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scottjp's review against another edition
4.0
This is a good collection of Lovecraft but not, I feel, a great one, due to a certain amount of sameness and formula in many of the stories. From what I understand editor Joshi put together three collections for Penguin, so no doubt he had some kind of organization in mind for each, but I would have preferred something that was just more varied. This one focuses largely on Cthulhu mythos tales and while that is a great contribution to literature, the stories themselves are not really my favorites. As is usual in my experience with this author, the longer stories seem to drag on and on and on. (The only longer work by Lovecraft that I think is nearly perfect is "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," not included here.) I regret selecting this particular volume for my book club, as I don't think it is as new reader friendly as another might have been, and in fact it was not a raging success. The most positive thing that was said from anyone reading him for the first time (which was almost everyone) was that it was interesting to read something from the roots of the genre. But I don't think any of them really liked it. Perhaps [b:The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories|564318|The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories|H.P. Lovecraft|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327885492l/564318._SY75_.jpg|551435] would have been a better choice.
youraveragedave's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Having learned about Lovecraft and The Cthulhu mythos through all the things he's influenced I thought it was finally time to dive into the stories themselves.
The collection has "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Hound", "The Dunwich Horror", and "Dagan". Cthulhu and Dunwich were more memorable stories.
I did the audiobook and the narration by William Roberts was just what I needed. He reads with this impending sense of dread and doom which Lovecraft is putting on the page.
I now get when Lovecraft is brought up people always bring up that he's a racist. It's unnecessarily put in these stories as descriptors of non white people.
The collection has "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Hound", "The Dunwich Horror", and "Dagan". Cthulhu and Dunwich were more memorable stories.
I did the audiobook and the narration by William Roberts was just what I needed. He reads with this impending sense of dread and doom which Lovecraft is putting on the page.
I now get when Lovecraft is brought up people always bring up that he's a racist. It's unnecessarily put in these stories as descriptors of non white people.
mairelon's review against another edition
3.0
I'm glad to have read it to get a better sense of the lore (Australia plays a part in it!) but I stand by my initial impressions - I am sort of impressed with how many different groups he could be racist to in a single short story.
Apart from that, I enjoyed the stories, though I did find the writing style a little impersonal. Though I find that is often the case with older titles.
Apart from that, I enjoyed the stories, though I did find the writing style a little impersonal. Though I find that is often the case with older titles.
canibefictionaltoo's review against another edition
Dnf for now, may come back to this later
udflyer's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
As a horror fan, I felt I needed to read Lovecraft. He's credited with creating the horror subgenre "weird fiction". Well, it was definitely weird. I didn't see the point. I thought it was rather dumb. 🤷‍♀️ One of the stories seemed to be taken straight from Poe..
pershephone's review against another edition
4.0
domnii de la polirom chiar au vrut sa faca o diferenta mare dintre povestile de aici si celalalta carticica ,because this slaps
ma simt implinita acum ca am consumat anul asta atata lovecraft si sunt cam innebunita cu stilul lui de scris desi in unele povesti se cam aseamana narativul
ca fapt divers cred ca in muntii nebuniei ramane preferata mea si poate si ca a fost introducerea mea,dar sincer asta ar trebui sa fie considerata capodopera lui cthulhu ,dagon sunt putin overrated
acum intrebarea mare ,ati mai vorbi cu mine daca as fi si eu regasita printre oamenii cu tatuaj lovecraft inspired??
ma simt implinita acum ca am consumat anul asta atata lovecraft si sunt cam innebunita cu stilul lui de scris desi in unele povesti se cam aseamana narativul
ca fapt divers cred ca in muntii nebuniei ramane preferata mea si poate si ca a fost introducerea mea,dar sincer asta ar trebui sa fie considerata capodopera lui cthulhu ,dagon sunt putin overrated
acum intrebarea mare ,ati mai vorbi cu mine daca as fi si eu regasita printre oamenii cu tatuaj lovecraft inspired??
finalworks's review against another edition
The ideas are very cool, creative and genuinely scary but Lovecraft's writing structure is repetitive and sluggish.
elliot_dw's review against another edition
This was my first time reading Lovecraft, although I’ve read/listened to a lot of things inspired by him. I knew he was racist, but wow wow wow I was still taken aback multiple times. In like multiple ways! So there’s definitely that.
Also everything does start to feel the same after a while. There’s only so many times I can feel creeped out by “nameless horrors”.
All that being said, he is a very good writer, and there were some genuine spooks and gasps. I can tell why he established the conventions of an entire sub-genre, and it’s fun to see those influences in things I love. But I doubt I’ll read any more Lovecraft.
Also everything does start to feel the same after a while. There’s only so many times I can feel creeped out by “nameless horrors”.
All that being said, he is a very good writer, and there were some genuine spooks and gasps. I can tell why he established the conventions of an entire sub-genre, and it’s fun to see those influences in things I love. But I doubt I’ll read any more Lovecraft.