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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
DNF-too much racism and too many similar plot points. Very boring.
Í was unable to finish all the short stories in this book; after a while, no matter how interesting, my reading was going very slowly and I had too many books on my TBR mountain to keep on trying to read this one and keep it for longer than necessary. I did like the stories read very much. I'd never read anything by this author so it was very interesting to be witness to his vivid -- if weird -- imagination. A true master of the horror.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Lovecraft is like a trashy indie band that you still go crazy for )
The collection I got was a compilation of several cycles.
Cthulhu cycle: All sorts of extraneous and inhuman creatures and forces. I like the way it puts mankind at the periphery of the world order, which btw is a very hostile and irrational place. By far the most profound stuff was in here.
Dream cycle: Another source of irrationality and dread, but there were also a few lucid stories.
What I called the Frankenstein cycle: Was overly gory and repelling. The stories were repetitive, dumb, and generally lacked any esthetics.
The collection I got was a compilation of several cycles.
Cthulhu cycle: All sorts of extraneous and inhuman creatures and forces. I like the way it puts mankind at the periphery of the world order, which btw is a very hostile and irrational place. By far the most profound stuff was in here.
Dream cycle: Another source of irrationality and dread, but there were also a few lucid stories.
What I called the Frankenstein cycle: Was overly gory and repelling. The stories were repetitive, dumb, and generally lacked any esthetics.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The unpronounceable black horror crept from the inky black abyss, it's sinewy black claws thrashing a desperate cry from the wretched, skeletal frame. Utter terrorful black panic clutched me as the hateful, detestable, loathsome, distressing, shocking manifestation of man's shocked sanity ... something really scary...and black... I don't know, I want to be Mary Shelley.
Here is every Lovecraft short story:
"My name is John Humberpot. I am a journalist interested in those crazy farmers and their crazy tales about weird beasts. I was recently exchanging letters with a farmer, and they told me tall tales about chanting they heard in the nearby spooky caves. What a fool! Anyway, I went to visit the farmer because he wrote me a letter in his own blood saying "ALL GOOD. COME VISIT." and you won't believe what happened! First, I saw some unusual looking people in the nearby town, and they all smelled bad! And then I went to visit the farmer, and he was acting very strange! I then went to sleep because I have zero awareness of anything, only to be woken up by strange sounds! And then I saw a spooky monster! Oh no, I can't describe it! It was indescribable! OK, well I'll now describe it: it was half fish/mushroom/bat/snail and half man! And then I ran away. The end. Except it's not the end because I checked my family tree and saw that my own father has been having sex with fish/mushrooms/bats/snails for years, and now I'm turning into one of them.
P.S. This is also my suicide note because I am committing suicide."
"My name is John Humberpot. I am a journalist interested in those crazy farmers and their crazy tales about weird beasts. I was recently exchanging letters with a farmer, and they told me tall tales about chanting they heard in the nearby spooky caves. What a fool! Anyway, I went to visit the farmer because he wrote me a letter in his own blood saying "ALL GOOD. COME VISIT." and you won't believe what happened! First, I saw some unusual looking people in the nearby town, and they all smelled bad! And then I went to visit the farmer, and he was acting very strange! I then went to sleep because I have zero awareness of anything, only to be woken up by strange sounds! And then I saw a spooky monster! Oh no, I can't describe it! It was indescribable! OK, well I'll now describe it: it was half fish/mushroom/bat/snail and half man! And then I ran away. The end. Except it's not the end because I checked my family tree and saw that my own father has been having sex with fish/mushrooms/bats/snails for years, and now I'm turning into one of them.
P.S. This is also my suicide note because I am committing suicide."
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
I think this is one of those scenarios where because there's been so many cool twists and well done things to do with the concept, the thing itself is just. Meh. It's boring, plain and simple, and the racist and sexist undertones make this an even bigger pass to me. The classics are all pretty decent, usually, but I think this one is only really considered classic because of what it's spawned for the rest of horror as a genre. Great concept, bad framework, but something that's made other things decent.