Rating: 
Summary: Excellent stuff, but not scary
Review:
I have to say this, Lovecraft is not really "scary". Only "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" got me a little tense, to be honest. But I don't read Lovecraft for "horror", it's much more interesting than that alone. I would compare him to Poe, who wasn't "scary" either, mostly, but again that's not the only point. I think this is something important to be said because I read a lot of things about Lovecraft being the "master of horror and dreadful tales", well I don't know... I was never chilled to the bones or anything while reading his tales, which I love don't get me wrong. I guess to me this is almost more like funny things, you know? I mean, once you are used to Lovecraft's wordiness and his gimmicks you feel at home in any of his stories, and it's really enjoyable. But "scare" is probably not something you will find as much as you expected. Yet, this is still dark stuff; when I say it is not "scary" I mean it in the sense that you probably won't be prevented from sleeping at night after you read this book. I have never read a Poe story that kept me from sleeping at night either, and I still liked them a lot. The Grapes of Wrath does not keep me from sleeping at night but it's still a great book! Got the point? That's all I mean. This being said I love reading Lovecraft, I love the mood of his works and the mythology (or antimythology) he created in his tales, Cthulhu and the rest of them.
I'd take a Lovecraft anytime over a Hemingway for instance. The synthesis of my review is: don't have too high expectations of the fear you may get from this book (which doesn't mean you won't be scared either). Nevertheless this is a great book and I was not at all disappointed when I read it. If you like Poe you are going to like this.
There's more to Lovecraft than a squid-headed dragon...
Rating: 
Summary: Between Poe and Wells
Review: A fine collection of Lovecraft's short work, especially for those not yet familiar with the mythos. Stylistically Lovecraft is somewhere between Poe and Wells, though thematically a bit beyond both. As some other reviewers here have mentioned, the structure gets a bit repetitive and predictable: fearsome creature is rumored, fearsome creature is investigated, fearsome creature is witnessed. End of story. Still, the basic idea, of an ancient earthly or alien intelligence so vast and complex that mankind is utterly irrelevant, is a fascinating one. A bit dated now as are all science fiction writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but a good read nonetheless. The editor is a bit intrusive, as has also been mentioned in other reviews here.
Rating:
Summary: It has its moments...
Review: But "weird" really does describe most of these stories. I remember liking these a lot more when I was younger. The mental image of the fish god arising from the bog doesn't really hold up over the years.
Rating:
Summary: These are the HPLs you want
Review: Even if you already have the Del Rey paperbacks, you may well want these. Joshi's endnotes give both the chronology and date of first appearance of each story, and more importantly, discuss many of Lovecraft's sources and influences. These contain many pleasant and informative surprises. Lovecraft's wide range of interests in science and contemporary literature comes as something of a surprise to those who were brought up believing he was some kind of solitary and isolated genious.The notes and introduction are also illustrative. Joshi makes the intriguing point that the "Cthulhu mythos" is in fact a sort of anti-mythology; while the world's religious myths seek to justify the ways of god(s) to man, the Cthulhu mythos proposes instead that they should stay as far away from one another as they can, and suggest that the powers that rule the universe are utterly alien and hostile or indifferent. The faithful of Lovecraft's mythos seem predestined by a sort of perverse grace to seek knowledge they ought not seek. When they at last know, it destroys them. This note --- the quintessentially Lovecraftian note --- is perhaps the key to Lovecraft's significance and continuing popularity. On the one hand, it links Lovecraft to the New England Puritan heritage of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Cotton Mather that runs so strongly through his tales. On the other hand, it ties him to the broader themes of contemporary U.S. popular culture, the -X-Files-, -The Matrix-, and dozens of similar productions. HPL deserves more credit than he is usually given for these things.
Rating:
Summary: Ia! Ia! Cthulhu ftagn! Long live Cthulhu!
Review: Finally, Howard Phillips Lovecraft seems to be getting some due from the straight literary world. First it was that long Joyce Carol Oates essay in the NY Review of Books, than it was the "Annotated Lovecraft" updates from Ballantine/Del Rey, and now Penguin Classics has seen fit to bestow the mainstream American reading public with this quality paperback. Wow, I can't imagine what readers of Virginia Woolf, Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck and T.S. Eliot will do when confronted with the likes of Yog Sothoth, the Goat with a Thousand Young, The Great Old Ones and that nasty ol' Cthulhu.... Seriously: this stuff is incomparable. Lovecraft's creation of the Cthulhu Mythos (or, as he called it, "Yog-Sothothory") heralded a new age in supernatural fiction. So vivid, so cosmic, so vast and imaginative, it is the equal of Middle Earth, of Oz or Wonderland. HPL's view of humanity and the cosmos is deeply, darkly existential, almost nihilistic, and he used symbolic structures of his neuroses to portray that view. As for the stories themselves, the cornerstones are "The Call of Cthulhu" (1926)and "The Color Out of Space" (1927); they will still be read a hundred years from now for their controlled atmosphere of cosmic dread and awe. His skill at evoking a slowly dawning sense of terror is unparalleled in these tales. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1931)--not too shabbily adapted in a 2002 film as "Dagon"--and "The Shadow Out of Time" (1934) rank next, later stories that are a bit wordy but still powerful, unsettling, and unforgettable. Man's place in the cosmos is revealed as paltry and incosequential; his physical being rendered as mutated and degraded. Space and time become meaningless. These latter two stories contain my favorite climaxes; the chill will remain with you for ages. Others in this collection include "Rats in the Walls," "The Outsider" and "The Hound." The latter two reveal his penchant for evoking Poe all too derivatively (although the erstwhile Poppy Z. Brite wrote a reverent Goth-punk update of "The Hound," "And His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood"); the former is one of his best early works. H.P. Lovecraft forced horror and supernatural fiction out of its old world infancy of vampires, ghosts, and devils and into the adult, modern world of a cold, uncaring, nearly malicious universe that we can scarcely comprehend. While Lovecraft's prose at times leaves much to be desired, the power of his imaginings is unique and convincing. This collection belongs on the bookshelf of serious readers everywhere. S.T. Joshi is a marvelous editor and biographer of Lovecraft, and his efforts should not go unheeded. Kudos to Penguin for finally adding H.P. Lovecraft to their catalog of Twentieth Century Classics.
Rating: 
Summary: Influential in all aspects
Review: Great master pieces of horror and suspense, although they are often predictable. Anyone who enjoys Edgar Allan Poe or modern writers such as stephen king would love every minute of this book. Tales of hybrids and "The Great Old Ones" and the Cthulhu whose name must not be written by mere mortals. The author's influnece can be seen beyond other authors. The Metallica instumental "The Call of Ktulu" is named after this book. Another Metallica song, "The Thing That Should Not Be" is simply "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" turned into a song.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Horror Fiction
Review: H.P. Lovecraft is without a doubt one of the best fiction writers of the 20th century. It's no surprise his writing techniques and stories still enthrall people today. The world he creates in his short stories and novels have often been revisted by various modern writers, but nobody has been able to top Lovecraft when it comes to cosmic terrors. The most famous story in this volume is, of course, "Call of Cthulhu", in which one of the central entities of Lovecraft's stories appears: Great Cthulhu. As with many of Lovecraft's tales, the story focuses on the main character gaining forbidden and unblieveable knowledge of prehuman intellegences that once roamed the Earth. Some came from other dimensions, others from the stars. These "Old Ones" are chronicled in forbidden texts handed down by hideous cults who worship them like gods. The world in which Lovecraft places human beings is not a pleasant one. He basically paints a rather frightening picture; human beings live on a planet surrounded by gulfs of unknown monstrosities and extraterrestrial forces. By contrast, some of Lovecraft's other tales, such as "Pickman's Model" and "The Hound" have a more basic, creeping fear feel rather than cosmic terror. "The Whisperer in Darkness" and "At the Mountains of Madness" combine both themes, resulting in stories that both intrege and frighten readers. Lovecraft's ability to decribe the emotions of his characters and the world in which they live adds the final gruesome touch. Like Poe, Lovecraft has a nack for portraying the emotions of his characters, and in these stories fear is the emotion that receives the most attention. Another aspect of these stories that I really enjoy is Lovecraft's ability to weave myths into his tales. He ficticously explains everything from Robert Blake's death, the Tuscan Event, witchcraft and ancient mythology as man's racial knowledge of various weird entities they could not understand.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent collection of Lovecraft's works
Review: I don't think that there's a lot for me to add to what's been said already about the quality of Lovecraft's stories, except to agree with the assessment of Lovecraft as a stellar author of short horror fiction. The real question to ask about a collection of Lovecraft's work, though, is: what distinguishes it from all the other many Lovecraft collections out there? That is why I would give the Penguin collection 5 stars: the selection of stories is very good, arranged chronologically and covering the Lovecraft "hits," as well as some lesser-known earlier works. But what's most impressive about this anthology, as compared to others, is the superb annotation by S.T. Joshi, the premier Lovecraft scholar. There are ample footnotes to each of the stories, describing the backgrounds of the tales, discussing where Lovecraft got his ideas, pointing out thematic links, etc. These footnotes also provide insights into the life of Lovecraft himself, who apparently was not the weird recluse that one might initially suspect when reading his stories. In fact, Joshi includes many quotes from Lovecraft's correspondences, and some of these quotes are even very humorous (one quote deals with Lovecraft's description of his attempts to make a vocal recording in the style of Enrico Caruso, the famous singer). That's why this Penguin collection of stories is so good: you get many classic Lovecraft stories, along with Joshi's illuminating commentaries and annotation.
Rating:
Summary: The Call of Cthulhu during World War II
Review: I first read the "Call of Cthulhu" during WW2. The Services distributed "pass-it-along" editions of many classic novels and the "Call" was one. It was so exciting, I kept my copy and took it home. Dog-eared after so may readers, my kids soon found and read it 15 years latter. Now, this yellowed and torn copy has been replaced by this new Penquin edition. Lovecraft's style is odd and sometimes overdone. He never wrote about romance and very little about science fiction. Modern Cthulhu mythos novels, like "The Riddle of Cthulhu", correct all these faults and are cool next books, after the "Call"!
Rating:
Summary: The Call of Cthulhu during World War II
Review: I first read the "Call of Cthulhu" during WW2. The Services distributed "pass-it-along" editions of many classic novels and the "Call" was one. It was so exciting, I kept my copy and took it home. Dog-eared after so may readers, my kids soon found and read it 15 years latter. Now, this yellowed and torn copy has been replaced by this new Penquin edition. Lovecraft's style is odd and sometimes overdone. He never wrote about romance and very little about science fiction. Modern Cthulhu mythos novels, like "The Riddle of Cthulhu", correct all these faults and are cool next books, after the "Call"!
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