Rating: 
Summary: True Horror
Review: Lovecraft is one of the best horror writers ever and this is one of his best collection of stories. I read Poe and Lovecaft long before I ever read a King book, and I still shiver when I read this book. There is a reason that some of Kings short stories borrow ideas from Lovecraft. If you've never read any of Lovecrafts writing give it a try. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated, Underrated
Review: The fact is, anyone reading this review already knows who Lovecraft is, and has probably read not only this book, but much of Lovecraft's work. Basically, I'll put out my argument simply: Lovecraft is overrated by those who read him, underrated by those who do not.He is an important writer, who had significant impact on the Weird Tales genre specifically, but also on short story writing in general. That said, he isn't as great as many other authors out there, and his originary role shouldn't afford him some special status. Take "Shadow over Innsmouth." His "controlled atmosphere of terror" is here, and is demonstrably better than Poe's; on the other hand, his actual command of English is lacking (I counted 30 uses of the words "furtive" or "furtively" before I gave up), his character development is abysmal, and his dialogue is used almost entirely expositionally, hence rarely seeming naturalistic. The interest of the story comes entirely from the brooding horror, which is fine -- but it is not the mark of great literature. Lovecraft wrote his endings first, then the middle, then the beginning, arguing that the ending was most important, and the rest needed to fit the ending, not visa-versa. Strangely, this technique seems to fail abysmally with the "second twist" which with he ends "Innsmouth." Lastly, something needs to be said of Lovecraft's rather unsettling "political" views. In "Innsmouth", there is a not so subtle anti-miscegenation thesis; in "The Street," he outright proclaims that southern-European immigrants are refuse. Writing as he did close to the outbreak of the Second World War, one is left a bit uncomfortable with such imagery as the swastika as a weapon against the evil of the interbreeding in Innsmouth. Authors shouldn't be judged strictly on their politics, but in Lovecraft's case, I feel rather strongly that it interferes with my ability to enjoy the story. It's not cause to censor the man -- but perhaps censuring him would be in order. All in all, pretty good.
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