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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Of Lovecraft's stuff that I've read or listened to this might be my favourite so far. He's a racist bastard but I love pulp and Lovecraft along with Robert E. Howard is the tippy-top of the mushy problematic pile.
I came to this work from Kij Johnson's equally magnificant 'The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe' which was the perfect primer to then plunge into this fever dream work. She captured perfectly the tone and pace of the orginal, while leaving behind the racism and sexism, which made it the best way for me to get into a Lovecraft headspace.
As with all Lovecraft, you either embrace the purple, over-the-top prose - which I think fits his subject matter and approach or you cast it away into the firey, andelivulian abyss. And if you can't take the racism I don't blame you this stuff should be handled with tongs at best - as a reminder of how open and accepted racism has been - and how it still lurks underneath a lot of our interactions today.
Still, Lovecraft persists and a part of that is how he expresses his anxieties, discomforts and paranoias in his horror. That, for good and ill is why he still resonates - at least with this reader. I still read his stuff and try to examine why it still calls to me. Is it just the pulpy fun or does it have something to do with the terrible racial characatures that populate his works? These are the Others with a capital O. Why do I respond to these Others - and yes, it is the cliche of one finger pointed outward and three fingers pointing back at myself.
31% - "They bore him breathless into that cliffside cavern and through monstrous labyrinths beyond. When he struggled, as at first he did by instinct, they tickled him with deliberation. They made no sound at all themselves, and even their membranous wings were silent. They were frightfully cold and damp and slippery, and their paws kneaded one detestably. Soon they were plunging hideously downward through inconceivable abysses in a whirling, giddying, sickening rush of dank, tomb-like air; and Carter felt they were shooting into the ultimate vortex of shrieking and daemonic madness. He screamed again and again, but whenever he did so the black paws tickled him with greater subtlety."
I came to this work from Kij Johnson's equally magnificant 'The Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe' which was the perfect primer to then plunge into this fever dream work. She captured perfectly the tone and pace of the orginal, while leaving behind the racism and sexism, which made it the best way for me to get into a Lovecraft headspace.
As with all Lovecraft, you either embrace the purple, over-the-top prose - which I think fits his subject matter and approach or you cast it away into the firey, andelivulian abyss. And if you can't take the racism I don't blame you this stuff should be handled with tongs at best - as a reminder of how open and accepted racism has been - and how it still lurks underneath a lot of our interactions today.
Still, Lovecraft persists and a part of that is how he expresses his anxieties, discomforts and paranoias in his horror. That, for good and ill is why he still resonates - at least with this reader. I still read his stuff and try to examine why it still calls to me. Is it just the pulpy fun or does it have something to do with the terrible racial characatures that populate his works? These are the Others with a capital O. Why do I respond to these Others - and yes, it is the cliche of one finger pointed outward and three fingers pointing back at myself.
31% - "They bore him breathless into that cliffside cavern and through monstrous labyrinths beyond. When he struggled, as at first he did by instinct, they tickled him with deliberation. They made no sound at all themselves, and even their membranous wings were silent. They were frightfully cold and damp and slippery, and their paws kneaded one detestably. Soon they were plunging hideously downward through inconceivable abysses in a whirling, giddying, sickening rush of dank, tomb-like air; and Carter felt they were shooting into the ultimate vortex of shrieking and daemonic madness. He screamed again and again, but whenever he did so the black paws tickled him with greater subtlety."
This is one of Lovecraft's longest stories, and per the annotation (I read this is [b:H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction|8320840|H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction|H.P. Lovecraft|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356128434s/8320840.jpg|12926020]) was never prepared for publication by the author. As a result, it could use a little polish; it repeats itself in several places. Overall though it appears to be a mostly finished work. It definitely has a dream-like quality, in the way that events carry on almost rhythmically, without a break (literally, there are no chapter or section breaks, just a wall of text). The protagonist/dreamer Randolph Carter journeys through the Dreamlands, a place some humans go while they sleep in the natural world, in search of a city or land that he had unforgettable visions of at the outset. This is the titular unknown Kadath. He travels to new towns, pursues leads and tries for new information from the residents in each place, and gradually explores essentially this entire small world, including an extensive underground, in furtherance of his quest. There is not a word of dialogue until near the very end, and even then only one being speaks in quotations. This makes it difficult to get any sense of personality from Carter. He has a singular motivation, but no identifiable character traits.
I read it with a sense of obligation, in preparation to read a contemporary take on this story ([b:The Dream-Quest of VellittBoe|29635545|The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe|Kij Johnson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460207637s/29635545.jpg|49993782]), and unfortunately the content did not do much to alleviate that sense. I have read my share of Lovecraft, just not this story in particular to date. I have experience with his Dreamlands, however, through [a:Brian Lumley|20602|Brian Lumley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1246727488p2/20602.jpg]'s series of books set there, beginning with [b:Hero of Dreams|757066|Hero of Dreams|Brian Lumley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344318155s/757066.jpg|2527649]. That series uses the setting for fun, pulpy, old-school (and very male) adventuring. Especially in comparison, overall the original Lovecraft story is kind of a drag.
I read it with a sense of obligation, in preparation to read a contemporary take on this story ([b:The Dream-Quest of VellittBoe|29635545|The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe|Kij Johnson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1460207637s/29635545.jpg|49993782]), and unfortunately the content did not do much to alleviate that sense. I have read my share of Lovecraft, just not this story in particular to date. I have experience with his Dreamlands, however, through [a:Brian Lumley|20602|Brian Lumley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1246727488p2/20602.jpg]'s series of books set there, beginning with [b:Hero of Dreams|757066|Hero of Dreams|Brian Lumley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344318155s/757066.jpg|2527649]. That series uses the setting for fun, pulpy, old-school (and very male) adventuring. Especially in comparison, overall the original Lovecraft story is kind of a drag.
Zemlja snova: Potraga za neznanim Kadathom
Randolph Carter traži grad iz svojih snova diljem Zemlji snova ali neće biti tako lako zar ne? Super priča, i samo da kažem nešto. Prije nego pročitate ovu knjigu pročitajte Celephais (ili kako se već zove ta kratka priča) i Pickmanov model (isto kratka priča) te Mačke Ulthara i Drugi bogovi (isto kratke priče).
Randolph Carter traži grad iz svojih snova diljem Zemlji snova ali neće biti tako lako zar ne? Super priča, i samo da kažem nešto. Prije nego pročitate ovu knjigu pročitajte Celephais (ili kako se već zove ta kratka priča) i Pickmanov model (isto kratka priča) te Mačke Ulthara i Drugi bogovi (isto kratke priče).
Algo así como un 3.7 casi llega a 4 estrellas pero no.
This book deserves a solid 4 stars in my book. I was honestly pleasantly surprised as my previous encounter with Lovecraft's early work was sort of ok.
Admittedly, Lovecraft used this story as practice for his novel writing and as some other folks on here said, it shows.
For me, however is was still a very good read.
Character: 4
In short, I liked Carter as a character despite his deficiencies. (Or really Lovecraft's.) The pure concept of a dreamer who is so engrossed in it that it just might be real is mesmerizing. Carter is a fascinating person and whether his adventures are induced by hashish, over active imagination or are real, the bottom line was that I enjoyed following his footsteps.
Plot: 3
Plot was actually very solid, I thought. Lots of fun adventures and unexpected twists. This is certainly not a standard tale and anything goes. I thought it was fun to not really ever feel the need to guess what will happen next.
Walls and walls of text without sufficient dialogue or some sort of separations for an easier read would have been more immersive.
Setting: 5
Now I really enjoyed the tale's setting and general ambiance. Was it over the top descriptive? Yes, it sure was, but it felt creepy and weird and it made me want to slow down and just spend some in that strange world myself.
Overall, this was much better then the previous book, still rough, but it evoked a good deal of emotion out of me, especially the setting, which makes me think about what some of the later written stories might bring to the table.
Looking forward to it.
Roman "Ragnar"
Admittedly, Lovecraft used this story as practice for his novel writing and as some other folks on here said, it shows.
For me, however is was still a very good read.
Character: 4
In short, I liked Carter as a character despite his deficiencies. (Or really Lovecraft's.) The pure concept of a dreamer who is so engrossed in it that it just might be real is mesmerizing. Carter is a fascinating person and whether his adventures are induced by hashish, over active imagination or are real, the bottom line was that I enjoyed following his footsteps.
Plot: 3
Plot was actually very solid, I thought. Lots of fun adventures and unexpected twists. This is certainly not a standard tale and anything goes. I thought it was fun to not really ever feel the need to guess what will happen next.
Walls and walls of text without sufficient dialogue or some sort of separations for an easier read would have been more immersive.
Setting: 5
Now I really enjoyed the tale's setting and general ambiance. Was it over the top descriptive? Yes, it sure was, but it felt creepy and weird and it made me want to slow down and just spend some in that strange world myself.
Overall, this was much better then the previous book, still rough, but it evoked a good deal of emotion out of me, especially the setting, which makes me think about what some of the later written stories might bring to the table.
Looking forward to it.
Roman "Ragnar"
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Good. Freaking. Grief. For a while there, I actually thought this one was going to take me another year to read. On the one hand, I was delighted as Lovecraft suddenly took the opportunity to begin twining all this threads together around Randolph Carter, presenting a sort of world tour of the mythos, including the warrior cats. On the other hand, good freaking grief this is long and full of blatheration. Also, there's no excuse for that ending, really.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
