H. P. Lovecraft: Why Read the Complete Fiction?

[@fordprefect80]

Why Read the Complete Fiction? Because he's a bloody legend.

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

Good choice of words.

[@Mondomeyer]

A very bloody legend. Bwahahaha!

[@nicholasjones3207]

He’s immensely re-readable. I don’t read many books over and over but lovecraft is so good. Even the revisions

[@TheNineteenthCentury]

Yes, he is very much re-readable. I haven't currently read all of Lovecraft, as I am trying to make the pleasure of first-time reads last longer; but I find myself wanting to re-read the stories I have read as much as I want to read new ones. I must have read "The Call of Cthulhu" five times since I first encountered H.P.L. in early 2022, and yet there are more than twenty Lovecraft stories I haven't read even once.

[@jonathonfrazier6622]

Have you checked out Clark Ashton Smith? I find him quite rereadable.

[@nicholasjones3207]

@@jonathonfrazier6622 I have some books of his stories. Thanks for the suggestion

[@AmalijaKomar]

Lovecraft is not just a horror classic. He is a true classic.

[@freelivefree7221]

Lovecraft both stylistically and in the mechanics of storytelling improved as he got older. It's a shame he had such a short life. One wonders what he might be capable of if he lived longer.

[@Dalekzilla]

He died in poverty, never dreaming the HUGE influence his works would have on future writers and film makers. He was not a saint, all Lovecraft devotees know that, but what we also know is that he was one of the greatest writers the Human Race ever produced. Ia! Lovecraft ftagn!

[@TheAtlanteanArchive]

Lovecraft wrote some great tales. "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness" are my favorites of his longer-form stories, but I'm especially fond of his early Dream Cycle stories when he was channeling Lord Dunsany. Lovecraft once said that "The Willows," by Algernon Blackwood was the finest weird tale ever written, but I think that honor should go to either "The White Ship," by Lovecraft himself, or "The End of the Story," by Clark Ashton Smith. Lovecraft is just so wonderfully creepy, and the high prose style he uses adds to the atmosphere that much more. Comparing and contrasting Howard's and Lovecraft's styles is a lot of fun. Lovecraft tells you that there's a monster under your bed, and counsels you to hold very still so that you don't wake it. Howard grabs an Atlantean sword, and wants to drag it out from under the bed and split its skull, and then celebrate with a tankard of ale. LOL

[@Kite562reviews]

I really do like how lovecraft stories can linger in your mind like rubix cube being solved with every small turn you make. Lovecrafts work has really surprised me from what I've read so far. 🙂❤📚

[@tfred6403]

Lovecraft: I am surprised by how many horror and sci-fi so called aficionados don't know who he is! Please continue doing reviews on his work.

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

Over many years, I have probably read all his fiction with the exception of his revisions. I have read a handful of those. My favorite is The Loved Dead.

[@KyleMaxwell]

Lovecraft was how I found your channel! I read all of his solo works a couple of years ago, and all his collaborations a few months ago.

[@mc_zittrer8793]

A real shame history never got a picture of Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard toasting with a pair of those mega-goblets Howard was always drinking from.

[@nathanhawkins902]

I'll have to put time aside soon to read all of Lovecraft's stories. It's currently what I'm doing for Poe, whom I've heard is one of his primary influences.

[@Carlo-V.]

Long live Mythos Mondays!

[@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels]

I did read the complete fiction already, the big bindup from Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics, and I wholeheartedly agree!

[@bigaldoesbooktube1097]

I love your passion for Lovecraft

[@nathanburns9177]

I'm a simple man I see HP Lovecraft I click😊

[@TheEricthefruitbat]

I loved The Tomb and Other Stories!

[@robpetersen87]

I’m glad you’re including the revisions. Several of them are incredibly underrated. Particularly The Horror in the Museum and Out of the Aeons. Some of them are absolutely godawful, like the de Castro stories, which is also interesting in its own way. It certainly shows what he was up against with the rewrites.

[@cmmosher8035]

I haven't reread the dream cycle stories in a while but this is giving me the urge.

[@sketchyloop951]

It's because of you that I've been introduced to Lovecraft.

[@tonette6592]

NOw I am curious about Lovecraft's poetry. You really keep introducing me to more and more.

[@bingerz237]

I. The Book The place was dark and dusty and half-lost In tangles of old alleys near the quays, Reeking of strange things brought in from the seas, And with queer curls of fog that west winds tossed. Small lozenge panes, obscured by smoke and frost, Just shewed the books, in piles like twisted trees, Rotting from floor to roof-congeries Of crumbling elder lore at little cost. I entered, charmed, and from a cobwebbed heap Took up the nearest tome and thumbed it through, Trembling at curious words that seemed to keep Some secret, monstrous if one only knew. Then, looking for some seller old in craft, I could find nothing but a voice that laughed.

[@danieltenney1896]

I've been slowly working my way through the complete collection for Lovecraf in-between other reads. His work can get dense but its so atmospheric and interesting. I couldn't imagine trying to read it all in one month though! Good luck with it. I'll probably join in by read a few stories that I haven't read yet in December. Everyone always wants to point to the period racism and obvious fears of people that he had. But his work is so much more than that, and it has been so influential to other writers. I completely agree that his work is definitely worth the time. Thanks for sharing Michael!

[@gustavo9506]

I'm re-reading the old gentleman's complete fiction through the three-volume omnibus edition from Pulp-Lit Productions. They're a bit expensive but exquisitely made. Highly recommended.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I know Pulp-Lit also did a one volume edition that includes most of the revisions. That thing must be massive. Unfortunately I don’t know if the corrected texts were used or not.

[@chocolatemonk]

I revisited Lovecraft a year ago with The Colour Out of Space and found his prose / style jarring and to read then; as it had been 10 years or so ago. I then listened to the story on audiobook and read the book with. I found this helped with my cadence in reading and helped a almost as much as having a spiritual moment. I have always been a fan of his stories for content but now even more so.

[@JohnAllenRoyce]

Haven't read Lovecraft but I'm looking forward to joining in on the project in December. Lovecraft is to me one of those authors you hear about but missed somehow. I didn't have a good entry point, so thanks very much Michael K.!

[@ObscureBookAdventures]

I’ve read some of the short stories and I’m definitely in for more. So far I found the outsider the best. But I have a lot to read yet.

[@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

Sounds like fun. Good luck, Michael. Happy reading.

[@stretmediq]

I've always been curious about his grandfather's library where he spent so much of his youth and which influenced him as a writer. What books were in it? How big was it? Are there any photos of it?

[@TheNineteenthCentury]

I know practically nothing about his grandfather's library, but I've heard that books like the Arabian Nights (which Lovecraft adored when he discovered it as a child) were within it, and that H.P.L. of course first read them there.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

No photos that I am aware of.

[@tonystales4724]

I bought a hardback edition of his complete works, but the one I'm most impressed with is the Barnes and Noble Cthulhu Mythos Tales. It's green and gold, stunningly beautiful. I also have a Word Cloud Classics edition of his Cthulhu Mythos tales, which is in a strange purple colour, but it's faux leather. It is very nice, and easier to read than any of the hardcover editions. All his stories are worth, and I totally agree, not even having read them all yet, that one can see his progression as a writer. The Temple, and The Terrible Old Man are particularly good ones that are not part of the Cthulhu Mythos Tales editions, supposedly not being closely related enough to have been included I suppose. But they were EXCELLENT.

[@evanparkinson7525]

For years I only had the paper back omnibus edition's of Lovecraft's work. Sadly they had gotten water damaged several years ago and were ruined beyond being readable. This being the case I hadn't read his stories for a long time. Lately I've found myself wanting to return to his stories. About 2 weeks ago I tried to find Hardback copies of the Variorum Edition's but to no avail. I even emailed 'Hippocampus Press' asking if there were any plans to publish the series in hardback again at any point. Unfortunately I didn't receive a reply. In the end I ordered 'H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction (Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics)' which should be arriving soon. I might pick up the variorum edition's in the future but only if all four are available in Hardback, I'm a bit of a stickler for consistency and It's a bit odd that they don't offer the complete set in hardback... Anyway my hard back copy of the complete fiction is on it's way. I'm looking forward to delving in again, soon.

[@Carlo-V.]

Thank you for debunking the false legend that Lovecraft was a bad prose writer!

[@glenmcculla6843]

I remember having a (very drunken) argument with a friend years ago regarding 'canon', and it concluding with Lovecraft, Howard, Ashton Smith, Dunsany, Poe et al ALL being canon in the same universe. I stand by that decision. It all counts, it's all important, and it all should be read.

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

Beautiful edition of Lovecraft's work are the 2 Gollancz hardcovers. Necronomicon and Eldritch Tales. Old ones approved... just ask Cthulhu behind you.

[@nathanburns9177]

I have the Barnes & Noble edition

[@MagusMarquillin]

They're the ones I have (albeit soft cover) ard are beautiful - apparently/unfortunately though, they are also not fixed by Joshi nor are they complete, missing some of the co-authored work for instance (there's a list at the end of Eldritch Tales), and a lot of poetry (maybe because it gets off brand). It has the important stories though, good essays, and the presentation and illustrations are really fitting.

[@robpetersen87]

@@nathanburns9177 the corrected (i.e. 2nd printing) B&N edition is my favorite collection of his ever published. I love the cover and I love how comprehensive it is.

[@inanimatecarbongod]

I remain kind of incensed that the fourth volume of the variorum edition is still paperback only. I don't know why most of Hippocampus Press' publications aren't in ebook; if they were I'd buy a lot more of their stuff.

[@justinecooper9575]

I listened to all of his fiction, in publication order, in the audio versions produced by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society. Unfortunately, they couldn't include the collaborations with C. M. Eddy.

[@jerr3d]

My first HPL read was At the Mountains of Madness. With that horrible cover of a learing face with one bulging eye and and eyepatch that had nothing to do with the story iirc. The rest were the 70s Ballantine editions. Favorite story is Shadow Over Innsmouth, which I recall watching a review of in one of your excellent videos.

[@alexnejako777]

i have the collection called the Necronomicon. it has many footnotes. a little Lovecraft is good, too much makes you wonder if reality is leaking

[@thedevil1882]

Sometimes I think that when Lovecraft use the word indescribable about a creature its more scary than when he describes monsters in detail. Just thinking that there might be a monster under the bed is usually more frightening than actually se it. Lovecraft describes his monsters well though. With Stephen King I usually feel dissapointed when the entites enters, his stories are usually more effective up til that point.

[@stephennootens916]

To thing all these years later and now there are picture books of Call of Cthulhu you can read to your kids and one were he helps kids learn the alphabet.

[@robpetersen87]

Michael, I know you're constantly inundated with requests, but I'm going to throw another on the pile anyway: I hope you get to the great Oliver Onions one of these days. If ever there were an unsung early master of horror who can stand with the likes of Blackwood, Lovecraft, and Machen, it's Onions.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You are right about Onions.

[@n.b.2164]

I wonder what Lovecraft thought about William Hope Hodgson. WHW predated him and used cosmic horror elements.

[@glockensig]

H.P. is not my cup of tea....but going to try again. Bought a nice collection of his best stories at B&N......

[@w.adammandelbaum1805]

May I suggest The Dreams in the Witch House and Rats in the Walls.

[@glockensig]

​​@@w.adammandelbaum1805 You sure can! Thanks!! It's on the list!

[@gavinmcintosh5716]

I'm premature 😮 currently up to The Hound 😊

[@mrmicro22]

Lovecraft is great for the mood and style he invokes. The whole mythology and his willingness to let others play in his sandbox and build off that makes it one of the earliest "shared universes". I never accepted his idea that humans are helpless in the face of cosmic horror. The humans may be in peril but I believe as Robert E Howard and Conan did. Kill the wizard, break the mirror, extinguish the flame, disrupt the ceremony, free the girl, drive the boat, do what is needed to escape and fight another day. If it was always hopeless, Call of Cthulhu would not be such a popular game.. This is my complaint as well with the Repairman Jack stories. The Adversary is active and evil. The forces of good are are tepid and neutral at best. I want to read the adventure of the fight against evil. I can find mediocrity in the real world. There needs to be a journey for the hero but eventally, the hero needs to commit and fight for good. Otherwise, why bother?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Lovecraft didn’t care much for heroes journeys or good vs. evil. He knew there was plenty of that kind of thing out there already and he had his own tales to tell.

[@charliedogg7683]

Some of HPL's stories are stinkers but you need these to really appreciate his great works. And I agree that reading them in order of composition is a very important aspect of this process. However I draw the line at his so-called "juvenilia", HPL's writings as a pre-teen, which I view as some publisher just trying to cash in on HPL's reputation. What's more, his stories are all public domain so if you just want to enjoy them without being concerned about Joshi's corrected editions, you can do so. Really, there's no reason for a fan of Fantasy, Horror or Weird Fiction to not read HPL.

[@jamesshaw250]

Horror Tolkien.

[@TheNineteenthCentury]

What do you think is the most disturbing Lovecraft story? For me it's either "The Mound" or "The Picture in the House."

[@guaporeturns9472]

I remember reading "The Color out of Space” and getting kinda spooked. The part where he goes upstairs and is checking the rooms is kinda suspenseful in a way not really typical of his style of writing.

[@TheNineteenthCentury]

@@guaporeturns9472 I agree that scene is suspenseful, but I would argue that there are many other scenes in Lovecraft's work that are equally or even more so; suspense is not uncommon in his oeuvre.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@TheNineteenthCentury Yeah the way that scene was constructed was different in my opinion.. the slow walk up the stairs .. going door to door..It just hits me different than any other Lovecraft ..but feel free to disagree

[@robpetersen87]

The Colour Out of Space by a good margin for me. It's certainly his bleakest tale. The Shadow Over Innsmouth is also very unsettling, and the escape from the hotel is probably his single best example of the horror of immediate danger (with the chases through the ruins in ATMOM and The Shadow Out of Time pulling in at 2nd and 3rd).

[@TheNineteenthCentury]

@@robpetersen87 Certainly it's a bleak tale. Out of all the characters in Lovecraft's fiction, the Gardner family arguably suffers the worst fate -- though there are a lot of terrible ways to end up in his stories. Zamacona in The Mound suffered a fate equally terrible, perhaps even worse. Then there was poor Warren in The Statement of Randolph Carter, and the scientists who were massacred in At the Mountains of Madness. And just imagine being the narrator of Dagon, or one of the sailors exploring R'lyeh. The list goes on and on.

[@MourningConstitution]

Thanks!

[@redwawst3258]

😊

[@asdfasdf5695]

Lovecraft's more fantasy-oriented works (like The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath) often get neglected in favor of his cosmic horror fiction, which is a shame, since that's such an imaginative tale: imagine Lovecraft writing Alice in Wonderland.