nikhilesh's review against another edition
3.0
I first heard of Lovecraft in Robert E. Howard's (Conan's creator) writing. I liked the concept of what Lovecraft offered - a cosmic horror. However, his writing leaves much to be desired in terms of storytelling and plot development. Similarly, most of his ideas might have been original for their time but the current sci-fi lore has honed and then exposed us to all his basic ideas.
However, his ideas - like a god which by nature must be incomprehensible to us - lingers with you a long time after you have read the book.
Rating 4 * simply because his concepts are memorable.
However, his ideas - like a god which by nature must be incomprehensible to us - lingers with you a long time after you have read the book.
Rating 4 * simply because his concepts are memorable.
andrueb's review against another edition
4.0
I read "Re-Animator" years ago, but this was my first stab at H.P. Lovecraft's works as one (let's say "unspeakable") heap. This Amazon collection was arranged, of all ways, alphabetically by title, but honestly this isn't a bad way to read everything Lovecraft ever wrote. Even if you were to read everything in order, as it was written, the lore comes through in fits and starts, in the same way reading real world history gives you a complete picture even if you read it out of order.
This is possibly the most disquieting thing about Lovecraft's work. He creates the illusion that his Old Great Ones and divination cults are the real, secret explanation of the real world the reader inhabits. When this trick is at its best, Lovecraft's work is more existentially unsettling than just about anything else I've ever read - even 100 years+ after initial publication. At its worst, these stories get a little samey and tediously verbose. But most readers will be served by reading only the highlights, anyway, and the 8 or 10 stories/novellas that hit are truly something special.
To me, Lovecraft got better and better as he aged. His early era (say 1917-1925 or so) is, for the most part, nothing special. His mid-period "Dream Stories" with the Randolph Carter character I enjoyed quite a bit, but it's the Cthulu Mythos stuff for which Lovecraft is most famous, and rightly so. He creates a new dark spirituality lurking behind the rational materialism of his age, and this technique is just as effective in our own era.
This is possibly the most disquieting thing about Lovecraft's work. He creates the illusion that his Old Great Ones and divination cults are the real, secret explanation of the real world the reader inhabits. When this trick is at its best, Lovecraft's work is more existentially unsettling than just about anything else I've ever read - even 100 years+ after initial publication. At its worst, these stories get a little samey and tediously verbose. But most readers will be served by reading only the highlights, anyway, and the 8 or 10 stories/novellas that hit are truly something special.
To me, Lovecraft got better and better as he aged. His early era (say 1917-1925 or so) is, for the most part, nothing special. His mid-period "Dream Stories" with the Randolph Carter character I enjoyed quite a bit, but it's the Cthulu Mythos stuff for which Lovecraft is most famous, and rightly so. He creates a new dark spirituality lurking behind the rational materialism of his age, and this technique is just as effective in our own era.
celestialviolence's review
5.0
Just finished this book. It was honestly one of the best collections of short stories and fiction that I have ever read. I absolutely love Lovecraft. Anyone who is a fan of Edgar Allan Poe would certainly love this collection as it focuses more on the psychological aspect of horror rather than jumpscares and gore. There's always a creeping sense of dread and the characters' emotions are extremely palpable in the story.
If anyone calls themselves a fan of horror, then they absolutely should read this.
If anyone calls themselves a fan of horror, then they absolutely should read this.
magpie_666's review
3.0
21.09.21 update - I've finally read all 1000+ pages. Oof
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Past reviews:
Call of Cthulhu - 3/5 A good read but the ending was a bit flat. Cthulhu has been made out to be such a terrifying monster that I expected a bit more from him at the end.
The Dunwich Horror -4/5. Much better, there was a sense of achievement for them at the end of this one
The Whisperer in Darkness - 4/5. Really creepy, but too long.
At the Mountains of Madness - 3/5. Oww, my brain! That was a tough one to get through. I stopped twice during the first few chapters and had to start again. I think the difficultly of getting to the good parts made my thoughts of this lessen, as my brain was frazzled by the time we got to the good stuff. Old Ones, Cthulhu Spawn, Mi-Go, Shoggoths? Who? what? where? when? I need to read the Wiki after this one, I have no idea what's what anymore...
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Past reviews:
Call of Cthulhu - 3/5 A good read but the ending was a bit flat. Cthulhu has been made out to be such a terrifying monster that I expected a bit more from him at the end.
The Dunwich Horror -4/5. Much better, there was a sense of achievement for them at the end of this one
The Whisperer in Darkness - 4/5. Really creepy, but too long.
At the Mountains of Madness - 3/5. Oww, my brain! That was a tough one to get through. I stopped twice during the first few chapters and had to start again. I think the difficultly of getting to the good parts made my thoughts of this lessen, as my brain was frazzled by the time we got to the good stuff. Old Ones, Cthulhu Spawn, Mi-Go, Shoggoths? Who? what? where? when? I need to read the Wiki after this one, I have no idea what's what anymore...
nem_nem97's review
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.