At the Mountains of Madness and Other Weird Tales (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)

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At the Mountains of Madness and Other Weird Tales (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) (eBook) Pub. Date: 3/15/2011 Publisher: Barnes & Noble
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At the Mountains of Madness and Other Weird Tales (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) Pub. Date: 7/17/2009 Publisher: Barnes & Noble

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Overview

Multi-eyed protoplasmic entities, flesh-eating ghouls, animate corpses, time-traveling body snatchers, and, yes, huge albino penguins. These are some of the bizarre creatures that populate the universe created by American horror author H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft has influenced many of today’s most famous writers and artists, including master of contemporary horror fiction Stephen King, Academy Award-nominated director Guillermo Del Toro, and artist and Alien set-designer H. R. Giger.

This collection includes three selections from the Cthulhu Mythos: the novella At the Mountains of Madness, which is often considered Lovecraft’s masterpiece; “The Thing on the Doorstep”; and “The Shadow Out of Time.” While including all the chilling “cyclopean vistas,” monstrous abominations and appalling transformations that readers have come to expect from Lovecraft, this also showcases his fantasy writing in stories such as “The Cats of Ulthar,” “The Silver Key,” and notably The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781435116474
Publisher: Barnes & Noble
Publication date: 7/17/2009
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 156,583
Series: Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading
Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born on August 20, 1890, in Providence, Rhode Island. When Lovecraft was three, his father was admitted to an insane asylum, and by the time he was eight he suffered his own “near-breakdown.” The year before that, he had begun writing short horror tales.

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Average Rating 4.5

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VogonPoetry

Posted April 1, 2011

Definitely not disappointed!

At the Mountains of Madness is more than a collection of ethereal, sometimes disturbing pulp stories from the early twentieth century. It is an opportunity to walk through dreams, to see both the light and dark sides of what the human mind has to offer. It has stories that discuss everything from a man's quest through strange and magical lands to a group of vengeful cats tired of being attacked by a cruel couple. Some of these stories are breathtakingly beautiful, while others are so unnerving that even a seasoned horror fan might be tempted to sleep with the lights on for a few nights. However, they all reveal something important about humanity: mankind is a painfully inquisitive species, with infinite capacity for imagination- something that many would do well to remember as they discount the power of thought and invention. Although I enjoyed the short novels included in this collection, my favorite parts of the entire book were two short stories: The Cats of Ulthar and Pickman's Model, as well as the vivid descriptions that illustrated the dreamscapes each story revealed. The Cats of Ulthar appealed to my love of old stories, the kind that, though not entirely suitable for children, always seem to be told around campfires and at sleepovers. The simple tale of a group of cats choosing to avenge their brethren who had died at the hands of an evil old couple was chillingly ironic, with an ending so filled with poetic justice that it evoked the "He had it coming" endings of fairy tales. On the other hand, Pickman's Model , a story about an artist who painted horrific beings, reminded me of a very different set of stories I had read growing up, stories designed to terrify those far older than their target audience, and with illustrations that seemed to stare malevolently at the reader. Although I enjoyed most of At the Mountains of Madness, I had one qualm with it. Since the author wrote in a different time, with different social standards, some of what he wrote has become offensive over the years. It is difficult to tell whether he was satirizing racists through his writing, though that possibility certainly exists. This ambiguity bothered me, and occasionally sent a sour note through an otherwise enjoyable book. As a horror fan, and a lover of surreal worlds, I loved At the Mountains of Madness. The strange creatures, fantastic lands, harsh irony, and intriguing possibilities drew me into its bizarre world, and I found myself unable to put the book down. However, I acknowledge that these stories are not for everyone. They are suitable for anyone over thirteen (the stories can be intense and incredibly disturbing) who enjoys fantasy, horror, or stories that are just a bit different from the normal adolescent fare.
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