Azathoth

by H.P. Lovecraft

The modern world has been stripped of imagination and belief in magic when a man gazing from his window upon the stars comes to observe secret vistas unsuspected by normal humanity. One night the gulf between his world and the stars is bridged, and his mind ascends from his body out into the boundless cosmos.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Lovecraftian, Fantasy, Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction

5 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

— Wikipedia

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a perfect beginning to a novel that Lovecraft wrote. I wonder why he didn't complete it and published it just as a fragment. If you are someone familiar with the Cthulhu Mythos, you will most probably love this story.

Lovecraft tries to tell the story of a man who gazes from his window upon the stars. What will happen if his mind bridges the narrow line between this physical world and the ethereal cosmos?

This book's opening line has the power to make the readers contemplate a lot and bring them straight into the story.

"When age fell upon the world, and wonder went out of the minds of men; when grey cities reared to smoky skies tall towers grim and ugly, in whose shadow none might dream of the sun or of spring's flowering meads; when learning stripped earth of her mantle of beauty, and poets sang no more save of twisted phantoms seen with bleared and inward-looking eyes; when these things had come to pass, and childish hopes had gone away forever, there was a man who traveled out of life on a quest into the spaces whither the world's dreams had fled."

The author's imagination is simply spectacular. His ability to transcend beyond dreams and extrapolate them into reality by using a unique application of magical realism that only very few authors have attempted will keep the readers perplexed and excited at the same time. If you are someone who loves the works of H.P. Lovecraft, this is a book that you should never miss.

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Cuando la vejez se derramó sobre el mundo, y la maravilla abandonó las mentes de los hombres; cuando ciudades grises elevaron altas torres, sombrías y lúgubres, bajo cuyos mantos nadie puede soñar con el sol, o los campos florecientes de la primavera; cuando el conocimiento despojó a la tierra de su alfombra de belleza, y los poetas no cantaron sino fantasmas distorsionados, vistos con ojos lagañosos; cuando estas cosas hubieron pasado, y los anhelos infantiles se esfumaron para siempre, hubo un hombre que empleó su vida en la búsqueda de los espacios hacia los que habían huido los sueños del mundo"

Esta poesía en prosa Da para mucho análisis e interpretaciones Al margen de llevar por nombre el de un de sus deidades mas conocidas .
Personalmente considero que hace mención a un despertar de la conciencia. Un mundo que paradójicamente lo presenta de forma onírica y representa a todo de lo que se ha apartado la humanidad (lo fantástico/maravilloso, los sueños y anhelos. mirar a las estrellas) . Y el mundo conocido, que representa la "civilización" actual (Limitado, grandes construcciones, estrés, etc)
En el fondo,Básicamente representa dos de los grandes miedos que tenia Lovecraft: Miedo al "mundo moderno" y miedo a padecer locura( por sus antecedentes familiares etc).

Es un deleite como esta escrito, pero desgraciadamente tiene sabor a poco.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fine tale on the horrors of modern society, on progress on the age of reason vs the age of wonders! Follow the first person narrator who watches all the madness going on in a grey world through a window. See how he dwells on opium and expierences dreams and wonders modern men have long forgotten. I really liked this little parable against the modern age. Probably Lovecraft regarded himself the same person as the character in this story. Recommended!

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
A glimpse of what a dreamer might encounter if he is allowed by Outer deities (Azathoth) and the skies to become 'a part of their fabulous wonder'. It seems it is a beginning of a novel that Lovecraft never finished. Too bad. It would have been great.

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tantalizing little fragment. Part of me wishes Lovecraft had finished the story, as this very brief glimpse has language that deviates from his usual, in a beautifully lyrical way. Then again, some things are best left as they are.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally put The case of Charles Dexter Ward behind me and stumble upon this little gem of beauty and poetry. His worst and his best side by side. Surrealist, daydreamy goodness.

....

Wonderful stuff. I wish I could give more than 5 stars.

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story which takes merely a few short moments to flip through, Azathoth is essentially Lovecraft's original spin on the now trope that humans have lost the ability to see the magic around us, instead drifting into a colourless world of concrete blocks in urban jungles.

And because mere walls and windows must soon drive to madness a man who dreams and reads much, the dweller in that room used night after night to lean out and peer aloft to glimpse some fragment of things beyond the waking world and the greyness of tall cities.

[Vaishali · Rating 5 out of 5]

C-R-E-E-P-Y ... ethereal, and hauntingly beautiful.
But of course; it is the great H.P. Lovecraft.

For a rather delicious narration, please check out this YouTube vid by The Deathless Lord Cerberus :
https://www.youtube.com/results?searc...

[Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting little glimpse into Lovecraft's imagination. It had a dark melancholy feel with just a shimmer of hope. I would have loved to see where the story went. I'm sure there was something dark and foreboding awaiting just around the next unfinished page!

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017
Such a gorgeous, well-constructed, poetic piece. See Dolphins swim in space! The piece reminds me of an instrumental by NIN, which unfolds as despairing beauty. If you want to hear, "A Warm Place" (I heard this, in my mind, as I read it): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MN6sfJ1...


2015:
My second read. Lovecraft creates stories with such exquisite and beautiful language. He paints colorful and lively scenery in this short, poetic piece. A man goes out of his body into space, and sees.

[Rubi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't understand anything of this tale. Wasn't it incomplete? Did I miss something? I didn't get the point, seriously. :s

[Luciana Gomez Mauro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amo como narra este autor, aunque a veces me confunde, pero es una narracion fluida, no escaza y con un hilo bien armado.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious and very short fragment, perhaps what could have been the start of a fascinating and most atypical Lovecraft story about man's alienation from nature, his blindness to the wonders of the universe, a consequence of our artificial environments...

[Nadin Doughem · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is not a short story but merely a parcel. Couldn't disagree that as a novel preface it would be mesmerizing. Yet, the continuity in writing in the same poetic manner is the real challenge!

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

"La silenciosa eternidad giraba en torno al soñador, arrebatándolo sin tocar siquiera el cuerpo que se asomaba con rigidez a la solitaria ventana; y durante días no registrados por los calendarios del hombre, las mareas de las lejanas esferas lo transportaron a reunirse con los Sueños por los que tanto había suspirado, los Sueños que el hombre había perdido. Y en el transcurso de multitud de ciclos, tiernamente, lo depositaron durmiendo sobre una verde playa al amanecer; una ribera verde, exuberante, exhalando dulces fragancias por los capullos de lotos y sembrado de rojos camalotes..."

Segunda deidad lovecraftiana conocida!

[Mika · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this was a poem. It was so short that I'm not sure if I understood it correctly. The protagonist seems to not believe in magic but then he sees something he can't believe his eyes. Not really gripping.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 Stars.

[José Cruz Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prose poetry is an underrated genre. Maybe we don't think much of it because we associate poetry with meter, verse, and stanzas. But there have been many good practitioners of this kind of work. Some that come to mind are Khalil Gibran (The Prophet), Oscar Wilde (The Disciple), Baudelaire, etc.

H.P. Lovecraft is known for his archaic and grandiloquent style, which he employs in all of his horror of supernatural tales. Azathoth, however, is the first prose poem of his that I've read. Being a fan and all, I was quite impressed. His elevated style is good fit for what he attempts to do in this little piece. His talent for language and prose composition shines throughout Azatoth; it is a very pleasurable reading experience.

It is only one page long, so go and read it.

[Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating:3.5

Hmmmmmm...I was a bit confused with this one, I think it was about astral projection or something along those lines. Interesting thought

[lucia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️.

Hablando de cómo escribe este texto es un 5 ⭐️, pero se te queda muy corto y algo áspero.
Es como una historia que debía haber acabado o darse mayor giro.
Pero me ha gustado mucho más que la anterior que leí de él.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected but still highly enjoyable and full of imagery which led to a pleasant if odd reading experience.

[Jörg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diese Story hat keine große Handlung, auch nicht viel Sinn, ok weil kurz

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fragment that describes an unknown person living in a bleak, colorless, lifeless city that comes home every night and stares up at the sky. One night, he's transported into a cosmos of wonderful colors and characters. That's it. Sometimes I think they'll publish anything by famous authors even if they have to dig stuff out of the trash. I'm a huge proponent of Lovecraft. But, I don't know why this story exists.

2 out of 5 confused stars


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[Moataz Mohamed · Rating 3 out of 5]

لوفكرافت هيدخلني المورستان قريب.
لوفكرافت يبقي أحد أقوي كتاب الرعب في القرن اللي فات. كتاباته أدخلت مصطلحات جديدة للغة وللفن الروائي زي العزيف، كتولو، أزاثوث، النكرونوميكون، الحظرد. كل ده ألهم كتير من بعده بتعديلات وكتابات كتير، بس ماحدش منهم عرف فعلا يدخلك للحكاية بسوداويتها زي لوفكرافت.

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku:

"Quite short and quite strange.
A dreamer's abduction made
A thing of beauty."

[Jack Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lonely and tired dreamer adrift in a city of endless gray and given to nightly stargazing is lifted from his banal existence one night by the arms of the heavens.

Beautiful. One of the shortest, if not THE shortest, things Lovecraft ever wrote; that's okay, because this story says all it needs to in three paragraphs. It's a condensed, melancholy, and terrifyingly transfixing spectacle that I will always treasure.

All the brighter and sadder parts of Lovecraft's philosophy can be summed up in his prose here. The meaningless life of a single cog in the machine of civilization, rendered worry-less by the unfathomable reaches of sentient space - I don't know if Lovecraft knew what the word "Azathoth" would come to mean in the context of his mythos, but if so, this is the most beautiful and poetic introduction to an elder alien god I've ever seen.

I rate this story 5 green sunrise shores out of 5 opiate oceans.

[{Alexandra} · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/10 Super short story about yet another character in the dream cycle. It’s amazing how much thought Lovecraft has put into his imaginary world, although some of the stories have no real plot to them. This is one of them. It’s straight up just backstory for the protagonist and lore/world-building. If that’s your thing and you want to know more about the dream cycle this is for you! If not, it’s probably a skip.

[Caleb Fischer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lovecraft locked himself in a room and forgot to finish the story

[EHR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short yet shockingly beautiful

[Teemu Öhman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another very short piece of writing, a fragment really. Not good or bad, it just is.