I have very little experience with Lovecraft, but I know what an influence his work has been on 20th Century Horror, and I have been more and more intrigued to explore his works. This volume has about 20 of his stories, and from the looks, they are the most famous ones. I am excited!5/13 I am now 1/3rd of the way through this collection of stories. I hope to be done by the end of May, but I am not a fast reader, and Lovecraft doesn't really allow you to skim. That's one thing I am consistently noticing: he paints very detailed, precise pictures. Some think it's tiresome, while others think it's part of the desired experience. I was listening to an interview with a gentlemen who did a dissertation on Lovecraft on the Horror Etc. Podcast, and the word they use to describe his style is baroque. He even went so far as to suggest that, along with Lovecraft's preference for scholarly protagonists, his style shows how much he admired those who spent their lives studying dense, highly challenging subject matter. This is especially important in light Lovecraft's being unable to complete high school, due to his nervous condition. In essence, Lovecraft wrote as if he was writing for the ivy league, academic audience which he so much wanted to be a part of, but never could. Once I got used to his rhythm, and started using the Kindle app on my phone to help with some of the language, I can say I've very much enjoyed the stories so far. Each piece seems to be part of the same world, and reading them all in close succession like this allows one to appreciate the rich tapestry of imaginative and horrific imagery Lovecraft was creating throughout his career. I enjoyed The Lurking Fear and The Thing on the Doorstep best so far. The latter story had quite a bit more pathos than what I had normally come to expect from him. I felt it was, somehow, more personal..even biographic. The Colour out of Space was an interesting and chilling tale, for sure, but I had trouble actually finding its antagonistic creature frightening. He had some very unique ideas of what an alien, predatory entity could be in a weird universe, and sometimes its hard to wrap your mind around just what he has created on page. The Dunwich Horror and The Dreams in the Witch House struck me as examples of classic, Cthulhu mythos tales, and along with Call of Cthulhu, I recommend them to anyone wanting to get an idea of just what the mythos is about.A final editorial thought before I continue: this edition provides some background for each story, including the circumstances surrounding its publishing. Based on how shabbily his work was found by critics in his time, and yet how influential and important he has become, even since 10-20 years after his death, I think Lovecraft is a great example of why artistic criticism is useless. Literary criticism has its place, certainly, but is mostly useless in predicting future relevance and reception of an author's work. Closing notes: So...I am finished. I took a long, steady journey into Lovecraft-land. I understand why people love him, and I also understand why some would find him tedious. I feel somewhat initiated into the Cthulhu mythos...almost like I just finished a class on cosmic horror. I think what I love most about Lovecraft is his fantastic imagination. I researched his works while reading through this behemoth volume, and found that, while certainly talented, he was rather rough as linguists go, and that is why literature buffs have been so hesitant to embrace him as a great literary mind. But I do believe he deserves the title, and I enjoyed his work very much. I also am ready for some easier reading for a while. For anyone who cannot stand his writing style, if you love horror/scifi, I understand that there are some really good graphic adaptations of his works out there. Do check those out if you cannot enjoy his writing, as it's really his ideas and dreams/nightmares that make him relevant. Some quick notes to any medium level readers, like myself, who want to delve into his work more, heed these tips: Allow his descriptions to paint you a picture and not get in the way of the plot. That is what, I believe, he meant to do. 2. Even if you have his work in print, "cheat", and read in kindle form if possible. I bought his complete works on Kindle for about $4, I took the stories with me to read everywhere and I utilized the word look-up feature heavily. Also, he writes in huge, block paragraphs, and the print of this edition was quite small, so being able to adjust the font helped me get through pages of descriptions. 3. The reason Lovecraft is important is the fantastically horrifying concepts which he developed for his stories. In a time where horror was strictly limited to the realm of werewolves, vampires, and ghosts, he created new and fantastic boogeymen, sometimes just in the form of an insane, alternate reality where nothing of what we know is true or as it seems. Indeed, we'd have no Stephen King's IT or The Thing without Lovecraft. If you read his stories in a collection like this, you can also appreciate the commonalities between them that set them in same, insane universe; a creation of the same scale as Tolkien's Middle-Earth (back off, Ring-nerds!). And last, do some research on the man himself. I found him to be an interesting person, though flawed and even repulsive. If you do this, you find some pathos in his stories, elements connected to who he was as a person, making his writing, somehow, more human. "...the terror that characters (and by extension, the reader) feel when they come to realize the inconceivable horrors that lie in wait just beyond the small, well-lit circle of the familiar world they ahve alwyas known..." (0) // not horror, but true suspense as a genre"Some said the thunder called the lurking fear out of its habitation, while others said the thunder was its voice." (50)THE MUSIC OF ERICH ZANN [adapted as a haunting short film by John Strysik] (66) // want to see!"It isn't so very far from the elevated [above ground shuttle/tram/train] as distance goes, but it's centuries away as the soul goes." (82)
What do You think about Great Tales Of Horror (1991)?
Bargain price for the book at B&N. Had to buy it! Hardcover edition.
—manu
DNF just couldn't get into the language limbo from this era.
—Crystaldawn
Such an awesome book. I could not put it down.
—Izzy
