Need help to go from a total Chultu Noob --> Lovecraft Master

[SolkaTruesilver]

Hi there. Building a library of the great classic. Already bought Shogun, Ender's Game and Starship Trooper (the latter one is supposed to be a piece of art, as opposed to the movie). Plan to read the last 2, already read twice the first (a + in your library)

Off course, I will never forget Lovecraft. Even if I don't know the hell this author is about (AND DON'T TELL ME), I've heard about 1000^1000 good comments about his work.

I would like to have suggestions about which book(s) I should buy. I mean.. I want to buy a few books that will cover his entire work (or at least, the work that is worth it) without buying the same story 2 times in 2 different book (I just hate when it happens).

Also, if you have other suggestions of good classics, I'm open

[The Prince of Cats]

Well, his works seem to pop up in so many different collections, and I mean just his work. For some reason, I have had trouble finding a 'complete works' collection and the best I think I could do is try to get all his stories without too many repeated stories.

Of course, if you are desperate... You can go to the Complete works of H. P. Lovecraft (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/) and read a few there. It is my understanding that the site is legal due to the awkward copyright issues surrounding HPL making it impossible for any one company to sue them.

[faerwain]

Essential: the short stories "The call of Cthulhu", "Shadows over Innsmouth" and "Haunter of the Dark".
A good additon for the background, the more surrealistic written, very short but disturbing one "Nyarlathotep"

Not directly Elder Being-Myth, but very good:
The Colour Out of Space, The outsider, and The Picture in the House seems to be the original grand daddy of an often used horrorfilm cliche..

I started actually with "The Lurker in the Treshold" which August Derleth completed after Lovecraft's death, using his notes. Really only good for being the first Myth-story you read, if you read actual H.P.L. stories before it's kind of boring as a scenario for a short story is longed to a novel.

@prince of cats: Thanks for the link, wasn't aware how much I have yet to read...

[MrsbwcMD]

I bought a copy of H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (published by the Library of America)from Amazon.com a while ago, and though I'm working on another book right now, I did get through some of the stories, which are really quite good. I'm not certain if it has ALL of his works, but it seems to be pretty thorough. It definitely contains the Cthulhu/Innsmouth stories, which was my main reason for buying it. I actually first saw a copy of it at the Steve Jackson Games booth at Origins, last year, but ended up buying it online. I think it was cheaper on Amazon.com. Definitely worth a look!

[bosssmiley]

Hi there. Building a library of the great classics. Already bought Shogun, Ender's Game and Starship Trooper...

Great classics?!! Lulz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books). :smallbiggrin:

Prince_of_Cats has already pointed you in the direction of Lovecraft research. Also read some of the other Arkham House (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham_House), William Hope Hodgeson (http://www.forgottenfutures.com/game/ff4/) (Britain's Lovecraft), Lord Dunsany and Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger (http://www.forgottenfutures.com/game/ff3/) stories for context and milieu.

Then, to become a true Lovecraft master you must train your Pokethulhu (http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/kovalic/pokethulhu/) and defeat the eight Great Old Masters of the NonEuclidean League in a battle of wits, heart and eldritch knowledge

There is a non-PG version of becoming a lovecraft master, but that requires you to travel to California and study under sensei Ron Jeremy. Trust me, you *really* don't want to enter that realm of mind-bending horror. :smalleek:

[Bassetking]

I'd reccomend also reading:

"The Stange Case of Charles Dexter Ward"

"At the Mountains of Madness"

"Dagon"

"The Diary of Alonzo Typer"

"Herbert West-Reanimator"

Fantastic Lovecraft, and oh, so delicious.

[Minty]

If I had to reccomend one above all others, it would be 'At the Mountains of Madness'.

I'd reccomend against Herbert West: Reanimator, though. Lovecraft hated it and considered it trash. He only wrote it because editors wanted that kind of thing, and he needed the money. It doesn't give much of an insight into why he is considered a great author. It's basically just a rip-off of Frankenstein.

[Tor the Fallen]

If I had to reccomend one above all others, it would be 'At the Mountains of Madness'.

I'd reccomend against Herbert West: Reanimator, though. Lovecraft hated it and considered it trash. He only wrote it because editors wanted that kind of thing, and he needed the money. It doesn't give much of an insight into why he is considered a great author. It's basically just a rip-off of Frankenstein.

But have you seen the movies? :smallbiggrin:


Lovecraft comes in three flavors: Dream cycles, mythos, and horror. All related.

The quintessential dream cycle is "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," which towards the end, ties in nicely with some of the mythos.

For mythos, I recommend "Call of Cthulhu", "Nyalarthotep", "At the Mountains of Madness" (possibly a movie to be made by a serious HPL fan), "The Shadow over Innsmouth", and "The Dunwhich Horror". Those are the longer stories. There quite a few other, shorter stories that offer further glimpses and insights of the that which lurks in certain lonely places, the abyssal deeps, and between the stars.

For horror, there's "The Horror at Redhook" (with some really lovely racial overtones), "Pickman's Model", "The Rats in the Walls", and "The Dreams in the Witch House".

[Minty]

The quintessential dream cycle is "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," which towards the end, ties in nicely with some of the mythos.

I love 'Celephais' from the dream cycle stories. It just struck me as such a wonderful idea. I'm sure there are plenty of hardcore gamers on this forum who can relate to the character of Kuranes more than just a little. :smallbiggrin:

[Sundog]

I'd recommend you start with "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Dunwich Horror" followed by "The Rats in the Walls". Those should give you a good introduction. Lovecraft wrote in a kind of odd melange of modern and Victorian writing styles, and it does take a bit to really get into it. His pacing is also a tad slower than many modern writers (which isn't a crticism, by the way - I feel many modern authors rush things).

Once you have a handle on the style, go wild. "The Call of Chulhu" is the quintessential mythos piece. "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" is Lovecraft's only novel - bit of a slog, actually, but great payoffs. For my money, the best of his work is "The Doom that came to Sarnath", "The Colour out of Space" and his masterpiece, "At the Mountains of Madness."

Not everything Lovecraft did was memorable, or even good. But the gems are as bright now as when he wrote them, close to a century ago.

[Mr Croup]

Well, if you're looking for recommendations on books, not on which stories to look for in particular, you can get a fairly complete collection of Lovecraft's works in the way of three books; The Best of H. P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780345350800&itm=1), Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780345384218&itm=2), The Road to Madness: The Transition of H. P. Lovecraft (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780345384225&itm=37).

Those three books will get you the vast bulk of his work (not including the poetry, which is rather hard to find, though there is a collection out there, but it's a bit pricey, if I recall correctly), including a number of "fragments" of stories. These should be pretty easy to get your hands on, especially if you live in the US. If you live in the UK, there's a great collection that comes in two parts I believe, called the "H.P. Lovecraft Omnibus." It only comes in mass market format, which are not as nice as the larger trade paperback version I listed above, but they're a sight cheaper. This all depends on whether they're still in print as I haven't been in the UK since 2001.

If you're just looking for some good individual stories to start with, I'd suggest The Rats in the Walls, The Statement of Randolph Carter, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth, as good introductions to his work.

That's my advice as a former bookseller and active Lovecraft geek, hopefully it's helpful.

[Tor the Fallen]

The three books mrcoup recommends were the ones that I read virtually everything Lovecraft in. They're quite great.

[WampaX]

The three books mrcoup recommends were the ones that I read virtually everything Lovecraft in. They're quite great.

Gotta ditto that.

If you can't find the Del Ray ones, the collections from Chaosium are also pretty decent.

[Mr Croup]

Gotta ditto that.

If you can't find the Del Ray ones, the collections from Chaosium are also pretty decent.

I've always found Chaosium bindings to be substandard, as in they start falling apart when I'm halfway through the book, but that could just be a few bad print runs, or some such.

[Aidan305]

Personally I would recommend Rats in the Wall and Picture in the House as two examples of Lovecraft's best works. (There's a reason I've only read them once, and it's not that they're bad).

I'm also one of the few people who actually seems to like Herbert West: Re-animator.

[Bassetking]

Or, you can do what I did, and track down an original "Arkham House" Pressing of Horror in the Museum

Hardcover, Mint condition... $3 at a used bookstore.

*Dances*

[Daze]

Great classics?!! Lulz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books)

Easy Boss... by those overly strict definitions, not a whole lot of great, universally reknowned books would be even under consideration! I happen to think he mentioned some fine books in his growing collection and I also read Shogun five times in my life, it's a modern classic without a doubt.

Anyhow... some very good suggestions on Lovecraftian stories here already. I'll second In the Mouth of Madness and Call of Cthulu. A lot of his work is seconded in collections, so be aware of that. Definitely poke around on the net, I've seen earlier editions of his work up on EBay. Just in case your looking for a more "authentic" type library additions... cool binding and all that...

[Nevrmore]

Well, his works seem to pop up in so many different collections, and I mean just his work. For some reason, I have had trouble finding a 'complete works' collection and the best I think I could do is try to get all his stories without too many repeated stories.

Of course, if you are desperate... You can go to the Complete works of H. P. Lovecraft (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/) and read a few there. It is my understanding that the site is legal due to the awkward copyright issues surrounding HPL making it impossible for any one company to sue them.
I know what I'm going to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

*sniff* Thank you so much, Prince.

[GuesssWho]

I know it's been a while since anyone posted, but . . .
Illithids are Cthulhu writ small. Wilbur Whateley was the original half-farspawn. Aboleths and beholders are Lovecraft-inspired, and Azathoth lives in the Far Realm.