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Rating: 
Summary: the case is the best
Review: at the mountain of madness is a story about an expedition to the arctic, finding knowledge that will destroy their view on the world. unfortunately, that's it. i want more. just finding things out in such a manner, didn't give me the chill. then there's storie about randolph carter going to a strange place. very dunsany-like. i got confused. but mostly i got bored. so he goes around in this strange place. it really isn't that suspenceful. no, the great stories here are the short story "the dreams in the withch-house" - a good stroy about a man haunted by dreams in a place haunted by evil spirits, and "the case of charles dexter ward" - a story about obsession. a man explores the occult, and is more and more controlled by something else. a really good novel. the change is very lovely described, a lot of details. one of the very best horror novels simply because of the way it is lain out for us.
Rating:
Summary: PHOOEY!
Review: Don't get me wrong, Lovecraft is a great read, especially at this time of year. He can create terrific atmosphere, and when he can exercise some self-control (very intermittently) he creates some memorable stories. The Shunned House is a cracker, and so is The Colour Out of Space, one of his less-mentioned efforts, and also the one about the morlock-like family Martense. What the man lacked was even the most elementary self-discipline. Of his more famous outpourings I can join in recommending The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, which has the majority of his virtues without going completely o-t-t as he keeps doing. I enjoy nearly everything by him, but to enjoy, say, The Dream-quest of Unknown Kadath I have to suspend all critical faculties -- it has everything but Ye Kitchenne Sinke. In At the Mountains of Madness he may be trying to correct this tendency. The story moves slowly and for that relief much thanks, but this only shows up his lack of concentration. He literally loses the plot. I just love it despite that.
One of his problems is that he obviously takes himself seriously. M R James is ten times the artist Lovecraft is, he is genuinely scary whereas Lovecraft is a bit of a talented but unselfconscious comic turn. I know from trying them both on my children when they wanted 'ghost stories' read to them with the lights turned down that they got a bit bored with Lovecraft but I sometimes had to stop the James stories when they were getting too frightened. James is tongue-in-cheek, you never quite know to what extent, but dear old Lovecraft is always prone to be foot-in-mouth. Where he can be a bit of a bore is with his Elder Gods, Cthulhu, Nyerlothatep and that crowd. What are they all meant to be -- frightening, his vision of the universe or what? If you feel like being frightened to the depths of your soul, try Star Maker by the cold and remote Stapledon -- not for fun-readers. At Christmas forget Stapledon. You will get a lot of fun out of Lovecraft. Having seen the second Lord of the Rings film, I am trying to imagine a battle between the balrog and one of Lovecraft's shoggoths.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovecraft at his best.
Review: I agree with the reviewer who said the stories are better each time you read them for the most part. In the Case of Chareles Dexter Ward, however, I still remember being absolutely glued to the book the first time I read the story. I still think it the best thing H.P. ever did for sheer horror.
Rating:
Summary: Prince of Occultic Horror...
Review: Peppered with mythological creatures, plagued by the macabre and built around masterful prose, Lovecraft's stories are satisfyingly weird tales of the grotesque. Though not always "scary" per-se, these tales evoke emotions and passions of a bestial nature. The common thread between Lovecraft's stories seems to be the idea that ancient powers, pushed to the fringes of reality by human presence, are always just out of sight and plotting their fatal return. Lovecraft (who is also credited with the mythological "Necronomicon", a source of constant controversy) is one of the most influential horror writers of all time, lending his influence to today's horrorists such as Stephen King. A good buy!
Rating:
Summary: Prince of Occultic Horror...
Review: Peppered with mythological creatures, plagued by the macabre and built around masterful prose, Lovecraft's stories are satisfyingly weird tales of the grotesque. Though not always "scary" per-se, these tales evoke emotions and passions of a bestial nature. The common thread between Lovecraft's stories seems to be the idea that ancient powers, pushed to the fringes of reality by human presence, are always just out of sight and plotting their fatal return. Lovecraft (who is also credited with the mythological "Necronomicon", a source of constant controversy) is one of the most influential horror writers of all time, lending his influence to today's horrorists such as Stephen King. A good buy!
Rating:
Summary: At the Mountains of Madness -- Classic horror
Review: When I first read this book, I was, frankly, disappointed. I had been hearing about the greatness of H.P. Lovecraft for years, and finally bought this book. The stories, while interesting, didn't hold the fascination that I had hoped. Then I read the book again. I was blown away by it; this book becomes greater every successive time one reads it. The horror, although one knows the ending, still accumulates, and grabs you by the heart when you _know_ that something bad is about to happen. And the stories themselves are amazing, expecially in later readings. The Cthulhu Mythos ones are the best, and in fact, I didn't enjoy the dreamquest stories half as much. All the same, still a thorougly enjoyable book, though better the second time.
Rating:
Summary: At the Mountains of Madness -- Classic horror
Review: When I first read this book, I was, frankly, disappointed. I had been hearing about the greatness of H.P. Lovecraft for years, and finally bought this book. The stories, while interesting, didn't hold the fascination that I had hoped. Then I read the book again. I was blown away by it; this book becomes greater every successive time one reads it. The horror, although one knows the ending, still accumulates, and grabs you by the heart when you _know_ that something bad is about to happen. And the stories themselves are amazing, expecially in later readings. The Cthulhu Mythos ones are the best, and in fact, I didn't enjoy the dreamquest stories half as much. All the same, still a thorougly enjoyable book, though better the second time.
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