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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-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
I actually thought the main story, Lovecraft's most famous, was exceptionally boring. He spent way too much time on "scientific" details of the expedition, and the scary parts just...weren't scary. The other works in this collection were much better.
Do not meddle in the affairs of Elder Ones, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
Lovecraft is certainly a dry read, with verbose descriptions of strange surreal creatures and alien species. There is a whole sort of mythos surrounding the creatures in his work that while fascinating to delve into, is difficult to understand without some outside research.
At the Mountains of Madness reminded me of Prometheus in that it was all about discovery of civilization in a foreign land (in this case it was Antarctica). The story was effectively atmospheric and held a sense of dread in how cold, cruel, and inescapable the environment could be, however much of the story focused on analyzing hieroglyphics that worked as exposition for the backstory of the fantastical "Elder Ones" that used to call the Antarctic mountains their home. This was the weakest point for me, it became almost a chore to read and took away from the horrors of the action itself. Some of it added to the dread, but it felt like too much to the point of undermining the effectiveness of the story.
The second story in my version of the anthology was The Whisperer in Darkness, in my opinion the strongest of the three stories. The power of this story lied in it's ambiguities. The letters sent back and forth between the main character and a strange recluse who lived in rural Vermont were interesting, and built uneasiness, tension, and paranoia effectively through ambiguity. The payoff is effective as well, the aliens are never directly seen by the protagonist, leaving a sense of ambiguity in the machine as well as the recluse and his situation. I'm trying to be as vague here as possible in order to avoid spoilers, but this story is definitely worth a read. At 60 pages it's a quick read.
The final story in the anthology was Th Haunter of the Dark, a very brief 18 page story about a writer who explores an abandoned church which used to house a cult. This story was all over the place, with bits and pieces all over the place. It left me wanting more - maybe if it wasn't in Lovecraft's style of writing I might like it more, but that's just me.
Overall, I enjoyed reading these stories. The shortcomings of At the Mountains of Madness and The Haunter of the Dark were definitely alleviated by the strength of the ambiguity, paranoia, and subtlety of The Whisperer in Darkness. If anything, just read that story (it's free here).
At the Mountains of Madness - 3/5
The Whisperer in Darkness - 5/5
The Haunter of the Dark - 2/5
At the Mountains of Madness reminded me of Prometheus in that it was all about discovery of civilization in a foreign land (in this case it was Antarctica). The story was effectively atmospheric and held a sense of dread in how cold, cruel, and inescapable the environment could be, however much of the story focused on analyzing hieroglyphics that worked as exposition for the backstory of the fantastical "Elder Ones" that used to call the Antarctic mountains their home. This was the weakest point for me, it became almost a chore to read and took away from the horrors of the action itself. Some of it added to the dread, but it felt like too much to the point of undermining the effectiveness of the story.
The second story in my version of the anthology was The Whisperer in Darkness, in my opinion the strongest of the three stories. The power of this story lied in it's ambiguities. The letters sent back and forth between the main character and a strange recluse who lived in rural Vermont were interesting, and built uneasiness, tension, and paranoia effectively through ambiguity. The payoff is effective as well, the aliens are never directly seen by the protagonist, leaving a sense of ambiguity in the machine as well as the recluse and his situation. I'm trying to be as vague here as possible in order to avoid spoilers, but this story is definitely worth a read. At 60 pages it's a quick read.
The final story in the anthology was Th Haunter of the Dark, a very brief 18 page story about a writer who explores an abandoned church which used to house a cult. This story was all over the place, with bits and pieces all over the place. It left me wanting more - maybe if it wasn't in Lovecraft's style of writing I might like it more, but that's just me.
Overall, I enjoyed reading these stories. The shortcomings of At the Mountains of Madness and The Haunter of the Dark were definitely alleviated by the strength of the ambiguity, paranoia, and subtlety of The Whisperer in Darkness. If anything, just read that story (it's free here).
At the Mountains of Madness - 3/5
The Whisperer in Darkness - 5/5
The Haunter of the Dark - 2/5
Reading old horror is hard to do. I am mostly desensitized to most things violent and horrific. But I will point out that this collection of terrifying Tales could have been especially haunting if I was reading them in their time of creation. I read At the Mountains of Madness so I could better enjoy the graphic novel I purchased a few years back. Like reading a book before seeing a movie I thought it would behoove me to read the novel before the comic version and I here tell there is a movie for this story as well and I am looking forward to watching it even if it is not done well. I am weird.
I really enjoyed the witch house story more than any of the others(including At the Mountains of Madness). I really visualized the story and it helped having the knowledge of the monsters from Mountains to see how H.P.'s stories intertwine.
I will be starting the graphic novel now and will be interested to see how it helps bring the story of madness to life.
Love of muchness,
Justin
I really enjoyed the witch house story more than any of the others(including At the Mountains of Madness). I really visualized the story and it helped having the knowledge of the monsters from Mountains to see how H.P.'s stories intertwine.
I will be starting the graphic novel now and will be interested to see how it helps bring the story of madness to life.
Love of muchness,
Justin
You know what, this is really a 4.4 at best, but boy did this text inspire me to write. I am not into horror and at times I had a hard time with Lovecraft's writing. But, damn, I have been thinking about the concepts in these stories all day. To the extent where I started writing notes....even a few chapters...on my own two cents of this story.
The concepts are really a 5/5. The writing, at times, closer to 2/5. When there are multiple sentences saying the character was scared beyond imagination or could explain - that gets old. However, the concepts were superb. I recommend this just for the journey.
#100YearsOfBooks
The concepts are really a 5/5. The writing, at times, closer to 2/5. When there are multiple sentences saying the character was scared beyond imagination or could explain - that gets old. However, the concepts were superb. I recommend this just for the journey.
#100YearsOfBooks
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
slow-paced
This book collects 7 novels and novella's written by Hp lovecraft. I read all these between other books over a very long period. I just finished the last story in here. Most of these are part of his chuthullu mythos. All the stories were at least enjoyable, and some of them like "at the mountains of madness" or "dreamquest in unknown kaddath" are very good.
The language is very difficult at times but the way the language is used provokes a very chilling effect at times. In the pacing and the characterization you feel that these stories are written in the 20's, 30's and 40's. But you also clearly see the influence Lovecraft has on modern horror writers.
Lovecraft is a writer, everybody should have at least sampled.
The language is very difficult at times but the way the language is used provokes a very chilling effect at times. In the pacing and the characterization you feel that these stories are written in the 20's, 30's and 40's. But you also clearly see the influence Lovecraft has on modern horror writers.
Lovecraft is a writer, everybody should have at least sampled.
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.