Authors: H. P. Lovecraft, John Jude Palencar (Illustrator), Barbara Hambly (Introduction), John Jude Palencar
ISBN-13: 9780345384225, ISBN-10: 0345384229
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Date Published: October 1996
Edition: (Non-applicable)
One of the most influential practitioners of American horror, H.P. Lovecraft inspired the work of Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker. As he perfected his mastery of the macabre, his works developed from seminal fragments into acknowledged masterpieces of terror.
H.P. Lovecraft. Del Rey, $10 (384p) ISBN 0-345-38422-9 Lovecraft's transformation from beginner to master horror writer is the theme behind this collection of macabre tales, the third in a Del Rey trilogy of Lovecraft's work. It certainly succeeds in this design, making it both easy and informative to follow his development. But the works included here range from abysmal to excellent, with most occupying the weaker end of the range. Certain selections show Lovecraft at his gripping and imaginative best particularly the important novella, "At the Mountains of Madness," which deals with dreadful life encountered in the Antarctic wasteland (creatures who were "above all doubt the originals of the fiendish elder myths which thing like the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Necronomicon affrightedly hint about."). But earlier works are less impressive. The first five stories, labeled "early tales" by their author, are among the few youthful writings that Lovecraft preserved. Three show the promise of talent to come, but the inclusion here of the xenophobic tract, "The Street," is barely justifiable. Beyond these, there are many one-note and predictable tales, often additionally marred by grotesque racism. It clearly took Lovecraft a while to develop the subtlety required for suspenseful storytelling. Editorial remarks beyond the existing one-page introduction could have added much, as would dating of the pieces. Serious Lovecraft fans, however, will not want to miss this collection, if only for the few gems included and later tales that bear on the Cthulhu mythos. (Oct.)
Introduction: The Man Who Loved His Craft | ||
Early Tales | ||
The Beast in the Cave | 1 | |
The Alchemist | 7 | |
Poetry and the Gods | 15 | |
The Street | 22 | |
The Transition of Juan Romero | 27 | |
The Book (A Fragment) | 34 | |
Dagon | 37 | |
The Tomb | 42 | |
Memory | 52 | |
The White Ship | 53 | |
Arthur Jermyn | 59 | |
The Temple | 68 | |
The Terrible Old Man | 80 | |
The Crawling Chaos | 83 | |
The Tree | 91 | |
The Moon-Bog | 95 | |
Herbert West - Reanimator | 102 | |
The Lurking Fear | 129 | |
The Festival | 148 | |
The Unnamable | 157 | |
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs | 164 | |
The Shunned House | 189 | |
He | 213 | |
The Horror at Red Hook | 225 | |
Cool Air | 245 | |
Nathicana | 253 | |
At the Mountains of Madness | 256 | |
In the Walls of Eryx | 349 | |
The Evil Clergyman | 376 |