Necronomicon: The Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)

~ H. P. Lovecraft (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

WIKIPEDIA says: 'H.P. Lovecraft's reputation has grown tremendously over the decades, and he is now commonly regarded as one of the most important horror writers of the 20th century, exerting an influence that is widespread, though often indirect.' H.P. Lovecraft's tales of the tentacled Elder God Cthulhu and his pantheon of alien deities were initially written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s. These astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when they were first published. This handsome leatherbound tome collects together the very best of Lovecraft's tales of terror, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were originally published. It will introduce a whole new generation of readers to Lovecraft's fiction, as well as being a must-buy for those fans who want all his work in a single, definitive, highly attractive volume.

About the Author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) is probably the most important and influential author of supernatural fiction of the 20th century. A life-long resident of Providence, R.I., many of his tales are set in the fear-haunted towns of an imaginary area of Massachusetts, or in the cosmic vistas that exist beyond space and time. Since his untimely death, he has become acknowledged as a master of fantasy fiction, and a mainstream American writer second only to Edgar Allan Poe, while his relatively small body of work has influenced countless imitators and formed the basis of a world-wide industry of books, games and movies based on his concepts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 895 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz; Cmv edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575081562
• ISBN-13: 978-0575081567
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #100,552 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get the Library of America collection instead..., May 20, 2008

By	Jeremy Reaban "disco maven" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft (Gollancz SF) (Paperback)

I bought this book in the belief that it was a complete collection of HPL's works (or close to it). Instead it's pretty much just the major stuff found in most big collections, missing a few of my notable favorites (Arthur Jermyn, The Temple, He, The Festival, etc ) as well as missing a lot of the obscure stuff (The Evil Clergymen for instance, plus his really early stuff).

And please note that the description is wrong, it's not over a 1000 pages, it's only 880, including a 50 page essay on Lovecraft. While interesting, I wish that space had been used for some of his missing stories. It could be the regular UK version has more, but Amazon.com seems to be selling the shorter, "Export" edition.

It's got a few stories that the Library of America collection doesn't (but not that many), most notably more of the Dreamlands stuff. But you also don't have any annotations or notes like the Library of America collection. There are some illustrations

This is pretty cheap, but at the same time, it's not the best Lovecraft experience, nor complete. I was really hoping to get all his stories in one big book (as it had been billed in some quarters). But this was a complete waste of my money. The paper and binding is also very cheap.

Only if you are completely new to Lovecraft is it worth a look.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the greatest collection, but ok, June 26, 2008

By	ashburyniran (Champaign, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft (Gollancz SF) (Paperback)

When I pre-ordered this, I assumed it was the complete work of Lovecraft. I already had and loved Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft and The Dunwich Horror and Other Weird Tales and was looking for something more definitive. Unfortunately, as others say, it is not his complete work, but mostly well-known tales - and in no particular order or grouping.

The paperback binding does feel a little cheap, but nothing too horrible. I love the inclusion of the Miskatonic Quadrangle inside the cover and the drawings are stunning. It seems like the publishers poured all their money into the paper, type, and pictures (which are all great) - then remembered they needed covers.

A note on the pictures: Yes the pen-and-ink drawings are amazingly done, but some of them have absolutely nothing to do with the story they are grouped with. Repeated images are a little annoying as well.

If you're looking for a paperback collection of 37 of Lovecraft's most well-known stories, then this "Commemorative Edition" is worth it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tempting..., April 21, 2009

By	C. Sunryder "Taliesin" (Aurora, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft (Gollancz SF) (Paperback)

Being an owner of the Arkham House collection of his works (which is prolly the closest you'll ever have to all of his published works) I was skeptical of this tome. Most of the ones out there now select some of his better stories and leave others out. So while this one was a temptation, I decided to check it out before buying. Suffice to say, it doesn't come close to the Arkham House collection. So I decided to not buy it. So until a book or collection of books can match the works put out in the 4 volumes that AH puts out, I'll just have to wait. A nice illustrated volume would be fantastic! But, alas, such is life. So I would recommend checking out the Arkham House volumes (all 4). From what I can find, those 4 volumes contain all that Lovecraft published (including his letters, essays, fragments and very early works).