58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice edition, but nothing particularly new, June 17, 2005
This review is from: At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)
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
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And 5 stars for Mieville's introduction, February 22, 2006
This review is from: At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition (Modern Library Classics) (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.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Conceptually compelling, in execution less so, June 24, 2006
This review is from: At the Mountains of Madness: The Definitive Edition (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)
The prime flaw of most genre fiction is that its prose execution never matches the vitality of the conceptual core. And so it is with Lovecraft's fiction, and in particular with this novella, which first saw the light of day in a chopped up version in the sf pulp magazine Astounding. The images and ideas lie there with seductive power: ice blowing through the Antarctic abyss, ominous mountains towering above, a derelict and seemingly abandoned city of unbelievable age, and bewildered men wandering through this maze with emotions that flicker among disgust, fascination, and dread. But it never quite works as it should, given Lovecraft's penchant for repetition, tortuous locution, and narrative hemming and hawing. Early on, the reader has a good guess as to how matters really sit, and in the meantime must bear with the author's endless recounting of yet another chamber with still more bas-reliefs that somehow allow the characters to draw ever more incredibly detailed conclusions about the history of the alien Old Ones, even to the point of deciding that their starry heads bore socialist ideals. And yet there is no denying the compelling nature of HPL's imagination. If only he had been more attuned to the modernist prose of his own century rather than the measured, somewhat musty forms of previous ones. Worth reading, but as others may have noted, from the Library of America collection, which is the best one volume assembly of Lovecraftian works, if one is going to stop at owning just one book by the old gentleman.
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