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storm_37's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
robinofthehood's review against another edition
2.0
Audiobook. Was really dope right up until the point where he started writing some of the most racist shit I’ve ever listened to in my life.
leonard_gaya's review against another edition
4.0
After At the Mountain of Madness, HPL is back in New England with this novelette. Once more, as in [b:The Case of Charles Dexter Ward|129327|The Case of Charles Dexter Ward|H.P. Lovecraft|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385837737l/129327._SY75_.jpg|124552] or [b:The Colour Out of Space|10129880|The Colour Out of Space|H.P. Lovecraft|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1294272134l/10129880._SX50_.jpg|84172855], the protagonist investigates the strange events that have been taking place in a deserted town, seemingly afflicted with a curse. In the end, he discovers some unspeakable horror, once more related to the Cthulhu and other malign divinities from space and out of the underworld.
As in many other HLP stories, the descriptions of old architecture abound. However, The Shadow Over Innsmouth shows a couple of distinctive features. One is the use of direct accounts by some of the villagers the protagonist interviews during his investigation: in chap. 3, the tale of old Zadok Allen is entirely told in the words of the informant, and I guess Lovecraft had some fun writing the whole thing with a sort of New Hampshire dialect — it makes it a bit rough to read, to be honest.
Some disturbing teratology is present in this story, as usual. Still, unlike other texts, it is now related to the water world and the undersea instead of the earth, the pits, the underground: characteristically, the pervasive stench is no longer compared to the smell of decaying fungi, like in previous novels, but to the reek of rotten fish. As if Lovecraft was now linking his Cthulhu mythos to the legends of the mermaids, the ondines, the nixe, the hippocampus.
The last part of this story is a hunt in the night, in part echoing Edgar Poe’s [b:The Tell-Tale Heart|899492|The Tell-Tale Heart|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534247939l/899492._SX50_.jpg|19034527], and, towards the end, foreshadowing the zombie chases of film and TV, from the Night of the Living Dead to The Walking Dead and other nail-biting zombie apocalypse fictions.
As in many other HLP stories, the descriptions of old architecture abound. However, The Shadow Over Innsmouth shows a couple of distinctive features. One is the use of direct accounts by some of the villagers the protagonist interviews during his investigation: in chap. 3, the tale of old Zadok Allen is entirely told in the words of the informant, and I guess Lovecraft had some fun writing the whole thing with a sort of New Hampshire dialect — it makes it a bit rough to read, to be honest.
Some disturbing teratology is present in this story, as usual. Still, unlike other texts, it is now related to the water world and the undersea instead of the earth, the pits, the underground: characteristically, the pervasive stench is no longer compared to the smell of decaying fungi, like in previous novels, but to the reek of rotten fish. As if Lovecraft was now linking his Cthulhu mythos to the legends of the mermaids, the ondines, the nixe, the hippocampus.
The last part of this story is a hunt in the night, in part echoing Edgar Poe’s [b:The Tell-Tale Heart|899492|The Tell-Tale Heart|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534247939l/899492._SX50_.jpg|19034527], and, towards the end, foreshadowing the zombie chases of film and TV, from the Night of the Living Dead to The Walking Dead and other nail-biting zombie apocalypse fictions.
siren224's review against another edition
5.0
اي خياله السوداوي والمرعب ده !
الرواية اتكتبت سنة ١٩٣٩
بس مرعبة واحنا في سنة ٢٠٢٣
مش عشان الكائنات السمكية الغريبة لأنها بالنسبالي فكرة طفولية بس بالنسبة إن الرواية اتكتبت سنة ١٩٣٩ ف عادي
لكن عشان المقدمة المشوقة المرعبة اللي خلتني مكملش قرايتها بالليل وكملتها الصبح
شوية ملل في وصفه للهروب بس انا قلبي وقف معاه وهو في السكة الحديد
البلوت تويست مرعب بجد
يمكن ده السبب انه عرف يهرب منهم اصلا
رواية عظمة
الرواية اتكتبت سنة ١٩٣٩
بس مرعبة واحنا في سنة ٢٠٢٣
مش عشان الكائنات السمكية الغريبة لأنها بالنسبالي فكرة طفولية بس بالنسبة إن الرواية اتكتبت سنة ١٩٣٩ ف عادي
لكن عشان المقدمة المشوقة المرعبة اللي خلتني مكملش قرايتها بالليل وكملتها الصبح
شوية ملل في وصفه للهروب بس انا قلبي وقف معاه وهو في السكة الحديد
البلوت تويست مرعب بجد
يمكن ده السبب انه عرف يهرب منهم اصلا
رواية عظمة
larry's review against another edition
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? No
3.0
gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
As with other Lovecraft stories I have read, there are slow sections with brain dumps, plus the usual xenophobia. However, this story had more action and a more interesting ending.
erierd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
aidansbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
bushwithowl's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0