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

by H.P. Lovecraft (Author), China Mieville (Introduction) "I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why..." (more)
Key Phrases: greenish soapstones, nameless scent, weird literature, Old Ones, New England, Count Magnus (more...)

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


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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

See all Editorial Reviews

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: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #297,928 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 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 (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

16 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Maddening Tale of Lovecraftian Cosmic Terror., July 8, 2005

By	New Age of Barbarism "zosimos" (EVROPA.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." - H. P. Lovecraft.

_At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition_ republished by The Modern Library Classics contains three principle parts: a short introduction to H. P. Lovecraft and the story by China Mieville, the story "At the Mountains of Madness" by H. P. Lovecraft, and Lovecraft's essay "Supernatural Horror in Fiction". H. P. Lovecraft was an eccentric writer of weird fiction whose bizarre horror stories continue to both fascinate and repel. Lovecraft himself was a man of contradictions, an avowed materialist and atheist who wrote on superstition, the occult, and the supernatural, an aristocratic ultra-conservative who eventually embraced socialism, a racialist and elitist who found other races, miscegenation, and immigrants abhorrent, yet who married a Jew, and an ardent follower of the theories of Friedrich Nietzsche and Oswald Spengler regarding "the decline of the West". As China Mieville notes in his introduction, his tale "At the Mountains of Madness" reveals many of these elements.

"At the Mountains of Madness" first published in 1931 is the tale of several scientific explorers who are visiting Antarctica. Lovecraft long harbored a fascination with this southernmost continent, and this tale reveals his scientific knowledge regarding geology, climatology, and paleontology. While exploring Antarctica, the scientists discover the remains of vaguely amphibious creatures which cause them to conjure up memories of various occult texts including the dread _Necronomicon_ and weird tales penned by authors such as Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft's good friend. The _Necronomicon_ by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazared is entirely an invention of Lovecraft's which first appeared in his tale "The Hound". The explorers also encounter the ruins of a lost civilization, where they find the remains of "the Old Ones". As China Mieville explains in his preface, Lovecraft reveals the influence of Spengler here, whose _Decline of the West_ showed how civilizations entered a stage of decline. While there, they also encounter certain monstrous penguin creatures and a slave race of shoggoths. Lovecraft who feared the rise of the masses regarded the shoggoths, a race of slave-like creatures of "the Old Ones" as the ultimate abomination. Lovecraft's paranoia of other races was particularly intense and led to his creation of stories of nihilistic cosmic horror. While many find this paranoia repulsive, few will disagree that it provides his stories with an edge that makes them unique in all of literature. This tale was obviously influenced by Edgar Allen Poe, who Lovecraft very much admired, whose _The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym_ also featured a mythicized southern pole and provided the maddening sound heard by the explorers "Tekeli-li".

"Supernatural Horror in Literature" is Lovecraft's essay outlining the history of supernatural and weird fiction and showing the influences on his own fiction and thought. I am particularly grateful that this essay was included in this edition, because it provides a fascinating overview of the literature which served as the primary inspiration for Lovecraft's own fiction. In this essay, Lovecraft who was an avowed materialist begins by explaining how fear and superstition play an important role in the life and history of man. He notes the primitive cults and religions which incorporated supernatural elements in their beliefs. Lovecraft next turns his attention to "The Dawn of the Horror-Tale". Here, he explains the various sources of the horror tale in folklore and magic as well as medieval literature. Next, Lovecraft writes of the development of these elements into "The Early Gothic Novel". Here, he mentions the novels of such famous Gothic writers as Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe whose stories provided the basis for Gothic novels. Lovecraft also writes of the apex and the aftermath of Gothic fiction, as the form developed and finally collapsed upon itself. Next, Lovecraft turns to "Spectral Literature on the Continent", where he outlines some of the European ghost stories. Lovecraft devotes a separate section on the master Edgar Allen Poe, whose fiction played such an important role in the formation of Lovecraft's own. According to Lovecraft, Poe was the fist to realize that a more objective view of the characters provided the horror tale with greater appeal. Lovecraft next turns his attention to "The Weird Tradition in America", noting the influence of writers such as Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The influence of the puritans in America and the witch trials that occurred in the colonial days provides much inspiration for the writings of weird tales, and in particular for Lovecraft's own stories. Lovecraft next turns his attention to "The Weird Tradition in the British Isles", where he notes the influence of Celtic folklore and the Irish ghost story. Finally, Lovecraft turns his attention to "The Modern Masters", these are the writers who influenced him to the greatest extent. The writers that Lovecraft includes in this category are Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, and Montague Rhodes James. William Hope Hodgson was also to have a great influence on Lovecraft, which he notes in his section on the British writers. This essay provides a fascinating look at the source of much of Lovecraft's fiction, the tradition of supernatural horror.

Lovecraft's weird tales continue to fascinate and disturb the modern reader. This book provides an excellent edition of one of those tales as well as an important essay of his which reveals the influences on his stories.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	djbrkns "djbrkns" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

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.