| Title | : | The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1435162552 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781435162556 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Leather Bound |
| Number of Pages | : | 593 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1940 |
In these stories, monstrous entities traverse the gulfs of time and space and humankind cowers in fright at the havoc they wreak. The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales is your passport to realms of unimaginable horror.
Contents:
1. Dagon
2. Nyarlathotep
3. The Nameless City
4. Azathoth
5. The Hound
6. The Festival
7. The Call of Cthulhu
8. The Colour out of Space
9. History of the Necronomicon
10. The Curse of Yig
11. The Dunwich Horror
12. The Whisperer in Darkness
13. The Mound
14. At the Mountains of Madness
15. The Shadow over Innsmouth
16. The Dreams in the Witch House
17. The Man of Stone
18. The Horror in the Museum
19. The Thing on the Doorstep
20. Out of the Aeons
21. The Tree on the Hill
22. The Shadow out of Time
23. The Haunter of the Dark
The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales Reviews
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Es una lastima que esta edición sólo trajera tres relatos de Lovecraft porque ahora quiero leer toda su obra.
Algo que quiero aplaudirle a Lovecraft es esa capacidad que tiene para crear misterio desde un comienzo y mantenerlo en todo el trayecto de la narración, tal vez sea porque uno ya sabe la clase de monstruo con la que trabaja este autor, o porque él, simplemente, es un genio.
Todos los tres relatos poseían un eje que sostenía el suspenso: en la Llamada de Cthulhu era la muerte de un familiar del protagonista (no es spoiler); en el Horror de Dunwich era Wilbur, su familia y los secretos que guardaban; y en la Sombra sobre Innsmouth era todo ese pueblo costero (Este último fue mi favorito, tiene un final que me dejó impactado.) El primer cuento es toda una introducción al mundo Lovecraftniano.
Quiero confesar el terror que produjo la Llamada de Cthulhu en mí, jajaja, por unas horas le tuve una gran fobia al océano y todo lo que sus profundidades pueden resguardar, vi al mismo océano como una gran bestia dormida, y, lo juro, sentí el mismo susto que me provocan las películas de terror, aunque menos duradero.
Cómo dije en el primer párrafo, me molestó terminar este libro y sentirme insatisfecho por la escasa variedad de relatos. Aunque debo aceptar que la portada es de mis favoritas y la letra es enorme, es común en esta editorial así como también lo son algunas fallas gramaticales. Pero, bueno, me sirvió para comenzar con este autor, el cual se ve muy, muy plasmado es las novelas de Stephen King.
Sin dar más molestias quiero calificar de forma individual cada una de las obras.
La Llamada de Cthulhu: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ cuatro estrellas que podrían aumentar en un futuro.
El Horror de Dunwich: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ cuatro estrellas fijas.
La Sombra sobre Innsmouth: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ cinco estrellas bien merecidas.
"No está muerto lo que puede yacer por siempre, sin fin, y tras extraños eones la muerte aun puede morir." -
Se siete alla ricerca di una lettura “felice” vade retro, qui si respira a pieni polmoni un’aria cupa.
In questo volume così corposo si raggiunge l'apoteosi del genere weird come lo conosciamo oggi.
Fu proprio grazie a questa mitica figura – Cthulhu - che l'autore ha lasciato un segno indelebile e concreto nella letteratura dell’orrore e del soprannaturale guadagnandosi un aggettivo tutto suo: “lovecraftiano”, col quale descrivere appieno un universo (da qui la definizione di “orrore cosmico”) ben articolato che tracima misticismo, delirio e angoscia ed è popolato da questo pantheon di entità ctonie che si manifestano a loro piacimento.
Cthulhu e i suoi simili sono degli “esseri superiori”, infatti, l’autore ha dato origine ad una mitologia a se stante; tralascia volutamente di delinearli con dovizia di particolari, per sottolineare che l’imperfezione insita nella condizione umana limita le capacità descrittive pertanto - l’uomo che è perfettibile e non perfetto - non ha gli strumenti necessari per coglierne l’interezza. La loro maestosità è avvolta nel mistero e i culti a loro dedicati, presenti nei racconti, rasentano la blasfemia.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft – il solitario di Providence - mette nero su bianco il palpabile disagio nei confronti del mondo in cui ha vissuto trasferendolo in una successione di storie immaginifiche e angoscianti.
Il malcapitato protagonista di turno è soggetto ad alienazione e\o inadeguatezza ed il lettore suo malgrado si troverà a trattenere il fiato nell’attesa di un epilogo quasi sempre imprevedibile. Un tomo esauriente e senza tempo alla quale non manca nulla; fantastico e orrorifico, paradosso e occulto con un tocco di alchimia formano una combinazione vincente che può essere definita “proto-fantascienza” quindi i grandi cultori del genere non possono perderselo.
La scrittura di Lovecraft – per chi non è avvezzo ai classici - potrebbe essere considerata macchinosa mentre, in realtà, egli è in grado di elaborare scene cariche di tensione che non hanno nulla da invidiare agli autori del nostro tempo, anzi direi che in molti hanno colto a piene mani dalle sue opere.
Il voto è dettato dall’entusiasmo e dal forte coinvolgimento che questi racconti mi hanno suscitato, non si tratta di un punteggio pieno perché ho fatto l’errore di leggerli uno di seguito all’altro e non sono riuscita a godermeli come si deve. Mi domando soltanto il perché ho aspettato tutti questi anni prima di affrontare con serietà Lovecraft … Forse era solo il timore di guardare dritto negli occhi un orrore senza nome. E qui necessito delle parole del filosofo nichilista Friedrich Nietzsche:“E se tu scruterai a lungo in un abisso, anche l'abisso scruterà dentro di te.”
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Mi limito a giudicare l'edizione poiché i racconti in essa contenuti non hanno nessun bisogno di presentazioni o commenti dopo quasi 100 anni di indiscusso successo.
Sono presenti una ventina tra i migliori racconti del solitario di Providence, tutti incentrati sul ciclo cosmico e il suo aspetto minaccioso lascia senza parole.
Dopo aver provato sulla vostra pelle le claustrofobiche atmosfere pessimiste e senza speranza create da Lovecraft, i vostri problemi appariranno ben poca cosa e le vostre giornate saranno più luminose.
Una gemma da avere! -
HOT AS FAKK！
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Lovecraftian Horror
August Derleth is a great fan of Lovecraft. He wrote this book as a tribute to him.
Names of locations are written about as though they actually exist. He also did this for places and things.
He did this throughout this book. And he had characters who appear in a story, show up, again, in other stories.
Nearly seven hundred pages of Lovecraftian horror that will put the fear of the Old Ones in you.
The stories are all interlocking and that helps make the book more interesting.
Lovecraft fans will definitely enjoy this book and place it in their Lovecraft collection. Read it and you’ll see. -
Premetto che adoro Lovecraft e questa raccolta è fatta benissimo, un volume da centellinare titolo per titolo, così da gustarlo meglio. Contiene quasi tutti i suoi racconti migliori (almeno secondo me) che sono legati non ‘da un’ tema ma ‘dal’ tema per eccellenza del solitario di Providence, l’aspetto esteriore poi: tra copertina, pagine dal filo nero, illustrazioni grottesche… lo trovo particolarmente suggestivo. L’unica pecca, se così la si vuole chiamare, dell’opera è che essendo appunto composta da svariati lavori non tutti sono al top (ecco perché il mio voto finale è stato di 4 stelle e non 5).
Quando questo scrittore dà vita ad un’avventura strutturata - spesso tramite bocca/diari di qualcuno che se l’è vista davvero brutta e ora o è schiattato malamente o è ridotto al terrore sul baratro della follia - il suo stile riesce a caricare la storia di una tale inquietudine ed angoscia (e lo dico in senso positivo) che il risultato è una perla di rara bellezza del mystery nel campo dell’insolito.
Quando invece fondamentalmente una storia di base vera e propria non c’è e tutto viene costruito ad uso e consumo degli ambienti o delle creature inventate da H.P., quelle stesse articolate descrizioni che nel giusto contesto mi fanno entusiasmare, paradossalmente, fini a sé stesse si trasmutano in verbose litanie che non vedo l’ora di finire.
Non fraintendetemi però, forse sono io ad essere un po’ pretenzioso, è che da lui mi aspetterei sempre (e soltanto) il massimo essendo uno degli autori che maggiormente apprezzo. Personalmente lo ritengo il migliore nel suo campo e sono abbastanza convinto che altri la pensino come me, molti altri. -
I had no idea that this book previously existed as 2013 trade paperback, which is ye edition that has been review'd here. This new hardcover edition is in ye Barnes & Noble leatherbound series, and it is half the size (594 pages) of the previous edition from B&N, THE COMPLETE FICTION (1098 pages). This is one of ye loveliest editions of H. P. Lovecraft's weird fiction that I have seen, beautifully design'd and with great art by John Coulthart (including a 16 x 20 inches poster, "Cthulhu Rising"). The endpapers feature Coulthart's exquisite illustration of "R'lyeh" on pale green paper.
Contents:
Introduction by S. T. Joshi
Dagon
Nyarlathotep
The Nameless City
Azathoth
The Hound
The Festival
The Call of Cthulhu
The Colour out of Space
History of the Necronomicon
The Curse of Yig
The Dinwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Mound
At the Mountains of Madness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Man of Stone
The Horror in the Museum
The Thing on the Doorstep
Out of the Aeons
The Tree on the Hill
The Shadow out of Time
The Haunter of the Dark
Original Dates of Publication
I like that the book includes some of the rarely published "revisions & collaborations" works that Lovecraft wrote "with" other writers. It has now been determined that HPL wrote most of the text for such tales as "The Curse of Yig" and "The Mound". The story of the snake god remains one of Lovecraft's most powerful creations, and it exhibits his able use of characterization (the complaint of many that Lovecraft was poor at portraying character is nonsense). Lovecraft was an excellent writer, and his timeless tales will remain in print for all of mortal time. It's fantastic to have them presented in such a handsome format with this new publication. Publication date is set for August (I received an early review edition from ye publisher). Highly recommended, and this would be a superb edition with which to introduce friends to the fiction of E'ch-Pi-El. -
Το 2015 κυκλοφορεί για το PlayStation το παιχνίδι Bloodborne. Ένα παιχνίδι όπου από τότε μέχρι σήμερα έχω αφιερώσει ΠΟΛΛΕΣ ώρες. Είτε παίζοντας το, είτε βλέποντας άλλους να παίζουν, είτε διαβάζοντας για αυτό, είτε ζωγραφίζοντας/σχεδιάζοντας εικόνες εμπνευσμένες από αυτό.
Ο κύριος λόγος είναι η σκοτεινή ατμόσφαιρα του. Η αίσθηση που σου προκαλεί το γοτθικό του περιβάλλον και η μαυρίλα του εικαστικού του. Θυμάμαι να σταματάω το παιχνίδι και απλά να κοιτάω τον κόσμο του. Την αρχιτεκτονική του. Την γεωμετρία του. Ήμουν ένας τουρίστας σε έναν εικονικό κόσμο γεμάτο κοσμικό τρόμο.
Αναζητώντας τα κρυφά νοήματα του παιχνιδιού και κυρίως την πηγή έμπνευσης των δημιουργών και του σκηνοθέτη του, ερχόμουν συνέχεια απέναντι με ένα όνομα... H.P. LOVECRAFT...οπότε ήταν θέμα χρόνου.
...
...
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Έχοντας πλέον τελειώσει την συγκεκριμένη συλλογή οφείλω να ομολογήσω ότι δεν απογοητεύτηκα καθόλου.
Αν και απέχει πολύ από τα συνηθισμένα μου αναγνώσματα, η γραφή του Lovecraft με κέρδισε.
Δεν τρόμαξα αλλά ανατρίχιασα. Δεν ούρλιαξα αλλά σίγουρα γούρλωσα τα μάτια σε μερικά σημεία. Ήξερα ότι διαβάζω ιστορίες με πλαστά φαντάσματα και τέρατα ΑΛΛΑ υπήρχε μια αληθοφάνεια στον τρόπο αφήγησης του Lovecraft όπου όσο διάβαζες, το κείμενο σε έκανε να πιστέψεις σε αυτό.
Εκτίμησα λίγο παραπάνω και ξεχώρισα την απόγνωση που υπάρχει στον λόγο του, το λεξιλόγιό του, το συντακτικό του, τις εκφράσεις του... Έκρυβαν μια μελαγχολία, μια μαυρίλα σαν αυτή του Bloodborne, μια αγωνία και ταυτόχρονα μια παραίτηση.
Δεν είναι τόσο τα κυκλώπεια τέρατα ή τα ανατριχιαστικά πλοκάμια όπου θα σε τρομάξουν. Είναι η ασημαντότητα του ανθρώπου. Η αδυναμία του να πράξει. Η αδυναμία του να ακουστεί και να πιστέψουν τα λεγόμενα του. Η αίσθηση της μοναξιάς και της εγκατάλειψης.
Οι περισσότερες ιστορίες, μετά την κορύφωση και την αποκάλυψη κάποιου τέρατος ή παραφυσικού στοιχείου, εστίαζαν ξανά στον Άνθρωπο. Έναν άνθρωπο πλέον αδύναμο και παραιτημένο από τη ζωή. Έναν άνθρωπο στεγνό.
Οι ιστορίες σε αγγίζουν γιατί αν αντικαταστήσεις ή αφαιρέσεις τα τέρατα και την όλη μυθοπλασία του συγγραφέα, τα ανθρώπινα συναισθήματα που μένουν είναι αληθινά. Άνθρωποι βιώνουν και αισθάνονται απόγνωση, παραιτούνται από την ζωή, στεγνώνουν, χωρίς την απειλή του Cthulhu...
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Κάθε του ιστορία μου επιβεβαίωνε ότι ο Lovecraft είναι όντως ο πατέρας του Cosmic Horror.
Σε πολλά σημεία εντόπισα ιστορίες και σκηνικά τα οποία συνειδητοποιούσα ότι αποτελούν την πηγή έμπνευσης για πρόσφατες ιστορίες σε media όπως ηλεκτρικά παιχνίδια (Bloodborne) και ταινίες (Annihilation).
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Η έκδοση που έχω (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classic Collection) είναι εκπληκτική και προτείνεται άφοβα αν και οι ιστορίες του είναι εύκολο να βρεθούν και δωρεάν στο διαδίκτυο με μια απλή αναζήτηση για όσους θέλουν να τον δοκιμάσουν. Κάτι το οποίο προτείνω σε όλους τους λάτρεις του είδους και όχι μόνο. -
Completing Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos is a nice accomplishment for me this year. I had never read much of his work in the past, and made a goal to try and get through something large in 2016; never an easy task with two little ones running around. After a slow start with shorter tales like Dagon, Azathoth and The Festival, Lovecraft seemed to find a good stride beginning with The Call of Cthulhu and using that story as a way to begin the creation of his larger universe. I appreciated that story more after I had made my way through much of these tales. As a standalone it didn't offer much, but as a history lesson for what Lovecraft means to say as a whole, it is essential. One of my favorite stories comes close after that titled The Colour Out of Space. It's here where Lovecraft begins to show the horror side of his writing, thoroughly chilling me with the tale of a farmer's family fighting a losing battle with an all-powerful entity. The closing section of this story is reminiscent of Poe, though more macabre, something I didn't think possible. At the Mountains of Madness was a story I was most looking forward to, but ultimately found a bit underwhelming. I can see why filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro has sought to make this into a movie for years, and would still enjoy seeing the attempt, but for me it dragged after the initials chapters. The Whisperer in Darkness again tapped into a bit of Poe, but what Lovecraft was able to do by the time I consumed this story was deftly weave in the Elder Ones without sacrificing the uniqueness of the story. I found myself recalling this one fondly many times in later tales. Another high point near the collection's conclusion was The Thing On the Doorstep. The ominous knocking and cadence identified with the main character's friend gave me a shiver or two reading well into the night. What Lovecraft excelled at with the Cthulhu mythos was the ability to weave sci-fi with horror into a large tapestry, while still presenting each story as a unique tale. I admire the complexity that goes along with that, and even if the stories do get a bit repetitive, I appreciate what they mean to American literature.
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I have read some of Lovecraft's stories in the past on the internet, but it was much more fun to read this collection of his stories related to his Cthulhu mythos. I want to take a moment to talk about the Barnes and Noble edition of this book that I read. It's nice and hefty, it has a great smell (am I the only one who loves the smell of certain new books?), and it's gilt edged pages are a nice touch. Above all, I love the leather binding which made me feel at times like I was actually reading from the dread Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, or the Unaussprechlichen Kulten of Friedrich von Junzt, or even the Pnaktoic Manuscripts themselves.
Aside from the aesthetic pleasures of the book, I like the way it was organized. The stories are roughly organized chronologically in the order Lovecraft wrote them. Reading through the book you can see the slow development of his mythos over the course of 13 years. Personally, I think that there was a point near the middle of this period when his stories are the best. His earlier stories are a bit clumsy and vague, his later stories spend too much time explaining things. The best stories convey the sense of cosmic horror and helplessness without revealing too much information about the alien antagonists. Some of my favorites were "The Curse of Yig," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Whisperer in Darkness," and "The Shadow over Innsmouth". I think his best story in this collection is "The Dreams in the Witch House" which I had read before. -
First of all, a small rent: "OMG LOVECRAFT WAS A RACIST!!111!!"
You should just stop judging his stories only due to this, because of course he was racist - particularly in the first half of his life - because he was BORN IN THE FREAKING TWENTIES!!!
Stop judging 100 years old authors with today morality!
And in addition to this, growing up he pretty much changed his ideas and did go beyond many racial prejudices common for white men in his time.
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DISCLAIMER: I didn't read actually this particular edition, but I had on Kindle unlimited a collection with every Lovecraft story, and I read only the Mythos stories that are present in also this edition - with the exception of the Mountain of Madness, that I read years ago and that was too long to re-read before my Kindle unlimited subscription expired.
Lovecraft is just so an important author of the horror genre, and he may be considered hand down the father of modern horror, being an inspiration of a lot of contemporary authors.
I found him not so easy to read (but easier than Poe without a doubt), since his stories never focus on characters, but more on the cosmic horror and the madness surrounding them.
From one side, it was charming to see how Lovecraft portrayed the human uselessness in front of ancient horrors of the universe that nobody can imagine, from the other side this thing made his narration much more harder to follow - at least for me, since I generally prefer character-based stories.
My favourite stories were the big ones: "Call of Cthulhu", "The Dunwich Horror", "The Mound", "The Whisperer in the Darkness" and my favourite of all is "The Shadow over Innsmouth".
Other long stories didn't hook me up like others, while really short ones were interesting but nothing really memorable, since many are also commissions and not 100% made by Lovecraft himself. -
Lovecraft était vraiment un raciste. Et un piètre écrivain.
Sa technique est simple :
> les personnages sont des enquêteurs/historiens, pour donner une part de mystère inhérente à la recherche d'un mystère.
> les évènements commencent toujours par la découverte d'une secte de nègres/ou autres ethnies, qui font des choses bizarres. Tout ça pour profiter du dégoût qu'avait à l'époque la classe blanche américaine à l'égard des étrangers, et ainsi inspirer la peur facilement.
> l'utilisation systématique et clairement pénible des adjectifs "immonde" "affreux" "indescriptible" "horrible"... C'est facile de ne jamais décrire les créatures, de simplement les qualifier de "horribles" et de se prétendre être le maitre de l'horreur ... -
Los mitos de Cthulhu 4 estrellas y media
¿Existe algo más horrendo que el miedo a lo desconocido, al conocimiento que puede sacarte la cordura, a una dimensión que juega con los límites del razonamiento? Todo esto y más me produce Lovecraft, en estos 4 relatos presentes en está edición hay varios nombre, citas y referencias a otros escritores como blackwood, Lord dunsany, Artur machen. Muchas citas clásicas que remarque, mucha reflexión a nivel filosófico, aparte del horror, creo que Lovecraft está de un lado oscuro incomprensible de su mente y su raciocinio, y llevarte a ese mundo oscuro para comprender las historias más allá de la ficción es lo que aterroriza y lo que muchas personas más racionales no pueden llegar a creer y comprender. Si bien está edición no es de las mejores que tengo la disfrute, releei relatos como el color que cayó del cielo y la ciudad sin nombre. Siempre recomendable Lovecraft mí relato favorito (aunque fue difícil decidir) fue "el horror de Dunwich"
🐙 Ph'nglui wglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wglw'nafh fthagn 🌊☄️🌠🦑 Negotium perambulans in tenebris -
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
This is the first time i have read anything from Lovecraft, which is kinda weird, since i'm surrounded by Lovecraft fans... But anyway, this month, in the bookclub i'm in, we decided to read Lovecraft's "The Colour out of Space", and "Call of Cthulhu" because Halloween, and Horror seemed like an obvious great choice for this month's book.
I really liked the style and the themes that Lovecraft uses, bad thing is that i read this in Spanish, and something tells me that a lot is lost in translation, as usual, but mostly in cases like this, where the atmosphere needs to be felt in a more personal and close way than with other book genres.
More than the tales themselves, i loved the lore that Lovecraft created on his universe, the idea of Cosmic Horrors that affect us only by existing, beings that are in such a different plane of existence that our minds can't even comprehend them, we can't process them, and being in contact with them leads to insanity, and probably death.
This edition i found had those 2 tales, and also "The Dunwich Horror" and "The Nameless City". I liked all of the stories, but my favorite out of this 3 was by far The Dunwich Horror. Probably because of the structure of the tale and the pace in which the story flowed.
Having read this, i think i need to buy an anthology with all his books, stories, etc -
A lot of fun stories, but they have the pace and subtlety of pulp. The two Lovecraft stories, on the other hand, are masterful, and the stark contrast between HP and his imitators shows why Lovecraft, in his sweeping imagination and incredible technical skill, has become the cultural touchstone that he is.
If you're interested in Lovecraft's influence beyond simple engrossing entertainment value, you may find this collection more interesting. It's a worthy case study for understanding how Lovecraft fits into his own world in the imaginations of his fans and imitators: in these stories, he is represented as an ill-understood horror author (a fair imitation of his real-world persona), but then he's elevated into a sort of scholar mystic prophet, whose horror stories become a sort of clandestine bible of the cosmic apocalypse and humanity's ill-fated destiny.
From serious to twisted to amusing, they're stories worth reading, but it's Lovecraft's singular talent that really holds the circle together. -
I discovered this book in a library book sale, not knowing much of anything about Lovecraft's works. It was an old edition without a slipcover, and the letters on the spine had weathered to read "CTHULHU MYTHOS DEPLETH." Since I'm always on the lookout for weird stuff, I picked it up and read it through, and not until I was fairly far into it did I learn that this was by someone named Derleth who was supposed to be derivative of Lovecraft. Not knowing that context, I did enjoy the weird stuff I read here significantly.
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4.3/5
Ojalá los siguientes libros que lea en el año sean igual de buenos que este. -
What a slog-goth!
Because I'm a very silly person, I decided to read the Lovecraft compendium prior to diving into more contemporary works based on the Cthulhu mythos. I discovered that Lovecraft's strong suit is in world building and decidedly not in the narrative craft. As it turns out, you can jump into the derivative works without suffering anything from the horse's mouth in this case. In fact, it might save you some moments of anguish and cringe to skip the original lore. -
August Derleth's TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS was and still is a seminal horror anthology. First published in 1969 and much reprinted since (occasionally as two slimmer volumes, as with the Panther paperbacks published in the UK in the 1970s), it proved that there was life to the Cthulhu Mythos beyond its originator H.P. Lovecraft by collecting various short stories inspired by and expanding on his work. It says something that this collection feels as fresh now as it ever did. I should note that I'm a huge fan of the Mythos, so this collection was right up my street.
(NB. I should note that some of the reviews here on Goodreads seem to be for a different, more up-to-date anthology. The one I read was released in 1969 and has been re-released subsequently; my copy was dated 1988. The 'latest' stories in my version are those written in the 1960s by Lumley, Campbell, and Wilson; none of this new-fangled Stephen King et al nonsense!)
Derleth kicks off his tome with a story from the master himself, Lovecraft's THE CALL OF CTHULHU. It's a classic piece of writing that serves as a perfect introduction to the Mythos for newcomers, and what's particularly impressive alongside the immersive writing is the way international events are tied neatly and precisely together in the short story form. Clark Ashton Smith is covered in THE RETURN OF THE SORCEROR, one in a sub-genre of story writing about green apprentices going to work in crumbling old mansions, getting involved in something they shouldn't. The Necronomicon makes its presence known in a superb piece of old-fashioned pulp which is even better than the Lovecraft tale that preceded it.
Smith is back for UBBO-SATHLA, this time about an occultist who comes into possession of a weird gemstone. Smith's depiction of London as a chasm on the brink of a bubbling darkness is, simply, fantastic, and this is a top read too. Robert E. Howard's THE BLACK STONE is a travelogue to ancient Hungary and viscerally disturbing - another top piece of pulp writing that really packs a punch even in the modern day. THE HOUNDS OF TINDALOS, by Frank Belknap Long, tackles the topic of time travel in a quite startling way, and the climax is particularly enjoyable. It also ties in nicely to the events described in Lovecraft's DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE.
As editor, Derleth couldn't resist including a couple of his own pastiches. Both are light, fun and breezy, if a little insubstantial. THE DWELLER IN DARKNESS concerns ancient sorcery in the Canadian wilderness while BEYOND THE THRESHOLD is all about the monstrous wind-walking creature, Ithaqua. Next is Henry Kuttner and his SALEM HORROR, in which a writer rents an old house and finds a witch's room in the cellar. Once again, it recalls DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE and is just as good, featuring gnawing rats, mouldering skeletons, and a nameless horror lurking in the depths of a pit.
THE HAUNTER OF THE GRAVEYARD is by J. Vernon Shea and focuses on atmosphere thoughout. A TV horror host lives near a creepy graveyard and encounters much in the way of psychological fear and thrils. For once, the horrors are all in the mind. The splendid Robert Bloch comes up with THE SHAMBLER FROM THE STARS, a straight-up pastiche in which a Lovecraft clone falls foul of an invisible terror from space. It's hugely entertaining. Lovecraft returned the favour in THE HAUNTER FROM THE DARK, in which one 'Robert Blake' encounters monstrous beings from beyond. The atmosphere is key and the locations are out of this world (no pun intended). Bloch couldn't resist writing one final story in this mini-trilogy, entitled THE SHADOW FROM THE STEEPLE, and in it one of Blake's friends investigates a mystery from the past. It's a perfect combination of detective fiction and Cthulhu lore.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Bloch's NOTEBOOK FOUND IN A DESERTED HOUSE makes for excellent reading. The events are predictable, but the idea of having a 12-year-old narrator makes for a fresh and involving read, unique among Cthulhu fiction. We then abruptly cut to the 1960s and Ramsey Campbell's COLD PRINT, whose perverted narrator makes a change from the usual wholesome leads. The result is distinctly Campbellian in tone: cold, psychological, hugely atmospheric, and oddly sexual. Brian Lumley is well represented by two tales: THE SISTER CITY is about a young antiquarian travelling the world to encounter evil and is packed full of Lovecraftian references; the author has really done his homework here. CEMENT SURROUNDINGS is even better, and Lumley at his best; an archaeologist finds himself being stalked from Africa to Yorkshire by an underground evil, and quite brilliant it is too.
THE DEEP ONES is James Wade's follow-up to Lovecraft's THE SHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH, and he updates the story to the 1960s complete with hippies and LSD. It's a fine attempt to do something different, even if the ending is a little rushed. Finally, Colin Wilson comes up trumps with THE RETURN OF THE LLOIGOR, as near a flawless story as you could wish for. This one's all about ancient nastiness lurking in rural Wales, and there's a ton of real-life material to back up the fictional story. The plot is far-fetched and wide-reaching to boot, and as a whole this is as unpredictable as it is enthralling. -
After several decades of only reading Lovecraft's original works and ignoring the secondary mythos writers I decided to revisit Derleth's 'contributions'.
When I finally chewed my way through all of August Derleth's additions to Lovecraft's Mythos I came to a conclusion:
While his Good vs Evil thing is annoying, and his "elemental" classification utter nonsense, the WORST thing, in my opinion, is his inability to stop name dropping.
No matter the setting, or Great Old One involved, he manages to drop in the name of nearly EVERY other GOO, and nearly every family name or place name Lovecraft ever penned.
I GET that lots of stuff ties back to Arkham & Miskatonic, but somehow Derleth also felt the need to tie in Dunwich and Innsmouth to everything. It's ridiculous. Likewise he somehow made nearly everyone related to a Marsh or Whately, even if only distant cousins.
I wonder if this was caused by a need to 'legitimize' his stories (by tying them more directly back to the source) or was he really just not that imaginative a weird writer and as a result overly relied on the creations of others. I've heard his non-horror writing is much better, but honestly can't be bothered to find out. -
The fantasy and the mind of Howard Philips were and still are way beyond his time. As well as the universe he built up in the early 1900s, the detail and depth of that takes it even further. I can dwell off of is stories for hours just thinking about how and why. All his stories and mythos are connected in the most subtle ways. It makes the universe he describes even richer and broader. Oh how I can go on and on about these stories. Must read for all philosophical fantasy lovers who like a darker theme.
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H.P. Lovecraft had a marvelous talent for short stories. While some of the stories in this book could tend to be tedious and some of the themes and phrases used without were annoying, a few of these are actually quite flawless. Yes, read this. It's huge and time-consuming and you will be sick to death of "Cyclopean" as an adjective, but it is worth it.
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The GOAT (or should I say Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young)!!! You'll never read the word "Cyclopean" this many times in your life!
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I initially looked into reading these works as I had taken an interest in a table top role playing game based on the mythos itself. The game recommended reading a few short works so finding this edition was the best choice as it provided a well designed book to add to our home library while also providing the stories required to help run the game.
To get to the stories, it’s a fascinating feeling to read stories that likely inspired many horror films and other media later in history. I hardly knew anything of these works or the writer behind them. It was enjoyable to read these stories as I would remind myself they were written around 100 years ago and not in a pulpy magazine from the 90’s. There are some issues though regarding the writing however.
This edition contains over 20 short stories each playing a part in the mythos Lovecraft created over time and while the ideas were fantastic I had one problem with the writing style. It could be excruciating to read at times
You could perhaps chalk up the reason that Lovecraft is so wordy in his descriptions to the lack of editing, style of the time, lack of visual cues, or perhaps he was paid for length in the magazines that published him (I have no evidence to support that last claim). I found myself at time looking up illustrations by artists for the stories as I would read an entire page and realize I had no idea what was just described due to the vague wordy writing. I understand the purpose of vague descriptions as it’s supposed to be up to the reader to visualize the horror but it became a chore sometimes.
A good example is “The shadow out of time” it’s a great story with a cool idea way ahead of its time until you get around 2/3 of the way in. At this point Lovecraft describes a long drawn out event of the main character discovering and trekking through a location only to finally get to the payoff much later. I was sucked out of the story despite a interesting payoff.
Despite the subjective shortcomings; the importance of these works cannot be ignored. Many people have taken the ideas and are doing very Incredible things with them despite these particular works troubled background.I’m glad to have read them and it’s opened up new interest in horror that hasn’t been fed in a long time. -
I do not really like Lovecraft. I do think he has made a large impact on literature and the horror genre, but I also believe that is is possible that a person can pave the way for better and less pretentious authors to take center stage. The issue with founding mythology is that there are many stores within this collection (about half) that are boring and are just used to create the background for the emotional payout in other stories. I understand this, but it does not warrant the hundreds of pages of boring and wasted time. At the Mountains of Madness is 100 pages of boring history and world-building that almost got me to quite the collection. The stories that are actually suspenseful and use the background that was established in previous stories are interesting and lead to a payoff that I have only found in big fat fantasy novels with complex worlds. My favorite stories are:
1) The Whisperer in Darkness
2) The Thing on the Doorstep
3) The Colour out of Space
4) The Curse of Yig -
Libros de Lovecraft>>>>>>>>>>>Lovecraft
Me tomó CASI un año leer este libro (que de por sí es corto con sus 341 páginas y letras grandes), pero pienso que todo va a su tiempo, y no me hubiese impactado del mismo modo de haberlo acabado por acabarlo.
Durante este último mes decidí retomarlo, y JODER, QUÉ GRAN DECISIÓN.
Es todo TAN FUMADO, pero coherente. Tanto así que no me parecería tan ridículo creer en su mitología.
(Si hablamos del “Bloop”, un ruido extraño y jamás antes oído, mucho mas grande que la ballena azul—el animal vivo más grande nombrado por la ciencia—, que reportaron submarinos Rusos y Americanos en el Pacifico, podríamos muy fácilmente asociarlo con esto y el lugar donde reside Cthulhu).
Pero esta cosa fumada me ha dado ideas aún más fumadas.
Aunque eso sí, pinche Lovecraft racista. Si fuese un libro actual estaría bien cancelado xdd.
