Adams, Benjamin 1966-

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ADAMS, Benjamin 1966-

PERSONAL: Born 1966.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Ballantine Books, 201 East 50th St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Author of short fiction.

AWARDS, HONORS: Honorable mention, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, for "Second Movement" and "The Frieze of Life."

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with John Pelan) The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Also published numerous short stories in anthologies, including 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories, 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Midnight Journeys, Blood Muse, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and Miskatonic University.

SIDELIGHTS: Benjamin Adams's short fiction has appeared in numerous horror and fantasy anthologies. His most recent work is The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, an anthology he edited with John Pelan.

The anthology of short stories from twenty-one contributors includes Adams and Pelan's collaboration, "That's the Story of My Life." The book is a tribute to H. P. Lovecraft, whom many readers consider the master of horror/fantasy fiction. The title itself honors Lovecraft, who popularized the Cthulhu Mythos in his writings before his death in 1937. Cthulhu (kuh-THOO-loo) is a godlike entity, one of the many Great Old Ones, who sleeps beneath the ocean, but rises up from time to time "when the stars are right," to bring death and destruction to the human world.

Regina Schroeder described The Children of Cthulhu in her Booklist review, "Like Lovecraft's own tales, they exist to titillate, horrify, and confront readers with intense descriptions of things that can't—shouldn't—be described." A Kirkus Reviews critic acknowledged a few outstanding selections in the anthology and noted that as a whole the collection exudes the "spirit" of Lovecraft, "the 20th-century's weirdest and most influential horror writer."