At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition (Modern Library Classics) [Paperback]

H.P. Lovecraft (Author), China Mieville (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: June 14, 2005 | Series: Modern Library Classics

Introduction by China Miéville

Long acknowledged as a master of nightmarish visions, H. P. Lovecraft established the genuineness and dignity of his own pioneering fiction in 1931 with his quintessential work of supernatural horror, At the Mountains of Madness. The deliberately told and increasingly chilling recollection of an Antarctic expedition’s uncanny discoveries–and their encounter with untold menace in the ruins of a lost civilization–is a milestone of macabre literature.

This exclusive new edition, presents Lovecraft’s masterpiece in fully restored form, and includes his acclaimed scholarly essay “Supernatural Horror in Literature.” This is essential reading for every devotee of classic terror.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the greatest short novels in American literature, and a key text in my own understanding of what that literature can do.”
–MICHAEL CHABON



“Lovecraft’s fiction is one of the cornerstones of modern horror.”
–CLIVE BARKER

About the Author

H. P. LOVECRAFT is one of the seminal horror authors of the twentieth century. He wrote more than one hundred stories, and achieved popular acclaim in such publications as Astounding Stories and Weird Tales. Though he died in 1937, the small press publisher Arkham House was established in 1939 to preserve Lovecraft’s works for future generations

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library; Definitive Ed edition (June 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812974417
• ISBN-13: 978-0812974416
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 73 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice edition, but nothing particularly new June 17, 2005

By J. N. Mohlman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This Modern Library Classic edition of H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" is marketed as "the definitive edition", presented "in fully restored form". However, while it is a nice, good quality trade paperback, the only thing that sets this edition apart from that found in the S. T. Joshi edited "The Thing on the Doorstep" is a rather excellent introduction by China Mieville, and a non-fiction piece by Lovecraft himself, "Supernatural Horror in Literature". I am admittedly no Lovecraft scholar, but I was hard-pressed to find any difference between this and the Joshi text, and there were certainly no significant differences in the plot.

That said, this is a nice book to have, and should be particularly considered by those who are looking to introduce themselves to Lovecraft. "At the Mountains of Madness" is perhaps the quintessential Lovecraft story as it draws masterfully on themes developed in his earlier writings. Detailing the discovery of unimaginably old artifacts by an Antarctic exploration, the story revels in Lovecraft's primary concept of horror, namely, the cosmic insignificance and fragility of man. As the narrator and his assistant descend into the stygian depths of an unspeakably ancient city, the tension derives not from anything traditionally evil, but rather utterly indifferent to humanity's well being.

Moreover, the elements of dislocation, of man being knocked of his perch at the apex of evolution work, if anything, even better than they did in the 1930's. In an age when we are the precipice of understanding some of the most profound mysteries of life, "At the Mountains of Madness" places all of humanity squarely in the boondocks of cosmic significance.... At the same time, "At the Mountains of Madness" plays on the human love of exploration, and in this regard can probably be better appreciated today than in Lovecraft's time, when African and Antarctic explorations were uncovering things never before seen by western man (or man at all in the case of the poles). In a world that is pretty much mapped and paved over, the reader can't help but revel in the strange newness of the discoveries found herein.

This edition also benefits from the introduction by China Mieville (the undeniable star in fantasy and weird fiction today), although it should be read after the story by new readers. His insights into Lovecraft's era, influences and radical creativity (as well as appalling racism) offer tremendous insight into "At the Mountains of Madness" specifically, and Lovecraft's work in general. In fact, from the standpoint of literary analysis, if not personal history, Mieville's introduction surpasses those of Joshi in the Penguin published collections.

Finally, there is the Lovecraft essay which concludes the volume. It's an interesting review of supernatural horror, and Lovecraft's commentary thereon. It's fairly readable for a scholarly piece, and offers some interesting insight into his work, but it will still be of limited interest to the general reader.

Ultimately, this is a nice edition, which features an excellent introduction. Publisher's notes indicating how this version differs from previously published editions are definitely missed, and in some ways detract from the reading for those who are familiar with the work as keeping an out for differences is genuinely distracting. I would be hard-pressed to call this a must buy for anyone who already owns a published edition of "At the Mountains of Madness", but those new to Lovecraft would be well served by starting with this standalone version of his best story.

Jake Mohlman Read more ›

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars And 5 stars for Mieville's introduction February 22, 2006

By djbrkns

Format:Paperback

One of the most amazing things I have ever read, made even more intriguing because I could not get it out of my mind that this book was written in 1936. It begins as a paleontological study set in Antarctica. Lovecraft writes almost as if this is a scientific documentary. It is convincing enough that within the first 20 pages I was researching what little was known about Antarctica in the 1930s and I was questioning what was known about paleontology at the time. The next 20 pages I was researching fictional citations of the Cthulhu Mythos and the Necronomicon. This book is ground breaking on so many levels.

`At the Mountains of Madness' is nonstop fascinating discovery. Every single page is a thrill and every single page builds, like a documentary, knowledge of this alien world on a mostly unknown continent - at the time of the writing - on our very planet.

This Modern Library Classics edition contains an introduction by China Mieville. I hope nobody tries to read the introduction before reading 'At the Mountains of Madness', but what a pairing is this story and Mielville's introduction. Mielville marvels at Lovecraft's art then takes Lovecraft, the man, apart. I love that these two pieces were put together. I closed the book at 1:30AM after reading the introduction and was sleepless for 2 hours despicably inspired. It is sickening and amazing to be human in all its variety. Beautiful.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "At the Mountains of Madness" readers comments March 22, 2011

By Paul Brooks VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

The short novel "At The Mountains of Madness"(1931) by H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) is one of his most ambitious works in which he utilizes his extensive knowledge of Antarctic exploration, mythology, geology and zoology as a backdrop to his story of an unfathomable encounter with archaic extraterrestrial entities.

Much to his dismay the story was rejected by Weird Tales magazine for, among other things, being too long and not convincing. Eventually it was published in Astounding magazine as a three part serial in 1936. Lovecraft was furious that the editor truncated paragraphs and changed sentences without consulting him. Credit to S.T. Joshi editor of "The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft" for this information on the publishing history.

"At The Mountains of Madness" is a lengthy story complete with the sentence structure, phraseology and arcane word use that Lovecraft aficionados find endearing and casual readers can find nearly impenetrable. For example: "Through the desolate summits swept ranging, intermittent gusts of the terrible Antarctic wind, whose cadences sometimes held vague suggestions of a wild and half-sentient musical piping, with notes extending over a wide range, and which for some subconscious mnemonic reason seemed to me disquieting and even dimly terrible."
First time readers should seek out the previously mentioned "The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft" with it's 233 footnotes for this story alone! My third reading of this story was on a Kindle with it's very helpful built in dictionaries.

The other fascinating or frustrating aspect of this story is Lovecraft's extensive references to his other stories, favorite authors, and place names. The Antarctic Expedition is funded by Miskatonic University and wireless reports are published in the Arkham newspaper.... The sea party travels on the whalers Miskatonic and the Arkham. Numerous references are made to "The Necronomicon" by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred - "a monstrous book" at the college (Miskatonic) library that describes the "Elder Things" and the "Cthulhu Cult. Nightmare paintings by Clark Ashton Smith are based upon "The Necronomicon". It is what it is; new readers, if so inclined are invited to sign up for many of the on-line courses sponsored by Miskatonic University.

The actual story is deceptively straightforward. I will keep my summary very brief and avoid any spoilers. An advanced party from an Antarctic scientific expedition reports to the expedition leader unbelievable geological and zoology discoveries. Suddenly all radio communications cease. A rescue teams travels to the base camp only to find gruesome remains that defies any logical explanation. The leader and a companion decide to do a little exploration on their own and make a momentous discovery. Read more ›

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Established Fans Only April 24, 2011

By Gary F. Taylor HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a sickly child who early suffered from night terrors--a dream state in which the dreamer cannot awaken himself from a bad dream. Many scholars believe these night terrors gradually motivated him to write, and that he drew from them in the creation of his stories, many of which were published in well-known magazines of the day. But like his predecessor Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft found it impossible to support himself as a writer, and he gradually slipped into ever-deepening poverty. He died of a combination of cancer, Bright's disease, and (shockingly) malnutrition, unable to purchase food and unwilling to resort to charity.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS is one of Lovecraft's longer pieces, running approximately one hundred pages. It is the story of an expedition to the anarctic by a group of scientists who hope to take new core samples of ice and earth. In the process, a member of the group finds an odd fossil that leads him to push his party far from the home base. His discoveries continue, fascinating discoveries, strange and disturbing discoveries--and then the radio goes silent. At this point, narrator and geologist Dr. William Dyer and a graduate student named Danforth rush to the new encampment only to find absolute chaos and carnage, possibly caused by one of the men going unexpectedly mad, but also possibly caused by something the men unearthed in their exploration. As Dyer and Danforth continue to explore, they discover the ruins of a great city and, from carvings in the city, piece together a history of ancient alien invasion. They are unprepared for the possibility that any of these ancient aliens might still be alive and remarkably lethal, or that something even worse might exist on the other side of the mountain range....

Lovecraft was not what you might call a "natural born writer." His works are wordy and his construction painful. There is seldom much plot or character development, and it is rare to find much in the way of dialogue in any of his stories. He gives you page after page of narrative description. All the same, when at his best, Lovecraft could quickly lead you through a series of seemingly unrelated and increasingly uneasy images--and then, when you reach the final page, suddenly sucker punch you in a way that makes your blood run cold, as any reader of the infamous "Pickman's Model" can tell you. Trouble is, the format works extremely well in very short work but very poorly in long ones, with AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS a case in point. It is a famous work, but when Lovecraft is stretched to this length he becomes incredibly repetitive and often predictable. You can easily skip the first dozen pages and then read only every third paragraph until you get about two-thirds of the way into the work. When you reach the end you are so exhausted by Lovecraft's uphill style that the final punch is less likely to terrorize than cause a sigh of relief that the thing is finished and over.

If you are interested in Lovecraft, you would do much, much better to begin with his shorter works and push the handful of longer ones, perhaps best described by the word "novellas," to the back of the list. And that includes AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. I give this particular edition points for an excellent introduction and for its inclusion of Lovecraft's own essay on "weird fiction," a piece that is almost as long as the story itself. Even so, this one is pretty much for established fans only.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer Read more ›