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At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror

At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror

List Price: $6.50
Your Price: $5.85
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: So not scary!
Review: Out of all the books I have ever read only this and 'Sunset Song' have been the most overwritten. In what could be potentially and entralling read, Lovecraft ruins 'At the Mountains of Madness' with outrageously pointless over-description and straying too far off the point. One might argue that he's building up suspense and only 'hinting' at certain terrors but nothing scared or interested me. Plus he repeats himself over and over and leaves gaping plot holes (What happened to Lake? What of the rest of the men back at the camp? How on earth did they transport planes down there?). Tho conveniently for him his fictional (?) creation of the Necronomicon helps him along with his dull tale.

Who is telling the story? It's told in the first person perspective but he never gives his name. Plus there is no dialogue in this book either. There isn't any decent character development or anyone to side with. And the ending is one of the biggest anti-climaxes I have ever read. That's once we actually get to it! In the last 3rd Lovecraft spends a shocking amount of time on very far-fetched contrivences, it's hard to believe.

It's obvious tho that John Carpenter based his movie 'The Thing' more on this than on the original movie that it is supposed to be a remake of. The creatures described as 'Shoggoths' are definitely what inspired Rob Bottin's creation in said movie. Tho they aren't scary in this book I must stress.

This print also included a story called 'The Shunned House' which I think is more entertaining despite the lack of dialogue again. Tho this time the character is polite enough to tell you his name. It's an interesting story with some great potential tho once again the ending is a let down.

'Dreams in the Witch House' is another first-person story which again uses the Necronomicon as a hokey plot device. It's a boring story.

'The Statement of Randolph Carter' is a smart little tale which ends this short anthology with more wit than the rest of it put together.

In short, if you are new to Lovecraft then I wouldn't suggest ATMOM. It's only for die-hard fans or true horror enthusiasts. It may well have been revolutionary and scary in it's day but now it's just dull and boring.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great introduction to HPL, and a wonderful adventure!
Review: Reading "At the Mountains of Madness", I can't keep myself from visualizing it as a '30s era serial (or maybe an Indiana Jones type modern film). These scientists as explorers encountering new and terrible things were surely the inspiration for the film "The Thing" (or should that be films, plural?). This is the story I use to hook my friends on HPL, the horror, drama, and tension are all there, with enough pure adventure to pull you through your first encounter with HPL's mythos.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible.
Review: The only word that can describe H.P. Lovecraft's concept of universal horror and his unique writing style is "increcible." HP Lovecraft's work, "At the Mountains of Madness," reveals the true history of earth, when the Old Ones built their cyclopean city, deep in the arctic. There are three other very good stories in the book, as well. "The Shunned House" is you classic haunted house story, with a Cthulhoid twist that Lovecraft is famous for. "Dreams in the Witch-House" is very much like "At the Mountains of Madness," for in goes into a bit of detail about the true first inhabitants of this world, the elder things. The bottom line is, BUY THIS BOOK.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible.
Review: The only word that can describe H.P. Lovecraft's concept of universal horror and his unique writing style is "increcible." HP Lovecraft's work, "At the Mountains of Madness," reveals the true history of earth, when the Old Ones built their cyclopean city, deep in the arctic. There are three other very good stories in the book, as well. "The Shunned House" is you classic haunted house story, with a Cthulhoid twist that Lovecraft is famous for. "Dreams in the Witch-House" is very much like "At the Mountains of Madness," for in goes into a bit of detail about the true first inhabitants of this world, the elder things. The bottom line is, BUY THIS BOOK.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Where's the scissors and the paste?
Review: This book contains four stories: "At the Mountains of Madness," "The Shunned House," "The Dreams in the Witch-House," and "The Statement of Randolph Carver." I didn't have the patience for that much, as I threw in the towel after beginning "The Shunned House," for reasons stated below.


"At the Mountains of Madness" (4 stars) tells the story of what was supposed to be a simple geological expedition to Antarctica in 1930. After being in Antarctica for a short time, a group of scientists begins finding surprises, in the form of an enormous, and hitherto unknown, mountain range, and evidence that sentient life, predating homo sapiens, inhabited the region. The further they delve into this lost civilization, the more bizarre are their findings. They are lucky to survive (for those of them who do). The story is compelling and highly creative, but several phrases and concepts (e.g., comparing the land they find to several ancient myths) are repeated far too many times, thus becoming annoyances. Meanwhile, another fascinating story is only hinted at (i.e., the race, feared by the beings who inhabited the mostly-dead city they found, who inhabited an even larger nearby mountain range). Another flaw (to me) was that the two men, who explored the lost city, spent less than one day there, but learned months worth of information about the lost civilization while there.


"The Shunned House" (2 stars) tells of an old house in Providence, where something odd, creepy, and possibly dangerous abides. For me, this story starts off very wrong, with Lovecraft implying that this tale will surpass, in horror, anything written by Edgar Allen Poe. I am a fan of Poe's writing, and I had trouble going beyond that unnecessary piece of boasting. The story just did not grab me, as it again seemed to display the repetitiveness that flawed "At the Mountains of Madness," but to a greater degree.


After reading the first ten pages or so of "The Shunned House," I had had enough.


Question: What would I want to see in this book?
Answer: "At the Mountains of Madness," somewhat trimmed of repetition, and a second, equally long story telling about that other lost race, in those other mountains.


The seeds of greatness are here, but are not well-cultivated.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Masterfully, unquestionably, Lovecraftian !
Review: This collection of dark, unworldly, horror highlights the myriad
of talents which set H.P.Lovecraft apart from his contemporaries.
The true master of the macabre again demonstrates his uncanny ability
to draw the reader into his haunting mythos and never miss a beat.
Cthulhu comes alive ..too bad for us.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lovecraft's best full length story!
Review: This is a great full length story -- not a short story. Most Lovecraft stories are too short for him to really develop his characters, but this one is quite different. It is in the class of H.Rider Haggard's "She" and A. Merritt's "The Face in the Abyss." A modern similar story is Emerson's "The Riddle of Cthulhu" that delves into the Lovecraft Mythos.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: English speaking or not.. Buy this masterpiece today!
Review: This is one of the english books I've ever managed to get through. From the day that I heard about Lovecraft I've only read two books containing his novels. One of them, printed under the name 'Cthulhu 2' was written in my native tounge Swedish. But somehow Swedish versions of his works were very hard to find. Due to this lack of translated material I turned to the original versions. I ordered this one (Omnibus 1) and got slightly shocked when I noticed what type of english the book itself contained. In less than a second I realised that I would never be able to read this book without the help of a dictionary. But, somehow the peculiar content made me go on. And today I don't regret it. It took me hours to get through it, but it was all worth it. H.P. Lovecraft's way of describing things and his way of telling a story is surely something exeptional. Compared to Stephen King and Dean. R. Koontz this isolated man surely knew what trick to use manipulating my imagination. Even though I sometimes had to put the book down for a moment looking up an unknown word. Don't hesitate. English speaking or not.. Buy this masterpiece today!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is one of the most frighting books I have ever read. It is also scientifically amazing and well written. If you enjoy Stephen King's stories, you will love Lovecraft's.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A defining work of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
Review: This novella is one of the most important works of Lovecraft's. A budding Lovecraft follower can expect from this title a relatively clear description of Lovecraft's history of the world, and how his various "gods" fit into the scheme of our planets history. The other tales in the book give a good idea of the general flavor of Lovecraft's writing, and are an enjoyable, short read.


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