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charliebnim's review against another edition
3.0
Just okey, but I guess my expectations were too high. I will take a break and comeback when I have nothing else to read.
kimananda's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
lori_goshert's review against another edition
3.0
(Deep breath) Okay. I wasn't sure whether to read this or not. To say H.P. Lovecraft is problematic is an understatement, but I was curious.
The good: He really was a master of worldbuilding and of creating a creepy atmosphere. Especially in the later stories.
The bad: The racism. It's not just that he was a huge racist, even compared to the society he lived in. It's that racism permeates his stories, and not just in the cat names. There is, however, less racism in his latest stories than there is in earlier ones (I've heard people say that he became less racist over time. Maybe this is true.). So, a star and a half off for the racism.
The bad: He tended to overuse phrases such as "could not be described." While of course writers often leave some things to the imagination, overdoing this comes across as lazy writing. Again, we got less of this, and more description, in the later stories. Half a star off for that.
The good: He really was a master of worldbuilding and of creating a creepy atmosphere. Especially in the later stories.
The bad: The racism. It's not just that he was a huge racist, even compared to the society he lived in. It's that racism permeates his stories, and not just in the cat names. There is, however, less racism in his latest stories than there is in earlier ones (I've heard people say that he became less racist over time. Maybe this is true.). So, a star and a half off for the racism.
The bad: He tended to overuse phrases such as "could not be described." While of course writers often leave some things to the imagination, overdoing this comes across as lazy writing. Again, we got less of this, and more description, in the later stories. Half a star off for that.
thomas_edmund's review against another edition
There is some sorrow in working through an epic compendium like this - so much Lovecraft, and yet knowing that once finished that is essentially it (poetry and letters only remain.)
Reading Lovecraft is like a study in influence of modern horror (and some sci-fi) his shorter earlier fiction shines brightest the longer novellas being hit and miss, some pieces such as the Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath were rambling distractions of terminology where The Case of Charles Dexter Ward possess intriguing characterisation along with signature supernatural elements.
My new favourite is The Thing on the Doorstep, a short story with the strongest mythos (aside from Chu-Chu himself) and most memorable characters.
The music of Erich Zann, The Rats in the Walls, are two stand-out stories, Mountains of Madness is a strong piece although bogged down in mythology.
Obviously some of these pieces are getting dated, the blatant racism, mild sexism and elitism are surprisingly unjarring although quite noticeable.
Reading Lovecraft is like a study in influence of modern horror (and some sci-fi) his shorter earlier fiction shines brightest the longer novellas being hit and miss, some pieces such as the Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath were rambling distractions of terminology where The Case of Charles Dexter Ward possess intriguing characterisation along with signature supernatural elements.
My new favourite is The Thing on the Doorstep, a short story with the strongest mythos (aside from Chu-Chu himself) and most memorable characters.
The music of Erich Zann, The Rats in the Walls, are two stand-out stories, Mountains of Madness is a strong piece although bogged down in mythology.
Obviously some of these pieces are getting dated, the blatant racism, mild sexism and elitism are surprisingly unjarring although quite noticeable.
liza_maria's review against another edition
1.0
I really don't like dnfing books. But I just couldn't be bothered with this one. I knew HP Lovecraft was really racist going into this, but I wasn't ready for how apparent his racism would be in his writing. The most obvious example of this was the name of the cat in "The Rats In the Walls", but there were also so many stories where humans cross breaded with creatures and created these horrible monstrosities. And of course white people were always the victims. His writing also just didn't suit my tastes. It was just too verbose and pretentious for me. I really wanted to finish this, especially because there were some stories I enjoyed and so many people whose work I do enjoy were inspired by Lovecraft, like Guillermo Del Toro and Niel Gaiman, but I just couldn't.
denasquirrel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jenn_the_unicorn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
zgonzale's review against another edition
3.0
Although Lovecraft’s mythos is still a popular part of cosmic horror today, I found much of his fiction to be as dense, frustrating, and problematic as it is interesting, inspiring, and unique.
There are a couple of classics that I quite enjoyed (Dagon, The Doom that Came to Sarnath, The Moon-Bog, The Music of Erich Zann, The Dunwich Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness) but most can be skipped whether you’re a fan of Lovecraft or not.
There are a couple of classics that I quite enjoyed (Dagon, The Doom that Came to Sarnath, The Moon-Bog, The Music of Erich Zann, The Dunwich Horror, The Whisperer in Darkness) but most can be skipped whether you’re a fan of Lovecraft or not.
semmons99's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0