Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent collection of Lovecraft's works, February 6, 2004
This review is from: Waking Up Screaming: Haunting Tales of Terror (Mass Market Paperback)
H.P. Lovecraft is an underappreciated horror writer. Though flawed in many ways, such as his habit of finding a handful of unusual adjectives and using them over and over and over again, he was an incredible storyteller. He created an entire universe of wonder and at the same time mind-blowing fear which became known as the Cthulhu Mythos, named for the behemoth god-like entity which has become iconic of his works. That said, there are a lot of great stories here to showcase Lovecraft's talent. Cool Air is a particularly creepy story inspired by the fledgling science of cryogenics which was first talked about in the early 20th century. From this first story, the reader is introduced to one of Lovecraft's signature techniques: using the last line of the story as the climax. Though he did not use it in every story, it proved devastatingly effective in so many of his works such as The Lurking Fear and Pickman's Model. Herbert West- Reanimator gave me chills the first time I read it. It really is quite a brilliant story, taking the concepts in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and putting a darker, more horrible bite to them. Written in chapters, each one but the last uses the previously stated technique. And each one is more bone-chilling than the last. The Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of the few stories in this book that officially contributes to the Cthulhu Mythos itself, has a few low points, but is overall a very creepy story with an ending that never ceases to entertain no matter how many times I read it. This is one of the stories I highly recommend to those new to Lovecraft and the Mythos, as it gives one a very good idea of what goes on in this universe of horrors beyond the stars. Lovecraft also wrote extensively of a world of dreams where the journeys of the mind were made manifest in a land so strange and exotic, it would be impossible to describe it all. The book includes several such stories such as Beyond the Wall of Sleep which introduces the reader to this dreamland. Sadly, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kaddath is not in here. Though a fairly long story, it was one of the best. I can understand it being left out for the sake of brevity however. The same with At the Mountains of Madness. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is one of the best stories Lovecraft ever wrote in my opinion. I won't give anything away, suffice to say that it really showcases how well he could bring out the darkest depths of your fears. In Lovecraft's stories, there really are things that man was not meant to know. Anyway, there are a few low points to the book. Dagon, though a nice little story, wasn't really one of Lovecraft's best. Something just seemed to be missing. The Terrible Old Man is a similar case. Though creepy, it's not up to the writer's usual standards. I do have to say I'm a little irritated with the back cover. It totally gives away the plots and major dramatic points of several stories! The Lurking Fear is supposed to have a shocking ending when you realize where the monsters came from, but the cover just tells you right there! What fun is that? It does the same for The Terrible Old Man and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. Overall, this is a four-and-a-half star book. Though it showcases a lot of Lovecraft's finer works, there are a few stories that could have been cut to make room for better ones such as Pickman's Model and The Colour Out of Space. I still highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of classic horror literature.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Smallest Gems..., January 7, 2003
This review is from: Waking Up Screaming: Haunting Tales of Terror (Mass Market Paperback)
...oft shine the brightest. This is a gorgeous selection of H. P. Lovecraft's most often ignored gems, his short-short stories. His sole novel (albeit a short one), "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" - and one of his better long classics, The Shadow Over Innsmouth - are also included, along with some of the less frequently anthologized straight horror pieces of the author's body of work, such as "The Lurking Fear." But it's the inclusion of the horror master's best short-shorts that makes this collection really shine, never seen together under a single cover. "The Hound" - perhaps the first of the famous Cthulhu Mythos, as the original story to feature the dreaded Necronomicon - finds a pair of foolhardy occult collectors using the black magic tome to track down and grave-rob a buried occult amulet, with disastrous results. "The Outsider" is the unforgettable tale of an imprisoned man coming to a soul-shattering self discovery. "The Unnamable" is what two idle philosophers, discussing the formless nature of fear, find themselves unexpectedly confronting in the flesh. "Herbert West: Reanimator" concocts a serum which reanimates dead flesh, only to have it start tracking him down. And a terrified refugee from a vanished scientist's house relates the man's horrible fate due to creatures "From Beyond." This is an excellent companion volume to Del Rey's "The Best of H. P. Lovecraft," essentially containing the complementary balance of stories missing from that collection. It's also a great Lovecraft primer - anyone unfamiliar with the author's work couldn't ask for a better first exposure to it. A very handsome and compact volume, Waking Up Screaming is sure to be a welcome addition to any collector of Lovecraftiana. Beware - for "That is not dead, which can eternal lie / And with strange aeons, even death may die..."
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accessible Lovecraft Anthology, April 27, 2008
This review is from: Waking Up Screaming: Haunting Tales of Terror (Mass Market Paperback)
There may be better collections of Lovecraft's work out there, but this is one of the most accessible anthologies on the market today. Almost none of the stories have anything to do with the otherworldly mythology Lovecraft created, but all of them are examples of the eerie style that originated with the author. Many of the stories are short, and some of them are throwaways. Few of them reference Miskatonic University, the fictitious academy that is at the center of Lovecraft's best-known works. But there are some true gems here. Among them are:
Herbert West - Reanimator: in which many aspects of the "Frankenstein" novel are reinterpreted in an even more sinister light.
The Outsider: in which Lovecraft explores an almost Edgar Allen Poe-like pathos.
Shadow Over Innsmouth: containing enough paranoia to keep any conspiracy theorist happy.
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward: containing a meticulously researched colonial-era backstory, and one of Lovecraft's best fleshed-out doomed heroes.
As horror writers go, Lovecraft never really jolts you while the book is open. But his stories have an insidious way of working their way into your imagination and inspiring nightmares. They possess a consistent, unnerving and disturbing worldview that's impossible to forget. Many thanks to Del Rey for keeping this author available in readily affordable paperback editions!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
