H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics Series)

Wonderful Despite Lack of Proofreading

I have just order'd this leatherbound edition of Lovecraft's The Fiction. I have the first printing, and it is a wonderful book, yet highly flawed by a lack of proofreading. Martin Andersson has diligently examined the complete text of the book and has found hundreds if not thousands of typographical errors that have crept into the book, making it the most textually flawed edition of Lovecraft's tales ever published! This is a tragick irony since the book's editor, the amazing S. T. Joshi, has worked so hard to correct Lovecraft's texts for his numerous editions of Lovecraft's poetry and prose. I am hopeful that many if not most of the mistakes have been corrected for this leatherbound edition--although I doubt that that will be the case.

Still, the book is wonderful and a joy to read. One of the best features is that editor Joshi includes a wee introductory note for each tale, telling the story's publishing history, facts concerning its composition, &c. The book includes all of the fiction that Lovecraft wrote on his own (thus we do not find the revisions, and the only collaboration included is "Through the Gates of the Silver Key"). As an appendix we are treated with Lovecraft's juvenilia (included the first publication of a second version of "The Mysterious Ship") and the discarded draft of "The Shadow over Innsmouth." Also included is Lovecraft's excellent essay. SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE. I have wanted to purchase a second copy of this book and am really looking forward to seeing the leatherbound edition. I shall post a video review of it on my MrWilum channel at YouTube, where I discuss Lovecraftian literature.

13 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

This 2011 edition CORRECTED the 2008 editions errors...

This 2011 'bonded leather' edition of Lovecraft's Complete Fiction, thanks Martin Anderson for help on the texts, and after comparing his long errata list of the 2008 edition, I found they were indeed corrected... (as stores had told me the opposite was likely, I thought to let others know who value this author)... This is an attractive and durably bound book... as to the 'bonded leather', it is mostly a tasteful synthetic alternative to dead animal skin, which may be a plus for some... H.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Nice book, but I don't think it's bound in leather. Or vinyl, even.

At least it sure doesn't look/feel/smell like leather; more like some kind of fiberboard-ish material. Since it's classified and described as a "leatherbound classic," I was expecting it to be leather/vinyl and to fit in with my other Barnes & Noble leatherbound books, but it doesn't because it isn't. Had I known this fact, I wouldn't have purchased it since I already have a previous clothbound edition. The supposed "leatherbound" book is essentially a down-sized copy of the earlier Library of Essential Writers version B&N released a few years ago. Everything is the same--introduction, stories, even page numbers--except that this new version is missing the brief author bio at the end and the typesetting is smaller to fit the "tidier" dimensions of this new edition. Also, B&N's poor packing job managed to mushroom a corner during transit. I can always exchange it at the nearest B&N store, but I shouldn't have to do that. It would be nice if they would at least try to protect the book while packing it for shipment. One air pillow in an oversized box just doesn't cut it.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

The Misspellings of Madness

It seemed like a very good deal in the store at $20, but if you want to be swept away to fantastic realms, DON'T buy this edition! No sooner do I begin to really get into a story than I'm rudely jerked back to reality by extremely obvious and irritating typos, misspellings, and grammar errors! The entire book is rife with glaring mistakes that should have been caught by any semi-competent proofreader. It really diminishes the quality of one's reading experience. What's more, the (very lovely) binding is regrettably quite shoddily made. I've only owned this book for a few weeks, and the other day the thin layer of photographic foil on the front began spontaneously to peel and flake off! Also, to agree with some of the comments below, it is definitely not leather. Which is completely fine; I don't require my reading material to be wrapped in dead cow, but they should probably be clearer in their product description since they do say "leather."
Do go and buy some other Lovecraft collection, because the stories are wonderful, but if typos and misspellings bad enough to actually change the meaning of sentences (e.g. snakes "writing" instead of "writhing") are going to disturb your reading experience, THIS IS NOT THE ONE FOR YOU.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Lovecraft Lives

This is the way Lovecraft would have wanted it. In a style of Class and like it would have been published during his lifetime...Enjoy Americass no the Worlds true great Author...:)

Many in the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Strange, and Horror would all agree.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Buy this - but this NOW

What else is there to say about the stories themselves - they're wonderfully engaging, thought-provoking, weird, and wonderful. Lovecraft would be perfect to read in ANY format, the only real question here is about the quality of the book itself.

I am pleased - overjoyed - to say that even though this book ran under twenty dollars, this book is one that will remain in my library for as long as I live. I had to choose between this and the "Necronomicon" for a collection of Lovecraft, and the classier look of this version won out over the other. The pages are wonderful - thick, perfect to the touch, and classic. The binding is extremely durable - and, can I just say, looks awesome? - and the design of the whole thing screams "personal library addition"!

The price is right, the book is a beautiful compendium for the works of Lovecraft, and save for perhaps wanting an ebook version of his complete works, I forsee this as being my end-all collection of his works.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Long Time Coming

That it's taken this long for a Complete Fiction of Lovecraft is a crime. That we get one in this format and edited by premier Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi completely makes up for it. An essential book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The leatherbound collection consists of nice books and all, but

The leatherbound collection consists of nice books and all, but I was extremely disappointed to learn that these books are manufactured in China and not the United States. Guess I should have known since these books are only $18. But if you do not care where these are made they are fairly decent.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

H.P. Lovecraft and his stories have inspired dozens of authors a

H.P. Lovecraft and his stories have inspired dozens of authors and newly formed stories of our generation because of the depiction of the weird and diabolical from his mind. Everything about Lovecraft and his stories is just incredible; they are part of an absolute imagination. If you are a true reader of sci-fi/fantasy, you MUST purchase this book of Lovecraft's fiction (I still need to obtain his poetry) for his works are essential to any science fiction readers' collection. By the way, the Cthulhu Mythos is the greatest thing of all time (If you do read/purchase his works).

A brillant book to introduce any individual to one of the greate

A brillant book to introduce any individual to one of the greatest horror authors who ever lived.
Lovecraft understood that the greatest fear came from the unknown. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said "We have nothing to fear but fear itself". While this is true, a great author like Lovecraft can use this to their advantage. Good horror shouldn't have to go into detail about every little pus-dripping sore on the body of a horrendous corpse risen from the dead. All good horror needs to do is provoke you into drawing from your imagination to fill in the blanks with what terrifies us. After all, who can scare us better than ourselves?
This volume contains all of Lovecraft's stories, including some of the more "meh" ones. While some of his tales can inspire nightmarish dread, others sound like campfire stories with better writing. That's okay though, because those are few and far inbetween.
I did encounter a bit of an issue with the image on the front cover of the book. Rather than a plastic image stuck on the front cover, it's actually a shiny type of thin material, and it's begun to peel around the edges. It's a minor annoyance, but an annoyance none the less.
Honestly though, Lovecraft is great. If you're looking for a good selection of short, disturbing tales, then this is for you.

Suspicion ¿

We all know that Lovecraft's works are a monument of XXth century litterature.  So the question lies not here, but in the following suspicion : how can this book be called Complete works, if its number of pages is 30% inferior to Harper Collins' edition in three volumes ?  And what about the corrections to be executed on first edition hideous typo ? Really dommage, because a one-volume complete edition was a *nice* idea.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended for all readers

not only will you be delighted by Lovecraft's works both famous and infamous but you will learn how they came to be, when they where written and where they where published altogether a very enjoyable read

For the completist, but not without its share of errors...

I'm happy there is finally a "complete" (stories) collection for H.P. Lovecraft! That said, it carries forward many typographical errors, rather than utilizing the "corrected" editions from S.T. Joshi...

I'm hopeful they will eventually re-produce this in a new edition that uses the updated / corrected texts of the various stories and does a better job of proofing. I know, I know, there are a lot of pages... But, that's what proofreaders get *paid for*, to catch all these glaring mistakes before publication. If someone can read through a story and clearly, easily discern spelling mistakes and other typographical errors, it represents a failure on the part of the publisher to do their due diligence.

Typos aside, I love this book, and you will too. If/when a corrected version comes out, I'll upgrade to that. Until then, this will fill a major need. To be complemented nicely by The Ancient Track, the completist collection of Lovecraft's poetry, put out by Joshi.

Incredible

I received this book as a gift and I was so excited. I was frustrated that the only way to get all of Lovecraft's work in one volume was via an e-book and I'm certainly not privileged enough to own an e-reader. This book is a must-have for fans of Lovecraft's works. The book is beautiful, the works are arranged in chronological order and there is a small introduction before each piece that contains fascinating information. This is perhaps my favorite out of all the books I own. I highly recommend this.

SIMPLY A RELIC

this book is amazing with almost 1500 pages of lovecraft its essential for any lovecraft fans for 20 bucks u get what u pay for it also has all the stories in the order he wrote them

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

At last! I had just about given up.

I've been waiting for a complete, authoritative Lovecraft collection for about 25 years. Thus far I've been living off my hodgepodge collection of around ten paperbacks which together almost comprise Lovecraft's complete canon. I say 'almost' because there have always been stories not included in any of the previous compilations, such as The Shadow Out Of Time and The Colour Out Of Space (glaring omissions!) But now, for the first time I'm aware of, Lovecraft's legacy has been preserved in a single volume and this is a really beautiful edition. And it's also too affordable to pass up. Now, Lovecraft did collaborate on a number of tales with other authors, and I don't believe any of the results have been included. But an enthusiast can obtain those from various other sources. This volume is the pure, the pulp, the putrescent. Other horror anthologies pale in comparison. The biographical and prefatory notes by S. T. Joshi are very informative and provide much insight into the man and the strange cosmology he crafted. This edition has instantly become a treasured part of my library.

HP Lovecraft's leather bound book of complete fiction...

I purchased this book recently, as I saw it in the B&N store near where I live. I have the other version put out by B&N, which is the 2008 issue of HP Lovecraft's Complete Fiction- "Complete and Unabridged." This new version is very nice indeed- it is beautifully bound in leather, with new artwork (also new artwork on the inside cover), and the outer pages of the book are painted with gold leaf. There is also a gold-colored page bookmark that is attached to the binding. Now, this new version of the book is also from 2008 (both books have the intro/notes from S.T. Joshi), but below it states that it is a 2010 edition; however from the table of the contents it is clear that this is the same material as the original book released back in 2008, so far as I can see. It also appears to have the same typos so far- I read the Terrible Old Man and it has a few typos, that are exactly the same in both editions. However, this new book is definitely worth picking up, esp. if you are a Lovecraft fan. It has all of his stories, including an introduction by S.T. Joshi, an appendix containing his very early stories (juvenalia), his essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature, and a brief "About the Author" section. Also, just to note, the typos do not bother me all that much, and I have a feeling that this book, once sold out, will be pretty much collectible. I have already seen copies of this same book selling on Ebay, as of April 2011. If you want a copy, get one soon, because it will probably become as hard to find as the original version was.

Simply Wonderful!

I was introduced to H.P. Lovecraft's writing over a year ago, but unfortunately the only thing I could ever find of his writing in bookstores were different small collections of some of his stories. That is, until I came across this magnificent edition which includes all of Lovecraft's short stories as well as his novellas, stories he wrote as a child, and his essay "supernatural horror in literature." It's a beautiful leatherbound copy with gold leafed pages and a colorful cover that will look good on anyone's bookshelf. Overall, I recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Mr. Lovecraft like myself. Great job Barnes & Noble!

Beyond amazing!!!

I seriously just bought "Necronomicon" cause I wanted a hardcover Lovecraft compendium than I saw this beauty and B&N and I was like NOOOOO!!!!!!!! The leatherbound classics are the best thing that has ever happened to books! Even though I bought Necro, I am considering buying this one too, I know it's the Joshi revisions but does anyone know if the illustrations are in this one. Let me know!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

this is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.