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Loading... At the Mountains of Madness [novella] (1936)by H. P. Lovecraft
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Honestly, this is probably Lovecraft's best story. It proves that he could, in fact, write quality cosmic horror when he didn't fall back on bigotry. I love love love the Antarctic setting and the scientific tone of the piece, and how we basically get a tour or tasting menu of the whole weird world. I would pretty much recommend this to anyone unqualified, which I can't say about basically any other of his work. One of the most complete feeling Lovecraft stories, but still falls into the trap of being a post-event narration which although a common contemporary format to Lovecraft, serves to diffuse most of the tension of the story itself. The cosmic horror is supposed to come from the revelations of powerful forces beyond our comprehension hiding beneath a thin veil of ignorance, ready to reclaim the earth and level mankind's petty accomplishments. Unfortunately for the horror, the eldritch horror at the core of this story is sympathetic, and even the narrator points this out. Reading this as part of [b:The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft|11851522|The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft|H.P. Lovecraft|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327886768s/11851522.jpg|16807494] Lovecraft's style of horror, at least in this novella, is not to my tastes. I didn't find it scary or that horrifying but rather somewhat dull. There was too much "it was so horrible I can't bring myself to say..." so that the big reveal came more as a yawn than a shriek. I bet that a pretty scary film could be made from this though! no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesDelta Science Fiction (198) — 4 more Is contained inH. P. Lovecraft, Gesammelte Werke: Gebunden in feingeprägter Leinenstruktur auf Naturpapier aus Bayern. Mit Goldprägung (Anaconda Gesammelte Werke 45) (German Edition) by H. P. Lovecraft (indirect) At the Mountains of Madness and Other Weird Tales (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) by H. P. Lovecraft Foundations of Fear by David Hartwell (indirect) Has the adaptationWas inspired byInspiredHas as a studyNotable Lists
Fiction.
Horror.
Suspense.
Thriller.
HTML: The only audio edition of At the Mountains of Madness authorized by the H. P. Lovecraft Estate! A master of terror and nightmarish visions, H. P. Lovecraft solidified his place at the top of the horror genre with this macabre supernatural tale. When a geologist leads an expedition to the Antarctic plateau, his aim is to find rock and plant specimens from deep within the continent. The barren landscape offers no evidence of any life-form??until they stumble upon the ruins of a lost civilization. Strange fossils of creatures unknown to man lead the team deeper, where they find carved stones dating back millions of years. But it is their discovery of the terrifying city of the Old Ones that leads them to an encounter with an untold menace. Deliberately told and increasingly chilling, At the Mountains of Madness is a must-have for every fan of classic terror. No library descriptions found. |
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Gothic horror...? No idea. I don't mind that much. But the writing of H.P. Lovecraft is pure art, like a goldsmith who patiently puts together a piece of jewelry.
Where current "literature" must be full of blood, curses and sex, Lovecraft here spins a finely woven web of tension where, without immediately seeing horrors passing by on the pages, you get the feeling that you are together with the survivors of the expedition. to tiptoe through the encampment and see with your own eyes what has taken place. Added to this is the powerful, sometimes somewhat technical, description of everything that can be seen, and it gives off an icy cold that makes your cold hands cling to the book. The final discovery..... comes as expected as it is unexpected. And I think it certainly laid a foundation for similar literature in the centuries that followed. Even authors (not my favorite!) such as Stephen King indicate that they have been inspired by Lovecraft. And that means something! It is not a genre that I will want to read much further, but that is more because I prefer books where the obvious is not always displayed in color on the pages. (Detectives, thrillers). A language artist like Lovecraft doesn't need that. And I greet his work "At the mountains of madness" with respect and place it with the other classics on the shelf. Who knows, maybe I'll pick it up again someday and reread it. ( )