So yesterday I posted I was about to read pic related for the first time (I used a different picture before, I thought this book was a little cringle, things you do as a teenager)
Well I've read Dagon, The Statement of Randolph Carter, The doom that came to Sarnath and the Cats of Ulthar
And so far I've really enjoyed it. Starting with Dagon, I thought it was a little weak. It weird then that this is the first story in the book. It has a very cosmic horror feel but the story doesn't really go anywhere. If I were the guy I'd chalk up the whole experience as a crazy fever dream and not some impossible realization.
Second is The Statement of Randolph Carter. This one was my favorite. Its pretty short so if you have 5 minutes I'd recommend reading it. It really simple, has a nice spooky ending, and unlike Dagon if the events of the story happened to me I'd be left always feeling curious about it.
Third is The doom that came to Sarnath. I enjoyed this one a bit. It's very middle of the road. I can kind of see how it's loosely linked to Dagon, but tells a much more interesting story. Over all enjoyable but average.
Finally, The Cats of Ulthar. Another really sort story (something like 3 pages long). Its got a bit of a Roald Dahl Kiss Kiss vibe to it which I enjoyed. It also follows the trend of alien cities. This was something I wasn't expecting as I thought Lovecraft was more about impossible monster god and forbidden knowledge. Just goes to show what pop culture can do to something.
Anyway, what are other peoples thoughts and feeling on the works of H.P Lovecraft?
I can recall reading a short story by him of a character dreaming about a city located near a body of water. Also remember liking it a lot more than his rants about "indescribable horrors," but I can't remember what the story was called, since I was 14 or 15 when I read it. Does anyone know what story I'm talking about?
Cooper Edwards
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Jack Nelson
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Jonathan Mitchell
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Mason Johnson
How much did Lovecraft really influence Borges and Burroughs?
Robert Bennett
>the Cats of Ulthar good taste
Oliver Peterson
Borges liked pulp literature. He had a whole story that was like a send up to hpl. Also, many of his stories deal with themes of impossible architecture causing madness of impossible knowledge. I can't speak for Burroughs.
Aaron Carter
Is Herbert West: Reanimator worth the read? I'm reading through Lovecraft's fiction now and it's quite lengthy compared to his other short stories.
Christian Taylor
I've always found weird fiction very comfy, though the quality is wildly variable. It's nice evocative stuff that enjoys playing with language and fear.
Alexander Evans
If you're reading Lovecraft expecting "the story to go somewhere" you're doing it wrong. Dagon is one of his stronger works.
Brandon Morales
damn i didnt know there were other books in the same style as the eldritch tales and necronomicon. how is that version? it felt kind of cheap when i looked at it. like it wouldnt hold up over time.
Landon Morris
I was going to buy this collection of the Conan stories but the reviews said that some chapters from stories were completely missing Is this true? Should I just buy the smaller Conan collections?
Blake Mitchell
Just finished his complete works today. Whisperer in Darkness is one of my favourites. It builds a really great atmosphere that I could rarely find in his other works.
I dont recommend his dream cycle stories. For me they really drag on.
Owen Sanders
The paperback versions are crap that look like used old phone books after the first read, but the hardcovers are fine. Gollancz has stalled on their big black book line since Tarzan, so these six are the only ones so far. I'm gentle with them, but they're reasonably solid.
Colton Carter
Celephais
Owen Morales
It depends on your priorities. These collections have the Howard and Lovecraft stories as they were first published in Weird Tales (the classic famous versions), but some later versions were based off manuscripts and typescripts, and undid editor cuts, etc. So there are longer and more accurate versions now published that better reflect the authors' wishes, but these are the stories in the form that made the authors famous.
Jackson Gomez
Definitely, it was actually meant as a comedy which goes to show a lot about Lovecrafts humour. It's a great read.
William Russell
Ah thank you user, with that in mind I think I'll buy the smaller collections then I think I'd rather have the author's complete intent rather than the period accurate release, shame I loved the simple black and gold
Angel Diaz
i didnt even know there were hardcover versions. thanks user. >tfw i almost sprung for the shitty paperback bullet dodged.
Landon Hernandez
Good luck, user, seriously: the Lovecraft stories have been simplified by S.T. Joshi preparing the definitive versions from manuscript (restored) and publishing them in 3 volumes from Penguin, etc. The Howard textual situation is a messy hell-pit, with so many editors, debates about what to do with manuscripts and stories he revised and changed, etc., that I can't even keep track of which edition is the best now. Ask a Howard scholar. howardworks.com/alphasource.htm
Josiah Baker
wyrdbooks.com/authors-a-z/howard-robert-e.html This gives a basic overview of the publishing history of Conan texts. De Camp and Carter added a lot of their own work and made a lot of executive decisions. The Wandering Star ones were much more restrained, but they're worth a lot now.
Jayden Reyes
Jesus christ i just wanted some pulpy goodness
Samuel Price
I disagree. It isn't unreadable or anything, but it's basically a first draft of The Call of Cthulhu.
Brandon Hughes
Sweet Ermengarde is a hilarious comedy of his.
Julian Flores
This.
Most of his stories don't go anywhere, they're just that, tales and stories. They don't hold any deeper meaning or try to teach you a life lesson. Enjoy the ride and when it's over it's over. Don't expect a fitting conclusion because you'll never get one.
Rats in the Walls and In The Mouth of Madness is good.
