Robert Bloch wrote voluminously across a variety of fiction genres during his life. To many, he may be best known for writing Psycho as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek The Original Series. The latest version of this collection contains all (or at least the bulk) of his 'weird fiction' work, including the stories set in turn of the century Egypt discussed by H.P. Lovecraft and his lovecraftian mythos stories as well.
This was a second time around on some of these stories for me, and others it had been so long since I had read them it might as well have been the first time. First of all, I should say that if you are a fan of Bloch's script, film, and television work these stories may not be for you. The pacing is much different, and while some scene are described with rich language, none of this is what I would call cinematic. While technically their inclusion in this collection means all of these short stories share some element of the Cthulhu/Lovecraft mythos, in my opinion only a few really merit that label. Most share a minor element common to the Lovecraft circle of contemporaries. Like Robert Howard, Bloch borrowed either names of entities (i.e. Nyarlahothep), forbidden tomes (the Necronomicon), and/or used analogs to them or story telling devices meant to serve the same purpose (De Vermis Mysteriis). Only a few rise to level of something that feels like part of the mythos, though Lovecraft completionists will undoubtedly want to read the entire collection.
As a fan of mythos fiction in general, and the actual Lovecraft circle of contemporaries in particular, I not only expected to enjoy the mythos stories in this collection more, but even vaguely recall enjoying them (especially the more tongue in cheek, semi-meta stories) a lot more than I did with this reading. Its difficult to say whether that's a result of changing tastes (I first read those stories in my early to mid-teens), or if because they don't hold up well next to truly exceptional Egypt centered horror fiction here. These stories are similar in feel to some of Rudyard Kipling's India horror, and with the tone of the turn of the 20th century stories (and later films) about the ancient mysteries and curses surrounding the archeological discoveries of the mysterious Egyptian desert. I found myself rushing through mythos fiction that felt ho-hum in an effort to get more of stories like 'The Secret of Sebek', 'The Fane of the Black Pharaoh', or 'The Eyes of the Mummy.' These more thoroughly satisfied both my inner child fascinated with archeology and the black & white Universal Mummy as well as the adult in my that could appreciate the craft that went into the lush descriptions that really brought the mystery and menace of the desert to life.
All in all, a good collection by Chaosium, especially as to the best of my knowledge there isn't an adequate Complete Works of Bloch's material (which would likely be sizable anyway). ( )

This is great Lovecraftian pastiche writing.
Recommended reading for all fans of Lovecraft the Cthulhu Mythos. ( )