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A review by zach_shulman
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
5.0
I don't typically write reviews of the books I read, mostly because I don't read with a particularly critical mindset and partly because the review won't be read by very many people.
However, At the Mountains of Madness was a profoundly different reading experience for me, and as I concluded I thought of some reasons why they may be. My first impression of Lovecraftian horror has established a standard of fear-writing that I will most likely apply to any horror I read in the future, Lovecraft or not.
As I understand him, Lovecraft is one of the most celebrated authors in the genre of horror. As is important for any account of horrific, other-worldly experiences, a detailed and emotionally-comprehensive account of the main character's perspective is critical to fully submerging the reader in the story. Lovecraft takes this practice a step farther. As well as giving an incredibly detailed account of the events of the story, Lovecraft constructs this story fully cognizant of how his readers will perceive his descriptions and to what they believe he is referring. This being said, he takes nothing for granted. He wields this power of prediction with tact and deliberation that can only imply an enormous amount of restraint and care. With the knowledge of what the reader is thinking at any point throughout his story, Lovecraft teases the development of new events with titillating anticipation, that at the same time fosters a reluctant apprehension as to what will happen next. Lovecraft allows the reader to make their predictions, and compounds incomplete descriptions on top of subliminal hints, which simultaneously confirmed my expectations and constructed them in a way that made me feel truly behind the eyes of the main character.
In a broader sense, Lovecraft's ability to incrementally introduce new developments in the story lulls the reader into a false sense of normality. As intended, he captures the reader's sense of morbid curiosity, while always describing new, only marginally more gruesome events as the most horrific thing the main character has witnessed. Thus, at each turn in the story, the reader never feels particularly caught off guard, regardless of the increasingly fantastical events that take place. That is, until the end of the story, when Lovecraft thrusts the reader into a culmination of all of the unbridled sense of wonder and exploration that landed the main character in his situation. The final two chapters feel distinctly faster than the previous 10, because Lovecraft is confident in his ability to capture the reader's interest even in the least eventful passages.
Overall, the story Lovecraft creates in both a testament to his patient, deliberate writing style and to his profound ability to immerse himself not just in the mind of his main character, but of the reader as well.
However, At the Mountains of Madness was a profoundly different reading experience for me, and as I concluded I thought of some reasons why they may be. My first impression of Lovecraftian horror has established a standard of fear-writing that I will most likely apply to any horror I read in the future, Lovecraft or not.
As I understand him, Lovecraft is one of the most celebrated authors in the genre of horror. As is important for any account of horrific, other-worldly experiences, a detailed and emotionally-comprehensive account of the main character's perspective is critical to fully submerging the reader in the story. Lovecraft takes this practice a step farther. As well as giving an incredibly detailed account of the events of the story, Lovecraft constructs this story fully cognizant of how his readers will perceive his descriptions and to what they believe he is referring. This being said, he takes nothing for granted. He wields this power of prediction with tact and deliberation that can only imply an enormous amount of restraint and care. With the knowledge of what the reader is thinking at any point throughout his story, Lovecraft teases the development of new events with titillating anticipation, that at the same time fosters a reluctant apprehension as to what will happen next. Lovecraft allows the reader to make their predictions, and compounds incomplete descriptions on top of subliminal hints, which simultaneously confirmed my expectations and constructed them in a way that made me feel truly behind the eyes of the main character.
In a broader sense, Lovecraft's ability to incrementally introduce new developments in the story lulls the reader into a false sense of normality. As intended, he captures the reader's sense of morbid curiosity, while always describing new, only marginally more gruesome events as the most horrific thing the main character has witnessed. Thus, at each turn in the story, the reader never feels particularly caught off guard, regardless of the increasingly fantastical events that take place. That is, until the end of the story, when Lovecraft thrusts the reader into a culmination of all of the unbridled sense of wonder and exploration that landed the main character in his situation. The final two chapters feel distinctly faster than the previous 10, because Lovecraft is confident in his ability to capture the reader's interest even in the least eventful passages.
Overall, the story Lovecraft creates in both a testament to his patient, deliberate writing style and to his profound ability to immerse himself not just in the mind of his main character, but of the reader as well.