Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
N/A
Mountains!
Madness!
Elder gods!
idk, I'm new here.
What I liked:
Madness!
Elder gods!
idk, I'm new here.
What I liked:
- Spooky, atmospheric writing that's reminiscent of Poe
- Gave me the creeps a little
- Narrator for the audio version is great
What I didn't like:
- The story was definitely weird, but not really *scary*, I was expecting nightmare-level creepiness
- Lovecraft was a horrible person but a great writer so I have mixed feelings π
I think it's fair to say I'm not the biggest fan of Lovecraft. I think there's a couple of his short stories that I actually liked, but mostly I find his work to be overwritten and not disturbing in the slightest. This is, however, his most famous work, and I've been meaning to read it, with as open a mind as I possibly can, for some time. It's a good thing I didn't know in advance that it was heavily influenced by Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, though, because that book was absolutely dreadful and would have only have put me off reading further. H.P., alongside your other problems, if this is any indication you have trashy taste in books. Yes, you do.
So. I got hold of At the Mountains of Madness and it was going so well. For about the first third I was seriously considering giving it four stars, because the journey to Antarctica, that hideous mystery of what happened to the rest of the team, and the sense of incipient menace was actually well done. And, while we're giving praise where it's due, the final third wasn't bad, and neither were the penguins, although I do think they were criminally underused. But that central third... that long, tedious history of previous life in Antarctica? Bored. I was bored. It's dullsville, I'm sorry. I don't know why the life and verve of the first person narration died when it came to The Relating of the Unending Murals, but it did. It's honestly taken me several days to get through this novella because I kept getting bogged down in the middle bit. I don't say it sent me to sleep every time, but it came pretty close. Interesting idea, great beginning, but the historical worldbuilding killed it for me, it really did.
Poor old penguins.
So. I got hold of At the Mountains of Madness and it was going so well. For about the first third I was seriously considering giving it four stars, because the journey to Antarctica, that hideous mystery of what happened to the rest of the team, and the sense of incipient menace was actually well done. And, while we're giving praise where it's due, the final third wasn't bad, and neither were the penguins, although I do think they were criminally underused. But that central third... that long, tedious history of previous life in Antarctica? Bored. I was bored. It's dullsville, I'm sorry. I don't know why the life and verve of the first person narration died when it came to The Relating of the Unending Murals, but it did. It's honestly taken me several days to get through this novella because I kept getting bogged down in the middle bit. I don't say it sent me to sleep every time, but it came pretty close. Interesting idea, great beginning, but the historical worldbuilding killed it for me, it really did.
Poor old penguins.
Lovecraft finds a way to surprise. Is not as horrific as it may seem. Itβs more an atmospheric horror, to increase this atmosphere he uses a lot of adjectives. Author has a comprehensive flow of words. He reminds me of Stephen King, but this is not because it is the same genre but their writing is pretty similar. I know from his biography that Lovecraft idol was Poe(I dislike him) but he write better than him hehe. P.S. penguins tho
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What begins as an exploratory journey into the heart of Antarctica turns slowly into the creeping dread and realisation that humanity is not the only dominant life form to have graced this plant's surface. As the narrator unfolds his account the turning of the screw gets increasingly tight, his mind racing with possibilities and his struggle to retain a sense of reality is tested. What he discovers in the icy depths may still become a threat to our species, lest we hear his story and take note - there's more to this universe than what we merely understand.
Great descriptive prose, a stunningly outlined environment, and the creeping dread of cosmic horror... great read!
Great descriptive prose, a stunningly outlined environment, and the creeping dread of cosmic horror... great read!
Lovecraft's current popularity is a strange phenomenon in that there is a notable dichotomy between "pop" Lovecraft and his actual prose. The vast realm of "lovecraftian" fiction and artwork, while very clearly inspired by his universe, has very little to do with his actual stories. This is no more apparent than in At the Mountains of Madness. The artwork this story has inspired, of the strange creatures and metropolis buried under the ice of Antarctica, is truly fantastic in every sense of the word. And yet the actual story is rather dry β we spend more time focusing on the natural icy landscape of Antarctica than anything else. If one were to translate Lovecraft's words directly to an image, you'd get little more than an everyday photograph of the area.
Of course, that isn't what this story is trying to do β it hints at the monsters, the unknowable terror lurking beneath the ice. The narrator's refusal to give us more detail about the terror is frustrating at first, and may ruin the novella for some entirely. But his refusal plays well into a sort of PTSD-style reading: whatever is down there is so scary, he cannot force himself to detail it. This adds importance to the detail of the icy landscape: not only are these details the ones seared in the narrator's mind (and so we get minute details about boring into ice and the engineering behind their equipment), but describing the ice in such excruciating detail fills in the story so that our imaginations can create the horror. For Lovecraft's creations are so alien, so bizarre, that prose can do them no justice β our imagination not only carries this weight, but enhances the terror much more than real descriptions ever might.
While the "Lovecraftian" appeal term may now mean tentacles, cultists, and journalists/investigators in trenchcoats, maybe an ancient, bizarre alien menace or two, that's more an aesthetic derived from illustrations of Lovecraft's universe than his actual work. It's a really bizarre rift that can make visiting his work off-putting, since he focuses so little on these monsters he's created. "Lovecraftian" has taken on a strange life of its own. Whatever you think of the repetitive and unspecific prose, one cannot deny that this is a staggering work of imagination whose influence has been felt for generations.
Of course, that isn't what this story is trying to do β it hints at the monsters, the unknowable terror lurking beneath the ice. The narrator's refusal to give us more detail about the terror is frustrating at first, and may ruin the novella for some entirely. But his refusal plays well into a sort of PTSD-style reading: whatever is down there is so scary, he cannot force himself to detail it. This adds importance to the detail of the icy landscape: not only are these details the ones seared in the narrator's mind (and so we get minute details about boring into ice and the engineering behind their equipment), but describing the ice in such excruciating detail fills in the story so that our imaginations can create the horror. For Lovecraft's creations are so alien, so bizarre, that prose can do them no justice β our imagination not only carries this weight, but enhances the terror much more than real descriptions ever might.
While the "Lovecraftian" appeal term may now mean tentacles, cultists, and journalists/investigators in trenchcoats, maybe an ancient, bizarre alien menace or two, that's more an aesthetic derived from illustrations of Lovecraft's universe than his actual work. It's a really bizarre rift that can make visiting his work off-putting, since he focuses so little on these monsters he's created. "Lovecraftian" has taken on a strange life of its own. Whatever you think of the repetitive and unspecific prose, one cannot deny that this is a staggering work of imagination whose influence has been felt for generations.
dark
mysterious
slow-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
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pretty good but didn't find it very scary.
Had to read (listen to the audiobook) twice before this made any sort of sense to me. Ridiculously technical and descriptive and there was no dialogue. Did not enjoy it whatsoever.