trevlix wrote:I haven't actually decided if the Mlandoth Myth Cycle is related to the Mythos or not yet. It definetly has ties to it, and DeBill was obviously influenced by Lovecraft's mythos. I'll reserve saying more until I finish the anthology (about half-way through).
An interesting issue in its own right. I've long viewed the Mythos as a series of interlinking myth cycles, some of which conflict with each other. The obvious example is the Elder God cult who say they are good, while the Cthulhu cult says he is the good guy. Likewise, some people argue that the Hastur Cycle is not part of the Cthulhu Mythos, but clearly Derleth added a version of it into the Mythos, even if it doesn't quite match Robert Chamber's version (which doesn't quite match with Ambrose Bierce's use of those names), there is a overlap.
There is real world basis for my view. Consider the relationship between Scandinavian Myth and Teutonic Myth, both have all-father gods (Odin and Wotan), and lots of other points of comparison, but they are clearly separate and even conflicting in many details. Likewise, it is theorised that there were a lot of hero myths in Britain featuring hero-gods like Tristran and Gawain, but when King Arthur's myth came to dominate its "gravity" sucked these myths under its envelope and these figures became, first warriors and then knights at Arthur's court.
I would count the Mlandoth Myth Cycle as one of these cycles. I'm also reminded of an incident where a fellow writer asked me if I thought the work of D. F. Lewis was "Mythos". As I know D. F. Lewis, I know for a fact that Lovecraft is a major influence on him and though he might not always name-check the entities in his bizarre urban fables, never-the-less the Mythos is woven into the fabric of them. They are urban legends of a hostile Universe. Think about what a "Christian" story would be -- merely name-checking Christ doesn't make a story a Christian story, such a story needs to express a philosophy consistent with Christian belief. It's much harder to know what the philosophy of the Cthulhu Mythos is, but I would say DeBill does express Lovecraftian ideals.