The Antarctic Express (Mini Mythos)

This is the fourth book I've read in rapid succession by RPG maven Kenneth Hite. The Antarctic Express is a Mimi Mythos Book published by Trident, Inc for Atlas Games. It is a retelling of the famous HP Lovecraft novella At the Mountains of Madness while parodying the children's classic The Polar Express. It is a high quality hardcover, about the same length as a typical children's picture book. The price is a rather steep $19.95. I suppose this is because of the production costs for so many color pages. Chris Von Allsberg won the Caldecott medal in 1986 for his (at the time) strikingly original art; it is now a beloved Christmas story and has even been (regretably) made into a movie. The art for The Antarctic Express by Christina Rodriguez has been created in Allsberg's style, in service of the parody, and is actually quite good on its own merits. Pride of place goe to the picture of the surging shoggoth, crying "Tekeli-li."My caveats about Where the Deep Ones Are apply to The Antarctic Express, but even more so.First, this is not a book I would read to a young child. Inevitably parental expectations will be conditioned by a Christmas book, The Polar Express. At one point Professsor Dyer, taking the role of Santa Claus (and even drawn a little like him) looks at carvings of the Old Ones and exclaims, "The first life on Earth!" Decapitated bodies of the alien Old Ones, killed by shoggoths, are seen. In a scene mirroring Santa cracking a whip over his reindeer, Professor Dyer does the same with some sled dogs so he and the little boy won't be eaten by a shoggoth. Nope, not for kids.Also, I do not see how you will make much sense of the entire plot if you have not read both The Polar Express and At the Mountaisn of Madness. What happens in the HPL novella is just too complicated to conense into a couple of pages. So for me, this book did not work as well as Where the Deep Ones Are. On the other hand, I liked it well enough as a Cthulhu mythos fan. My favorite part was the end where the boy, years later, is still haunted by the cry "Tekeli-li!"So what to do? It's hard to know who this book is aimed at. I think die hard collectors and fans of Lovecraft, like me, will want a copy. Certainly aficianados of Lovecraftian art and comics will enjoy Ms. Rodriguez's work. Otherwise the $19.95 price tag is likely to be limiting. Personally I will continue to get the books in this series but I don't see this as being of general interest.

Antarctic Express is a good attempt but falls short in too many areas. There are no explanations or details given in instances when they were sorely needed. Case in point: at the beginning the boy goes off with Dr. Dyer. Who is Dr. Dyer? Does the boy even know him? There are more unaddressed questions from there on. I will say the artwork is decent. This book will only make any sense to someone who is familiar with "At the Mountains of Madness".

My son loves this book even thought it scares the shit out of him. Be prepared for lectures from the grand-parents for reading it to your kids. Objectively, it's fine up until the last few pages where the shoggoth starts running wild.

I picked up both this and Where the Deep Ones Are and after reading both I have to say that I enjoyed this one the most. Both offer amusing nods to the Cthulul mythos but the Antarctic express has the added benefit of being a more fulfilling complete story. While it's unlikely to appeal to those unfamiliar with Lovecraft I would recommend it to those who are.

ZOMG....I love Lovecraft....I have for over 20 years....how can you not like this??? It is as wonderful as I thought it would be. Yes I bought this for my toddler....yes I plan on having to a meet the teacher when he starts kindergarten. I don't care this is awesome!!!!

Great book for kids and adults. I should be noted though, Kids will not get all the jokes (unless they're spawns of Dunwich I suppose). Great for any Lovecraftian collection!

Beautiful graphics with a clever take on H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness." Especially liked the way the author satired the "Polar Express", would make a great gift for the Lovecraft fan.

My toddler isn't quite sure what to think about this book. I love it though.