Beat connections • The novel begins with Kerouac in
Big Sur, the setting of his
novel of the same name, and numerous mentions are made of his "heading out on the road again", a reference to his 1957
On the Road. • The slaves of Cthulhu are referred to as "mugwumps", from the predatory creatures of Burroughs'
Naked Lunch. • When Burroughs appears, he is wielding a pair of
pistols and is said to be playing
William Tell, a reference to his alleged killing of
Joan Vollmer while playing William Tell. • Burroughs mentions that his book has been unbanned and thanks Kerouac for the title, which references
Naked Lunch, the
title of which was suggested by Kerouac. • Kerouac mentions Dean Moriarty, the name of the protagonist of
On the Road who was strongly inspired by Neal Cassady, and Jack Duluoz, the name Kerouac gives himself in many of his works.
Cthulhu Mythos connections •
Cthulhu is the central enemy of the book, and the
squares are turned into beings resembling his
star-spawn. •
R'lyeh is seen to rise when the stars are right; however, it is located "closer than
Communist Cuba" off the
Californian coast, not in its usual location in the
South Pacific, however, this may be due to the twisted geometry mentioned below. • Cassidy mentions the
Three-Lobed Burning Eye and the "
Al-Azif" to Kerouac in predicting the coming apocalypse. Kerouac later states that he sent Cthulhu back to "strange aeons," another reference to the Necronomicon. • The
Elder Gods and
Great Old Ones are also mentioned. • Kerouac enters the
Dreamlands at one point. • Numerous references are made to "
the Call of Cthulhu." •
Shoggoths appear several times; however, instead of how they are usually depicted in the Mythos, they appear as agents of Cthulhu that assume the shapes, forms, or personal appearances most likely to drive their target mad. • Kerouac talks about trying to get the government to send the "
Sea Hunt and gut the Elder God," a possible reference to the submarine torpedoing of Y'ha-nthlei at the beginning/end of "
The Shadow Over Innsmouth." • As Cthulhu's power rises, America becomes distorted by
non-Euclidean geometry. • A reference is made to Lovecraft himself; a worker mentions how a serious "gentleman from
Providence" named Mr. Love passed through several weeks earlier, predicting the onslaught and building a
lighthouse in the desert. He is described as having "eyes so round like a frog's [with a] lipless mouth," characteristics matching the "
Innsmouth Look" of the
Deep Ones. • Kerouac observes
Azathoth in the twisted constellations. Cassady later becomes an avatar for Azathoth. • After Cthulhu comes to power, all money must be stamped with the
Elder Sign; both Lovecraft's branching symbol and
August Derleth's five-pointed flaming star variants are mentioned. This could be a reference to the
Mark of the Beast being needed for commerce. •
Chicago is described as being formed of "
Cyclopean modern towers and pinnacles rising flowerlike and delicate like spun crystal"; this is similar to Lovecraft's description of R'lyeh,
Pnakotus, and the
City of the Old Ones. • The established religions all begin preaching to Cthulhu rather than the Christian god; they are referred to as "
cargo cults" and Kerouac uses the term "starry wisdom" to describe them. These are references to several Cthulhu Mythos cults, specifically the
Church of Starry Wisdom and the
Esoteric Order of Dagon. ==Awards and nominations==