Forming part of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH tells the strange story of an unnamed student, whose visit to a decrepit Massachusetts seaport—the crumbling town of Innsmouth—leads to a number of shocking and personal revelations…
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.
First book I read from Lovecraft. Loved it but was left wanting more details. It started very slow and then gained a bit of pace. And then just after the book finished. I'd have loved to hear more about it, go into it in more depth and know the main character better.
A chilling tale as the narrator takes an interest in Innsmouth, a small remote town typically avoided by others. In the process of learning more about the town—-its history, its local legends, etc—-mainly from the town drunk, he finds out more than he bargained for not only about the town, but of himself. Highly recommended!