The two novels contained in the first volume of Titus Crow--"The Burrowers Beneath" and "The Transition of Titus Crow" (originally published in 1974 and 1975)--are a matched set marking the introduction of Brian Lumley's Sherlockian paranormal investigator, Titus Crow, and Crow's Watsonesque partner, Henri-Laurent de Marginy. Both tales are grounded in the Cthulu mythos originated by H.P. Lovecraft, but Lumley offers an effortless introduction to Cthulu for newcomers. While Lumley is perhaps best known now for Necroscope, the Crow novels (which also include those collected in Titus Crow, Volume Two and Titus Crow, Volume Three) offer an early glimpse at the creative talents of a contemporary horror master. Crow is a fascinating character--an obsessed genius uncovering ancient gods in a late-20th-century world that is blind to its imminent destruction. At the same time, de Marginy, writing through epistles and journals, brings a naive immediacy to the narratives. Lumley's prose has a baroque feel that lends an antique patina to Crow's world (supposedly in the 1960s and '70s), and his blend of horror à la Lovecraft, adventure reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and techno-science fiction with shades of Asimov is always pleasantly surprising. Titus Crow makes for solid and enjoyable reading that deftly crosses genres. It's a pleasure to have these novels in a readily available form again. --Patrick O'Kelley