A.P. Klosky

This book reprints and expands the gazetteer of Arkham first issued in the Arkham Horror (3rd Edition) Deluxe Rulebook six years earlier. It includes further sections to complete a survey of the 1920s Massachusetts "Arkham country," in the form of "Welcome to Dunwich," "Welcome to Innsmouth," and "Welcome to Kingsport." There are no game rules included, and it is abundantly illustrated on heavy paper with a folio page size.

However, the book is not merely a purported facsimile of the imaginary 1926 edition. It instead simulates Reginald Peabody's own copy of the book which he edited for the Arkham Historical Society, stuffed with his loose research items and ephemera, on top of which are layered notes from his niece Myrna Todd, who is investigating his disappearance and corresponding with a friend in Manhattan named Lillian.

Most of the art is inset trompe l'oeil style as photos and other documents lying on the pages. The deducible story of Myrna's investigation doesn't clarify whether these are her photos or Peabody's, as she follows his trail. Of course, they are actually art assets recycled from various Fantasy Flight games and Arkham Horror fiction. This presentation is similar to the documentary appendices of the hardcover Arkham Horror novellas that Fantasy Flight issued in 2017 through 2020.

The body text of the gazetteer is reasonably interesting, and it includes allusions to Lovecraft stories like "The Terrible Old Man" and "The Strange High House in the Mist," but also to Arkham Horror novels, like The Last Ritual (all of these in the Kingsport section), as well as to fictional persons and places first invented for the various Arkham Files games and their Chaosium predecessors. Sometimes the aim to establish a horror setting is dissonant with a celebration of local history, e.g. "Innsmouth is a town of rot" (124). The architectural styles described are occasionally at odds with what is shown in the illustrations. There is an effort at period diction which can fall a little flat. I don't think "unctuous" is an apt word to praise cherry pie (29).

As a bonus, there is a draft of the Miskatonic University scholar Kōhaku Narukami's Book of Living Myths (84-100). Since this part is visually represented as loose sheets between the sections of Welcome to Arkham, it is fittingly omitted from the table of contents. Pagination is continuous through it though, spoiling the conceit a little. Kōhaku's text is a straight-up primer on the folkloric dimensions of yog-sothothery.

The complete lack of maps is a peculiar omission from a volume with the sort of geographical focus of this one. I suspect that the modular board for Arkham Horror 3rd Edition is to blame, since that game uses a map of Arkham variously configured from independent hex tiles as its central play focus. Still, some modification of the map board for the Arkham Horror: Final Hour game might have been included in the Miskatonic University section (69-83). A note from Myrna could even have expressed her frustration that the fold-out map of Arkham had gone missing from the book.

Taken as a whole, this book seems more like a supplement for a tabletop RPG than it does for the board and card games in the Arkham Files line. The earlier Investigators of Arkham Horror book complements the games very well, but in this case, I wouldn't be much tempted to review the book in immediate connection with game play. I admit, the Dunwich and Innsmouth sections could be useful preludes to the Dunwich Legacy and the Innsmouth Conspiracy cycles of the card game, respectively, and the Miskatonic section might be a way to set up the "Extracurricular Activity" scenario or the aforementioned Final Hour.

Mostly, I enjoyed it as a clever synthesis of the fictional milieu elements that have accumulated around these games. The whole book isn't very long, and the price is honestly a little steep for what you get. Despite the large page size, most of the art is reproduced at card game size or smaller, and often with flattened sepia-toned color, so although it is classed as an "art book" in the Fantasy Flight online store, it is in that respect inferior to other such books in its line. Still, the overall graphic design is engaging, and the whimsical documentary conceit with its fragments of menacing narrative provides a rather unique reading experience.… (más)

As a long time lover of the Arkham Horror both board games and Card game and the Arkham Horror universe overall I am always excited to see the books come out. This one however especially caught my eye as it is expanding upon to lore and locations in the games. I have already pulled it up while plying the game to read to get more of the correct vibe for the location I was in, using it almost as a tourist's guide book while playing the game to flesh the world out and learn new little tidbits I may have missed about the location in past plays.

This book is lovingly written and illustrated with over 100 locations featured and over 500 illustrations. I have enjoyed reading it both on its own as a guide book through the locations I love in Arkham, and as an easy thing to add to my sessions when I sit down with the card or board game. If you love the art work on in the games you will love this as it is clear they had game illustrators work on the art for this book.

I would recommend this as an addition to any collection of an Arkham Horror lover, and as a great starting add on for someone just getting into this world who would like an easy jumping in place. Also a great idea for a gift for an Arkham Horror lover who seems to own all the games as it will just add some color to the world they clearly love.… (más)