[Melchiah]

Speaking of, anyone popped for one of these yet?

My friend has this one.

[Purkake4]

I just bought the board game, Arkham Horror, for a friend. I played it a long time ago, but they clearly updated it. It looks great. My buddy is a huge Lovecraft fiend, and I generally get him something Lovecraftian every year. There's certainly no lack of merchandise. Speaking of, anyone popped for one of these yet? [IMG]http://imgur.com/C9k4i.jpg[IMG]

Does it still eat 1d6 investigators per round?

[harriet the spy]

I highly recommend Michel Houellebecq's biography about lovecraft:

H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life

Houellebecq is a fairly famous and controversial French writer.

A review by the guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006...helhouellebecq
another that I find interesting, if you know more about Houellebecq:
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/books/reviews/11753/
(liberalism is to be understood with the french meaning of economic liberalism - 'free-market' laissez-faire kind of approach)

It's a bit hard to find in the US. I don't know how the english translation is, though.

[Hilbert]

I highly recommend Michel Houellebecq's biography about lovecraft: H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life Houellebecq is a fairly famous and controversial French writer. A review by the guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006...helhouellebecq another that I find interesting, if you know more about Houellebecq: http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/books/reviews/11753/ (liberalism is to be understood with the french meaning of economic liberalism - 'free-market' laissez-faire kind of approach) It's a bit hard to find in the US. I don't know how the english translation is, though.

I looked it up, and ordered a used english copy. It looks like the introduction of the English version is written by Stephen King.

[NovemberMike]

Lovecraft is interesting because he was really a pretty bad writer (big words, poor pacing, way too much architecture detail) but the ideas were just so good that it still shines.

[Aske]

Houellebecq's book is excellent, though I disagree with some of his extrapolations. Certainly worth the read, if just to enjoy a window into his personal interpretation of Lovecraft's work.

Lovecraft is interesting because he was really a pretty bad writer (big words, poor pacing, way too much architecture detail) but the ideas were just so good that it still shines.

This is subjective. His rambling, dreamlike writing stile attracts me to his work every bit as much as the subject of his stories.

And the use of 'big words' is indicative of someone being a bad writer now? ...Really?

[NovemberMike]

This is subjective. His rambling, dreamlike writing stile attracts me to his work every bit as much as the subject of his stories. And the use of 'big words' is indicative of someone being a bad writer now? ...Really?

Big words are fine if they add precision to the work, but Lovecraft went pretty far into the purple prose side of things. Objectively his actual writing was fairly mediocre.

[Aske]

Big words are fine if they add precision to the work, but Lovecraft went pretty far into the purple prose side of things. Objectively his actual writing was fairly mediocre.

I've never understood why criticisms derived solely from taste have been allowed to gain footholds as objective criteria for quality when it comes to literature. I think Stephen King is a lousy writer because I hate his casual, conversational narrative style, but I'd never label his work as objectively bad. By the same token, you may find Lovecraft fans who enjoy his writing in spite of his style; but the vast majority of his readers appreciate his work precisely because his writing is so unique and evocative. What is the benchmark of this objective criticism if a descriptive passage deemed excessively long by some is considered the perfect length by others?

[Man]

Just read Colour out of space. Gave me goosebumps in less than an hour it took to finish it.
Careful steps through my dark hallway afterwards.

[Purkake4]

Just read Colour out of space. Gave me goosebumps in less than an hour it took to finish it. Careful steps through my dark hallway afterwards.

Watch out for those trees, man!

[XiaNaphryz]

Does it still eat 1d6 investigators per round?

Not quite:



Let's be honest though, Cthulhu is small potatoes compared to some others:



Arkham Horror is such an awesome game. Boardgame GAF represent!

[Turnstyle]

I'm pretty lttp on Lovecraft. About 70 years late really, but I'm here now.

After being aware of Cthulhu and Lovecraft in a vague sort of way for years, I got the Necronomicon for Christmas. I've been dipping into it each night, reading a story before going to bed.

I've avoided the 'big' stories so far, as I want to save them for the time being (Cthulhu and Innsmouth). So far I've read:

Dagon (short!)
Cats of Ulthar (cats!)
In The Vault (ankles!)
The Statement of Randolph Carter (Warren!)

As well as a few others I can't remember the names of. I would say my favourite so far is In The Vault. Think I'll read Rats in the Walls tonight.

Does the Necronomicon contain all of Lovecrafts work? is there any other stuff I should be seeking out?

[ramyeon]

Also being quite Lttp I purchased one of the Penguin collections and am starting to delve into it all. Absolutely loved Dagon and it genuinely left me feeling uneasy and weird - not scared but just odd. It's hard to put into words. Can't wait to read more of his stuff.

[Freshmaker]

I love tentacled monstrosities, unknowable horrors, cults, and wanton sanity loss, but the one element(the core of Lovecraftian horror, really) that I dislike is "humanity is fucked, the best anyone can do is delay the inevitable for a little bit and at a horrible price." I prefer filtered Lovecraft, like Evangelion, where humanity only has a 99.99999...% chance of being fucked.

It's not quite that bad. It seems like the bad guys have to go through a massive amount of effort then you just need a college professor to turn up and read an incantation and everything's fine again.

[ymmv]

Does the Necronomicon contain all of Lovecrafts work? is there any other stuff I should be seeking out?

The Gollancz collection contains 34 stories, that's about half of the stories and novels Lovecraft has written. I think that if you buy all three Penguin collections you'll have most of those. If you've become a fan you could think about a complete collection of Lovecraft's poetry (out of print and very expensive). If you're a completist there are various collections of Lovecraft's letters and essays.

Or you could branch out to two other major fantasy/horror writers of those days: Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. They were both influenced by Lovecraft, both of them maintained long correspondences with HP and they wrote stories using the Cthulhu mythos (besides their own original work of course.

[jason10mm]

You usually don't even need the professor. It seems like most of the time everything goes well for the cultist/mad scientist/ritual but the GOO still doesn't show up merely because the "stars weren't right".

One of the key elements to Lovecraft is that there is NOTHING humans can do to affect the GOOs. Most of their appearances are just momentary rumblings of their slumber. We are living in a transient, sheltered time, the eternity of darkness is at hand!!

Of course this stuff doesn't make for good RPGs/board games/video games, so shotguns, dynamite, and incantations gotta be good for something.

[ramyeon]

You usually don't even need the professor. It seems like most of the time everything goes well for the cultist/mad scientist/ritual but the GOO still doesn't show up merely because the "stars weren't right". One of the key elements to Lovecraft is that there is NOTHING humans can do to affect the GOOs. Most of their appearances are just momentary rumblings of their slumber. We are living in a transient, sheltered time, the eternity of darkness is at hand!! Of course this stuff doesn't make for good RPGs/board games/video games, so shotguns, dynamite, and incantations gotta be good for something.

Great way to summarise from what I've seen so far.

I was actually interested to see how on earth anyone could put Lovecraft's stories into a video game. After seeing the games based on them though I can't say I'm interested; they just don't seem to capture the feel at all... trading the trademark eeriness and sense of hopelessness for guns and action.

[Nocebo]

Fear of the unknown was awesome! Thanks for that.

[Satan Claus]

I really laughed at this little spoof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnbYcB9ctu8

[Dirtyshubb]

Funny seeing this thread today since I just watched From Beyond for the first time since I was a child, still great fun with some very creepy moments and memorable scenes. Never read any of his work though so this is the extent of his work I know :(

[KingGondo]

Funny seeing this thread today since I just watched From Beyond for the first time since I was a child, still great fun with some very creepy moments and memorable scenes. Never read any of his work though so this is the extent of his work I know :(

Anybody who wants to own his stuff in print form should buy:

http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-...8385813&sr=8-1

Beautiful edition, and it contains pretty much everything you need to read.

[Kurtofan]

Lol I'm rereading "Rats in the walls" and I had forgotten the cat's name.

[Dirtyshubb]

Anybody who wants to own his stuff in print form should buy: http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-...8385813&sr=8-1 Beautiful edition, and it contains pretty much everything you need to read.

Wow thanks for that, i may have to check it out some time.

[Leonsito]

This Spanish movie is based on Lovecraft myths, and it even features Cthulhu:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsw_...eature=related

[WyndhamPrice]

Great way to summarise from what I've seen so far. I was actually interested to see how on earth anyone could put Lovecraft's stories into a video game. After seeing the games based on them though I can't say I'm interested; they just don't seem to capture the feel at all... trading the trademark eeriness and sense of hopelessness for guns and action.

Dark Corners of the Earth is actually really really good, it nails the atmosphere (it really stressed me out to play it the first time) and you don't even get a weapon or anything until at least an hour or two into the game.

But it's also a buggy mess so YMMV.

The Penumbra series, while not officially Lovecraft, is also fantastic and might as well be ripped out of the pages of one of his collections. Haven't played Amnesia yet (it's a successor of sorts).

[JoeBoy101]

Dark Corners of the Earth is actually really really good, it nails the atmosphere (it really stressed me out to play it the first time) and you don't even get a weapon or anything until at least an hour or two into the game. But it's also a buggy mess so YMMV. The Penumbra series, while not officially Lovecraft, is also fantastic and might as well be ripped out of the pages of one of his collections. Haven't played Amnesia yet (it's a successor of sorts).

From the parts I've played, its more Lovecraft than Penumbra, especially with the sanity aspect. Literally you can have walls moving in on you and other such things.

[Kurtofan]

Anybody who wants to own his stuff in print form should buy: http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-...8385813&sr=8-1 Beautiful edition, and it contains pretty much everything you need to read.

Yeah, this book is in my university's library, it's great.

[Imbarkus]

Dark Corners of the Earth is actually really really good, it nails the atmosphere (it really stressed me out to play it the first time) and you don't even get a weapon or anything until at least an hour or two into the game. But it's also a buggy mess so YMMV. The Penumbra series, while not officially Lovecraft, is also fantastic and might as well be ripped out of the pages of one of his collections. Haven't played Amnesia yet (it's a successor of sorts).

Lovecraft-specific gaming thread here:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409144

If you haven't played it, you should try Eternal Darkness on Gamecube. Very Lovecraftian.

[ArjanN]

This Spanish movie is based on Lovecraft myths, and it even features Cthulhu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsw_...eature=related

Is that the font from Diablo?

Anyway, I just watched the short Lovecraft inspired movie AM1200, and I loved it.

[leroy hacker]

Anybody who wants to own his stuff in print form should buy: http://www.amazon.com/H-P-Lovecraft-...8385813&sr=8-1 Beautiful edition, and it contains pretty much everything you need to read.

However, it's completely missing the dream cycle, which is collected in this book. This material is generally not the equal of his finest classic horror tales or Cthulhu stories, but some of the short pieces such as Celephais, Polaris, Azathoth, and Nyarlathotep are among his most evocative works.

[jgkspsx]

However, it's completely missing the dream cycle, which is collected in this book. This material is generally not the equal of his finest classic horror tales or Cthulhu stories, but some of the short pieces such as Celephais, Polaris, Azathoth, and Nyarlathotep are among his most evocative works.

Are these the Joshi revised versions? Are those really that important to read?

[leroy hacker]

Are these the Joshi revised versions? Are those really that important to read?

I don't know, and as far as I know Joshi's corrections are extremely minor.

[Aske]

The best Lovecraft collections - bar none - are the Arkham House editions. Not only do they contain S.T. Joshi's most recently revised texts, painstakingly researched to be as accurate as possible to Lovecraft's original writing; they're also the original collections printed by Lovecraft's friends after his death, released by the very publishing house they created to keep his work alive. I ordered my copies direct from Arkham House, and they were shipped out by April Derleth personally. She is the daughter of August Derleth: friend of Lovecraft, and founder of Arkham House. Kind of mind-blowing, especially since I've read so many of Lovecraft's letters to Derleth in the various collections of his correspondence. The books are also beautifully printed and bound. True collector's editions, and well worth tracking down even if you own other collections of Lovecraft's work.

The Dunwich Horror and Others - the first collection, containing the 'classic' short stories: those regarded as Lovecraft's finest work in this medium. The Rats in the Walls, The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Whisperer in Darkness...if you've heard it referenced and it isn't a novel, it's probably in here.

At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels - the second collection, containing Lovecraft's short novels, most notably At the Mountains of Madness, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Dagon and Other Macabre Tales - the third collection, containing every other Lovecraft short story. While it's true than some of these stories are justly dubbed 'lesser tales', the book also contains the bulk of Lovecraft's dream cycle, and many exceptional stories that simply didn't make the cut for the first collection: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, The Nameless City, In the Walls of Eryx, The Festival and of course Herbert West: Reanimator. It also contains Lovecraft's essay Supernatural Horror in Literature.

The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions - this collection can be regarded as an appendix to the first three. Most people will say it's not essential, as it contains collaborative work which Lovecraft ghost-wrote and revised for other writers as a way to earn extra income. However, while there are certainly a few forgettable pieces in the book, it also contains The Mound which is an exceptional novella, and one of my very favourite Lovecraft tales. If you enjoy reading Lovecraft's writing and wish he had written more, this book is essential. In my opinion, the best of these stories are equal in quality to the best of Lovecraft's more recognised work, and the hands of collaborators and client authors can rarely be detected in these texts.

These books contain all of Lovecraft's stories, but there are other collections that contain his poetry, his essays, and selections of his letters. The letters are fascinating, though more to satisfy your curiosity about Lovecraft the man and the period in which he lived than because they shed much light on his fiction. I own the five volumes of selected letters published by Arkham House, and though only volumes III and V are still in print, it isn't hard to track down I, II and IV. There are also smaller, more accessible and more specific letter collections currently in print. S.T. Joshi is currently compiling every piece of Lovecraft's correspondence which survives into something like a twenty-five volume collection, which he intends to publish over the next couple of decades. When that happens, all of Lovecraft's surviving writing will be in print.

[MedIC86]

The movie "Dagon" cannot be mentioned enough, its a nice movie (dont expect much from the actors, but the settings is really good) its sort of a mashup of two stories, Dagon and the shadows over innsmouth. its surprisngly well done.

[Fallout-NL]

The movie "Dagon" cannot be mentioned enough, its a nice movie (dont expect much from the actors, but the settings is really good) its sort of a mashup of two stories, Dagon and the shadows over innsmouth. its surprisngly well done.

Yeah, it's pretty good. You kinda get the feeling it has inspired RE4 some as well. Maybe it's the Spanish that does it.

[jason10mm]

No surprise Dagon is a good lovecraft film, it was made by Stuart Gordon, the only director who seems to be able to channel the essence of Lovecraft onto film. He did Reanimator, From Beyond, and Dreams in the Witch House (which stars the guy from Dagon).

Alas, Lovecraft's narrative style (so much is told in retrospective or flashbacks within flashbacks) prevents literal translations of his work into film and the few direct action pieces he did are often in massive subterranean lairs that are out of the budget for most films (Rats in the Walls, I'm looking at you).

But the tide could be turning. South Park demonstrates that Cthulhu is deep enough in pop culture to be significant on his own (though I thought he looked terrible as CGI) and Mountains of Madness may spur a wider interest in Lovecraft's version of Earths history with all of the alien occupation. May lead to some of his other main works getting the hollywood treatment. I think MoM will be a financial failure, hope hopefully it will at least be good.

[Melchiah]

The movie "Dagon" cannot be mentioned enough, its a nice movie (dont expect much from the actors, but the settings is really good) its sort of a mashup of two stories, Dagon and the shadows over innsmouth. its surprisngly well done.

I think it's a good movie in itself, but as a Lovecraft movie it fails; too much gore, too little atmosphere. Although it does have a great theme song. As far as I'm concerned the best Lovecraft movies are The Call of Cthulhu, and the Lovecraft inspired In the Mouth of Madness and The Thing from John Carpenter.

[Hilbert]

I think it's a good movie in itself, but as a Lovecraft movie it fails; too much gore, too little atmosphere. Although it does have a great theme song. As far as I'm concerned the best Lovecraft movies are The Call of Cthulhu, and the Lovecraft inspired In the Mouth of Madness and The Thing from John Carpenter.

Yea, I think Stuart Gordon's movies are fun B horror flicks, but they definetly miss the feeling of Lovecraft. I hated that black and white Cthulhu movie. It really rubbed me the wrong way somehow.

I do enjoy in the mouth of madness, and I would like to throw out the sci fi film "Pandorum" as somewhat getting the feel of Lovecraft down(questioning sanity, an old uncaring universe). It is something of a longshot, but you should give it a try.

[DieNgamers]

I want more movies that deal with the dark adventure aspect of Lovcraft. There's almost nothing comprable out there. I mean people discovering unknown ruins, cities or places that harbor terrible secrets. I love that kind of stuff! That's why I have high hope for the Mountains of Madness movie. Anyone now some movies like that?



I have loads of story collections and I'd like to think I have everything now, including the dream stories. Maybe I'll even read some of his correspondence some time.

One movie I enjoyed (also a b-movie, but kind of well done) would be The Resurrected Based on Charles Dexter Ward. In some parts it really nailed the atmosphere, despite being a trashy early 90s movie.

[snacknuts]

No surprise Dagon is a good lovecraft film, it was made by Stuart Gordon, the only director who seems to be able to channel the essence of Lovecraft onto film. He did Reanimator, From Beyond, and Dreams in the Witch House (which stars the guy from Dagon).

I love all things Stuart Gordon. I even have an autographed Re-Animator poster that he sent me after I wrote him a letter telling him how much my wife and I enjoyed his work. Sadly, he folded it up instead of rolling it in a tube to ship it, but it was still extremely nice of him.

[Melchiah]

Yea, I think Stuart Gordon's movies are fun B horror flicks, but they definetly miss the feeling of Lovecraft. I hated that black and white Cthulhu movie. It really rubbed me the wrong way somehow. I do enjoy in the mouth of madness, and I would like to throw out the sci fi film "Pandorum" as somewhat getting the feel of Lovecraft down(questioning sanity, an old uncaring universe). It is something of a longshot, but you should give it a try.

I guess, TCoC can seem somewhat odd or laughable, as it's made to look like old films, with stop motion animation and sheets as water. But I think that fitted the source material.

I didn't like Pandorum that much, but if you liked it I'd recommend seeing Event Horizon, which I think is better and more akin to Lovecraft's themes. Although it goes a bit over the top in the end. Another somewhat Lovecraft inspired film that I liked, was Stephen King's The Mist.

[bengraven]

The best Lovecraft collections - bar none - are the Arkham House editions. Not only do they contain S.T. Joshi's most recently revised texts, painstakingly researched to be as accurate as possible to Lovecraft's original writing; they're also the original collections printed by Lovecraft's friends after his death, released by the very publishing house they created to keep his work alive. I ordered my copies direct from Arkham House, and they were shipped out by April Derleth personally. She is the daughter of August Derleth: friend of Lovecraft, and founder of Arkham House. Kind of mind-blowing, especially since I've read so many of Lovecraft's letters to Derleth in the various collections of his correspondence. The books are also beautifully printed and bound. True collector's editions, and well worth tracking down even if you own other collections of Lovecraft's work. The Dunwich Horror and Others - the first collection, containing the 'classic' short stories: those regarded as Lovecraft's finest work in this medium. The Rats in the Walls, The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Whisperer in Darkness...if you've heard it referenced and it isn't a novel, it's probably in here. At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels - the second collection, containing Lovecraft's short novels, most notably At the Mountains of Madness, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Dagon and Other Macabre Tales - the third collection, containing every other Lovecraft short story. While it's true than some of these stories are justly dubbed 'lesser tales', the book also contains the bulk of Lovecraft's dream cycle, and many exceptional stories that simply didn't make the cut for the first collection: Beyond the Wall of Sleep, The Nameless City, In the Walls of Eryx, The Festival and of course Herbert West: Reanimator. It also contains Lovecraft's essay Supernatural Horror in Literature. The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions - this collection can be regarded as an appendix to the first three. Most people will say it's not essential, as it contains collaborative work which Lovecraft ghost-wrote and revised for other writers as a way to earn extra income. However, while there are certainly a few forgettable pieces in the book, it also contains The Mound which is an exceptional novella, and one of my very favourite Lovecraft tales. If you enjoy reading Lovecraft's writing and wish he had written more, this book is essential. In my opinion, the best of these stories are equal in quality to the best of Lovecraft's more recognised work, and the hands of collaborators and client authors can rarely be detected in these texts. These books contain all of Lovecraft's stories, but there are other collections that contain his poetry, his essays, and selections of his letters. The letters are fascinating, though more to satisfy your curiosity about Lovecraft the man and the period in which he lived than because they shed much light on his fiction. I own the five volumes of selected letters published by Arkham House, and though only volumes III and V are still in print, it isn't hard to track down I, II and IV. There are also smaller, more accessible and more specific letter collections currently in print. S.T. Joshi is currently compiling every piece of Lovecraft's correspondence which survives into something like a twenty-five volume collection, which he intends to publish over the next couple of decades. When that happens, all of Lovecraft's surviving writing will be in print.

I agree, but they're all so fucking expensive.

Edit: I was thinking of other editions

[leroy hacker]

I want more movies that deal with the dark adventure aspect of Lovcraft. There's almost nothing comprable out there. I mean people discovering unknown ruins, cities or places that harbor terrible secrets. I love that kind of stuff! That's why I have high hope for the Mountains of Madness movie. Anyone now some movies like that?

I too would like to know of more movies like this. The closest thing I can think of is the Japanese horror film Marebito. It's not really Lovecraftian, but it unquestionably has a dark adventure component, though it's only part of the film.

It's from Takashi Shimizu, the director of The Grudge. It's a somewhat experimental film that was quickly shot on video between two of his larger projects and is very much different from and superior to The Grudge.

[jason10mm]

"The Ruins" was very much in the lovecraftian vein. Old Aztec temple, sleeping horror, current primitive worshippers, alas it had annoying teenagers so as a film I thought it was pretty bad.

That 80's flick "The Gate" is another good one. Damned if I didn't love that film as a kid. Still holds up pretty well.

[Oblivion]

I've always liked Lovecraft. But why do so many people hate him? :(

[Hilbert]

If you are interested this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Lurker-Lobby-G.../dp/1892389355
"The Lurker in the Lobby" is supposed to be kind of a guide to lovecraftian films. Most of them look pretty bad, but I did get the Uzumaki recommendation from this book, which led me to the comic which led me to Junji Ito's other mangas which have a lot of lovecraftian themes. So I got my moneys worth out of it.

[Qwomo]

I've always liked Lovecraft. But why do so many people hate him? :(

I've never met someone who hated Lovecraft, but objectively speaking he simply isn't a great writer. Most of his stuff is schlocky pulp, I'm sure it's been covered to death here and elsewhere.

He's a bit like a lesser Stephen King of his time. Never the best prose, but some wonderfully timeless world-building.

[Aske]

That 80's flick "The Gate" is another good one. Damned if I didn't love that film as a kid. Still holds up pretty well.

Agreed. Excellent film.

I've always liked Lovecraft. But why do so many people hate him? :(

Few people hate him, but he's criticized in much the same way as Tolkien. Some people just don't gel with his writing style. The problem is that many confuse matters of taste with objective flaws in his writing, and truthfully there aren't many of those. His characters are always paper thin, and he has trouble writing women. But those who criticize him for over-zealous descriptive passages or pacing might as well criticize Monet's impressionist paintings for their lack of photorealism, or a metal band for distorting their guitars.

I've never met someone who hated Lovecraft, but objectively speaking he simply isn't a great writer. Most of his stuff is schlocky pulp, I'm sure it's been covered to death here and elsewhere.

None of his stuff is schlocky pulp, except perhaps Herbert West. His work was published in pulp magazines, but it was more often than not rejected for not being pulpy enough. The aspects of Lovecraft's prose which people dislike nowadays are much the same as those which prevented his work from winning mainstream appeal back in the 20s. It was hard for weird fiction to be taken seriously in mainstream literary circles, and it was hard to sell difficult, long-winded literature to pulp magazines no matter how weird it was. The publishers wanted gore, shock, sex and heroism with their otherworldly monsters, and Lovecraft resolutely refused to give it to them.

One of the things for which Lovecraft always praised Robert E. Howard was his ability to cater to the pulp audience with stories like his Conan adventures while still maintaining a high standard of writing in his work; no matter how commercial it became. If you want good 30s weird fiction unashamedly rooted in the pulp genre, read some of Howard's work. It's fantastic. But don't confuse Lovecraft's writing style with the medium in which it was first published.

[PhoncipleBone]

Barnes and Noble stores got these in a week or so ago. Leatherbound collection of Lovecraft fiction, and only $20 in case anyone is interested.

[Aske]

Barnes and Noble stores got these in a week or so ago. Leatherbound collection of Lovecraft fiction, and only $20 in case anyone is interested.

That's an amazing price and its a beautiful looking book (especially the inside binding - just awesome!) but according to reviews it's filled with typos which were also present in the previous Barnes and Noble edition. Apparently they number in the thousands because the book was never proofread, and though many are just missing semi-colons or commas, there are also some misspelled words. The reviewers note that the typos don't really spoil the text - it all still makes sense - but knowing they're in there would put me off the collection and steer me towards a more accurate edition. It's a real shame, because this edition gets everything else right. It contains S.T. Joshi's texts, with notes by Joshi on every story, and a few other bits and pieces not typically found in other Lovecraft collections.

I was reading reviews of this book on the B&N website and came across one which promised a full review on YouTube. That led me to a video review of the book. I'll just leave the link here. The actual review starts about 3 minutes in. Be warned: he has Mindflayer bells.