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poisonenvy's review
I, like most people, was well aware of H.P. Lovecraft's racism going into this book. Even still, H.P. Lovecraft is long dead, so I don't need to worry so much about the things that would make me hesitate to read a still living author with his views. Canterbury Press puts out absolutely beautiful books (honestly, this book is so pretty that I had to buy it even if I didn't especially want to), and so I'm happy to support them, and I'm interested in Lovecraftian horror as a genre and thought I'd look into its roots a little bit.
I was disappointed on multiple levels in this book. First and foremost was, in fact, the racism. H was under the impression that a lot of Lovecraft fans were shocked! Shocked they say!! when they learned that Lovecraft was an unrepentant racist, and so I assumed that whatever his views were, in his writing's they'd be tone down or disguised. How wrong I was. It's very clearly laid out, in the vilest of terms, what he thinks of people who aren't white. It's not subtle, it's not metaphorical. It's there in clear language on the page.
Even aside from the racism, these weren't <i>great</i>. I found myself bored to tears more often than not (yes, even in the early stories of this collection, before they started expressing the clear racism. I read thirteen stories in this collection of 27, and of those thirteen, only four of them had the very clear racism). There were some stories I enjoyed, like "The Music of Erich Zann" but most of them were flops for me.
Included in the 13 stories I read was the novella "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" which, frankly, read like a child with a prodigious vocabulary wrote it. "This happened and then this happened and then this happened and then I talked with the general of the cat arm and then I made friends with a ghoul and then these other guys who were mean to me before became my friend! And they let me ride them!" before it finishes off with a love-letter to Boston (which was, admittedly, beautifully written, and was the one thing in the story that seemed to have any sort of feeling behind it).
Also included in the 13 stories was "The Cats of Ulthar" which was actually delightful and my favourite part of the nearly two weeks I spent with this book.
I was disappointed on multiple levels in this book. First and foremost was, in fact, the racism. H was under the impression that a lot of Lovecraft fans were shocked! Shocked they say!! when they learned that Lovecraft was an unrepentant racist, and so I assumed that whatever his views were, in his writing's they'd be tone down or disguised. How wrong I was. It's very clearly laid out, in the vilest of terms, what he thinks of people who aren't white. It's not subtle, it's not metaphorical. It's there in clear language on the page.
Even aside from the racism, these weren't <i>great</i>. I found myself bored to tears more often than not (yes, even in the early stories of this collection, before they started expressing the clear racism. I read thirteen stories in this collection of 27, and of those thirteen, only four of them had the very clear racism). There were some stories I enjoyed, like "The Music of Erich Zann" but most of them were flops for me.
Included in the 13 stories I read was the novella "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" which, frankly, read like a child with a prodigious vocabulary wrote it. "This happened and then this happened and then this happened and then I talked with the general of the cat arm and then I made friends with a ghoul and then these other guys who were mean to me before became my friend! And they let me ride them!" before it finishes off with a love-letter to Boston (which was, admittedly, beautifully written, and was the one thing in the story that seemed to have any sort of feeling behind it).
Also included in the 13 stories was "The Cats of Ulthar" which was actually delightful and my favourite part of the nearly two weeks I spent with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
kiirocat's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
chiara_13's review
dark
mysterious
medium-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? No
3.75
untheoretical's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
4.5
Each story is interesting and unique despite repeating concepts and characters between them. There are a lot of descriptors that allow for a clear idea of setting - albeit sometimes too descriptive that you can lose track of what’s going on in the plot.
There are many glimpses into H. P. Lovecraft’s fear of outside influence and other cultures, especially in descriptions of people and names given to animals or supernatural beings. This is something to consider before settling into any of these stories.
Overall this is a good set of horror stories for a reader with the stomach for it.
There are many glimpses into H. P. Lovecraft’s fear of outside influence and other cultures, especially in descriptions of people and names given to animals or supernatural beings. This is something to consider before settling into any of these stories.
Overall this is a good set of horror stories for a reader with the stomach for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Xenophobia
adamz24's review against another edition
3.0
"At the Mountains of Madness," "Whisperer in Darkness," "Dunwich Horror," "Shadow Over Innsmouth": these are the highlights of this collection, and exemplify what Lovecraft was really good at. His simpler, more basic tales are not very interesting; Lovecraft's cosmic horror mythology is fascinating, but his writings outside that are pretty mundane.
jeregenest's review against another edition
5.0
Great collection of some of best works from this master of cosmic horror.
jcpinckney'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? No
4.5
kfrench1008's review against another edition
2.0
I have very mixed feelings about Lovecraft. He did create a world which still influences horror writing today, but he was a horrible racist and honestly, his writing just isn't very good. There are pages and pages of expository writing which flesh out the Mythos, but are mind-numbingly dull. Of these stories, only The Shadow Over Innsmouth and At the Mountains of Madness have any decent action sequences. I'm not sorry I read this but I'm glad to put it behind me.