Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Mythos Overview is the best that can be said
Review: Having read two books chocked full of REAL Lovecraft short stories, I was looking forward to a "book length" story of his horror. Sadly, I was fooled by a "Derleth Knockoff," and should have known better.For real Lovecraftian horror read, "Call of Cthullu," "The Shadow over Innsmouth," "Dagon," "The Thing on the Doorstep," "The Picture in the House," "The Outsider" and you will be rewarded will true chills down your spine... not this insipid drivel. The first section, which is told in third person narrative isn't too bad, and sets up the story nicely. It is actually a fair representation of Lovecraft, however, there is not a word of dialogue uttered for 39 pages!! Now once the dialogue starts, the story starts to move, and that familiar Lovecraftian "buildup" starts. However...just when things are getting interesting, Derleth moves to the next section which is told from Dewart's cousin first person narrative. I found the change in narrative styles in mid story a little disconcerting, but I managed to adjust, and found it interesting, but I was still waiting for the pay off. Then Derleth ineptly moves to the third section, which is first person again, but told from the perspective of assistant Winfield Phillips. The previous narrator(Dewart's cousin Steven Bates) is summarily dispatched via a NOTE in one paragraph. Derleth obviously wrote himself into a trap with his narrative, and couldn't figure out how to bring about Bates death in a suitably gruesome and terrifying way as the story was currently being told from the wrong perspective. How could the narrator know of Bates horrible fate as he wasn't present at the scene. Thus the death of a major character has little impact or horror that it should in a story such as this. The biggest issue I had with this third section was it
seemed "dumbed down." the narrator goes into a long tirade of Mythology, and explanation, which if the reader was paying attention, would have already figured most of it out from the previous two narratives! Then, Dewart is summarily shot, and buried, and the "horror" comes to an end. The third section was a complete let down from the build up of the previous two. There was no payoff in the end, and absolutely no shock value at all as the narrator took great pains to over explain everything. The best I can say about this is that there is some reasonable "Mythos" background, albeit slightly contradictory that might interest the Lovecraftian enthusiast.
Rating:
Summary: Don't make the same mistake I did!
Review: I purchased this book under the pretense that it was written by Lovecraft. After hearing so much praise about HPL, I couldn't wait to start reading it. After the first few chapters, it became a chore to read. I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never did. It was like eating a bowl of tofu when you expected Captain Crunch. When I finished it I was convinced all the hype about HPL was blown out of proportion and that he was nothing more than a less than mediocre author. Little did I know he didn't even write it! It took me over 3 years to find this out. When I finally did get my hands on an authentic Lovecraft book I was floored by the way he drew me right into the story-the dark and shadowy world of Innsmouth. Don't buy "The Lurker at the Threshhold". Save your time and money and be sure to check the copywrite before you buy any Lovecraft book(Derleth is sneaky).
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, well done
Review: It's a good read. It's not an action-packed, thrill-a-minute magnum opus, as it seems some wish it wouldve been. It's a rich, Gothic story... not trendy modern neo-Gothic. There is a vast distinction. It has a good pace. It's nicely done. It's enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Stray From Derleth
Review: Like "the Watcher Out of Time" and "Innsmouth Clay" this book is entirely written by August Derleth. Derleth studied the works of Lovecraft but NEVER did he write in collaboration with the master of horror. August Derleth's first story wasn't written until the early 1950's. Howard Philips Lovecraft died in 1937. August Derleth has many failed attempts at immitating Lovecraft and prints Lovecraft's name on the cover of all his books because if people knew that Derleth wrote the stories, they wouldn't buy a single copy. If you wish to read horror by the greatest horror author of all time, be sure to check the coyright lines for each story. Stray from the failures of Derleth and follow the guiding light of Lovecraft.
Rating:
Summary: see "inept," above.
Review: Mostly written by Auggie, and representing a dramatic departure from Lovecraft's cosmology. Bad prose, characterization, development, etc. Buy ANYTHING else by Lovecraft before this, preferably from Arkham house.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Lovecraft story not written by the master.
Review: NOW THE GATES ARE OPEN FOR YOG-SOTHOTH. Amazing book...
Rating:
Summary: Some much misinformation about this neglected novel
Review: Of all the reviews written here about this long out of print work I am astonished by all the misinformation written by so-called fans. Most of this comes from very young readers, I am assuming, who know little of the pulp magazines and are confused by paperback editions of books that are recycling stories and novels that have been around for a LONG time. Derleth never wrote a story until the 1950s? What hogwash! His weird fiction appeared as early as 1932 and the bulk of his weird fiction and mystery novels appeared throughout the late 30s and into the 1940s. Never collaborated? No, not in the flesh. But he knew Lovecraft while he was still alive, for heavens sake. But most of the "collaborations" were based on notes and plot outlines found among the dozens of papers Derleth and his friends inherited. "Buy anything by Lovecraft especially something from Arkham House." This book was ORIGINALLY Published by Arkham House in the 1940s! A publishing house I might add, created by Derleth and his pal Donald Wandrei. Readers should be celebrating the republication of a book that is highly sought after by collectors. It's a lot more affordable now at a mere ten bucks! It's hardly trash or garbage. Untidily written perhaps and derivative yes. But most of this fiction is derivative anyway. All the writers in the genre borrow from each other and little of it shows any real originality. Rehash after rehash. Readers and fans of this genre ought to read LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD for its literary historic value and keep in mind that Derleth's arch, sometimes annoyingly, baroque style is meant to evoke a mood of long forgotten era. I kind of like this quaint stuff. It sure beats the heck out of the gore-fests crammed with dismemberment, disembowelings, torture and sexual perversity that pass for horror these days.
Rating:
Summary: Some much misinformation about this neglected novel
Review: Of all the reviews written here about this long out of print work I am astonished by all the misinformation written by so-called fans. Most of this comes from very young readers, I am assuming, who know little of the pulp magazines and are confused by paperback editions of books that are recycling stories and novels that have been around for a LONG time. Derleth never wrote a story until the 1950s? What hogwash! His weird fiction appeared as early as 1932 and the bulk of his weird fiction and mystery novels appeared throughout the late 30s and into the 1940s. Never collaborated? No, not in the flesh. But he knew Lovecraft while he was still alive, for heavens sake. But most of the "collaborations" were based on notes and plot outlines found among the dozens of papers Derleth and his friends inherited. "Buy anything by Lovecraft especially something from Arkham House." This book was ORIGINALLY Published by Arkham House in the 1940s! A publishing house I might add, created by Derleth and his pal Donald Wandrei. Readers should be celebrating the republication of a book that is highly sought after by collectors. It's a lot more affordable now at a mere ten bucks! It's hardly trash or garbage. Untidily written perhaps and derivative yes. But most of this fiction is derivative anyway. All the writers in the genre borrow from each other and little of it shows any real originality. Rehash after rehash. Readers and fans of this genre ought to read LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD for its literary historic value and keep in mind that Derleth's arch, sometimes annoyingly, baroque style is meant to evoke a mood of long forgotten era. I kind of like this quaint stuff. It sure beats the heck out of the gore-fests crammed with dismemberment, disembowelings, torture and sexual perversity that pass for horror these days.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING:THIS IS NOT BY LOVECRAFT
Review: This book is actually written by August Derleth, after HPL's death, supposedly off of notes Lovecraft had sitting around. It's the best Derleth I've read, meaning you can actually slog through it without vomiting if you really try. Spend your $... on something useful, like a bottle of vitamins. They'll be more entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: THREE STARS?!? WHAT!?
Review: Why did these people give this bad ratings? It ends because the guy summoning the thing dies. These people don't seem to understand that. My favorite book.
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