bthegood's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
This was fine, story told well, interesting. I'm realizing that as much as I want to be, I'm not a Lovecraft superfan. I can appreciate his influence on future writers but do not feel the need to read more of his work.
sofer_mahir's review against another edition
2.0
This story just didn't have the same effect on me as did The Dunwich Horror, The Call of Cthulhu, The Whisperer in Darkness, etc. I think that may have been largely because of its length; it was bogged down by superfluous data, repetitious material, and other such filler. It didn't help that one particular chapter was crammed full of information that I had difficulty believing the protagonist would actually have been able to discern from the in-world sources he studied.
All that was rather disappointing, because I quite enjoyed bits and pieces -- especially in the beginning and at the end.
All that was rather disappointing, because I quite enjoyed bits and pieces -- especially in the beginning and at the end.
jerrica's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up in order to find something that my Geology major boyfriend would like. He enjoys reading but typically non-fiction (?!!!) and doesn't seem to share my appreciation for Morrison, Walker, Kingsolver, (?!!?!?!?!?) I could go on. Anyway, I figured since the protagonist of this book is a geologist that this would be a good halfway point.
The story is slow to start, Lovecraft himself wrote that it "has a certain kind of cumulative horror", so yes, it gets horrific eventually. Scary. Hard to put down. I'm not one for horror movies but for some reason I get a kick out of the genre in book form, as I loved Frankenstein. The feel is similar, you know, freaky supernatural stuff. The Necronomicon plus the complete and total isolation of Antarctica which is frankly already scary enough on its own if you've read The White Darkness or anything else about Antarctica. Yeah. Not on my bucket list.
If you happen to be or are dating someone of the geologic inclination, the book contains plenty of dry for you/fun for them Geology information that was very accurate for its time, which was apparently before they discovered plate tectonics were a thing! Crazy! However, the scientific tone of the novel also serves to the plaintive horror of the entire situation all the more...you know, scary. I ran out of adjectives. It's 2 in the morning. In conclusion, read this book! It's short and scary just like LIFE!
The story is slow to start, Lovecraft himself wrote that it "has a certain kind of cumulative horror", so yes, it gets horrific eventually. Scary. Hard to put down. I'm not one for horror movies but for some reason I get a kick out of the genre in book form, as I loved Frankenstein. The feel is similar, you know, freaky supernatural stuff. The Necronomicon plus the complete and total isolation of Antarctica which is frankly already scary enough on its own if you've read The White Darkness or anything else about Antarctica. Yeah. Not on my bucket list.
If you happen to be or are dating someone of the geologic inclination, the book contains plenty of dry for you/fun for them Geology information that was very accurate for its time, which was apparently before they discovered plate tectonics were a thing! Crazy! However, the scientific tone of the novel also serves to the plaintive horror of the entire situation all the more...you know, scary. I ran out of adjectives. It's 2 in the morning. In conclusion, read this book! It's short and scary just like LIFE!
pine_wulf's review against another edition
3.0
The first part has some good moments where the atmosphere comes through, but a lot of it is too much description that kept putting me to sleep. After they go into the ruins, things get a bit more interesting. I though the mythology of the Old Ones was really interesting and I really liked the realization of what happened during the final encounter. I can definitely see what people like about Lovecraft.
skylion's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely brilliant adaptation. Managed to "show" as much as it could and yet remain just as chilling as the original prose.
mecklart's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.75
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
I had only read HP Lovecraft short stories before this novel and it definitely has its moments, telling the story about a group of people in a frigid terrain who come across something hard to explain and dangerous. Very icy, made me think of THE THING.
jiggymittens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
javierdelara's review against another edition
2.0
Buena temática, malísimamente contada. Me encantaría decir que es un libro genial pero me ha costado la vida leer cada página. Quizás sea la traducción.
arat's review against another edition
4.0
The best Lovecraft story paired with art that conveys the scope of the story? *Mwah* Perfect afternoon read.