Customer Reviews

Call of Cthulhu (Tales of Fear & the Unknown)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Edited by J. T. Joshi, "The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories" offers an excellent, even scholarly, introduction to the tales of H. P. Lovecraft. For those readers like myself who are relatively new to Lovecraft, this collection offers a nice broad brush look at some of his better know works. At the same time, the extensive commentary and foot-noting means that even long time fans should find something new in this collection.

For those entirely unfamiliar with Lovecraft, this collection serves the additional purpose of explaining why one should read this enigmatic author. Put simply, Lovecraft's merit lies as much in the ideas behind his stories as their actual execution. In fact there are many who argue (with some merit) that Lovecraft wasn't much of an author. He routinely uses far too many words to make his point, an error compounded by his tendency to repeat himself, and many of his plot lines border on self satire. Nonetheless, he is revered because he reshaped the face of modern horror/fantasy. He removes man from the focal point of all previous storytelling, and finds horror in our insignificance. He creates a mythology (perhaps best personified in Cthulhu) in which beings both vastly older and infinitely more powerful than humans have lived and fought over untold eons. It is their complete indifference and capriciousness the mankind that inspires horror.

At his best, Lovecraft captures this fear of the unknowable or unfathomable with an air of palpable menace. By arranging the stories found in this collection in chronological order, Joshi allows the reader to see Lovecraft's growth as a writer, something that makes the final five entries all the more impressive. "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Colour Out of Space", "The Whisperer in the Darkness", "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", and "The Haunter of the Dark" all beautifully capture the depth of Lovecraft's imagination. Hinting at things just beyond human ken, he taunts the reader with dark mysteries and an escalating level of paranoia in the seemingly mundane unknown.

Hence, the breadth of his imagination exceeds his limitations as a writer. Like any collection, especially one that covers a significant period of a writer's development, "The Call of Cthulhu" is a mixed bag. Nonetheless, more entries than not will have you glancing over your shoulder. Moreover, given Lovecraft's influence on authors like Stephen King, not to mention emerging talents like China Mieville, it is interesting to explore his tales and consider their long term impact. In many ways it is like listening to Muddy Waters in order to understand the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Finally, editor S. T. Joshi's fascinating notes help place both the author and his writings within a larger context.

Jake Mohlman

This was my first exposure to the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and I enjoyed it so much that half way through, I went out and bought another collection, THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES. Lovecraft's prose is creepy in a way that I really hadn't experienced from other so-called horror writers. A lot of the stories follow the same basic structure, but that didn't distract from the fact that these were some of the wildest and most chilling stories that I have read in a very long time.

I had heard a lot about the types of stories that Lovecraft wrote, but I wasn't really prepared for how creepy they would be. A lot of them really shouldn't be as shocking as they are, but somehow Lovecraft gets away with it. He likes to use a lot of frivolous language and has the tendency to take short cuts by saying that the various creatures and entities are too frightening, too complicated, or too alien for the human mind to comprehend. While I'm usually the first person to roll my eyes at this sort of literary cop-out, I was completely enthralled by its use here. Lovecraft's command of language is precise and effective. The monsters and Gods that he describes truly seem fearsome and unnerving.

The actual plots of these stories seem to be vaguely repetitive. Since this is the first collection of Lovecraft that I have read, I'm not sure if these is indicative of his work in general, but it is certainly apparent that many of these stories follow the same basic structure. I didn't really find this to be a problem though. There are enough major differences in the stories that they don't all seem to blend together, despite their commonalities. This was helped, no doubt, by the fact that I only read a few stories at a time, managing to absorb the book slowly over a longer period of time.

This edition is semi-annotated, though I'd advice against reading them if you've never encountered these stories before. They contain a lot of background detail, but also contain numerous spoilers. I found myself reading a story and then going back and safely reading the notes and references. Each story is also given a short write-up that gives a non-fictional account of the background. Interested readers can see what the circumstances were behind each of the writings, as well as their publishing history.

To be honest, it's difficult to review a short story collection. After all, there are eighteen different tales in this book, and the reviewer simply doesn't have enough space to discuss each one individually. The best that I can do is to state that while there were one or two stories that failed to grab, the vast majority of these were spellbinding and genuinely unsettling.

Since there are so many different Lovecraft collections out there, it may be useful to prospective buyers to know what's actually in this one:

[First, preliminary material by S. T. Joshi:] Introduction; Suggestions for Further Reading; A Note on the Text; [Hereupon stories by H. P. Lovecraft:] Dagon; The Statement of Randolph Carter; Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family; Celephais; Nyarlathotep; The Picture in the House; The Outsider; Herbert West--Reanimator [a collected magazine serial]; The Hound; The Rats in the Walls; The Festival; He; Cool Air; The Call of Cthulhu; The Colour Out of Space; The Whisperer in Darkness; The Shadow Over Innsmouth; The Haunter of the Dark; [By Joshi again:] Explanatory Notes

Unlike in THE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT and MORE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT, also edited and annotated (though in the latter case co-edited and co-annotated) by Joshi, the equally copious annotations here are collected at the back of the book (thereby being what are technically known as "endnotes") rather than placed at the bottom of story pages where they're referenced (known as "footnotes"). And also unlike the "ANNOTATED" volumes, THE CALL OF CTHULHU AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES lacks photographs that highlight the relationships between the subjects in the stories and the persons and places of Lovecraft's life; features smaller print, which makes it a bit harder to read but means more stories can be packed into the volume.

THE CALL OF CTHULHU AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES now has out a sequel, THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES, a similarly arranged collection of Lovecraft fiction with an introduction and endnotes by Joshi and put out by the same publisher, Penguin. Each of these Penguin volumes, as well as the two "ANNOTATED" volumes published by Dell, presents its selection of stories in the order they were written, a practical advantage when reading Lovecraft.

I don't think that there's a lot for me to add to what's been said already about the quality of Lovecraft's stories, except to agree with the assessment of Lovecraft as a stellar author of short horror fiction. The real question to ask about a collection of Lovecraft's work, though, is: what distinguishes it from all the other many Lovecraft collections out there? That is why I would give the Penguin collection 5 stars: the selection of stories is very good, arranged chronologically and covering the Lovecraft "hits," as well as some lesser-known earlier works. But what's most impressive about this anthology, as compared to others, is the superb annotation by S.T. Joshi, the premier Lovecraft scholar. There are ample footnotes to each of the stories, describing the backgrounds of the tales, discussing where Lovecraft got his ideas, pointing out thematic links, etc. These footnotes also provide insights into the life of Lovecraft himself, who apparently was not the weird recluse that one might initially suspect when reading his stories. In fact, Joshi includes many quotes from Lovecraft's correspondences, and some of these quotes are even very humorous (one quote deals with Lovecraft's description of his attempts to make a vocal recording in the style of Enrico Caruso, the famous singer). That's why this Penguin collection of stories is so good: you get many classic Lovecraft stories, along with Joshi's illuminating commentaries and annotation.

This was the first Lovecraft book I ever read. In keeping with Penguin's tradition of scholarly presentations of literary masterpieces, this volume begins with an essay by Joshi on Lovecraft's life and works. The stories themselves are fairly heavily laden with endnotes, which, while initially distracting, eventually lead the reader to discover richness in Lovecraft's work which would not be evident at first blush. Prominent among the annotations are explanations of geographical places and names which appear in the stories, together with allusions to works by other authors (most prominently Poe and Bierce) which echo Lovecraft's.

This book is highly recommended for anyone wishing a good first glimpse of the masterful mind of Lovecraft.

This book is an excellent introduction to H.P. Lovecraft. A sample of his classic tales in an affordable volume. Lovecraft is the finest writer of pulp horror and weird fiction. He can be a bit of a shock for readers whose only exposure to horror is Steven King. His tales are far more intellectual and psychological. This is aristocratic horror, who's protagonist is likely to be a professor of antiquities or a dilettante in search of anchient architecture. Forbiden tomes, such as the infamous Necronomicon, and ancient evil await these adventures. "The Rats in the Walls" has a man victimized by a family curse. His ancestral home goes deeper than he expected, with each sub-basement revealing an older period of architecture. What evil ground was this house built on? "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is a story of a small sea town with a history, and a population with a strange look and strange ways. Horrible things live beneath the surface of the waters. Horrible things live above. "The Call of Cthulhu"....well, you will just have to see what lies around that corner for yourself.

Well, I never thought I'd see the day when Lovecraft would be issued in a Penguin Classic edition. Neglected for years, sneered at by snobs and pop-psychoanalyzed to pieces by phonies, it seems that Lovecraft is finally coming in to his own. For years, all we had were the Arkham House editions - we all owe a debt to August Derleth for never letting Lovecraft go out of print, but these weren't exactly on the shelves of your local book store.

Lovecraft's influence reaches to this day - I can't imagine any of the "Alien" movies without Lovecrat's effect on H.R. Giger's conception. The "Blair Witch Project" could have been taken directly from a Lovecraft story (except for the language). Influenced himself by Poe, Lord Dunsany, Robert Chambers, and many others, Lovecraft managed to distill his own immediately identifiable style and capture the imaginations of generations of writers in the field. Long after Stephen King and Clive Barker have been relegated to the dustbin, readers AND writers will still find inspiration in the dark prose of the gentleman from Providence.

This collection is easily the best single volume available of Lovecraft's work, and a steal at this price. If you aren't familiar with the 20th Century's greatest writer of horror fiction, I can not urge you strongly enough to sample this book - I am certain that you will NOT regret it.

Reading a Lovecraft story today, it's hard to suppress the feeling that you've heard this one before. You probably have, of course - though in a different form and under a different name. While much of his work is plainly unoriginal (the ghosts of Poe and Lord Dunsany whisper a little too loudly in places), it's no overstatement to say his comparatively small corpus has informed most of twentieth-century horror. And though many have tried, no one has quite matched the overblown pitch of his macabre, lugubrious little melodramas, nor rivaled the gloriously monstrous adjectival orgy of his prose. More interesting, though, than his scenarios or style is the world view which inspired them. "Was I tottering on the brink of cosmic horrors beyond man's power to bear?" asks the narrator of 'The Call of Cthulhu' - a sentiment no doubt shared by many tired souls living through the godless pandemonium of the early twentieth century. While more serious writers like T. S. Eliot responded to the apparent end of civilization with a sparse modernism and renewed religiosity, Lovecraft embraced a "mechanistic materialism" which emphasizes man's ultimate cosmic insignificance. His monsters might not frighten you, but in tale after tale it's his philosophy that's chilling. Arranged in the order in which they were written - and supplemented by a solid Introduction, suggestions for further reading, and very detailed notes - S. T. Joshi's Penguin edition (like its companion, 'The Thing on the Doorstep') certainly overrates the quality of Lovecraft's work, but it's a useful volume for those wanting to taste Lovecraft's mad genius, witness its development, and learn something about the man and his place in history.

Its interesting reading those who critise HP for being a bit dull. In my most humble opinion, HP LOvecraft is a true horror writer. Horror is not, adopting HP's view of the world, a Freddy Kruger slashing to bits teenagers, or a world over run with zombies- the REAL horror is a wholly uncaring universe, with human efforts and endevours meaning absolutly nothing. The Cthulu mythos , as it is called, all flows from that basic concept- the universe, and the "great old ones" that populate parts of it, do not care for human endevour and that is enough to drive one mad. This philosophy is well reflected in the chilling opening lines of the "The call of cthulhu"- " "the most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents".

With that in mind this is an excellent introduction to HP. It contains a mix of his more serious and well known works " The Call of Cthuthlu" and " The rats in the walls", to some of the more obscure and self parodying works. This is not the full stretch by any imagination, but serves as an excellent intorsuction to a writer whose influence cannot be understated. There are some very short stories, plus the a selection of the longer ones in the canon.

Joshis intorduction, and footnotes while from time to time are distracting are scolerly and informative. All in all this is THE best introduction to HP.

Bear in mind that the Cthulhu mythos is not for all readers. If you are expecting more direct and blunt horror such as King, you will be disappointed. If you want thought provoking writing, that will get you thinking and linger with you after you turn off the lights you will not be disappointed at all.

Grade: A++

I found it interesting that most of the stories by H.P. Lovecraft (at least in this volume) seem to take place within the same strange world. It's almost like some reference each other without having the same characters reappear. Many of the creatures in his stories are either aliens from another world or demons.

I originally purchased this volume because of "The Colour Out of Space" which was used for the movie Die, Monster, Die starring Boris Karloff and Nick Adams. You also have "Herbert West - Reanimator" which was used for Re-Animator. Although I haven't seen it, judging from the DVD case, the movie Dagon is actually based on "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and not "Dagon." ("Innsmouth" has the Order of Dagon in it.)

Although there is a quote from Stephen King on the back, I didn't find these stories overly scary. They were enjoyable and interesting. "The Picture in the House" and "The Hound" are good horror stories.

His writing style took a little getting used to. Using words like "shew" struck me as a bit odd at first.

These are the only stories of his I've read, but I do feel he is a great writer.