Kolchak Eras
James Aquilone, ed.
Monstrous Books (January 27, 2026)
Reviewed by Carson Buckingham
As a big fan of the original Kolchak television series, I was delighted to receive a copy of this 13-story anthology to review. I had high hopes for Kolchak Eras, and great expectations, as Charlie D. would say.
And every hope, every expectation, was not only met, but far exceeded.
It was enormously fun to step back into Carl Kolchak’s world, with Tony Vincenzo and the other familiar cast of characters. It was interesting that Kolchak Eras was able to create such nostalgia with a set of entirely new stories, and I enjoyed every single one of them. James Aquilone did an exemplary job of choosing just the right submissions for this anthology, ensuring that they were written in the style of the television show…that sort of mystery/horror/noir-ish form, filled with a selection of great monsters, that hasn’t been duplicated since, until now. The narrative and Kolchak’s verbal mannerisms are perfect. So well done, in fact, that you’d swear you were reading a novelization of lost episodes of the original show.
So, without further ado, here’s what you get:
“Summer in Rome” by James Chambers – Private Kolchak is stationed in Rome in 1945 and hears about a soldier who can’t be killed. This story is the most accurate in style to the original show, and it was a great choice to lead with.
“The Shot Heard Round the Underworld” by James Aquilone – Covering a New York Sultan’s baseball game leads to a baseball glove with a sigil, and plots of revenge.
“The Devil Level” by Bobby Nash – Kolchak is a war correspondent in Vietnam. He meets a couple of eerie locals after the bus he was riding in was shelled.
“On the Road with Carl” by David Avallone – This never-published account was found among Carl Kolchak’s papers. The story is written by Tony Vincenzo.
“The Black Volga” by Will McDermott – A Black Volga limousine transporting a mysterious visiting bishop, and missing children whose bodies turn up horribly desecrated are the focus here. One of my three favorite stories of the anthology.
“Up From the Underground” by Stephen Mark Rainey – Carl looks into an otherworldly entity baiting humans in an unusual way. Another favorite story.
“Devour the Dead” by Naching T. Kassa – The worst blizzard in Chicago history has Kolchak investigating the deaths of two elderly sisters and a small black box with something terrifying inside. The final favorite story.
“Blood Witch” by Owl Goingback – Kolchak’s covering of a Mexican Art Exhibit gets derailed by a shapeshifter.
“A View with a Room” by Jim Beard – Kolchak investigates three missing men who never left the airport in Chicago, discovers how these people are being taken, and meets a “watcher” from whom he gets a little, but not quite enough insight.
“Wolf’s Clothing” by Leverett Butts – This story finds Kolchak in Georgia, actually assigned to investigate werewolf attacks that have killed some teenagers. But he discovers that the attacks are caused by something completely different.
“Bruises on the Flesh of God” by Charles R. Rutledge – Kolchak is in Taos, New Mexico, at the Taos Research Laboratory, to look into murders in which there is no trace of an assailant. What’s interesting is that the Army is involved and Carl discovers just how thin the boundaries between worlds really are.
“L. A. Lizard” by Lisa Morton – Carl is in L. A. to check out Lizard Man sightings downtown.
“The Devil’s Chapel” by Simon Bestwick – Kolchak is semi-retired and living in Florida when he receives a letter from an old lover from 1940 asking him to come for a visit in Wales. What he lets himself in for is a sleepwalking kid, a glowing chapel at the top of a hill, and a cult leader who isn’t quite as dead as he should be.
If you’re a Kolchak fan, or even if you’ve never heard of him, I urge you to give yourself a present and buy a copy of Kolchak Eras. You won’t be sorry. It’s so much fun. Thank you, James Aquilone, for the trip down (new) Memory Lane.
5 out of 5 stars
