nem_nem97's review against another edition
3.0
It's wild how much of his fear is rooted in racism. His fear of the other is linked to his fear of other cultures/"races"/whatever so clearly throughout. The version I read had his stories seemingly in ascending order of racism. Let's not even talk about the Call of Cthulhu or the Dunwhich horror.
myweereads's review against another edition
5.0
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
I completed my first ever read of Lovecraft’s Complete Fiction earlier this month. I have always known of his works however I had not picked up a single book. This volume includes his lesser and well known stories and poems. Some of his more well known stories I was familiar with due to how popular they are and the others which are less well known and important to his career were interesting to come by. Below is a list of a few stand out ones for me.
The Festival
The Shunned House
In The Vault
The Call Of Cthulhu
The Dunwich Horror
At The Mountains Of Madness
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Dreams In The Witch House
The Thing On The Doorstep
The Evil Clergyman
The Haunter Of The Dark
The Secret Cave
The Alchemist
The Beast In The Cave
The Tomb
The Lurking Fear
The Nameless City
The Statement Of Randolph Carter
I think it’s easy to say I have become a fan of his. It was interesting to read the descriptions before each story giving the reader a little background on them. I learnt so many interesting facts about Lovecraft and can see through is writing who influenced him eg Edgar Allan Poe who’s work I enjoy and the authors who Lovecraft has influenced over the years too.
I completed my first ever read of Lovecraft’s Complete Fiction earlier this month. I have always known of his works however I had not picked up a single book. This volume includes his lesser and well known stories and poems. Some of his more well known stories I was familiar with due to how popular they are and the others which are less well known and important to his career were interesting to come by. Below is a list of a few stand out ones for me.
The Festival
The Shunned House
In The Vault
The Call Of Cthulhu
The Dunwich Horror
At The Mountains Of Madness
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
The Dreams In The Witch House
The Thing On The Doorstep
The Evil Clergyman
The Haunter Of The Dark
The Secret Cave
The Alchemist
The Beast In The Cave
The Tomb
The Lurking Fear
The Nameless City
The Statement Of Randolph Carter
I think it’s easy to say I have become a fan of his. It was interesting to read the descriptions before each story giving the reader a little background on them. I learnt so many interesting facts about Lovecraft and can see through is writing who influenced him eg Edgar Allan Poe who’s work I enjoy and the authors who Lovecraft has influenced over the years too.
maccychee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
itisnatal's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
uncle_remus's review against another edition
4.0
This is my dilemma: How do you assign a rating to a compilation of works that is meaningful when viewed in light of a single book? Is it fair to compare novels with novellas with 30 page short stories to those that are only a few pages? What if this was the Complete Fiction of Stephen King?
In this case, some stories are better than others. Some are excellent, deserving a 5 star (or more) rating, others a meager 2. This is not an average, per se, of all of the stories, but an opinion of the 1000+ pages of text. There are plenty of gems here. But, this is the * Complete Fiction * - all of the stories. together in one place. No more scrambling to find 15 different anthologies that cover the spectrum of his entire works, each reprinting its own _Call of Cthulthu_.
If read cover to cover, one can gain a sense of HP Lovecraft's world and his cthulthu mythology and an appreciation for his world. I don't think Lovecraft set out with a single, consistent universe for all his myths, but there is an underlying 'Texture and Feel' to them; and it is creepy!
This is a compilation, attempting to sort by date it was written or published (which is not clear in some instances). It is a thick book, lots of pages. While it is a beautiful cover, the pages themselves, well, paper is quite thin. There are a number of publishing / print-type errors.
In this case, some stories are better than others. Some are excellent, deserving a 5 star (or more) rating, others a meager 2. This is not an average, per se, of all of the stories, but an opinion of the 1000+ pages of text. There are plenty of gems here. But, this is the * Complete Fiction * - all of the stories. together in one place. No more scrambling to find 15 different anthologies that cover the spectrum of his entire works, each reprinting its own _Call of Cthulthu_.
If read cover to cover, one can gain a sense of HP Lovecraft's world and his cthulthu mythology and an appreciation for his world. I don't think Lovecraft set out with a single, consistent universe for all his myths, but there is an underlying 'Texture and Feel' to them; and it is creepy!
This is a compilation, attempting to sort by date it was written or published (which is not clear in some instances). It is a thick book, lots of pages. While it is a beautiful cover, the pages themselves, well, paper is quite thin. There are a number of publishing / print-type errors.
jackievr's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
chmccann's review
5.0
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society knocks it out of the park with this reading! It includes ALL of HPL's independently-written fiction, which adds up to 50+ hours of listening pleasure. A lot of attention and hard work went into the sound of the book, with Sean and Andrew swapping off reading duty, careful editing, and mixing with interstitial music to maximize the effect. They're both lovely readers with talented voices and a great command of the material.
I'm not going to lie - when I've read physical texts of these stories, I've never been a fan of the dream cycle stuff, and some of the longer stories can lose my attention. It was nice to have the pleasant voice of the reader pull me along through these tales, adding interest and drama. I can now say I've read them all!
I highly recommend this audiobook to any Lovecraft fan. I'll definitely be going back and listening to my favorites again and again!
I'm not going to lie - when I've read physical texts of these stories, I've never been a fan of the dream cycle stuff, and some of the longer stories can lose my attention. It was nice to have the pleasant voice of the reader pull me along through these tales, adding interest and drama. I can now say I've read them all!
I highly recommend this audiobook to any Lovecraft fan. I'll definitely be going back and listening to my favorites again and again!
biblio_kel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
As far as Lovecraft audiobooks go, this collection has good production values and the narrators are very good.
The reason I can't rate it better is that despite how easy it would have been to switch out all the N-words for other terms Leman and Branney (two white men) decided to leave in every single one of them.
We all know that Lovecraft was a eugenics supporting racist. He was a trash person. No debate. But that doesn't mean we have to continue to stay true to his use of harmful racial slurs. They literally have no effect on the stoy AT ALL.
It's seriously disappointing. It also means this audiobook is useless unless you either a) wear headphones or b) don't mind offending and/or harming the people around you.
There's no excuse for this. They should have done better.
The reason I can't rate it better is that despite how easy it would have been to switch out all the N-words for other terms Leman and Branney (two white men) decided to leave in every single one of them.
We all know that Lovecraft was a eugenics supporting racist. He was a trash person. No debate. But that doesn't mean we have to continue to stay true to his use of harmful racial slurs. They literally have no effect on the stoy AT ALL.
It's seriously disappointing. It also means this audiobook is useless unless you either a) wear headphones or b) don't mind offending and/or harming the people around you.
There's no excuse for this. They should have done better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism