darynnmark's review
4.0
I only read: "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Shadow over Innsmouth", "The Colour out of Space", and "The Whisper in the Darkness."
A quick note upfront - the foreword to the version I read did a lot of "well, he was a horrible racist, but that didn't really matter in his works and he was a brilliant writer." While I can see how he influenced Stephen King and others, his racism did show, at least in the "Call of Cthulhu." I took this on as more of an educational read for me, and while I don't think he should be celebrated at all, now I can say I at least have a surface knowledge of his works, and I know where Cthulhu originates from.
Of these stories, "The Shadow over Innsmouth" was my favorite, as I thought it was probably the weirdest, it had a good twist, and the suspense/horror over the whole thing I thought was the strongest.
The titular "The Call of Cthulhu," while it works as kind of a setup for most of the others (with Cthulhu being the center of most of the Lovecraft mythos), was actually the weakest of these stories, to me. It also had the most blatant racism, which was a big turnoff.
The "Whisper in the Darkness" was probably my second favorite, as a family is working to revive a terrible thing that grows both figuratively and literally in horror, scale, and destruction.
The "Colour of Space" was actually outside the Cthulhu and Old Ones mythos, when everything goes wrong for a family after a meteor lands on their farmland.
Overall, knowing the viewpoint of the author, I would recommend reading these tales, especially if you're a fan of Stephen King.
A quick note upfront - the foreword to the version I read did a lot of "well, he was a horrible racist, but that didn't really matter in his works and he was a brilliant writer." While I can see how he influenced Stephen King and others, his racism did show, at least in the "Call of Cthulhu." I took this on as more of an educational read for me, and while I don't think he should be celebrated at all, now I can say I at least have a surface knowledge of his works, and I know where Cthulhu originates from.
Of these stories, "The Shadow over Innsmouth" was my favorite, as I thought it was probably the weirdest, it had a good twist, and the suspense/horror over the whole thing I thought was the strongest.
The titular "The Call of Cthulhu," while it works as kind of a setup for most of the others (with Cthulhu being the center of most of the Lovecraft mythos), was actually the weakest of these stories, to me. It also had the most blatant racism, which was a big turnoff.
The "Whisper in the Darkness" was probably my second favorite, as a family is working to revive a terrible thing that grows both figuratively and literally in horror, scale, and destruction.
The "Colour of Space" was actually outside the Cthulhu and Old Ones mythos, when everything goes wrong for a family after a meteor lands on their farmland.
Overall, knowing the viewpoint of the author, I would recommend reading these tales, especially if you're a fan of Stephen King.
travis_cunningham's review against another edition
4.0
While at times monotonously repetitive (especially at the end), this shit busted. The language was beautiful and there were plenty of genuinely eerie moments. The Colour out of Space and The Mound were two that really stuck out to me.
adamwarlock's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
aclamadoautor's review against another edition
4.0
Great book. In my opinion, H.P. Lovecraft is a master of the horror genre.
Sure, we can predict the ending of some of the stories, but one must have in consideration if he would have been able to predict it when the stories were originally written and published (from 1919 to 1935). And then there are some reviews that call Lovecraft's stories repetitive. I don't think so. Yes, they tend to use the same form, but the content and the plot are different, although sometimes with references that connect them at some higher horror level.
For me, Lovecraft's strength is the atmospheric horror. He's really a master at it.
My favourite stories:
- Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
- Herbert West - Reanimator
- The Colour Out of Space
- The Whisperer in the Darkness
Followed closely by:
- The Picture in the House
- The Call of Ctulhu
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth
fantasticmrethan's review against another edition
2.0
The imagery and mythos within are astounding but it’s up to the reader to make more of them.
It’s impossible to look past Lovecraft’s racism and with every blank protagonist of each story and the unsympathetic portrayal of the evil-because-they’re-different monsters made me wish for Guillermo Del Toro to come swooping in to save the day.
I’m stuck loving Cthulhu, thinking the people of Innsmouth don’t sound so bad and fundamentally disagreeing with all H.P. Lovecraft’s personal views. Not the book I was expecting to be reading.
There are some genuinely great stories though that can be chilling and atmospheric; some personal favourites were:
Call of Cthulhu
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Dagon
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
The Picture In The House
The Hound
Cool Air
It’s impossible to look past Lovecraft’s racism and with every blank protagonist of each story and the unsympathetic portrayal of the evil-because-they’re-different monsters made me wish for Guillermo Del Toro to come swooping in to save the day.
I’m stuck loving Cthulhu, thinking the people of Innsmouth don’t sound so bad and fundamentally disagreeing with all H.P. Lovecraft’s personal views. Not the book I was expecting to be reading.
There are some genuinely great stories though that can be chilling and atmospheric; some personal favourites were:
Call of Cthulhu
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Dagon
Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family
The Picture In The House
The Hound
Cool Air
sophiesvs's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
peggy99blue's review
4.0
To be honest, this wasn't a 4 star book.
The short stories were not on the same level, and while some were really engaging, the rest bored me so much I almost considered not finishing the book.
Yet for the sake of three stories, the rats in the walls, the lurking fear, and the music of Erich Zann, which were 4.5 star stories for me, I'm neglecting the ones I didn't like!
Outsider, and the colour out of space, were really good too. Not my favourites but they were still interesting.
The short stories were not on the same level, and while some were really engaging, the rest bored me so much I almost considered not finishing the book.
Yet for the sake of three stories, the rats in the walls, the lurking fear, and the music of Erich Zann, which were 4.5 star stories for me, I'm neglecting the ones I didn't like!
Outsider, and the colour out of space, were really good too. Not my favourites but they were still interesting.
macthebrazen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Most of the stories are 3 stars for me. There are a couple 5 stars, with Shadow over Innsmouth and Haunter of the Dark being favorites of mine. But I think the collection as it's presented (with the ability to really nerd out on all the lore) as well as how badass the B&N cover is takes it from a 4 to a 4.5 in my book!
shorthannah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
zofoklecja's review
Narration devices and world building blocks were somewhat repetitive. The style was so over the top I couldn't help but laugh at times. Also Lovecraft couldn't seem to come up with a good enough synonym for the word "queer"...