The Many Ways At The Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft Creates Tension And Paranoia

Mike joins the Miskatonic University expedition to Antarctica as he talks At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft.
You can purchase The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft here: amzn.to/3i83Q66 (physical) amzn.to/2RYMpKK (digital) amzn.to/333g8Zg (audio)
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#MikesBookReviews #HPLovecraft #Lovecraft

[@austindehn5507]

"The Call of Cthulhu" has both cosmic horror(s) and eldritch written in its text. Nearly one hundred years later, we still use both terms to describe Lovecraft's work.

[@mrwhale7351]

I'm pretty sure he wrote this just to show how much he hates penguins

[@mikesbookreviews]

I mean, who doesn't?

[@justintack5205]

"At the Mountains of Madness" was my first Lovecraft story too, my mom got me into Lovecraft at a very early age. I had this paperback copy with a couple other short stories in addition to AtMoM, but it was the cover that stood out in my child mind: a dude in a hooded robe, which he was holding open to reveal a bare ribcage.

[@VaskoBuk]

***Spoilers ahead*** First of all, great video, man! BTW this is my favorite Lovecraft story. - The cold, eerie, lonely and mysterious wastelands of the Antarctic; - The de-centering of humanity in the face of the unfathomable age of the Elder Things' civilization; - The revelation that mankind's primate ancestors are simply a product of the Elder Things' genetic engineering (for the purpose of food and amusement!); - The subtle way in which the reader is driven to feel sympathy for the curious and ingenious Elder Things and to lament their slow civilizational decline; - That moment near the end, when one of the protagonists, desperately trying to cling on to his sanity, is imagining the chasing shoggoth to be a New York subway train; - The unresolved mystery about what that protagonist actually saw in those mountains, while they were flying away to safety, which proved the final and fatal blow to his sanity. All these elements, and many more, make this story IMO the most potent one in Lovecraft's opus. Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! ;)

[@richcapo8948]

Glad I found your channel! Fellow Lovecraft fan myself and my middle name is Michael haha! Thank you for the time and energy you put into making this video and review. It’s clear how passionate you are about it and I love seeing that! Thanks again and God Bless!

[@fernandogarcia3957]

In my opinion the best Lovecraft story I ever read. (And I think I read them all) Inmersive, realistic to a certain point and delicious if you can describe it in those terms

[@mikesbookreviews]

Well said.

[@clancyconnolly495]

I’m from New England originally and live in the Boston area now. I’ve never read any Lovecraft... I think it’s finally time I changed that! Thank you for showing a good entry point, I am pumped to get into his horror!

[@mikesbookreviews]

I hope you enjoy!

[@arthurodell3281]

My favorite Lovecraft tale is one I don’t hear talked about very often: The Picture in the House. Perhaps it is because the story (especially for Lovecraft) is subtle, but that sense of subtle dread has stuck with me longer than the crazy tentacled elder ones stuff.

[@milkwater1204]

Same here

[@minimumviableplayer1402]

My favorite story is The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, would love to see a review on it sometime. I think it's a bit underappreciated. "Do not call up that which you cannot put down." It shows a more personal take on what meddling with the occult looks like.

[@rafaeltmanso]

It was my first Lovecraft read, and i like it a lot. That shit is creepy tho hahaha!

[@symbolic261293]

This one is my favorite Lovecraft story i'm a huge fan of this writter

[@clarkkentnaruto4322]

Thanks a bunch Mike. I did look up H. P. Lovecraft on the Library of Congress for the Blind BARD app, and I have added to my wish list all of his collections. I may give them a try later when I am not already working on so many books. I tend to listen to 3 chapters a day, which is why it takes me so long.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Read/listen at the pace that works for you, I always say.

[@thamel863]

Just finished reading it, I've enjoyed it a lot. It has a good sense of adventure and exploration. I'm up for my next HP story soon. Thanks Mike for your guidance and introduction to this cephalopods world!

[@thebookbro5150]

Certainly is a unique book! This was the first of Lovecraft that I read and I had no idea what I was getting into. It was so scientific, really immersive. Great review! Love it!

[@alynam82]

I got a collection hardback book of HP LC that I probably got about 5 years ago, and read Chuthlu and Colour of Space. After watching this, I went back and sure enough Mountains of Madness included as well! Just earmarked for TBR 😀☠👾

[@Sactown15]

I just read the Manga version of At The Mountains of Madness. It was adapted by Gou Tanabe. It was a good read and the art is really highly detailed.

[@nicholassealstern]

How faithful is it to the orignial story, if you know? I'm trying to do research on The MoM but I want to try and cut down my effort with a lighter read.

[@madmania5080]

@@nicholassealstern Its fantastic

[@rynoboyz]

If you hate the cold, The Terror by Dan Simmons is excellent!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

I’ve read it and I agree.

[@rynoboyz]

Mike's Book Reviews when you get to Hyperion from the same author you won’t regret it either

[@alynam82]

I just finished this, Mountains of Madness, and I can certainly see the inspiration drawn by Dan Simmons to write The Terror.

[@maxdayton8106]

I'm a Minnesotian that hates winter. I feel a relatable angle on Lovecraft's fear/hate of cold weather

[@untamedrose30]

There is an At The Mountains of Madness manga by Gou Tanabe. I started Lovecraft with this and I loved it. He's done a few H.P. Lovecraft mangas. So for some people reading the manga/comic/graphic novel versions of Lovecraft's work (the ones that have been adapted to that format) might be easier to start with.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I’ve seen some of the art. Very impressive.

[@jasonkendrick681]

I always feel like having a good scrub down in the shower after reading Lovecraft.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha ha 100 percent

[@suzannetol]

I love the cold! But maybe not that cold. Lovecraft's stories are amazing. I've read a lot over the years but his stories always stick with me. The first story I read was Dagon I read of him and it just stuck in my brain. Among my favorite stories are Rats in the walls, The festival, Dagon, and the color out of space. I also enjoy stories around The King in Yellow but I do see them separate from Lovecraft's mythos.

[@mikesbookreviews]

RitW and COoS stuck with me for years.

[@suzannetol]

@@mikesbookreviews @Mike's Book Reviews I still think about so many stories. Dagon and RitW still come to mind so often. The just stick in your brain long after reading them. I can easily visualize the stories in my head and those images can be hard to get out of your mind one's there there.

[@auqua6477]

I find it humorrus that the the Call of Cthulhu is the one everyone have heard about but the Shadow over innsmouth and the Color from space are the only ones I know what the story is about. 😄 I might have to pick that one up with at the mountains of madness, I usually have an easier time reading older horror.

[@Iza56]

Never read anything by lovecraft but I bought at the mountains of madness just to read it this fall

[@Slayereyez]

All his mythos work is in a one book collection if I'm not mistaken. If u enjoy at the mts. Of madness look up some of the authors that have taken his ideas and the mythos, elder gods, great old ones ,ect.

[@mikesbookreviews]

🐙

[@AlbertGauche]

My top three HPL stories are: The Dream-Quest of the Unknowm Kadath, Shadows over Innsmouth, and Color Out of Space.

[@MiaLeyden]

I read this one some years ago in Spanish (my first language), but I seriously want to read Lovecraft in English now I know enough vocabulary to actually do it.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Would be interested in how different of an experience it is.

[@pferd9479]

man i just read it last week and almost cant stop thinking about it, love your rating scale btw

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha. Thanks. I try to be original once in awhile.

[@namesurname7172]

The concept of 20th century Antarctic exploration is what got me hooked. I feel the thrill of adventure, dread, and uncertainy throught the story.

[@Shiraste]

My favorite Lovecraft Story. Playing the RPG marathon adventure Beyond the Mountains of Madness contributed to that. The Outsider, The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Dunwich Horror, The Music of Erich Zann and The Rats in the Walls are my other favorites.

[@mikesbookreviews]

RitW is fantastic.

[@ButtslammerBob]

I Love Lovecraft. I've eaten up every scrap of his material and cosmic horror in general is one of my favorite facets of existence. Do more of these!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Shadow Over Innsmouth and Dunwich Horror will be coming in the next couple weeks.

[@jaimeortiz7199]

I love "Shadow Over Innsmouth". And if you haven't played the "Mansions of Madness" board game, it's awesome.

[@asfaloth12]

Great video! I've meaning to read some Lovecraft...eventually. Thanks for sharing :)

[@mikesbookreviews]

For sure. Thanks for watching

[@Ulmo90]

I just finished this one, my first Lovecraft novel. Thank you for always recommending Lovecraft Mike! I struggled a bit with the language and the style of retelling every part of a science expedition. But I liked the story and I will definitely pick up more Lovecraft stories in the future

[@Astrithor]

Holy crap, fellow Houstonian and fellow Lovecraft fanatic? Man, how am I just now finding you? Subscribed!

[@glacialshield1513]

So this will be my third HPL story that I will have read (I’m 2/3 through at the mountains of madness) and I’ve gotta say the dryness is really getting to me. I thought The Call of Cthulhu was okay, And I loved The Shadow Over Innsmouth, but this one between the dryness and the excessive details of the city and partial removal of tension knowing the narrator and his companion survive both make this story a really rough finish. I was originally driven to HPL books because of my absolute love of Bloodborne by FromSoftware, and I chose these three books because of the influences they had on Bloodborne, but sheesh you’re right about it being similar to Tolkien‘s LOTR books. however with those books I understood the end-goal of the characters in the books and knew what the story was progressing towards. With At The Mountains of Madness I don’t know the end-goal is (aside from dissuading and warning other potential explorers to stay away).

[@brentasmith]

I bought the Lovecraft collection a couple months ago, but had no idea where to start. Gonna start with this one.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Enjoy!

[@Sactown15]

I grew up and live California so when it gets in the 50s I'm actually kinda happy

[@darkkrafter]

funy thing this whas the first lovecraft eldritch horror story i ever lisend to and bought

[@markwatson8714]

I think my favourite Lovecraft story was The Whisperer in Darkness, with the Shadow over Innsmouth and the Dunwich Horror following closely. The wonderful thing about the Mythos is how many writers ended up contributing to it post Lovecraft - it's the reason I ended up reading Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Lin Carter and a host of others.

[@Djordjevicc]

Hey man I don't know if you are interested in video games but 'Bloodborne' has a segment called the Fishing Hamlet and they sort of recreated Shadow over Innsmouths setting, from their perspective. Its really awesome.

[@jamesfetcho6315]

Dig Mountains of Madness, Love all H.P. Lovecraft, and Dig that Mastodon tee. I have a little 1 Guitar instrumental 2 this story if you care.

[@TheFelipebarcafc]

I always going to remember how I discover lovecraft, I was in the street and one guy was selling his old books and between all the books I buy two aleatory and were the case of Charles dexter ward and in the mountain of madness, amazing book by the way

[@mikesbookreviews]

I love stories of how folks discovered some legendary authors.

[@tomahawkchop7669]

Just finished this one today. I hope a Fright Fest becomes a yearly thing.

[@leebrownhill]

Great video Mike! Love these reviews and I'm definitely going to check out this book and make it my first book of Lovecraft's.

[@firlyanofadly8411]

Awesome Mastodon shirt man, so fitting of any Lovecraft reviews. Great job!

[@Catcupid]

I have him on the list to pick up....eventually.

[@perseastheodoropoulos7367]

it was fantastic

[@acueto7]

Oooooo my favorite is Colour out of Space too!!! When he goes into the attic to check on the wife and she crawls towards him, yikes, gets me every time! Another is Rats in the Walls, cannibalism freaks me out, or the one with the book in the old house and the creepy man with the drip from the ceiling, can’t remember the name off the top of my head. I also am a collector of Lovecraft. Awesome video, thanks!!!

[@namesurname7172]

How Lovecraft wrote the narrator's descent into insanity in Rats in the Walls was amazing.

[@ErikWaiss]

Years ago Chaosium published Return to the Mountains of Madness as a HUGE campaign for Call of Cthulhu. (highly recommended if you can even find one) As one of the bonus additions to the package (with expedition patches, keeper's screen, etc.) there were "missing pages" to the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. If you can find those pages, and reread Pym, it really adds a Creepy AF aspect to the atmosphere of deep south polar horror.

[@sebastianbonilla2388]

Hey Mike, greetings from Costa Rica, you should read The Shunned House and The Dreams in the Witch House by Lovecraft!!!

[@roygbiv7370]

Uh oh, Mikey's back with some Lovecraft.

[@d_ruggs]

Lovecraft received a lot of push back at the time for his dark endings. A true horror story where everyone loses, and the universe watches with apathy. This was incredibly uncommon then, and he's one of the first pulp writers to gain popularity with this approach. Hero dies, and the princess he's saving is actually just another monster.

[@TheLibraryofAllenxandria]

Fantastic review! I, like you, have loved Lovecraft for a long time! My favorite board game of all time is Arkham Horror, as well. I like Mountains okay, but it was never one of my favorites. The Elder Things don't really do it for me, though the insanity of this one is pretty great.

[@nessaarandur7740]

Definitely got The Thing vibes from this.

[@ABFrank.]

I'll have to break out my complete tales of h.p. lovecraft again 🐙

[@CowabungaDave]

That technical jargon did rain on my enthusiasm parade fairly quickly. I found my self teetering between boredom and interest. Overall I thought it was good, but there's probably some Lovecraft out there that's more to my taste.

[@devildante9]

I can certainly understand that, but you have to remember that Lovecraft stories are the evolution of the 19th century tales. There was a very popular tradition of trying to pass fantastical stories as real by masking them as scientific journals, scientific expeditions where the most popular vehicle for this. If you want some examples, I would invite you to read some of the ones Poe did (though I'm afraid you will be bored by them, they certainly are an acquired taste). Lovecraft, being the lover of all things old and antique, payed homage to those stories in Mountains of Madness, and Shadow Out of Time. The scientific jargon is quite enjoyable for me, but I have been reading Lovecraft for some 15 years now, so I'm not exactly partial on that point. It lends a certain credence to the story that makes it hit harder, just like mixing fictional books in lists of real ones, and his friends repeating the same books in their stories, so people end up thinking those books really exists (like the Necronomicon).

[@Merrick]

Lovecraft's "multiverse" if you will, (smugly pushes spectacles up nose) was so vast it encompassed other writes. The Hounds of Tindilos comes to mind, but he welcomed other writers to share his world... as long as said writer wasn't of the Jewish persuasion

[@mikesbookreviews]

The benefits of being public domain.

[@winterwolf7423]

Have you watched Lovecraft Country? I'm watching it and I'm wondering if I should have read the Lovecraft books to understand some elements of it better.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I can’t say. I have not watched.

[@anthonynigelkendrick5474]

With a nod to the opening comment 'space' Aurthur C Clark is famos for saying '' There are 2 possibilities 1 . we are alone inthis vast universe or we are not? Both are a terrifying ? great review, i don,t think enough movies TV series and related media is spent to his work?sorry for the spelling mistakes but it's 4am & i'm about to go to bed.

[@richardbrown8966]

John Carpenters The Thing is a modern At the Mountains of Madness. 'Who Goes There' was an homage to H P Lovecraft.

[@turtleanton6539]

Great story but I think Dagon or Call of cluthulu should be the start.

[@markawcom]

How many hours a day do you read? Do you read in the morning and separately in the evening? Or all the way through the day?

[@icesedai]

One of the best!

[@kaylaqueen6640]

I’m from New England and I hate the cold. I can’t even imagine people from the south feeling comfortable here. LOL.

[@dphunk87]

Greetings from Maine!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Say hi to Mr. King for me.

[@dphunk87]

@@mikesbookreviews his house is easy to find and very spooky. I'm in Portland, he's up in Bangor. I'd recommend Google imaging it if you never have

[@cabrademora1]

This story rocks!

[@Salomane]

The focus on science pays off later when he world builds. And as for the prose style, authers today write more simply then they did back in the day. I consider Lovecraft to be college level reading.

[@officernasty6634]

Mike: I can’t stand the cold Me a Canadian wearing shorts in -5 and calling it warm

[@alessiomancini2839]

Have you read Frozen Hell by John W. Campbell?

[@thomaskittock2866]

I've always enjoyed his mythos more than reading his stories. Great ideas with some *good* writing, but they rarely worked for me... But The Horror in the Museum is probably my favorite Lovecraft story, as strange as that may be. At least in terms of reading a fun monster story.

[@CrapSandviche]

Dude that Mastodon t-shirt is the ^^s

[@MajesticGovernor]

H.P. Lovecraft is a giant and a cultural icon. The people who whine about Lovecraft his opinions, that he was fully entitled to, will all be forgotten in less than 100 years from now, while Lovecraft will still be celebrated and read.

[@barrys7756]

Great video, are you a fan of the Re-Animator film? Just cause that is what got me into Lovecraft.

[@7Seraphem7]

"Lovecraft was terrified of [insert anything that is not Providence, RI or cats]" will come back as a true statement. But yeah, this is an amazing one of his works, and shows something you don't really see in any of the rest, a non-human race that is actually treated with sympathy and understanding rather then just shear horror and fear.

[@hirampacheco8721]

Have you read the comic book Alan Moore wrote about him ?

[@mikesbookreviews]

I have not. But I’ve seen some of the art.

[@hirampacheco8721]

@@mikesbookreviews Its called Providence and its a mini series from Avatar press

[@EricMcLuen]

@@hirampacheco8721 Alan Moore is probably a 7 or 8 on the fear scale.

[@surajsingrajput7512]

You and Daniel greene should do a collab

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha. I don't think Daniel would be too interested in that.

[@surajsingrajput7512]

@@mikesbookreviews yeah I guess. Btw how's your vacation

[@mathieuleader8601]

THE MOVIE IS IN THE DEVLEOPMENT HELL

[@turtleanton6539]

Get barangers illustrated edition of this

[@umbrellasecurityservice6339]

Its not "return the slab" nightmare fuel seriously several years later. And that episode of courage the cowardly dog still gives me bad vibes man.

[@ng2004]

I've only read Dagon, his work does have an atmosphere of dread.

[@mikesbookreviews]

💯

[@EricMcLuen]

@@mikesbookreviews And yet the movie is really a love story with a happy ending.

[@peteraitken3818]

I’ve never met someone who has a stuffed Cthulhu... where do you get one?

[@IbbyMelbourne]

The most horrifying thing related to Lovecraft... was the name of his cat.

[@IbbyMelbourne]

@Gašper Vidovič It was very low effort

[@IbbyMelbourne]

@Gašper Vidovič my "joke" was low effort. I was just being dumb, it was really funny to me at the time.

[@perseastheodoropoulos7367]

n word cat lol

[@IbbyMelbourne]

@@perseastheodoropoulos7367 haha

[@JohnDLeo-rg8tc]

3 years late here. I'm always very happy to discuss Lovecrafts work, especially At The Mountains Of Madness. Now then sir we are entitled to our opinions but i must call you out. You, a book reviewer must think again about giving his best work a miserable score of 6 because some may find parts of it to be YUCKY! For shame sir, for shame.

[@Vangone-bu6vu]

I’m rereading Frankenstein and “monster” is more eloquent than anybody today.

[@Between_Scylla_and_Kharybdis]

Tentacled creepy crawlies with mouths and teeth. Not necessarily in the same spot.

[@AJPzaworld]

Not my favorite Tale from the Titan of Horror, ol' Lovecraft, I was always more fond of Pickman's Model, Rats in the Wall, He, The Music of Erich Zann, Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, Call of Cthulhu, Beyond the Wall of Sleep, The Colour Out of Space, and The Shadow Out of Time. Read him back when I was a lad, and he's been a favorite of mine ever since. By the way, always been more fond of the cold. Can't stand the Heat. Also, I despise Lovecraft Country, both novel and show.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I have no plans to watch it.

[@AJPzaworld]

@@mikesbookreviews You made a good decision. It starts off bad, and just gets worse from there. Episode 5 was... ugh. I hate everything about this show.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I’m just not into folks continuing to talk about how horrible of a person he was but keep trying to profit off his work.

[@AJPzaworld]

@@mikesbookreviews Same.... same.

[@deanabel9034]

pop culture I suspect more like zeigeist

[@mztweety1374]

I’m just here because of Metallica. It’s all their fault.

[@jamescardello6173]

My favorite Lovecraft stories r The Dunwich Horror and The Mountains of Madness. Favorite movies based on his stories r The Resurrection, Dagon, Re-Animator . Other films with similar themes Carpenter's The Thing, Alien and a guilty pleasure film The Crawling Eye.

[@DREWSBOOKREVIEWS]

Hahah hate the cold. You would hate our typical canadian prarie winters. Even here in victoria bc where its warm year round (winter temps a few degrees above freezing) lol