What do you think of when you hear something’s been inspired by H.P. Lovecraft? For me it’s mysterious, cosmic, monolithic, even god-like horrors—horrors that are often hard to describe, but that’s part of what makes it Lovecraftian. As a rule, there are tentacles involved.

There are a lot of authors who play in Lovecraft’s sandbox—minus the virulent, unacceptable racism—to greater and lesser success. The very best of them, such as Matt Ruff with Lovecraft Country, put their own unique spin on the eldritch horrors.

It should come as no surprise that Joe R. Lansdale’s take on Lovecraft is utterly original—Scary, fun, and cosmic as all hell. Lansdale is a master in just about every genre imaginable (not sure if he’s ever tried his hand at children’s books, but that could be interesting), and it shows here. The eight stories dip into several genres, sometimes more than one at once, and it pays off big time. Every story is a home run, but here are my favorites:

The Bleeding Shadow—Blues music as a vehicle for opening a door to another, terrifying dimension…a door that can’t be closed.

Dread Island—An all-out gonzo masterpiece that somehow throws Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, characters from the Uncle Remus, a mysterious island in the middle of the Mississippi, and unknowable cosmic horror into a blender and hits puree.

The Crawling Sky—This grim, somber story transplants Lovecraftian horror to the old west, with terrifying results.

In the Mad Mountains—The title story in this collection is easily one of my favorites things Lansdale has ever written. Set in a forbidding arctic landscape, the horrors of “In the Mad Mountains” just keep coming. A bravura performance.

These are my personal favorite stories, but they’re all excellent. Lansdale is a national treasure.

In the Mad Mountains debuts October 15th, and is available for pre-order now.