Cthulhu Mythos - H.P. Lovecraft
11-04-07, 11:28 PM
#2
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
I love HP Lovecraft's mythos stories. "Call of Cthulhu" is obviously the most popular and it is a good story, but "At the Mountains of Madness" is my favorite, and "Shadow Over Innsmouth" is my second favorite. Besides those three, "Dunwich Horror", "Shadow out of Time", "Haunter of the Dark", and "Whisperer in the Darkness" are all pretty important to the mythos.
I haven't really read any of his non-mythos work, so I don't know which ones of those are work reading.
I haven't really read any of his non-mythos work, so I don't know which ones of those are work reading.
11-05-07, 12:22 AM
#3
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 3,193
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Last year I picked up the 3 Penguin Classics books, edited by S. T. Joshi; "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Thing on the Doorstep" and "Dreams in the Witch House". Those three volumes have just about all you'd want by HP Lovecraft with no overlap, and they are all restored and corrected by S. T. Joshi and come complete with tons of annotated footnotes in the back if you're interested in reading some of the influences, story connections and other facts of Lovecraft's life as they creep up in each story. (Personally, I usually read each story and then skimmed the footnotes afterwards.)
I've still got 3 stories to get to in the last volume, but it's been an overall enjoyable read. The best stories are split between the 3 volumes and usually appear towards the end of each one, so it's advisable not to just read them in the order they appear in the books. I tried that to start with, but they each start with his earlier less developed works that covers themes and ideas that he'll cover better later in his career.
"Call of Cthulhu", "At the Mountains of Madness" and "Shadow Over Innsmouth" would be my top three as well.
I've still got 3 stories to get to in the last volume, but it's been an overall enjoyable read. The best stories are split between the 3 volumes and usually appear towards the end of each one, so it's advisable not to just read them in the order they appear in the books. I tried that to start with, but they each start with his earlier less developed works that covers themes and ideas that he'll cover better later in his career.
"Call of Cthulhu", "At the Mountains of Madness" and "Shadow Over Innsmouth" would be my top three as well.
11-05-07, 08:47 AM
#5
DVD Talk Hero
At the Mountains of Madness
Shadow over Innsmouth
The Colour out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
(totally different tone)
Dream Quest for the Unknown Kadath
The Cats of Olthar
Polaris
These aren't all necessarily Mythos stories, but they're my favorites. I don't think that The Call of Cthulhu is all that great, but it's the most straightforward exposition of the Mythos.
When Mrs Danger says that when she went to bed after she first read The Colour out of Space, she couldn't sleep unless she left the light on.
Shadow over Innsmouth
The Colour out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
(totally different tone)
Dream Quest for the Unknown Kadath
The Cats of Olthar
Polaris
These aren't all necessarily Mythos stories, but they're my favorites. I don't think that The Call of Cthulhu is all that great, but it's the most straightforward exposition of the Mythos.
When Mrs Danger says that when she went to bed after she first read The Colour out of Space, she couldn't sleep unless she left the light on.
11-11-07, 10:27 PM
#8
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Where the sky is always Carolina Blue! (Currently VA - again...)
Posts: 5,167
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
At the Mountains of Madness is still my favorite - when will Del Toro film this???
They're almost all excellent though.
They're almost all excellent though.
11-12-07, 01:06 AM
#9
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by Tuan Jim
At the Mountains of Madness is still my favorite - when will Del Toro film this???
)
11-12-07, 06:48 PM
#10
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: OFF-WORLD
Posts: 5,978
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you get to the point where you’ve read all his work under his own name check out the Arkham House collection, "Horror in the Museum" which collects his ghostwritten stories and other miscellena. I would also recommend tracking down the Arkham editions of any of his work as it just feels more right to read them in these versions.
On a related note some excellent collected Clark Ashton Smith (a friend of HP’s and a fellow writer) volumes have been published this year. If only Frank Belknap Long would get the same treatment.
Lovecraft fans may also want to check out William Hope Hodgson’s "The House on the Borderland", a truly unhinged and terrifying book of which Lovecraft himself spoke highly.
On a related note some excellent collected Clark Ashton Smith (a friend of HP’s and a fellow writer) volumes have been published this year. If only Frank Belknap Long would get the same treatment.
Lovecraft fans may also want to check out William Hope Hodgson’s "The House on the Borderland", a truly unhinged and terrifying book of which Lovecraft himself spoke highly.
11-12-07, 07:11 PM
#11
Cool New Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd go with The Thing on the Doorstep, At the Mountains of Madness and The Call of Cthulhu as my three favorites. Is this your first time reading Lovecraft sk8er? If so, how'd you get interested in the Mythos? Also first time readers are often a bit put off by Lovecraft, so if you find thats the case stick with it. It ends up being rewarding.
As a side note to anyone who loves The Call of Cthulhu if you haven't already you should check out the The Call of Cthulhu movie done by The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, really fun movie filmed as if it were a silent movie and it's one the most faithful movies to Lovecraft.
As a side note to anyone who loves The Call of Cthulhu if you haven't already you should check out the The Call of Cthulhu movie done by The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, really fun movie filmed as if it were a silent movie and it's one the most faithful movies to Lovecraft.
05-18-08, 04:58 PM
#13
DVD Talk Hero
I checked out the link. They have the Collected Jorkens by Dunsany, volumes 2 and 3. But not volume 1.
I can get volume 1 at Amazon Marketplace for $560.
I wish I'd seen those when they came out.
Thanks for the coupon. I just bought eight hardcovers.
I can get volume 1 at Amazon Marketplace for $560.
I wish I'd seen those when they came out.
Thanks for the coupon. I just bought eight hardcovers.
Last edited by Nick Danger; 05-18-08 at 05:56 PM.
05-22-08, 11:11 PM
#14
DVD Talk Special Edition
Benedict, thanks for reposting here.
I'm starting to feel useful. 
I bought 3 hardcovers (Lovecraft's Letters Vol 1 & 2 and Complete Poetical Works) and the trade paperback for Bubba Ho-Tep.
For those interested interested in Lovecraftian films I HIGHLY recommend 'The Lurker In the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft'. In addition to being a great resource it also has great interviews with filmmakers like John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Guillermo del Toro, Stuart Gordon...
Originally Posted by Nick Danger
Thanks for the coupon. I just bought eight hardcovers.
I bought 3 hardcovers (Lovecraft's Letters Vol 1 & 2 and Complete Poetical Works) and the trade paperback for Bubba Ho-Tep.
For those interested interested in Lovecraftian films I HIGHLY recommend 'The Lurker In the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft'. In addition to being a great resource it also has great interviews with filmmakers like John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Guillermo del Toro, Stuart Gordon...
10-10-08, 03:10 PM
#15
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,786
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Complete HP Lovecraft
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/HP-...9781435107939/
In the 1920s and ‘30s, H.P. Lovecraft pioneered a new type of weird fiction that fused elements of supernatural horror with the concepts of visionary science fiction. Lovecraft’s tales of cosmic horror revolutionized modern horror fiction and earned him the reputation as the most influential American writer of weird tales since Edgar Allan Poe.
This omnibus collects for the first time in a single volume all of Lovecraft’s groundbreaking fiction: “The Call of Cthulhu,” “The Dreams in the Witch House,” “The Haunter of the Dark,” “At the Mountains of Madness,” “The Shadow out of Time,” “The Shadow over Innsmouth,” the full-length novels The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, and many others.
H.P. Lovecraft: The Fiction is part of Barnes & Noble’s Library of Essential Writers. Each title in the series presents the finest works—complete and unabridged—from one of the greatest writers in literature in magnificent, elegantly designed hardback editions. Every volume also includes an original introduction that provides the reader with enlightening information on the writer’s life and works.
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Pub. Date: October 2008
ISBN-13: 9781435107939
1120pp
$12.95
This omnibus collects for the first time in a single volume all of Lovecraft’s groundbreaking fiction: “The Call of Cthulhu,” “The Dreams in the Witch House,” “The Haunter of the Dark,” “At the Mountains of Madness,” “The Shadow out of Time,” “The Shadow over Innsmouth,” the full-length novels The Case of Charles Dexter Ward and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, and many others.
H.P. Lovecraft: The Fiction is part of Barnes & Noble’s Library of Essential Writers. Each title in the series presents the finest works—complete and unabridged—from one of the greatest writers in literature in magnificent, elegantly designed hardback editions. Every volume also includes an original introduction that provides the reader with enlightening information on the writer’s life and works.
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Pub. Date: October 2008
ISBN-13: 9781435107939
1120pp
$12.95
10-12-08, 03:13 PM
#16
DVD Talk Hero
Hmmm. I have the Arkham House editions edited by S.T. Joshi. It's three volumes (plus another for the ghost-written stuff). The margins must be pretty small to fit it all into a single volume.
He wrote some awful dreck. I hope the book is arranged so that a new reader doesn't get frustrated and quit before getting to the good stuff.
It's also really cheap. Has Lovecraft gone public domain?
He wrote some awful dreck. I hope the book is arranged so that a new reader doesn't get frustrated and quit before getting to the good stuff.
It's also really cheap. Has Lovecraft gone public domain?
10-13-08, 02:48 AM
#18
DVD Talk Hero
So is this going to be a reprint of the Arkham House volumes or the three Del Rey trade paperbacks?
10-13-08, 09:23 AM
#19
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,786
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This has an introduction by ST Joshi, and small intros by him for each piece. This has the definitive texts, at times even corrected from the Arkham House editions. No collaborations nor revisions are included (save for one which is mostly by HPL) - those should come out in a separate volume. Everything's arranged chronologically.
10-14-08, 12:22 PM
#20
Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 149
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just got this. This mother is huge and beautiful. I had the Penguin Classics trade paperbacks, which I recently discovered lacked a few of his stories, especially the juvenilia. It feels like owning the Necronomicon. Wondrous thing, it is.
10-14-08, 03:46 PM
#22
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,786
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
As I explained right above, this is all of Lovecraft's original fiction. All of it, and with definitive texts. This does not, however, include his collaborations and revisions, of which there are a sizable amount. Although one such collaborative story is included anyway, since it's reputed to be written mostly by Lovecraft alone.
10-14-08, 04:25 PM
#23
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Okay, it was just a bit unclear to me. I know it says complete and you mentioned definitive, but it just read to me like the works included were the best versions, not that this was actually the ultimate book of his works.
Also, are you just thinking his collaborative work would come in another volume or is it something you know?
This is definitely worth picking up for me. I've read a few of his stories, and I could borrow a few books to read them all, but having them in one location is ideal.
Also, are you just thinking his collaborative work would come in another volume or is it something you know?
This is definitely worth picking up for me. I've read a few of his stories, and I could borrow a few books to read them all, but having them in one location is ideal.
10-14-08, 04:46 PM
#24
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,786
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's been rumored on a Lovecraft forum that a volume collecting all the collaborations and revisions should come out sometime in the near future. It would not be from Barnes & Noble, though. Nothing official, of course. I am very hopeful that this will happen, as that will allow us to have within two books all of Lovecraft's fiction. His poetry was collected in an earlier volume The Ancient Track, which is another comprehensive book compiled by ST Joshi. So only three books to contain all of Lovecraft's creative output. Now, his non-fictional writings and letters are another story...
10-14-08, 06:18 PM
#25
DVD Talk Special Edition
I have the Library of America edition, here.
I suppose I'm missing some pretty essential stories? I have been a fan of what I have read, but don't feel a strong desire to read everything the man has ever written. Suggestions? Thoughts on the book I have? Glad to have read the thread: thanks OP!
I suppose I'm missing some pretty essential stories? I have been a fan of what I have read, but don't feel a strong desire to read everything the man has ever written. Suggestions? Thoughts on the book I have? Glad to have read the thread: thanks OP!