Customer Reviews

The Tomb and Other Tales

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In terms of readability or pure enjoyment, this title ranks low among the myriad Lovecraft titles. However, for the Lovecraft devotee, it offers enlightening insights into the author's writing. There is quite a hodge-podge of tales to be found in these pages. "The Tomb" is a fairly standard horror piece, "Imprisoned With the Pharoahs" is a story ghost written for Harry Houdini which I count among Lovecraft's lesser tales, "In the Walls of Eryx" is a compelling, uniquely Lovecraftian science fiction story set on Venus. "The Horror of Red Hook," while harkening to the types of unworldly themes Lovecraft came to be known for, is a somewhat dense story which I had unaccustomed trouble reading--largely, I feel, because it was written in the third person. "The Festival," "He," and "The Strange High House in the Mist" concern ancient rites and hints of unearthly terrors while also hinting at the dream worlds that Lovecraft so often contemplated; not surprisingly, I find these stories to be the best ones in this collection.

The really interesting parts of this book consist of a number of early tales and fragments. There are four stories Lovecraft wrote during his teens, and it is almost incredible to see the distinctive Lovecraft voice and style so well developed at such an early age. "Poetry and the Gods" and "The Street" are unusual and bear an ethereal air that did not find its way into his mature writings, while "The Beast in the Cave" and "The Alchemist" foreshadow the stories whose fame we now celebrate. The four story fragments are fascinating; though incomplete, they easily fit into a Lovecraftian world in that certain sometimes obscure references point to elements, characters, and themes developed more fully in other stories. One begins to see that all of Lovecraft's tales, Mythos and non-Mythos, share a mysterious thread or foundation. It is for this reason that I would not recommend reading this book without having read some of Lovecraft's better known stories. Certainly, those not yet fascinated by Lovecraft will reap small rewards from reading the fragments and early writings, and the other tales collected here are much less satisfying than those of the Cthulhu Mythos.

When I first tried reading this book in high school, I put it down after the third story. About four years later, I read it again - and loved it. You have to get into Lovecraft's style of writing - first-person perspective, typical gothic-horror themes. Once you do, you'll be immersed into the stories. They leave you with something many books don't - thoughts and memories of the stories. A good relaxing read for those who want to sit and immerse themself into a story.

I like the old Del Rey mass pb editions of Lovecraft, although they do not contain the Corrected Texts that S. T. Joshi edited for the newer Arkham House and Penguin Classics editions. The covers for the newer Ballentine Books editions are by the gifted artist Michael Whelan, and although some people don't like them much, I find them weird and effective with their muted shades touched, here and there, by diabolic crimson. The contents for THE TOMB are:
The Tomb
The Festival
Imprisoned with the Pharaohs
He
The Horror at Red Hook
The Strange High House in the Mist
In the Walls of Eryx
The Evil Clergyman
EARLY TALES
The Beast in the Cave
The Alchemist
Poetry and the Gods
The Street
The Transition of Juan Romero
FRAGMENTS
Azathoth
The Descendant
The Book
The Thing in the Moonlight

The last named title is no longer included in modern editions of Lovecraft's Works, as it is not a tale written by Lovecraft, but rather a portion of a letter in which he relates a dream. A gentleman published it in his fanzine shortly after Lovecraft's death and adding his own beginning and end so as to try and make it a complete short story. Disregarded as it is by modern editors, "The Thing in the Moonlight" is evocative of that which we call "Lovecraftian horror," and this wee fragment has inspired many other horror writers with its imagery. Most recently, an entire novel by Edward Lee, TROLLEY NO. 1852 (Bloodletting Press 2009) was based on the fragment, a novel that is wild and kinky yet authentically and deliciously Lovecraftian in every way. Brian Lumley completed the fragment, and his version (first published in the Arkham Collector) has been recently reprinted in the Lovecraft issue of DARK DISCOVERIES.

"The Festival" has long been one of my favorite Lovecraft tales. It was never professionally published during his lifetime and only found its way into the pages of WEIRD TALES after Lovecraft's death, when readers began to clamor for more unpublished H. P. Lovecraft. The tale is set in mist-enshrouded Kingsport, the imaginary town of HPL's invention that I like best (I have written many of my own tales set in Kingsport). Kingsport was inspired by Marblehead, Massachusetts -- and it is cool to read the story and then visit that ancient seaport town and climb the burying ground that is described so eerily in this tale. "The Strange High House inthe Mist" is also a tale of Kingsport (as is "The Terrible Old Man," not included in this book).

"The Evil Clergyman" was not written as a story during HPL's lifetime. As S. T. Joshi explains in his wee introduction to the tale in his Barnes & Noble edition of Lovecraft's fiction, "...this work is not a 'story' as such but an account of a dream, taken from a letter to Bernard Austin Dwyer. The date of the letter is not known, but it probably dates to the summer or fall of 1933; Lovecraft wrote to Clark Ashton Smith (October 22, 1933): 'Some months ago I had a dream of an evil clergyman in a garret full of forbidden books.' Lovecraft would probably have developed the idea beyond the relatively conventional supernaturalism here depicted. Dwyer submitted the story to WEIRD TALES shortly after Lovecraft's death, where it appeared in the April 1939 issue as 'The Wicked Clergyman'." The little story does pack a wonderful atmosphere of menace and mystery, and I am surprised that it has not influenced other writers as has "The Thing in the Moonlight." I shall be writing a longish weird tale inspir'd by it for one of my future books.

"He" is one of the tales that was inspired by Lovecraft's two years in New York. It is not oft commented on, perhaps because of its slightly racist nature. I have always enjoyed its sense of mystery and nightmare. Another New York story, "The Horror at Red Hook," is one of the most boring things that HPL ever wrote. Two of the tales herein are actually collaborations with other writers: "In the Walls of Eryx" is a science fiction tale written with Kenneth Sterling, and "Poetry and the Gods" was written with Anna Helen Crofts in 1920. Neither of these two tales is included in the Penguin Classics or Barnes & Noble editions of Lovecraft's works, and their appearance here makes this paperback a good source for really rare (and getting more rare) Lovecraft.

"The Book" is fascinating in that it is a retelling in prose of the three sonnets that open Lovecraft's sonnet cycle, "Fungi from Yuggoth." The first three poems of the cycle are connected in theme and story -- but then it seems Lovecraft grew weary of trying to tell an actual story in his sonnet cycle. The same lack of inspiration seems to have quelled his ability here, to write an actual short story inspired by his poems. "Azathoth" is a fragment of what was purported by Lovecraft to have been planned as a novel, and I find it fascinating. There is a theory that Lovecraft wrote the novel eventually and called it THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH.

None of the tales in this book overwhelm and impress as does the best fiction of H. P. Lovecraft, so this may not be the best book to begin with if you are reading HPL for the first time; but as an array of the kinds of fiction of which he was capable of writing, this is a solid and quite enjoyable edition. Highly recommended.

For years the name "Lovecraft" conjured up images in my mind of wading through "Shakespeare's Unknown Works" Although I love horror, I had for some reason always assumed that his works would be a tedious and difficult read. Finally I decided that I really needed to commit myself to attempting to read some Lovecraft. When I read the first of the short stories in this book "The Tomb" I was thrilled to find that it wasn't difficult to read, it was simply beautiful, lyrical writing in a style that we cannot recapture today. His descriptions are bold, vibrant, and well crafted, but easily read.

I had also been under the assumption that all Lovecraft included things with tentacles... again I was wrong, here we had tale after tale of creepy, eerie, mysterious happenings often told through the first person, that are never fully comprehended by the teller of the tales. Possible Vampires, probable witches, maybe ghosts... you are never sure... is the man telling you the tale mad and recounting the horrors of their deranged minds or have they truly stumbled upon ancient horrors so profound that they defy description.

This book contains no gore, just a creepy vibe and a level of uncertainty that sticks with you after you close the book. Lovecraft is a master of the English language, wielding it as a sword and picking at your doubts. Opening scabs of uncertainty... are there terrible books and beings from "before the age of man" that would summon up the most unholy and terrifying of visions?

I am told that this is NOT one of the stronger collections that you could buy (I read it first because Amazon shipped it first). At the end there are fragments of unfinished tales, and some of his earlier work which make for an interesting read. If you don't read this book, pick up something by Lovecraft so that you can see the true power of the written word. It's beauty and it's ability to evoke emotion.

I guess THE BEST OF H.P. LOVECRAFT spoiled me. When I got to this book, I found the stories not near as frightening or appealing. There are some fragments in this book, though, and the most important thing is that they ARE fragments. No pastiche authors here, thank you. Then there's a part of the book showing off some of HPL's earlier work. It's interesting to compare his earlier work with his later work, to see how he matured as a writer. By the way, did you know that HPL ghost-wrote a story for HARRY HOUDINI? I didn't either, until I read this book. I give this book 3 stars because I feel that only books that are TRULY OUTSTANDING deserve 4 or 5 stars. Only books that are absolutely terrible and have no merit deserve 1 or 2. So I give this book a conservative 3 stars.

This book offers a perfect way to introduce someone to the works of Lovecraft. The tales within offer chills in a way only Lovecraft could do. Ordinary people thrust into the heart of madness. The pace of the stories builds nicely, often erupting into a frightening climax. Be sure to check out "The Strange High House In The Mist" and "The Evil Clergyman". There are also some early work and fragments here for your reading pleasure

This is a strange and eerie book. The ideas are quite creative. It's believable because of the regular events the characters go through. Recently, I read up on H.P. Lovecraft, and it was no surprise that I found the following: at a very young age, both his parents died, and in his 40s he went mentally insane. If you like Stephen King, you'll love this boo

If u have not heard of Lovecraft, then i highly recommend that you purchase atleast one Lovecraft book NOW. The man was a genius and it is a shame that he died at such a young age. This book, or At The Mountains of Madness is a good place to start. This next comment is directed towards the first review of this book: At no point in Lovecraft's life was he mentally insane. He probably was eccentric but certainly not insane.

Three words can describe this book: tongue in cheek. One of the best written works of horror fiction that any author can ever write about! Only Lovecraft fully knows the potential of using the occult in the work of fiction! This book is a must along with the other books that Ballantine has compiled for Lovecraft! It is also a must for those interested in using Lovecraft's fiction for their rituals, too! I suggest all Masonic Temple of Satan and Order of the Horned Goat members to read up on this.