Customer Reviews
Nocturnal chills - By: Didier, 25 Oct 2007 
H.P. Lovecraft is definitely one of the masters of the horror & gothic genre, & this omnibus contains some of his best work. Lovecraft must have had a very rich imagination indeed to have come up with these bizarre stories, but they work very well because Lovecraft always succeedsin walking the fine line between the totally absurd & the matter-of-fact reality. In the best stories there's always this nagging sense that 'it might be true'.
Reading these stories now & knowing that most of them were writtenin the 1920s makes you appreciate Lovecraft's complete mastery of the genre all the more.
A Long-dead author revitalises a faltering genre? DEFINITELY! - By: Mr. S. W. Steel, 04 Apr 2007 
Having read a lot of horror, one name always came up as the inspiration for the modern horror writers. That name is HP Lovecraft. I had heard about his works, but never seemed to pick up any of them. Finally, i reached a point with a lot of the modern horror writers where i had seen most of it all before, & was growing tired of the same plots rehashed over & over. Too much horror these days is inspired by cinema, &in many modern horror novels you can almost pick out the set pieces that will be translated into a film scene. Feeling disillusioned, i turned to HP Lovecraft.
These tales are fantastic!They have renewed my enthusiasm for the genre once more. They are dark, malignant stories that serve up horror without falling into cliche, & treat the reader as an equal which is very rarein modern horror. The stories do not take you by the hand & lead you through the plot, with a million signposts to take you to the ending. These stories take you to the entrance of a maze, push youin & then, for good measure, switch off the lights! Superb!
The first 3 stories are excellent pieces of writing.They are called At the Mountains of Madness, the Case of Charles Dexter Ward, & Dreamsin the Witch House.These are among the finest horror works you will read.
Mountains of Madness deals with an expedition to the Antarctic, & describes the discovery of a hidden civilisation, only for one half of the team to be brutally slaughteredin a mysterious fashion.The tale then picks up with the remaining team members trying to solve the mystery, by entering this hidden area, & discovering a hidden city that has subterranean passages.This story is brilliant at building up an atmosphere of suspense, foreboding & claustrophobia. It isn't particularly brutal - it rises above this, & leaves you to imagine what went on. I won't spoil the story, but this is a real winner from start to finish.
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, for me, is the gemin this collection.It concerns a young man investigating his family tree & finding a 'black sheep' of the family lurking awayin one of the branches. The story deals with the titular character descending into madness, whilst fillingin the details of the ancestor's questionable life. This was a real page turner & i rushed through it full of wonder & enjoyment. There is a clear progressionin the story, with plenty of subplots but more importantly, plenty of gaps, to allow the reader to feel part of the tale. The ending is quite original & well-thought out.
The third story is the Dreamsin the Witch House & concerns a brilliant student becoming involvedin outre ideas. What could have been a standard haunted house story is given a new twist, & again shows horror writing at its best.
The final stories are the Dream Quest of Unknown Kaddath,The Silver Key, & Through the Gates of the Silver Key. These to me are much weaker stories. And i didn't enjoy these half as much as the 3 Cthulu Mythos stories. These are more dark fantasy than horror, thought again, there are areas of remarkable brilliance within them.
I loved Lovecraft's style of writing.It is completely different to any other horror writer's - though if you read HG Wells, there are some similarities. The style adds to the horror & the feeling of impending doom.
Who would this appeal to? Any other jaded horror readers out there for one! Fans of Brian Lumley's Titus Crow novels should definitely read this, as Lumley is a Lovecraft fan beyond measure.The fact that these stories are as frightening & original today as when they were written is a real testament to their brilliance. Most horror today is instantly forgettable - Lovecraft is going to have people shivering, & cowering for many years to come................
I loved this collection, & can't wait to read the other 2in this particular series.
good, but... - By: RAMON, 28 Feb 2007 
I knew of Lovecrat as a child through a series of radio dramatisations. Those were great & I still have a frightened rememberance of "The closed room" or something like that. Then I remembered him when my Surgery teacher mentioned his monsters when explaining some kind of cancer surgery...
So I bought the whole series. Mind you: the books are good value, but a bit unconfortable to read, because they are squat & thick.
I share the view of some other readers: Lovecraft is good, but sometimes he takes himself so seriously that his writing becomes too much of a good thing. This book is the firstin a series of three, comprising his most famous stories. I find this volume to be the best.
The short stories are irregular, some of them are very well written, but many others are lostin a maze of descriptions & hints thatin the end are too much for a short story, because the theme is not developedin the limited space offered by a short tale.
However, the short novelsin the first volume (this) are good. Particularly I find "The case of Charles Dexter Ward" & "Dreamsin the Whitch House" to be the best, because you can see where the story takes you, & at the same time feel your hair standing on endin the nape of your neck. The other stories have good concepts, but Lovecraft roams too much &in the end are a bit disappointing. For example "The Mountains of Madness" starts from quite a good idea - taking it up where Arthur Gordon Pym left it- butin the end, too much Cthulu makes it too long & even a bit confusion. The same can be said for "Dream quest of unknow kadath".
Allin all, I think that one shoul read Lovecraft at least once, particularly if you like terror & gothic. This is your opportunity.
The master... - By: A Flickering, 02 Mar 2006 This collection, the first of three volumes, may well represent the pinnacle of Lovecraft's creative genius. His knack for conjuring the most horrific & fantastical of atmospheres is unparalleled; these stories will have you shuddering with captivated horror at the incredible otherworldly landscapes & monstrosities leaping from their pages.
Plagued with a great sensitivity to cold from a young age, Lovecraft's first novel "At the Mountains of Madness" was perhaps a little closer to home than any other piece he attempted, & its sublime execution would perhaps imply this further. Regardless, this tale is arguably the greatest of the man's catalogue, with a gradual, drawn-out build up of tension & isolation into a frantic climaxin a world so alien, beautiful & deadly. Reading this made me long to livein a world where such places as Antarctica still existed unexplored & mysterious, potentially housing that which men of the time could barely dream of. One loses oneselfin those icy peaks, those ancient ruins, & yet one always feels as if they are not quite alone...
"The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" is nextin line, & one can't help but feel sceptical as to how this piece will fare up against the previous mountain of a story. Don't let the slow start sway you - this one's darn great too! As with "Mountains...", Lovecraft creates an ominous atmosphere this time via gradual exploration of Curwen & Charles' dark discoveries, once again motivated by wild curiosity. Yetin this piece something far more disturbing & horrific lurks, implied constantlyin Lovecraft's subtle narrative. Less beautiful, fantastical & isolating perhaps, but all the more human & realistic & TERRIFYING as a result. There is a scene involving darkness & a pit (not going into detail here for fear of spoiling it) which will stay with you for a damn long time - a claustrophobic nightmare.
Nextin line comes a little break from the longer novels, with what I consider to be the least absorbing storyin the volume, "The Dreamsin the Witch-House". It's pretty telling that I can't remember much about this whereas I remember the previous two vividly. I recall being somewhat intrigued with the combination of mathematics, folklore, multi-dimensions & the like, but the main plot isn't all that gripping. Worth reading, nontheless.
The following four stories all focus upon a character named Randolph Carter - a man whose personality is founded upon a pursuit of the beauty foundin dreams. It has frequently been said that this character is most representative of Lovecraft himself, & I must admit feeling great empathy towards himin "The Silver Key", a short prequel to "Through the Gates of the Silver Key", which can easily be read as a commentary on a dry & absurd society - as relevant now as it was then.
The best of these tales is perhaps "The Dream-Quest of the Unknown Kadath", which whilst seemingly having less focus & direction than his other two novels, is just filled to the brim with wonderous landscape after wonderous landscape packed full of creatures both stunning & diabolical. Carter's quest for the paradise city of his dreams is bizarre, yet wholly enticing. The previously mentioned "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is also very atmospheric, though not a journey - this shorter story involves Carter's gradual venture into the realms of beings of chaos which dwarf humankind, & reveals much about the workings of the dream-world Lovecraft has created.
Lovecraft has created a mythos, from terrible beasts & Gods to ancient old writings & lands, which renders his readers both fascinated & ultimately insignificantin comparison. Treat yourselves folks, this is dark, atmospheric literature done properly. 5 stars don't do it justice.
A must have for horror fans - By: muttmummy, 26 Sep 2003 This book is one of three which, between them, provide MOST (but not all) of Lovecrafts’ stories. Purchase Volume 1, 2 & 3 of this “omnibus”, & you will own a truly magnificent collection of this master’s works! Lovecraft, like Poe, had an untouchable talent for macabre & gothic horror stories – his works being a great influence on the wonderful Stephen King. Lovecraft’s style is simple & yet so very intricatein weaving the most captivating stories. Like Poe, Lovecraft’s works are ageless & the stuff of dreams & nightmares that will remainin your mind for many years after reading.
Sadly, not enough of Lovecraft’s works have been translated into movies, but the movie “Dagon” should give you a taste of his work if you want to view something based on his writings. Amazon stock this movie.
In truth, I would much rather have a decent hardback with all of Lovecraft’s stories – somehow your average paperback seems insufficient a medium to do real honour to such a master of this genre. BUT – this omnibus makes for a great resource & I am sure lovers of this genre will find Lovecraft’s work a real treasure within their collection.
