stealing dangerous artefacts away from villains in a heartbeat。 As the first book in the Arkham Horror series The Wrath of N'Kai is a great introduction to this world。 It shows readers how the stories will involve shadowy cults， strange groups of otherworldly beings， criminals， academics， those local to Arkham， and those new to town。 It has so many elements in it that you'll see play out in the other books in various ways， but even if you've read the other books first， as I have， it'll feel fresh and new， it'll be doing its own thing and will entertain you in more ways than you'll expect。 A perfect example of what makes this a great franchise。 。。。more
Billy
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A thief in Arkham in a barThe story is one that is gripping and hooks your attention from start to finish。 The main character is interesting and the mystery and search of a mummy is one that spirals into darkness while also alessandras mind clawing and splintering slowly into the depth of darkness
Gregory Mele
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So after being sucked in by the evocative cover of S。A。 Sandor's "The Last Ritual" and realizing only later that it was part of a new "Arkham Horror" series （I don't play the game， and generally don't read game tie-in fiction）， I had enough fun with it I decided to pick up two more。Wrath of N'kai is a fun little send-up of pulp themes and tropes。 It's a murder mystery featuring an Italian "countess"/heist-artist， set against an insurance investigator who's clearly an homage to Hammett's Continen So after being sucked in by the evocative cover of S。A。 Sandor's "The Last Ritual" and realizing only later that it was part of a new "Arkham Horror" series （I don't play the game， and generally don't read game tie-in fiction）， I had enough fun with it I decided to pick up two more。Wrath of N'kai is a fun little send-up of pulp themes and tropes。 It's a murder mystery featuring an Italian "countess"/heist-artist， set against an insurance investigator who's clearly an homage to Hammett's Continental Op。 One is trying to steal a bizarre Mummy found in an Oklahoma burial mound， the other represents the company in charge of insuring it。 At the opening night， a gang of mobsters breaks in， steals the mummy by force and the various expedition heads start turning up dead， but our lovely countess's employer still wants his prize。。。Very much the right amount of pulp noir leavened with a little horror and known actors from the Lovecraftian mythos （Dr。 Henry Armitage etc）， as well as what are apparently recurring characters and locales created for the board game （both novels made use of the same speak-easy。 There are also some fun Easter Eggs -- like the short， angry taxi service dispatcher being named DePalma in an homage to Danny DeVito's character in Taxi， or and the creepy leader of the Silver Twighlight cult。。。named for Call of Cthulhu FPG creator Sandy Peterson。The city of Arkham is very much a character in this novel， and the 20s slang and touches are well-done -- with a fun twist of using the heroine's foreignness to also introduce the reader to what are now lost bits of American slang。 The story is fast-paced and fun， with a decidedly better-paced resolution than that in The Last Ritual。 The tone is decidedly more pulp detective with an overlay of horror than the cosmic terror of Lovecraft， but I think that was clearly by design。Overall a fun read if you need a quick， light read。 。。。more
Brandon Keys
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Wrath of the N'Kai is one of my all time favorite books。 Fast paced and fun narration， vibrant main characters， and some of the best dialogue I've ever read in ANY book。 Reynolds does a masterful job at constructing organic， witty dialogue。 Highly recommend！ Wrath of the N'Kai is one of my all time favorite books。 Fast paced and fun narration， vibrant main characters， and some of the best dialogue I've ever read in ANY book。 Reynolds does a masterful job at constructing organic， witty dialogue。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Matt Turner
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5/5From start to finish， everything about this book works and works well。 Really， everything about it works。 Characters， pacing， plot， the whole shooting match。 To be completely honest， this is probably one of the top ten all-around best books I’ve read in the last two or three years。 The genre may not be everyone’s cup of tea， but I don’t think any serious readers would regret reading it cover to cover。 It’s a good story well told， and you can’t ask for anything more than that。
Joe Crowe
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Arkham Horror is one of the most fun adventure board games I've played， and this novel makes me want to stop what I'm doing and go play the game right now。 This is the first novel in a series， and author Josh Reynolds sets the bar pretty high for the next ones。 This one is a pulp-style fantasy with femme fatales and mummies and eldritch horrors。 You know， the good stuff。 I'm going to need to follow the hero， Countess Alessandra Zorzi， in lots more stories。 Get to work on that， people！ Arkham Horror is one of the most fun adventure board games I've played， and this novel makes me want to stop what I'm doing and go play the game right now。 This is the first novel in a series， and author Josh Reynolds sets the bar pretty high for the next ones。 This one is a pulp-style fantasy with femme fatales and mummies and eldritch horrors。 You know， the good stuff。 I'm going to need to follow the hero， Countess Alessandra Zorzi， in lots more stories。 Get to work on that， people！ 。。。more
Arin Komins
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Guilty pleasures r us。 Not the best entry in the Arkham Horror series， but still good popcorn reading。
Charles Etheridge-Nunn
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A fun pulp romp in the version of Lovecraft’s world that Fantasy Flight have made their own for decades now。 It’s a bit lighter， a bit more human and far more diverse。Wrath of N’Kai follows Countess Zorzi， a thief who has not been part of the Arkham Files universe before now。 She’s a new perspective to help get people unfamiliar with the world on board， but the locations and several of the characters are from the games。 There are some deep cuts， but even so this is an accessible mystery with a l A fun pulp romp in the version of Lovecraft’s world that Fantasy Flight have made their own for decades now。 It’s a bit lighter， a bit more human and far more diverse。Wrath of N’Kai follows Countess Zorzi， a thief who has not been part of the Arkham Files universe before now。 She’s a new perspective to help get people unfamiliar with the world on board， but the locations and several of the characters are from the games。 There are some deep cuts， but even so this is an accessible mystery with a lot of pulp fun and a little horror to it。 。。。more
Filippos Farmakis
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The right amount of pulp with known actors from the lovecraftian mythos （Dr。 Armitage etc）。 Very interesting but it's being marketed as a novel of the Arkham Horror series of board games， while in truth it's just a lovecraftian story。 Anyone who has read anything regarding Arkham will find familiar references， places and people。Really enjoyable， nothing too special。 The right amount of pulp with known actors from the lovecraftian mythos （Dr。 Armitage etc）。 Very interesting but it's being marketed as a novel of the Arkham Horror series of board games， while in truth it's just a lovecraftian story。 Anyone who has read anything regarding Arkham will find familiar references， places and people。Really enjoyable， nothing too special。 。。。more
John
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Probably not getting nominated for a Hugo Award， but it was a fun romp through familiar scenes in Arkham。 Also， I love the bookends of the prologue and the epilogue， which were fantastic。My one minor criticism is an error in the book which should've been spotted by the editor; Pepper starts off saying that they don't get paid extra to run liquor， and this is directly contradicted about 20 pages later， which was a little jarring。 Probably not getting nominated for a Hugo Award， but it was a fun romp through familiar scenes in Arkham。 Also， I love the bookends of the prologue and the epilogue， which were fantastic。My one minor criticism is an error in the book which should've been spotted by the editor; Pepper starts off saying that they don't get paid extra to run liquor， and this is directly contradicted about 20 pages later， which was a little jarring。 。。。more
Melissa
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What we have here is a classic 1920’s pulp cthulhuoid classic: A noir Cthulhu Mythos horror mystery。 It is an Arkham Horror novel， a tie in to the popular board game of the same name and published by Aconyte Books。 This is a solid book at 336 pages so it definitely took me a few sittings to get through。 I had an idea of what I would be getting into when I saw the title and the cover and was not disappointed。 This book treads familiar waters to anyone who has played Call of Cthulhu or Arkham Horr What we have here is a classic 1920’s pulp cthulhuoid classic: A noir Cthulhu Mythos horror mystery。 It is an Arkham Horror novel， a tie in to the popular board game of the same name and published by Aconyte Books。 This is a solid book at 336 pages so it definitely took me a few sittings to get through。 I had an idea of what I would be getting into when I saw the title and the cover and was not disappointed。 This book treads familiar waters to anyone who has played Call of Cthulhu or Arkham Horror。Wrath of N’kai is a solidly written tale that delivers a fast-paced story with ample amounts of action， intrigue， and mystery。 I loved the cover， with a flapper-type femme fatale holding a gun and behind her some horrible entity is emerging from the mist on the night of a full moon。 The art work perfectly represents what kind of story is inside。The lead character is an international cat burglar named Alessandra Zorzi who is tasked by a mysterious deep-pocketed organization to steal a mummy from an exhibit at a certain college in Arkham， Massachusetts。 Of course， things don’t go as planned and mystery and intrigue ensue。 Secret societies， rival gangs， unhinged college professors， rich occultists， and ancient evil add to the web of mystery that must be unraveled。 I really didn’t know where it was going until the end so it was a good page-turner。 Some of the characters were a little one dimensional but that goes with the genre。 I can see this book being good inspiration for someone running a Call of Cthulhu RPG。 I especially enjoyed the parts of the book that focused on the Great Old One’s point of view， which adds a nice touch。I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Anjuli
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A fabulous first look 1920s pulp noir mystery that sits very well alongside the Arkham Horror games。 The story leans more towards mystery than occult horror （see The Last Ritual if that’s what you’re after from your Lovecraftian horror） and follows a sassy thief， Countess Alessandra Zorzi， who gets thrown into a mystery that she wasn’t at all prepared for。 The characters are fun and well-written， the story keeps you turning pages， and at the end of it all you really really want an investigator c A fabulous first look 1920s pulp noir mystery that sits very well alongside the Arkham Horror games。 The story leans more towards mystery than occult horror （see The Last Ritual if that’s what you’re after from your Lovecraftian horror） and follows a sassy thief， Countess Alessandra Zorzi， who gets thrown into a mystery that she wasn’t at all prepared for。 The characters are fun and well-written， the story keeps you turning pages， and at the end of it all you really really want an investigator card with Countess Alessandra Zorzi on it！Aconyte Books are kicking butt with their titles this year and this is an excellent starting point。 。。。more
Mike
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"Wrath of N'Kai" by Joshua Reynolds is part of the "Arkham Horror" series of books。 "Arkham Horror" is a board game based on the "Cthulhu Mythos" works of author H。P。 Lovecraft。 The "Arkham Horror" board game is the basis for multiple games from Fantasy Flight Games （now owned by Asmodee）。 So。。。"Wrath of N'Kai" is a book about a universe from a series of games based on a series of books and short stories--most of which are nearly a century old。 Is that "meta" enough for you？Arkham， Massachusetts "Wrath of N'Kai" by Joshua Reynolds is part of the "Arkham Horror" series of books。 "Arkham Horror" is a board game based on the "Cthulhu Mythos" works of author H。P。 Lovecraft。 The "Arkham Horror" board game is the basis for multiple games from Fantasy Flight Games （now owned by Asmodee）。 So。。。"Wrath of N'Kai" is a book about a universe from a series of games based on a series of books and short stories--most of which are nearly a century old。 Is that "meta" enough for you？Arkham， Massachusetts is a town where bad things happen。 The barriers there are very thin between our world and hellish dimensions filled with nightmarish monsters and the horrid gods they worship。 There are plenty of weird cultists， occult practitioners， and outright lunatics messing with forces beyond the understanding of mere mortals in Arkham （and the surrounding environs）。 There are also plenty of vile and dangerous creatures lurking in the shadows of Arkham， ready to prey on the unwary。 And as most of "Arkham Horror"-related tales are set during Prohibition （including this one）， there are plenty of unscrupulous and well-armed bootleggers and gangsters roaming Arkham as well。 In "Wrath of N'Kai，" we meet a new hero--Countess Alessandra Zorzi。 She's a professional thief， a fashionable young woman with a cloak of old-world respectability。 She is hired to steal the first American mummy， found recently in Oklahoma， and on display in Arkham。 But things in Arkham are seldom as they seem。 More than one person/entity has designs on this very peculiar mummy--and what is inside of it。 Before the Countess can steal the mummy for herself， calamity strikes！ The Countess soon finds herself hunted by many different factions in Arkham， including the forces of law and order， as she searches the darkest corners of Arkham for her prize。Like many of the other "Arkham Horror" books， this one straddles the line between the old-school detective and old-school horror brands/genres of pulp fiction。 Several playable characters from the "Arkham Horror" series of games make minor appearances or are mentioned in passing。What is N'Kai？ N'kai is an underground realm deep beneath the American Midwest。 A race of monstrous beings lives in a city called K'n-yan under the earth and worship a bloated god called Tsathoggua， who lives in the lightless realm of N'Kai。 Tsathoggua is bat-like and toad-like and immense。 It is known as "the Sleeper of N'Kai。" Its servants are Formless Spawn。 And the mummy， which was discovered near an entrance to N'Kai， was NOT meant to be disturbed。"Wrath of N'Kai" is a solid story and a fun read。 The author has some playful moments as well。 The Countess's driver and companion， Pepper， works as an Arkham cabbie。 Pepper's boss is a short， fat， obnoxious guy named DePalma--which is an obvious reference to Danny DeVtio on the "Taxi" TV show from the 70s。 And it is mentioned briefly that the Countess once stole a book about rare orchids for an "orchid man" in New York。 That was very likely an oblique Nero Wolfe reference。You don't need to be a fan of the "Arkham Horror" series of games or even of H。P。 Lovecraft （though it would probably help your understanding of the material） to enjoy "Wrath of N'Kai。" 。。。more
Matt Midlock
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Fun and pulpy read。 Not great but good。 It's more of a mystery story than eldritch， Lovecraftian terror but if you know that going in， it's fine。 The ending is pretty gruesome but it's like the last 50 pages。 Overall a serviceable story but I would have preferred more horror。 Fun and pulpy read。 Not great but good。 It's more of a mystery story than eldritch， Lovecraftian terror but if you know that going in， it's fine。 The ending is pretty gruesome but it's like the last 50 pages。 Overall a serviceable story but I would have preferred more horror。 。。。more
William M。
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I love the Arkham Horror boardgames and the Cthulhu mythos created by HP Lovecraft， so I was very excited to read this next group of books。 However， the first two thirds of Wrath of N'kai felt too slow， with virtually nothing involving the supernatural or any mythos。 Where was the atmosphere？ Where was the impending dread？ Nearly 200 pages was nothing but a mystery about who stole a mummy， with the protagonist moving from one location to another， interviewing countless uninteresting characters a I love the Arkham Horror boardgames and the Cthulhu mythos created by HP Lovecraft， so I was very excited to read this next group of books。 However， the first two thirds of Wrath of N'kai felt too slow， with virtually nothing involving the supernatural or any mythos。 Where was the atmosphere？ Where was the impending dread？ Nearly 200 pages was nothing but a mystery about who stole a mummy， with the protagonist moving from one location to another， interviewing countless uninteresting characters about their connection to the theft。To be fair， the action kicks in near the end， but it was too little， too late。 This book almost seemed as if it was written as a standard mystery that author Josh Reynolds made adjustments to in order for it to fit into the Arkham Horror landscape。 The writing itself was smooth and Reynolds is clearly a solid writer， but he needed a better editor and a premise that fit better into Lovecraft's playground。 While it was not a bad read， it is not something I would recommend。 。。。more
Paulo "paper books always" Carvalho
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Well， this was a fast read （to me） only a 4 sips and that was it。 What to tell abou this。。。 In this story we follow Alessandra （the countess thief） as she is in her new quest to steal a mummy。 Yeah。After the first 40 or 50 pages this novel turns more mystery focus and only at some parts （very brief） it has something akin to Lovecraftian horror。 I have to mention that the last 40 pages of the book are the real Lovecraftian lore （although a bit underachieve to be honest）。Of course there are mentio Well， this was a fast read （to me） only a 4 sips and that was it。 What to tell abou this。。。 In this story we follow Alessandra （the countess thief） as she is in her new quest to steal a mummy。 Yeah。After the first 40 or 50 pages this novel turns more mystery focus and only at some parts （very brief） it has something akin to Lovecraftian horror。 I have to mention that the last 40 pages of the book are the real Lovecraftian lore （although a bit underachieve to be honest）。Of course there are mentions of the boardgames all over the place。。。 be that be Silver Twilight Lodge; O'Bannon; same places in Arkham and several characters。 The only one that really had any impact was Muldoon。 （The police officer）。If you didn't play any kind of boardgames like Arkham Horror; Elder Sign， Eldritch Horror; New Arkham Horror 3edition; Arkham Horror LCG or Mansion of Madness （in all of these games the characters are the same - I cannot confirm in 100% for Mansion since it's the only one I didn't play） you will not be at lost。 They don't focus heavily on those but give us hints to us that play like the beforementioned Muldoon; Harvey; Daisy Walker and small others that appear also in Lovecraft like Armitage。It was not fast paced， bear in mind that this is more on board with Arkham Horror 3dition OR more LCG because Eldritch you go all over the world; Mansion of Madness it's always inside a mansion（or adjacents parts） and Elder Sign it's just a lite version with no plot。 Just dice rolling。 Overall I enjoy it and will buy the next ones; to new people it would be a good read; but it's not the best lovecraftian horror story more。。。 Whodunit？ It's the term I believe for this。。。。 。。。more
Paulo Jorge
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Good pulp fiction around the Arkham Horror mythos。 Easy to read and fast paced。
Christoph Weber
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Not a bad read。 It's not in Lovecraft-style， but plays in Arkham 1920ies， doing a horror-styled crime story。 Did drag a bit towards the end when some things became clear yet some running around still had to be done。 Not a bad read。 It's not in Lovecraft-style， but plays in Arkham 1920ies， doing a horror-styled crime story。 Did drag a bit towards the end when some things became clear yet some running around still had to be done。 。。。more
Lauren
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A mummy， bound and folded in on itself， its face covered with a mask like a cross between a bat and a toad， was discovered in a mound in Oklahoma and brought back to Arkham to be displayed ， shown off。 Taking a brief trip away from Europe to lie low after a job that nearly went wrong， Countess Alessandra Zorzi finds herself hired to acquire this most strange artifact from its display at Miskatonic Museum。 She never has believed in any of the stories her clients have about the artifacts they send A mummy， bound and folded in on itself， its face covered with a mask like a cross between a bat and a toad， was discovered in a mound in Oklahoma and brought back to Arkham to be displayed ， shown off。 Taking a brief trip away from Europe to lie low after a job that nearly went wrong， Countess Alessandra Zorzi finds herself hired to acquire this most strange artifact from its display at Miskatonic Museum。 She never has believed in any of the stories her clients have about the artifacts they send her after。 As she finds herself haunted by night terrors of deep darkness and the things within it and her client’s ever more violent insistence that she recover the mummy， learning the truth might be her only chance at survival。Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai is a book that I found myself simultaneously wanting to devour all at once and that I kept putting off finishing because I wanted it to keep going。 The prose was just really tasty in a way that I leaves me still wanting more of it even after having waited a little while to write this because I wanted to write something other than just a bunch of fangirling。I adored Alessandra Zorzi as a protagonist。 She hit just that right spot of being charming and treating the people around her well while also doing that because treating people well allows her a degree of social invisibility。 She’s entirely delightful， in the way that protagonists who are distinctly morally grey can be and it’s a lot of fun to see this very Lovecraftian setting through the eyes of a character who does not believe in any of it。 This extends to all of the notable characters。 They’re all well written and feel really well thought out。 Pepper， the cabbie turned a major source of assistance for Alessandra， was a stand out for me。 The insurance guy， Whitlock， was also a solid inclusion adding a much more mundane concern than the mummy eating cultists。In addition to the present of the story， the reader is given enough about Alessandra’s past exploits to know that Alessandra is extremely capable， that she is good at being a thief of the strange with wide reaching contacts and years of experience。 The writing shows her being confident and competent and that makes any moment where something puts her in danger feel properly dangerous。 I never found myself thinking that a threat felt less because it was directed at the protagonist rather than a side character。 The use of nightmares and physical revulsion to boost the tension added an almost visceral element to the danger。 Like something lurking all around waiting for Alessandra to stumble across it， not a physical danger like the cultists or her mysterious client， but a complement to it from within。 The setting work and the moments where things go just a bit wrong with swimming shadows and Alessandra being thrown off balance are fantastic。All of that leads to a novel with prose that I found absolutely delicious。 I found myself going back over passages just because of how well they landed for me。 I started reading Wrath of N’Kai with certain genre based expectations of how things would play out。 Those expectations rubbed up against the nature of the book as a tie in to the Arkham Horror games in a way that felt fun and left me wanting several more books with these characters and more from the franchise as a whole。 I found myself not only wanting to read more of Reynolds’ work but also wanting to dig into the table top game and pull my friends along for the ride。 For me， Wrath of N’Kai earns a five out of five。I was given an ebook copy of Wrath of N'kai through netGalley for honest review。 This has not effected my review in any way。 。。。more
Scott Waldie
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Turns out Josh can write Lovecraftian horror for FFG’s Arkham Horror franchise just as well as he can handle his Warhammer fiction。 Smart， detailed， and immersive pulp horror fun。
Russell Tassicker
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Review copy provided by the publisher。I'm familiar with Josh's work for Black Library but this is the first book I've read of his outside that range， and the first under the Arkham Horror banner。 Wrath of N'Kai is a pulp adventure/thriller set in the titular American town of Arkham between the wars， starring gentlewoman-thief Alessandra Zorzi and a supporting cast of expected and unexpected characters。 Bootleggers， detectives， professors， hoodlums， cultists and cabbies all make an appearance， bu Review copy provided by the publisher。I'm familiar with Josh's work for Black Library but this is the first book I've read of his outside that range， and the first under the Arkham Horror banner。 Wrath of N'Kai is a pulp adventure/thriller set in the titular American town of Arkham between the wars， starring gentlewoman-thief Alessandra Zorzi and a supporting cast of expected and unexpected characters。 Bootleggers， detectives， professors， hoodlums， cultists and cabbies all make an appearance， but the passages from the perspective of a being beyond mortal understanding are highlights。There are echoes of Indiana Jones here， both in the time period as well as the occult-archaeology of the piece's villains。 Zorzi is more Belloq than Jones， however， as she is in the hunt for the artifact in question for mercenary motives only。 She is a specialised thief servicing a high-class clientele of dabblers in historical curiosities。 In Arkham to obtain a recently unearthed mummy， she quickly finds herself up against rivals willing to kill to secure it themselves， and with an employer positively eager to kill her if she should fail。While Zorzi's line of work makes her an ideal candidate to star in a potential series of pulp adventures， I found her sidekick Pepper to be the most compelling character。 A recent arrival to Arkham who disguises her gender to work as a cab driver， she's well out of her depth both socially and esoterically but makes a great foil for our protagonist， and the character I most wanted to know more about after finishing。While there is a supernatural mystery for Zorzi to unravel and some unnerving moments， this was never a particularly horrifying tale。 It plays into the tropes you might expect， but with just enough twists on them to keep things interesting。 I felt a bit more could have been done to describe Arkham to me， if it's to be the setting of a series of books， though that may not be what's intended。 As it is the Arkham of Arkham Horror feels a bit bare-bones。Overall I enjoyed it， particularly the character Pepper and seeing the point of view of a gribbly horror。 I would have appreciated some more detail in the setting， but this did allow the plot to keep up a rollicking pace。 If "Gentlewoman-thief and plucky cab driver plot to steal a mummy amongst a between-the-wars cast of socialites， gangsters， academics and cultists" sounds like a good time then I heartily recommend Wrath of N'Kai。 。。。more
Al Burke
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A fun， Lovecraftesque tale with a noir vibe - https://www。alwroteabook。com/2021/07/。。。In a fit of whimsy， I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars， but the reviews may not reflect it。 A fun， Lovecraftesque tale with a noir vibe - https://www。alwroteabook。com/2021/07/。。。In a fit of whimsy， I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars， but the reviews may not reflect it。 。。。more
Josh Dormammu
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This book inspired me to buy the complete Taxi collection on DVD， no joke。
Sylri
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What a fun ride this book was！ It has everything I could personally want in a Cthulhu Mythos adventure story - copious references to Lovecraft’s stories， a grisly mystery， the occult， evil sorcerers， and a healthy sprinkling of nasty Mythos monsters。 It’s enough to make a girl like me swoon。 And to top it all off it has a mummy！The Arkham Horror fiction line does a wonderful job walking the fine line where Lovecraft fans like me can appreciate all of their references to his Mythos while not excl What a fun ride this book was！ It has everything I could personally want in a Cthulhu Mythos adventure story - copious references to Lovecraft’s stories， a grisly mystery， the occult， evil sorcerers， and a healthy sprinkling of nasty Mythos monsters。 It’s enough to make a girl like me swoon。 And to top it all off it has a mummy！The Arkham Horror fiction line does a wonderful job walking the fine line where Lovecraft fans like me can appreciate all of their references to his Mythos while not excluding those who are new to Lovecraft’s world。 The liberal use of Arkham Horror’s game characters work the same way - fun usage of characters that fans of the game will enjoy while being just characters that fit into the narrative for those who aren’t familiar。 The references don’t distract and won’t confuse those who haven’t read the stories， but rather just give you a sense of a larger universe that has many stories to tell。 I loved all of the callbacks to Lovecraft’s The Mound。 If you’ve read that story there are names and characters that will be very familiar， and I enjoyed every moment a certain recurring character would show up。 I feel The Mound is a very underrated Lovecraft story and I’m glad to see it get some love here。 You can really tell the author Josh Reynolds has a love for the source material。Wrath of N’kai has been one of my favorite reads of the year so far， and an excellent start to Arkham Horror’s new trilogy。 I eagerly look forward to the next two books！ My thanks to Netgalley for a review copy。 。。。more
Michael Dodd
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Aconyte Books’ exploration of the world of Arkham Horror begins in fine style with Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai， an entertainingly dark tale of a gentlewoman thief getting more than she bargained for。 Countess Alessandra Zorzi has been commissioned to travel to Arkham， where a recently-discovered ancient American mummy is to be displayed， and steal it。 What sounds like a relatively simple job， however， is complicated by the presence of an investigator from the insurance company underwriting the Aconyte Books’ exploration of the world of Arkham Horror begins in fine style with Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai， an entertainingly dark tale of a gentlewoman thief getting more than she bargained for。 Countess Alessandra Zorzi has been commissioned to travel to Arkham， where a recently-discovered ancient American mummy is to be displayed， and steal it。 What sounds like a relatively simple job， however， is complicated by the presence of an investigator from the insurance company underwriting the exhibition， and the dawning realisation that there’s more going on than meets the eye in both Arkham’s criminal underworld and its wealthy upper class。What seems at first to be building up to a heist story quickly turns into much more of a mystery， as Alessandra’s plans are scuppered by the arrival of others who whisk the mummy away before she has the chance to make her move。 Despite the Arkham Horror label this is more occult fantasy than outright horror， its pulp stylings perfectly suited to the 1920s America in which it takes place。 The setting is heavily built upon the Lovecraftian mythos， but here that provides the backdrop to an evocative， entertaining mystery/adventure which stands on its own whether or not the reader is aware of Lovecraft or Arkham Horror already。 Take away the monster（s）， however， and you’d still be left with an enjoyable mystery to untangle， the sort of enjoyable， character-driven， personal-stakes story that Reynolds writes consistently well。 It’s great fun， and hopefully not the last we’ve seen of Countess Alessandra Zorzi。Read the full review at https://www。trackofwords。com/2020/06/。。。 。。。more
Michael Botterill
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After my review of Tales from The Crucible， Aconyte reached out to set me up with a new copy of Wrath if N’Kai by Josh Reynolds。So here are some disclaimers which are always important to put out there first。 I am a friend of Josh on Facebook， and whilst we aren’t beat buds， we do interact with each other and I consider him a class person， and I have very much enjoyed his work with Black Library。Secondly I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and a After my review of Tales from The Crucible， Aconyte reached out to set me up with a new copy of Wrath if N’Kai by Josh Reynolds。So here are some disclaimers which are always important to put out there first。 I am a friend of Josh on Facebook， and whilst we aren’t beat buds， we do interact with each other and I consider him a class person， and I have very much enjoyed his work with Black Library。Secondly I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions。 Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher。I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review， but I accept that subconsciously it might。So Arkham Horror is not a game I have actually played， I fancy it， but me and the Cthulhu mythos have never been quite on the same wavelength。I have never read any H。P。 Lovecraft books， my first exposure to them was at a small convention in London when I was about 12， it was actually a convention for Corps of Drums， not even speculative fiction。Basically an older chap was reading a book and it lead into a discussion lead by a BAME person about the issues of racism in his work， and even the chap reading the book was pretty clear that there was some nasty racism in some of his work。As I said I have never read any， that discussion put me off， but I have read stuff by other authors， never a novel， usually short stories and played games set in the mythos。 I have so many Cthulhu expansions for games that one would think I am a huge fan。I can play all of Munchkin Cthulhu， get all the references and jokes， but as I said never read a single Lovecraft story。It’s a gap in my knowledge that I am actually going to try and fill， I was recently gifted an audiobook of the complete fiction of Lovecraft， so am considering giving that a listen， but I will admit the racism is something that I will be on edge about。What is Arkham HorrorAnyway that put to one side， let’s look at this book， by first looking at the game Arkham Horror which is a cooperative game， originally designed by Richard Launius， and is now in its third edition which was released in 2019。It’s published by Fantasy Flight Games， a subsidiary of Asmodee， and is set in 1926 in the town of Arkham， Massachusetts。 Each player takes on the role of an investigator， who are working to stop the Ancient Ones， eldritch horrors which lurk in the void beyond space and time。It’s a 1-6 player game and you work together to gather clues and defeat the evil of the Ancient Ones and save the world。As I said I haven’t actually played Arkham Horror but I do own its spin off Elder Sign the cooperative dice game。The StoryIt’s a 1920 whodunit told mostly from the perspective of master thief Countess Alessandra Zorzi who arrives in the town of Arkham， hired by a mysterious cabal to steal a newly discovered mummy。The eldritch prologue sets you up for some occult horror， but the book largely steered clear of that， which given that the protagonist is not that familiar with the intricacies of the occult makes sense。The setting is deep and rich， with gangsters and bootleggers， all speaking with 1920s US slang。 It’s a real atmospheric period piece that evokes the days of prohibition， with just a hint of eldritch terror and added tommy guns。Alessandra herself is a very three dimensional character and extremely well developed beyond the trope of the aristocratic thief。 We see her backstory teased out over the book， learning more about her as we go though， and as I said， she is more than just the trope。Her driver Pepper was actually my favourite character in the story， they have their own secret， although this is revealed early on。 They are full of spunk and as mentioned by a gangster they deal with， moxie。It’s a really fast paced book， that I literally devoured over two sittings， one that got me 20% of the way in and the rest in an evening that kept me reading until 3am！ I was just utterly drawn in by the story with its twists and turns。As I said I haven’t played Arkham Horror， but I have played Elder Sign and I recognised lots of elements of that games story mechanics in this book。And given my surface knowledge of Lovecrafts work， I did recognise a few little nods to those within the story that will please those who are more familiar。There is a bit of a creep factor in there， and there were certainly bits that had my skin crawling just a little， but not so much to put me off。 It’s very light in terms of horror， which makes it very accessible。ConclusionPersonally I loved this book， it was a throughly enjoyable story which whilst grounded in the Cthulhu mythos， did not delve into it too deeply， nor did it require me to have more than passing knowledge。In fact I think if a layperson was to pick up this book and read it， they would get on with it perfectly fine without knowing a thing about the mythos。This book was great and for me it was a fantastic read。 I particularly enjoyed a strong female protagonist who at no point needed any romantic entanglements， and the pulpy 1920s nature of the story was just delightful。I really hope that the countess and Pepper return to Arkham for some more adventures， this is kind of hinted at， but please Josh， do it！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Wrath of N'kai
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Wrath of N'kai&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Wrath of N'kai&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0