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The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre

The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre

List Price: $13.95
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must for Lovecraft fans.
Review: With an introduction by Robert Bloch this book of 406 pages is a must for fans. Ths stories include 'The Rats in the Walls', 'The Picture in the House', 'The Outsider', 'Pickman's Model', 'In the Vault', 'The Silver Key', 'The Music of Erich Zann', 'The Call of Cthulhu'(a real must for any fan), 'The Dunwich Horror', 'The Whisperer in Darkness'(another must), 'The Color Out of Space', 'The Haunter of the Dark', 'The Thing on the Doorstep', 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'(a must), 'The Dreams in the Witch-House' and 'The Shadow Out of Time'(another must)! With that much in one book, new or used, it's a bargain.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Quintessential Lovecraft
Review: If you're looking for the quintessential Lovecraft reader, this is it. The only major story of the author's ouevre not present is "At the Mountains of Madness," which can be found in many other collections.

Excepting that classic, here are all the rest of the author's best: "The Call of Cthulhu," the inaugural piece of Lovecraft's famous Mythos of the same name, in which artists and psychics around the world suffer precognitions of the apocalypse heralded by the revival of a long-sleeping ancient god; "The Dunwich Horror" - probably one of the most famous supernatural stories in literature - about the deformed, demon-born Wilbur Whateley, and his hellspawn invisible not-quite-twin brother; "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," one of the most influential horror tales ever written (though the author himself strangely didn't think much of it), which depicts an isolated decaying seaside town devolving - or are they "evolving"? - into fish-creatures reminiscent of the ancient undersea demon they worship; "The Colour Out Of Space," an extraterrestrial influence mutating the flora and fauna of Arkham, Massachusetts, into "something other"; "The Haunter of the Dark," a sky-demon summoned by followers who couldn't control it, bringing a baleful influence down upon a cursed church and the town surrounding it; "The Whisperer In Darkness," a clandestine invader from the outer reaches of the solar system which besieges and terrorizes a brilliant scientist on the outskirts of civilization; and "The Shadow Out Of Time," Lovecraft's sci-fi classic about a man who finds himself time-sharing his own body with the time-traveling mind of an ancient extraterrestrial who imparts cosmic wisdom...and terrors.

Making this particular collection all the more commendable is the inclusion of almost all of Lovecraft's best short-shorts (minus only "From Beyond"): "The Rats In the Walls," "The Music of Erich Zann," "The Dreams In the Witch House," "The Outsider" and "Pickman's Model."

This is the best single collection of Lovecraft available. Don't miss out.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: father of modern horror
Review: after a friend told me about this writer i thought i would pick up a book and see what what i thought about it.the book is better than any modern horror story ive ever chosen to read.the book as you may or may not know is compiled of short stories writen by Mr. lovecraft.i am now currently almost done with the book,i am on the short story called thing at the doorstep.stand out stories so far are rats in the walls,picmans model,call of cthulu,(excuse my spelling)and many others that i can not think of.in short if your looking for a good read that makes you think than check out this and other stories by mr. lovecraft.
nate

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yikes! Keep the lights on!
Review: Lovecraft had talent; I'll give him that. And not a little bit of talent. A lot. Few writers have the ability to make you want to sleep with the lights on. I'm not exactly sure how to describe his writing. Half horror, half science-fiction, maybe. And wholly creepy. He had the ability to draw you into his world and not only make it real, but vivid. "The Rats in the Wall"..."The Colour Out of Space"...yee! How can someone write such a long story about a metorite, of all things, and scare the heck out of you? But Lovecraft did it. In it own way he's just as powerful and influential as Poe. Had he not died at such an early age, who knows what he would have produced.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Master
Review: H.P. Lovecraft is undoubtedly the penultimate master of horror fiction. It is difficult to imagine what the field of horror would have been like without his influence, as almost every writer working in the field today is influenced (even if only indirectly) by his writing. This book collects sixteen of HPL's most well-known stories. My favorites are "The Dunwich Horror", "The Haunter of the Dark", and "The Shadow out of Time", but all of the stories included in this volume are very scary and effective. For those who are unfamiliar with his style, HPL writes very atmospheric, descriptive horror mostly concerned with the mysterious, unknowable forces of the universe that operate outside of man's experience. However, if you have never read any of his work, keep in mind that HPL wrote in the early part of the twentieth century, so don't expect the most fast-paced of reads. In closing, an absolute classic. No horror fan should be without this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: VERY SCARY
Review: The book is called Bloodcurdling Tales Of horror and the Macabre. I love the way he put all his science fiction/horror stories together. I thought that it was a good book, but the words were pretty hard to read for a high school student. I thought that these stories were very scary. I got chills when I read "Rats in the walls". I thought that it was a very good story because it stimulated my imagination. I wouldn't recommend this book to parents or young children. For one who loves horror, that feeling of creepiness will really like his book. I would recommend this book to anybody who loves to read horror or whoever likes. I would not recommend this for a bedtime story at all. This book is the scariest that I have ever read. READ THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE HORROR and ACTION! The settings were cool once you picture them. H.P. Lovecraft writes in old-fashioned style. I liked the story "The Picture On The Wall". The last story "The Shadow Out Of Time" was a good story for the end of the book, because it makes you want to read more H.P. Lovecraft stories. The worst part of this book is when they are describing the moments when the narrator feels all these fears he has when he encounters a person or thing! The author doesn't name his character all he does is say how they look. The best part of it all is when he gives you all the details of the stories.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's scary how good it is.
Review: HP Lovecraft is a pure and simple master. He describes of fears we can't even define but feel exist. He exploits of weakness with a word's strength. His tales of horror are magnificently crafted and intelligently thought out. And this book showcases some of his best work. There really is only one way to describe this book...and that is for you to read it for yourself. My personal favorites are "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Rats in the Wall". This is a must buy if you love horror novels. Enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The quintessential Lovecraft collection
Review: This is basically the essential Lovecraft collection, featuring 16 of his best pieces of fiction and a noteworthy introduction by Robert Bloch, a member of the Lovecraft circle.. Naturally, one can make an argument for other tales that should be included, but the contents as they are represent a compelling cross-section of the master's work over the course of his literary career. It must be noted that Lovecraft's three short novels, which are of course immensely important, are not among these shorter works, but their inclusion in these pages would result in a much longer book that could potentially turn away potential readers. This book more than any other serves as a beacon to new readers yet to discover horror's greatest writer.

Every story herein deserves it own review, frankly. "The Rats in the Walls," "The Dreams in the Witch-House," and "In the Vault" (one of my favorites) offer traditional horror tales full of Lovecraftian atmosphere. "The Outsider," perhaps the least satisfying read, is an allegorical tale reflecting an isolated individual's view of society and of himself. "The Silver Key" is a solid representative of the dream-myth stories of the author's earlier years and serves as an introduction to Lovecraft's heroic character Randolph Carter. "The Colour Out of Space" is a singular, science fiction/horror tale counted by Lovecraft himself as one of his favorites. "The Picture in the House" is perhaps Lovecraft's most efficiently horrifying story ever, "The Music of Erich Zann" is an unforgettable tale touching on the great secrets of the unknown, and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" sensationally evokes the horror and depths of influence by unseen agents on this earth. These stories effectively set the stage for the Cthulhu Mythos tales, of which the remaining stories form an integral part. "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Dunwich Horror" herald the full manifestation of Lovecraft's cosmic horror and describe the ambivalent agency of incomprehensible outside forces on mankind. "The Haunter of the Dark" and "The Thing on the Doorstep" highlight even more mysterious access points of the unknown into man's consciousness. I must give special attention to my two favorite Lovecraft tales: "The Whisperer in Darkness" and "The Shadow Out of Time." Much of the action detailed in the first of these stories is related to the reader by way of letters exchanged between an isolated scholar in the hills of Vermont and the narrator, an expert in folk tales who is compelled to believe the ancient stories of alien influences he once preached against. We see no action first-hand until the latter pages, when the protagonist finally visits his correspondent in Vermont and is presented with facts and examples proving the reality of advanced alien life forms; the evolving conclusion of the tale is perhaps predictable to a degree but the final revelation remains quite effective nonethless. I consider "The Shadow Out of Time," written very near the end of Lovecraft's too short life, to be his masterpiece, and it does effectively tie together many of the themes of cosmic horror and alien influence he devoted so much of his time to. A learned man loses almost five years of his life to amnesia, during which time a wholly secondary personality controls his body and masquerades as his old self. After he returns to his body, he continually dreams of a strange world in which he is a "monster" setting forth a record of earth's history. When he discovers a buried megalithic structure underneath the Australian desert corresponding exactly with his dream-images, he is faced with the realization that he underwent a transfer of consciousness with a Great Race of beings who garnered knowledge of space, time, and the universe eons before man's forebears crawled out of the earth's hot oceans.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Purely classic
Review: Normally I don't read this type of book, but being a big fan of the "Alone in the Dark" series of computer games, I had to read it. It is spooky in a way that today's books aren't. He writes using very old-fashioned language that really give a distinct feel to his works, which are all set in the late 19th century. He can describe the worlds of his stories in a way that makes you feel like you are there. His stories have a feel all their own in a style you won't find in any of today's books.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: How to make a genre
Review: H.P. Lovecraft made up his own category of sci-fi/horror, and people should read this book to see how his influence has filtered down into modern sci-fi and horror writing. I agree that Lovewcraft was not the best person at putting words together (italicized enings and whatnot), but his ideas are solid and original.


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