Customer Reviews

The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft: Dreams of Terror and Death

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Azathoh, The Descendant, The Thing in the Moonlight, Polaris, Beyond the Wall of Sleep, The Doom That Came to Sarnath, The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Cats of Ulthar, Celephais, From Beyond, Nyarlathotep, The Nameless City, The Other Gods, Ex Oblivione, The Quest of I ranon, The Hound, Hypnos, What the Moon Brings, Pickman's Model, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Silver Key, The Strange High House in the Mist, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Dreams in the Witch-House, Through the Gates of the Silver Key.

Undoubtably one of my favorite authors' most mind blowing stories are compiled here. If you haven't experienced Lovecraft's genious you're really missing out. The imagination this man possessed was incomparable. He created alternate universes and forces, creatures and powers, an entire mythological cycle by the power of pure imagination. These stories will transport you to other worlds. The words will suck you in and leave you feeling like you've experienced an apocalypse rather than simply read a story.

Unfortunately some folks seem to think that it wasn't pure imagination that created such memorable texts. This fairly common myth was perpetuated by the "Simon" edition of the "Necronomicon" which borrows from Lovecraft and combines this with ancient sumerian mysticism. For some reason "Simon" made up an elaborate story about how Lovecraft had occult ties. Not true. He may have been inspired by ancient lore and beliefs and used that to spark his imagination, however the truth is that the Necronomicon, Cthulhu, the Mad Arab etc... are PURE FICTION. The product of an incredible imagination. Anyone who has really read Lovecraft will find nothing in common with his Al Azif and the hoax "Necronomicon" that you can find in any occult bookstore. Anyone who knows Sumerian mythology and mysticism will find little in common with this book as well.

Lovecraft possessed an imagination like no other. Just read "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" if you don't believe me. It's one of the most stimulating and mind bending works of surreal fantasy I've ever read. I dare you to find something that even comes close to being similar. Check it out.

I must admit I was really amazed when I read this book. My interest in Lovecraft began three years ago when an online player introduced me to the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Ever since I bought the book and played using his concepts, I was hooked. You don't have to be a roleplaying game fan to like Lovecraft, though a lot of what his stories talk about is easier to read if you have the benefit of some knowledge of Lovecraft's ideas.
Basically, the premise of his stories is that man is fortunate to be born ignorant, because if he knew the truth it would either destroy him or lead him into corruption and madness. As far as dark fantasy goes, good stories based on the Cthulhu Mythos (August Derleth's term for Lovecraft-inspired stories) rank among the best.
By far my favourite stories are "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" a surreal short novel of epic fantasy (a short epic? I never thought it possible!), "The Silver Key" a short story but intriguing nonetheless, and "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", which in my opinion is almost as good as the Dream-Quest. While it elaborates on the events after the Silver Key, it really isn't necessary to read one story to appreciate the other. Both stories are good enough to be read on their own.
What's been noted on Lovecraft's style is that he seldom produces dialogue and character development. While some of this is practiced in Through the Gates, it is largely true that Lovecraft's style is mostly poetic and not intended to be read like "normal" stories. I would also point out that Mythos tales after Lovecraft do not necessarily follow the strictly "poetic" style the author chose for his works. I'm told Ramsey Campbell does the Mythos particularly well, and he is an example of the more traditional horror novelist.
All in all, The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft is a selection of some of Lovecraft's greatest flights of imaginative fantasy. Very dark and chilling fantasy, but it has the "feel" of fantasy nonetheless.

This is a definite must-have for the serious Lovecraft collector, including the unparalleled 'The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath'. This novella, and many of the stories included in this volume, stray from straight horror, touching upon it almost tangentially. Most of the stories have an air of a fairy-tale, almost -- dreamlike.

This is the second Lovecraft collection I've read, the first being the Best Of collection Del Rey put out before this one, and this one is even better. Who knew that it was possible? Despite the bits of racism and other ugly ideas(which you forget about in the midst of his towering talent), he still put together the most amazing dark fiction ever produced. How could he lay down an even more fascinatingly thick atmosphere than the stuff in that first collection? Who knows, but it's beautiful. In addition, the stories all weave together, producing one of the most realized worlds in all of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror put together. I want to go past the Gate of Deeper Dreams! Just read this collection and sit in awe.

Of the 3 DelRey books (Best of, Dream Cycle, and Transition) this one is the best one. A truly frightening vision of a world in dreaming - the only created world that compares is Tolkien's. Whoever edited these stories together is a genius - don't read any of the stories out of sequence. The cumulative effect is like reading a strange novel into Lovecraft's mind. Terrific.

Del Ray Publishing have made themselves a life long enemy. This, and their other two Lovecraft collections ( Transition and Best of ) are the most poorly conceptualized and poorly edited anthologies currently on the market. I have no doubt Lovecraft would have gravely resented the stigma of "Dreams of Terror and Death" being tacked on to his dream cycle, in which terror and death take a far, far back seat to beauty and idealism. The cover art is puerile and innapropriate and the foreward insults your intelligence. Finally, the whole flow of the book just seemed really awkward and uncomfortable. Rather than explain what I mean by this, I recommend you read "Dagon and Other Macabre Tales", a highly superior anthology put out by the people at Arkham House, in my opinion the only publisher who has done justice to the Lovecraft name. Like "Terror and Death", it also details Lovecrafts dream cycle, but does it in a much more mature and intelligent manner, due to the thoughtful editing of S. T. Joshi, the worlds leading expert on Lovecraft's work. It also has a positively brilliant and very extensive foreword. "Dagon" is the third book of four in Arkham House's collected works of H.P. Lovecraft series. They are hardcover, and hard to come by, but can be found at amazon for a decent price. (The others are: Dunwich Horror & Others, Mountains Of Madness & Other Novels, & The Horror In the Museum.) Unlike Del Ray, who seem to be attempting to appeal towards adolescents, or fans of schlock horror with their anthology, the Arkham House books are most undoubtably directed towards grownups and readers with more discerning tastes. It's sad to see Lovecraft misrepresented by those who can't comprehend the true nature and value of his work, and who appreciate him for all the wrong reasons. I would rather have Lovecraft go unread than see someone be introduced to him through Del Ray's anthology.

These days i find myself sadly jaded. I pick up books, read partway through, and lose interest... either because the plot is too predictable (been there, read that, know what's going to happen) or because the writing is mediocre. I find that good writing is increasingly important to me as I get older.

So, a couple of years back when I picked up this collection in a bookstore and started to read, my happy little synapses started firing as they hadn't in quite a while. Lovecraft writes more hauntingly than most anyone; I mean this in the sense of conveying extraordinary images and a sense of fabulous unworldliness, in language that is so deliciously balanced, complex and graceful that it makes one slow down and read every word.

At times dark and macabre, at others lyrical and filled with magic, the stories here really do have the quality of dreams. One encounters lost or fabulous worlds, and intimations of age-old terror. I was instantly transported into Lovecraft's world, and return there periodically to lose myself in his magic, and to recall that once upon a time, people could use the English language to enchant.

Here is the opening to "Azathoth", the first brief story (which is unfinished). If you like this language and the rich concepts it conveys, I promise that you'll love the rest of the book:

"When age fell upon the world, and wonder went out of the minds of men; when grey cities reared to smoky skies tall towers grim and ugly, in whose shadow none might dream of the sun or of Spring's flowering meads; when learning stripped the Earth of her mantle of beauty and poets sang no more of twisted phantoms seen with bleared and inward looking eyes; when these things had come to pass, and childish hopes had gone forever, there was a man who traveled out of life on a quest into spaces whither the world's dreams had fled."

Sigh. Now THAT'S writing...

With a introduction by Neil Gaiman, this book deals with the stories of dreams and nightmares by Lovecraft. The book starts out with three fragments,'Azathoth', 'The Descendant', and 'The Thing in the Moonlight'. Then comes the stories - 'Polaris', 'Beyond the Wall of Sleep', 'The Doom That Came to Sarnath', 'The Statement of Randolph Carter'(a repeat character in some of his stories), 'The Cats of Ulthar'(he loved cats), 'Celephais', 'From Beyond', 'Nyarlathotep', 'The Nameless City', 'The Other Gods', 'Ex Oblivione', 'The Quest of Iranon', 'The Hound', 'Hypnos', 'What the Moon Brings', 'Pickman's Model', 'The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath'(a story you have to read - more of Carter and cats -a must for fans), 'The Silver Key'(more on Carter), 'The Strange High House in the Mist', 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward', 'The Dreams in the Witch-House'(seems to be in a lot of Lovecraft collections), 'Through the Gates of the Silver Key'(another Carter story). With over 387 pages worth of Lovecraft, used or new, this is a book worth the price.

While not the best Lovecraft collection, this one is well worth reading if only to get a serious case of the creeps. ("The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" will do it by itself.)

Centered around dreams, the stories in this collection can be hard to get through at times, but there is usually a tremendous pay off. If this is your first experience with Lovecraft, however, there are better places to begin, as this collection contains some early writings that just aren't up to snuff with is later material.

Lovecraft fans will have already read most of these stories, and newcomers may be put off by them, but for those who have experienced one or two tales before, this is a great way to become more familiar with the writer and his worlds.