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A review by cat_book_lady
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
3.0
I am honestly not sure whether I loved this or was totally bored by The Mountains of Madness. Why? Lovecraft gives exceptionally intricate, minute details when developing his story about a horrific scientific discovery in the Antarctic that happened thousands of years ago and I doing so, he keenly reminds me of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. The science is so imaginative and believable that I had an astounding, vivid picture of all the details. You can't help but be enthralled by such incredible world-building. But, what I loved also made me bored because I was so bogged down by those same details that I just wanted the story to move along already.
I knew that there was going to be Lovecraft's perfect blend of sci-fi horror with building suspense and in that, I was not disappointed. I'm just not sure it was worth the slog to get there.
Perhaps this is more of a "me" issue since Lovecraft is an awesome genius in building the setting, plot, suspense, and ultimate ending. Perhaps it's also a sign of the times in that we are becoming more impatient instead of immersing ourselves in a well-developed and highly detailed story. I am willing to admit my flaws here, so my enjoyment was a 2, but my appreciation for Lovecraft is a 4...thus splitting the difference to a 3*.
I knew that there was going to be Lovecraft's perfect blend of sci-fi horror with building suspense and in that, I was not disappointed. I'm just not sure it was worth the slog to get there.
Perhaps this is more of a "me" issue since Lovecraft is an awesome genius in building the setting, plot, suspense, and ultimate ending. Perhaps it's also a sign of the times in that we are becoming more impatient instead of immersing ourselves in a well-developed and highly detailed story. I am willing to admit my flaws here, so my enjoyment was a 2, but my appreciation for Lovecraft is a 4...thus splitting the difference to a 3*.